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#Post#: 10414--------------------------------------------------
What does the word “America” mean in your language?
By: Allie Date: December 18, 2018, 9:00 am
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Recently someone was commenting on my accent, saying it has
something “British” about it, to which I answered that,
technically, I have an American accent, as I am American myself.
Of course I was taking the **** and I understand the surprised
expression I got in return, so I explained the situation.
However, it’s got me thinking.
In Latin America, it’s common sense that the word “America”
refers to the American Continent, including North, Central and
South Americas (say otherwise and you’ll get a shitload of
hate), even though we understand that “America” and “American”
are commonly used to refer to the US.
In Portuguese, we refer to the US as “Estados Unidos” (However,
we do use “American” to talk about someone born there - as the
word “estadunidense” is almost unpronounceable).
In English, as an automatic reflex, I usually say “The US”
instead of “America”. I do use “American Continent” to avoid
disambiguation, but sometimes I can’t help myself and say
“America”
So, out of curiosity, what does the word “America” mean in your
language?
What about American?
In the situation I described, would you understand why I was
laughing at your expense?
#Post#: 10415--------------------------------------------------
Re: What does the word “America” means in your language?
By: Susan Date: December 18, 2018, 10:18 am
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I think it is odd that while there is an English adjective for
people from almost every other country--- British, German,
Dutch, Spanish, etc, there is no ¨unitedstatesian¨
¨unitedarian¨or anything in the English language to describe
someone from the U.S. except for American. I think that is
what causes the problems-- of course South Americans are
American, but they aren´t from the U.S., and since people from
the U.S. are ¨Americans¨-- where does that leave things.
In Spanish, instead of saying American, I was taught to say ¨soy
estadounidense,¨ but I never do because it is such tongue
twister. In Spanish, it is easier to say ¨soy de Los Estados
Unidos¨ instead of that.
#Post#: 10420--------------------------------------------------
Re: What does the word “America” means in your language?
By: Alharacas Date: December 18, 2018, 12:27 pm
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[quote author=Elf link=topic=703.msg10414#msg10414
date=1545145227]
So, out of curiosity, what does the word “America” mean in your
language?
What about American?
In the situation I described, would you understand why I was
laughing at your expense?
[/quote]
Yes, I'd understand. However, I expect many Germans would not,
especially those from the Southwest (where there are lots of US
military bases).
And I'm not sure how much of my awareness is due to having lived
in Galicia, where it's the other way around: "un americano" is
somebody who is from, or has spent part of his life somewhere in
South America. Er, unless it's coffee.
HTML http://www.casadoamericano.com/index.php
In Spain, they don't seem to be aware of "estadounidense" being
a tounge-breaker. ;)
Still, it's in spoken German that "Amerikaner" means a
US-citizen, and "Amerika" is a synonym for the US. (Everything
to the south of the US is referred to as "Südamerika".)
You'd rarely see this printed, though.
#Post#: 10421--------------------------------------------------
Re: What does the word “America” mean in your language?
By: SHL Date: December 18, 2018, 3:55 pm
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I totally agree with Alharacas. If you tell someone in Germany
you are an Amerikaner, that`s always going to mean you are from
the US, or a US citizen. The same usage applies in the UK, to my
knowledge. No one is going to think you are from Mexico. And
Amerika always refers to the US, not other countries on the
Continent. The shortened version of Amerikaner is Ami, but I was
told a long time ago (like 1980) that this referred to US
military personnel. I don`t know if this is still true, or ever
was, because Duden, the German language authority, says Ami
simply means Amerikaner. I`d personally defer to Alharacas as
the REAL authority (I`d ever put her opinion above Duden`s).
So, I`m not sure. I frankly don`t use the word „Ami“ myself, and
I`ve frankly not heard it used among Germans very often, or only
rarely (not to suggest they don`t use it). So, I would be
curious to hear from Alharacas on this. Is an Ami a US soldier,
or just any American? (If Duden is wrong, I`ll have to write
them and tell them they are wrong :))
I agree it seems unfair, since the US is just one part of the
North American continent (what about Canadians for example?),
but that`s just the way the language has developed. US Americans
pretty much always refer to themselves as Americans and the
country, America.
I have noticed a bit of a push back to this amongst Mexicans,
but Canadians seem quite content not to be considered Americans.
#Post#: 10423--------------------------------------------------
Re: What does the word “America” mean in your language?
By: Alharacas Date: December 18, 2018, 5:47 pm
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Hmm... I think the term Ami developed around the US military
bases in Germany, yes. I grew up near one of the biggest of
those bases, and the term's very much in use there, while you
don't hear it that often in other parts of the country.
But I have heard people say Ami when they simply meant a US
citizen, and also, in Bavarian bei die Amis (this is a mistake
in standard German!) means "in the US".
By the way, in case you're wondering about pronunciation: in
German, Ami rhymes with "mummy". ;)
It's sweet of you to put my opinion above the Duden's, Steven,
but you do know that it reflects usage, don't you? So, it's
quite possible that Ami used to be a term for US military
personnel 30 or 40 years ago, but now refers to any US citizen.
