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We are not all the same (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 4 weeks ago by sapetoku@sh.itjust.works to c/memes@lemmy.ml

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[-] JustAnotherKay@lemmy.world 4 points 4 weeks ago

I hate this argument. The term America has been used to refer to the US for so long now that it's colloquially the same.

The term "USian" is just as bad as "American" if you really give a fuck about the names of countries because the USA is not the only "United States" they could be part of either. If you're gonna try to find a word that is instantly recognizable as "citizen of the United States of America" why not just use the one that literally billions of people already use every day?

[-] match@pawb.social 9 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

why not just use the one that literally billions of people already use every day

Estadounidense?

[-] JustAnotherKay@lemmy.world 2 points 4 weeks ago

If you're speaking Spanish, and that's the colloquial term in your region, yes. That's exactly how linguistics work.

[-] dessalines@lemmy.ml 7 points 4 weeks ago

Because we don't agree with the US's imperialist co-option of that term to exclude the majority of americans.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/07/when-did-the-united-states-start-calling-itself-america-anyway/

[-] JustAnotherKay@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago

How about we call them "Union Members" seeing as they're part of "the Union" as decreed by their founding fathers? Instead of bulldozing over all of the other "United States" in America and the world by replacing the imperialist "American" with the... Somehow less imperialist "United States Ian"?

[-] sloppychops@lemmy.ca 4 points 4 weeks ago

Could be wrong, but I think that might only be true for English.

[-] sapetoku@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 weeks ago

In Spanish, American (the demonym) translates to "estadounidense" and in French there's "étasunien" that basically translate to "USian". While some get offended, it's more accurate and avoids the automatic imperialism.