One difficulty I have is that in Spanish you can identify yourself either as "Americano" (American) which would identify you only technically by your continent but which most people accept as US ignorance (and do we really want that?) OR as "Estadounidense" which I guess I would roughly translate to "UnitedStates-ian."
So, I understand why Spanish-speakers (and others if they also have this alternate option in their language) would be upset, given that in Spanish there is another word for identifying ones nationality if you are from the US, but since we don't, at least as far as I know, have a name that we use which is politically and technically correct, what SHOULD we call ourselves in English?
It it as simple to alternately answer the "Where are you from?" question with "I'm from the US" but it still doesn't answer the question of "What is your nationality?" At least, not directly. What I mean is, saying "I'm from the US" is not the same as saying "I'm Brazilian," for example (I know, they speak Portuguese, but this is just an example). These sentences, while they can answer the question, do not answer it in the same way, and likewise, a Brazilian could say "I am from Brazil" but we would still be stuck with "I'm American" were we to try to communicate our nationality.
So, despite the fact that I think borders are stupid and I recognize that we are all human beings and one human race. I also accept that there ARE borders and that I AM from the US and that a lot of people, with good reason in my opinion, find it somewhat ignorant and offensive that we call ourselves by the name of a continent that is much bigger than our own country. Given that I am not one to revel in my own ignorance nor do I like to offend people, I feel like it's time we stop blaming history and actually give ourselves a name.
What should we be called? How should we communicate our nationality?
"I'm United?" "I'm States-ish?" "I'm under-Canadian?" or "North-Mexican?"
I know these are silly, but I'm serious about the question...what is a new (or old) name that we can use to identify our nationality without involving or excluding or ignoring the majority of our continent? "I'm Yankee" or I'm "Gringo" are not options in my opinion, as they have a naturally negative connotation from history (so if you're calling yourself a gringo, you should probably stop). I'd also rule out "I'm confederate," for the previous among other reasons.
Any ideas?
What is or should be the name for the US nationality?
As a America is one of the words in the United States of America, there is a natural progression on how that word "American" is used to describe that nationality (as well as anyone from either continents). That said, When I'm speaking in English I'll call myself American with a clear conscience. When I'm speaking in Spanish I'm happy to use Estadounidense, or just say " soy de US".
ReplyDeleteGood point Lauren! Although one might argue that we are the United States of the American continent...so we are still overstepping "our space" by choosing to call ourselves American instead of "our 50 United States" of the continent America. I bet you're right on though, that's probably how we became "Americans" in the first place, just shortening our long name!
DeleteWhat's offensive about the word Yankee? I'll just call myself a New Yorker!
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I don't know that Yankee is always used with negative connotation, but "gringo" definitely is used in its grand majority as a negative name for people from the US. I would be ok with being called Yankees :)
DeleteSo I just realized that calling myself a New Yorker is an example of the same situation - New York City vs New York State. It's not my fault they have the same name. As you we'll know, I've been criticized plenty for that. Lol. But my feelings stay the same. I'm from where I'm from, and that's what I call it.
ReplyDeleteThat's true! Great point! There are lots of places that have the same name...So you might agree that we should still call ourselves "American" because it's just a repeat name and perhaps we could add on the rule that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?" IE: forefathers chose to keep "America" in the naming of the country, therefore we are honoring the continent with our name, therefore we can unapologetically call ourselves American. I think I can follow you there. I'm still a bit concerned about the fact that all people from our continent are also Americans, but I think you make some good arguments for why we could also just stick with what we've got! Thanks for commenting! <3
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ReplyDeleteSteph, from Facebook left a comment worth sharing, that the Spanish-English dictionary gives "American" as the translation for "Estadounidense." Interesting share, Steph! It looks like we stumped the dictionaries on that translation, too! "American" has become so commonly used for things of or pertaining to the USA that even the dictionary doesn't give us a clue on another name for our nationality! Thanks for sharing! I also loved the hashtag: #estadounidensefail Thanks for trying to find a solution!!
ReplyDeleteMicheal says: "What about 'Merica?" Thanks Michael! You made me laugh out loud!
ReplyDeleteJohn J says: How strong a country we would be if North, South and Central were united as one!
ReplyDeleteI'm with John on a lot of levels and wonder, would that make us the AU (American Union) or the UN of A (United Nations of America)?
This also reminded me that we were once called "the union" and could possibly be called "unionites" or some spin off of that. Who else has ideas?
Only half of the US was the Union, the other half the Confederacy. Either would offend half of our country, in theory.
DeleteKevin M says: when i studied in argentina, i too was informed of this! always good to keep things in perspective
ReplyDeleteI agree, Kevin! That's why I wanted to share this topic. It's something I've been confronted on a few times but I haven't figured out a solution for yet... except for the one which seems the norm: "we're called what we're called and leave it at that." I consider myself a problem-solver, though, so I like to try to find out some answers, or at least entertain the possibility of there being other answers. Also...it could be kind of FUN to find a new word/name for our nationality. Maybe reinventing ourselves starts with a new name! One way to start looking at this topic is definitely by taking a different perspective. Great point!
While I’m still ok with just saying “American”, I can’t get this topic out of my head. The US is so varied that many people relate to their region, state or city over relating to the country as a whole. Many people are also quick to identify themselves with the place where their parents or great-great grandparents came from. (I’m talking to you Irish- and Italian-Americans.)
ReplyDeleteBut in my thinking I thought about Africans and South Africans, if it is arrogant to call us “Americans”, then it would also to call us “North Americans,”….I came around to this funny thought…. Maybe Miss Teen South Carolina 2007 was way ahead of her time…. Maybe what we are is “U.S. Americans.”
Annemarie says: I think the problem is the map is showing different stories. I have never heard/referred it as "America" for all. I have said Americas; I looked at my books that have come from England, Australia, Canada, Peru, & Chile and I can't find it as America (as one). So maybe I'm missing something. We have 7 continents, as most would agree; North America and South America are separated. Just bc it has the same ending "America" doesn't make it one continent. America is not a singular continent, and bc our proper name is Unties Staes of America, people have shortened it to America, and wrongfully confused the term as if it's a continent.
ReplyDeleteNationality and language : So, say you want to refer someone from South America you would/could say that they're South American or pick the country, but would not say they're American. You wouldn't say they speak South American either. They speak Spanish and or if from Brazil you speak Portuguese, for the most part. (In general here) Many Spanish countries confuse or melt the two by saying we speak American as if that's a language. Europeans don't say we speak American. They say English, bc thats what we speak. American is not a language, it's a nationality. Just as you cant speak European.
The world can not say our language is English and American as if one. Blending the American into country into continents. I have found that in USA we are so familiar w/ being a giant melting pot. Unlike most,we have a huge blend of cultures, & nationalities. If you asked a/us (Houlihan) what nationality we are we'd say Scottish and Irish and maybe some toss in Canadian. Bc our families have traveled from there. In USA we understand, if you here your already an American. We want to know where your family comes from, deal more with nationalities& heritage. Funny, when I'm in Europe I say I'm American, bc there that's what I am. I don't say I'm Canadian, Scottish & Irish. If I go to Mabou, I'm called the American. The world calls us Americans, but in this land, it's great we're all proud of our heritage. We fly flags from our fathers fathers land and are happy to have that history. Few countries can say that. America doesn't fit the norm. On the other side of the coin, Jewish have the opposite. Most don't say I'm a polish, German, Palestinian, etc. they say I'm Jewish. Not everything fits into a box, sometimes we have rule breakers. America is one, as well as Jewish. While in Rome....