:)
#Post#: 10424--------------------------------------------------
Re: What does the word “America” mean in your language?
By: SHL Date: December 18, 2018, 7:00 pm
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[quote author=Alharacas link=topic=703.msg10423#msg10423
date=1545176852]
Hmm... I think the term Ami developed around the US military
bases in Germany, yes. I grew up near one of the biggest of
those bases, and the term's very much in use there, while you
don't hear it that often in other parts of the country.
But I have heard people say Ami when they simply meant a US
citizen, and also, in Bavarian bei die Amis (this is a mistake
in standard German!) means "in the US".
By the way, in case you're wondering about pronunciation: in
German, Ami rhymes with "mummy". ;)
It's sweet of you to put my opinion above the Duden's, Steven,
but you do know that it reflects usage, don't you? So, it's
quite possible that Ami used to be a term for US military
personnel 30 or 40 years ago, but now refers to any US citizen.
:)
[/quote]
Thanks Alharacas, for your comments.
Coincidentally, today I was able to ask a local German native
speaker this question at lunch. She and her husband run a local
German bakery they started here 26 years ago. I always like
running into her there because I can speak German with her.
I asked about Ami,and she confirmed that it just means an
American of any sort, and not just soldiers. I told her it was
not a word I ever use, and really not even one I’ve heard people
use much in Germany today. Plus, I told her I wasn’t really too
fond of the word because I felt it had a slightly abwertend,
pejorative, sound to it. Not terribly pejorative, but only
slightly so. She agreed and said she doesn’t like the word
either, and laughed and said her relatives will often email her
and tell her she’s in Amiland. So, we got a laugh out of that.
Duden doesn’t always give a lot of details on the history of
words, but I strongly suspect Ami originated in the late 40s to
50s and did refer to American soldiers. Then, as the decades
passed, the word probably changed (like words do with time) and
came to refer to all Americans.
Like I said, I would swear I heard it said no later than around
1980, that the word referred to American soldiers, and that may
have come from one of my German professors at the time, most
likely the native speaking lady from Hamburg. But, she was 60 at
the time, and had been living in the US for at least 20 years by
then, and would have been speaking a German used primarily in
the 1940s and 1950s. When I think of Amis, I immediately think
of post-war occupying American troops, which is why it sort of
has a slightly negative feel to it, like the British use of
yanks.
I was a bit surprised at how German has undergone some changes
in the last 4 decades. I’ve actually heard native speakers say
„in 2018“ , which is totally wrong, as you know. When I learned
German I was taught you NEVER said that. It was either „im Jahre
2018“ or just „2018.“ Take your pick, but you can’t say „in“.
Now, I heard someplace a few years ago that saying „im Jahre“ is
a little old-fashioned sounding and that the „e“ in „Jahre“ can
and often is omitted. Leaving it off sounds weird to me, so I
just leave it in.
Oh well. It’s just one of many examples of how languages can
change a little in just a generation.
#Post#: 10427--------------------------------------------------
Re: What does the word “America” mean in your language?
By: Sudeep Date: December 19, 2018, 10:22 am
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If you say this word "America" to anyone in India, they would
mostly think it is the US. Even if they know there are two
continents named North America and South America, still, they or
most of the people in the world would think of the US. Due to
the popularity, influence and dominance of the US, I guess!?
#Post#: 10432--------------------------------------------------
Re: What does the word “America” mean in your language?
By: Pasha Date: December 19, 2018, 11:20 am
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In post-USSR countries word "America" is more associated with US
than continent and word "Americans" is more associated with
Unitedstatians.
#Post#: 10434--------------------------------------------------
Re: What does the word “America” mean in your language?
By: SHL Date: December 19, 2018, 11:58 am
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[quote author=Pasha link=topic=703.msg10432#msg10432
date=1545240057]
In post-USSR countries word "America" is more associated with US
than continent and word "Americans" is more associated with
Unitedstatians.
[/quote]
Sudeep and Pasha, I think this is universally true outside of
Middle and South America. There are some, but not all, on the
North and South American continents who take offence to the word
„America“ being solely associated with the US. It`s bit silly,
but it would almost be like someone referring to only one
particular country in Europe as „Europe“ and ignoring all the
other countries occupying the same continent. That may the logic
to it. Interestingly enough, like I said, Canadians have no
problem with not being called Americans whatsoever.
#Post#: 10436--------------------------------------------------
Re: What does the word “America” mean in your language?
By: Allie Date: December 19, 2018, 1:00 pm
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Thanks, guys. I was curious to check if it was an
English-language thing or if it was accepted universally.
SHL is right.
Some people find it (extremely) offensive when you associate the
word “America” with the US.
His Europe reasoning explains why.
As for not wanting to be an “American”, (at least in the other
Americas ;) ), the problem is not really being about “American”
(meaning you’re from the American continent), but about being a
“gringo”
If you’re from a Latin American country and, when visiting
another Latin American country, people take you for an American
(from the US, I mean) some people find it annoying.
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