# American English



## passengerman

Hi all,

Why is United Stations' language known as *American* English? I know America as a continent. 

Thanks,


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## alfaalfa

Ciao,
_American_ 

_Typo:States_


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## passengerman

alfaalfa said:


> Ciao,
> _American_
> 
> _Typo:States_


你好


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## Hulalessar

There is no adjective in English corresponding to "the United States of America".


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## Awwal12

Hulalessar said:


> There is no adjective in English corresponding to "the United States of America".


1. Well, English is not alone in that regard.
2. However, in English "US" surely can work as an apposition, can't it?
3. Genitive constructions are still an option anyway.


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## bearded

passengerman said:


> 你好


What does this mean, please?


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## pollohispanizado

bearded said:


> What does this mean, please?


你好 (ni3 hao3) means hello.




Awwal12 said:


> 1. Well, English is not alone in that regard.
> 2. However, in English "US" surely can work as an apposition, can't it?
> 3. Genitive constructions are still an option anyway


I personally either use US as an adjective or say "from the States".


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## elroy

passengerman said:


> I know America as a continent.


It’s not a continent in English.

There’s North America and South America.  Together, they are called the America*s* (not America).

In English, “American” is used as an adjective to refer to the US.  It derives from the name of the country: the United States of *America*.


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## pollohispanizado

elroy said:


> There’s North America and South America. Together, they are called the America*s* (not America).



Actually...


> The *Americas*, which are also collectively called *America*, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America.


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## elroy

Only in the very specific context of the exploration of the "New World," which was called "America" at the time.  In contemporary contexts, "America" is not used to refer to the Americas. 

Let me add that I'm not saying this is the way it _should_ be; I'm only reporting real usage.  I understand that many people find the use of "America" to refer to the US problematic and think that it should only be used to refer to the Americas.  This doesn't change the way these words _are in fact_ used by the majority of speakers.  Anyone who uses "America" to refer to the Americas will most likely be misunderstood.


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## pollohispanizado

elroy said:


> Anyone who uses "America" to refer to the Americas will most likely be misunderstood.


Perhaps by people from the States.


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## elroy

By most native speakers of English across all varieties.


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## Penyafort

Both English and Spanish are correct in this regard. America can be seen as just one continent or as two. (Even as more, depending on what we'd base our understanding of a continent on, as much of Central America and the Caribbean lie on a plate of its own)


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## elroy

Penyafort said:


> America can be seen as just one continent or as two.


Not in English.  It’s not used to refer to any number of continents.


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## Penyafort

elroy said:


> Not in English.  It’s not used to refer to any number of continents.


What I meant is that both views of seeing it, the English and the Spanish, are fine.

As for 'not in English', it's clearly not the common way to do it nowadays, specially after the birth of the US. But this is quite interesting:

"America." _The Oxford Companion to the English Language_. McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 33: "[16c: from the feminine of _Americus_, the Latinized first name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). The name _America_ first appeared on a map in 1507 by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, referring to the area now called Brazil]. Since the 16c, a name of the western hemisphere, often in the plural _Americas_ and more or less synonymous with _the New World_. Since the 18c, a name of the United States of America. The second sense is now primary in English: ... However, the term is open to uncertainties: ..."

Las Américas is also possible in Spanish in certain context. There's also the idiom "hacer las Américas" for those who left in search of making a fortune.


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## Terio

elroy said:


> Not in English.  It’s not used to refer to any number of continents.


So, America is a part of North America !


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