> You can consider that America has multiple personality disorder
Insightful and interesting article.
Slightly spoiled by the throughout use of "America" for "United States of America". In an article which aims at a please don't lump very different groups together message. Weird foreignish places like Chile, Bolivia, Mexico etc. ? Outskirts. Maybe like suburbs or farmland or so.
(To save space, please imagine 10 to 20 lines of **headdesk** here)
Oh, and the clever author also wrote a book on the United States titled "American Nations"!
I swear to the gods, I'm laughing so loud that I'm just glad I didn't read this in an internet café.
To top it off, I've been fuming for 24 hours now that the new Dracula show depicts inhabitants of victorian England as 21st century US Americans in old-fashioned clothing. Of course a young female medicine student would spend the night bar-hopping through London with a friend getting thoroughly drunk! It's what all students ever anywhere do!
I disagree with your complaint (and over-reaction) about a term that Americans (!) do use for themselves to describe "America," this country also known as the U.S. These are synonyms in the United States of ... wait for it ... America.
Or America for short.
There are two shortenings of the too-long name: The United States of America can be called either the United States, or, America.
I realize your native language is German, but "America" is the term we use for this country. It's standard usage. When we refer to the rest of continent, we call it "North America." When we refer to both continents, we call them The Americas, plural.
So save a desk, and your forehead.
That said, while these groups are pretty accurate from my experience of the U.S., immigration patterns aside, the Midlands, etc., cannot be applied to Canada.
Thanks, but the language info was a bit wasted; I'm aware of all those different terms (USA, US, or US of A sometimes and soon). The point still stand that with accurate shorthands like USA and US at hand, picking the one that's most inaccurate (and a bit self-centered) in an article that set against misleading generalization? I'm still enjoying the irony.
Imagine someone from France telling you how foreigners always get things wrong and "... in Europe, we have a Prime Minister as head of the government / we don't eat cakes with that much cream / prefer croissants to bread rolls / ...".
There is absolutely zero irony. America is the name of this country.
Call Canada, Mexico, or any Central or South American country "America" and they'll be quite irritated with you (especially Canada) because they're not America.
As a Canadian, it would be really wonderful if maybe they'd a) use the term NORTH America. b) learn more about Canada if they're going to label us on a map. k'thx.
Comments 10
Insightful and interesting article.
Slightly spoiled by the throughout use of "America" for "United States of America". In an article which aims at a please don't lump very different groups together message. Weird foreignish places like Chile, Bolivia, Mexico etc. ? Outskirts. Maybe like suburbs or farmland or so.
(To save space, please imagine 10 to 20 lines of **headdesk** here)
Oh, and the clever author also wrote a book on the United States titled "American Nations"!
I swear to the gods, I'm laughing so loud that I'm just glad I didn't read this in an internet café.
To top it off, I've been fuming for 24 hours now that the new Dracula show depicts inhabitants of victorian England as 21st century US Americans in old-fashioned clothing. Of course a young female medicine student would spend the night bar-hopping through London with a friend getting thoroughly drunk! It's what all students ever anywhere do!
Reply
Or America for short.
There are two shortenings of the too-long name: The United States of America can be called either the United States, or, America.
I realize your native language is German, but "America" is the term we use for this country. It's standard usage. When we refer to the rest of continent, we call it "North America." When we refer to both continents, we call them The Americas, plural.
So save a desk, and your forehead.
That said, while these groups are pretty accurate from my experience of the U.S., immigration patterns aside, the Midlands, etc., cannot be applied to Canada.
Reply
Imagine someone from France telling you how foreigners always get things wrong and "... in Europe, we have a Prime Minister as head of the government / we don't eat cakes with that much cream / prefer croissants to bread rolls / ...".
Reply
Call Canada, Mexico, or any Central or South American country "America" and they'll be quite irritated with you (especially Canada) because they're not America.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Also: fascinating article, thanks for sharing :)
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment