Who Is An "american?"

[ajoknoblauch]

Since this topic came up recently, I decided to write a little more about it at http://tinyurl.com/m9scwc5.

 

[nikad]

Nice article. I am Argentine. You can be American if you like, I believe for the good or the bad now the word American is associated with United States resident and it is fine. It is just semantics. I know where I come from and so do you. I do not see South American or Latin American folk claiming they are so, I think they just like to give each other a hard time. Peace. I am Argentine....and have to deal with it. Lol,

 

[internationalguy]

You have a very "typical" writing style for your type. I do like the article though.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

You have a very "typical" writing style for your type. I do like the article though.

Whatever that means, I guess it's a compliment.

 

[Dmiller]

This topic has came up many times when i am talking to Argentines. They ask me where i am from and i say "Soy Americano" . Then they will usually say" I am american too". And i totally agree with them . If you live in any part of the Americas then you are American. But then i argue the fact that i haven nothing else to call myself( to no fault of my own) .They can call call themselves Argentines but united statesians doesnt exsist. So i say i am American.

 

[Crema Americana]

It's a stupid 'debate' that stems from animosity and misunderstanding.

I have no issue saying I am an American - they know what I mean and it's the proper term. Unitedstatestian is something some person made up that has no meaning at all. It's about as silly as refering to Argentines as Republicanos or Mexicans as Estadounidienses as well.

I don't care if Argentines and other Latin Americans call themselves Americans or claim that the Americas are one continent... but they should also be understanding that the country is called the United States of America and that American as a nationality isn't a slight against the continent as a whole. That's always the complaint... "you think you're the only ones that matter." I had never even imagined that the term was insulting or controversial until I came here. At first I tried to be more diplomatic, but at this point the argument is so stupid that I feel zero guilt calling myself what I've called myself all my life.

I think anyone that complains about Americans calling themselves Americans just has a chip on their shoulder and wants to be combative. That, or they jest, which has been my experience.

 

[nlaruccia]

I had a conversation with a friend in Madrid who's guests from Maryland used the term "we're American" and he was offended. He thought they were insensitive to the fact that Canadians are American since it's part of North America. It's ironic, no Argentine claims they're "American" until someone from the States identifies themselves as "American" instead of "North American". It's true that we're all Americans that are part of North and South America. Do Argentines travel to Europe or Asia and say they're American when asked their origin? No, they say they're Argentine. I reminded my Spanish friend that in Northern Europe they refer to the States as America and use the term Americans and not North American. I think it's all about semantics, convenience and splitting hairs. Living here I think we should respect the Argentines' desire to use the term North American. In the States we have all kinds of politically correct terms as well. Latino instead of hispanic, Mexican American instead of chicano, Native American instead of American Indian, etc.

 

[ghost]

This topic has been beaten to death. R I P

 

[vtw]

Soy de Los Estados Unidos seems to make everyone happy ---

 

[nikad]

It is a nonsense debate: one word two meaning, simple as that. Dictionaries are full of these in both languages