# Do any South Americans identify themselves as "Americans" when traveling internationally? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664 "2013-08-19T21:39:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/1 "2013-08-19T21:39:01Z")
[Re this article](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/a_fine_whine/2013/08/america_the_continent_vs_america_the_country.html) about how some South Americans (mainly) are upset by US residents use of the term “American” to describe themselves. I am curious when traveling internationally outside the Americas do South Americans actually call themselves “Americans” when responding to inquiries about where they are from or is this saved for lecturing Yankees? > [@](#): > > In a Washington, D.C., bar not long ago, I was ambushed by a very nice young woman drinking a Long Island. We were exchanging the standard get-to-know-you questions: What’s your name, where are you from, what are your thoughts on the weather. While politely parroting these questions back at my conversation partner, I walked into a well-planned sneak attack: > > Me: Where are you from? > Her: I’m American. > Me: What state? > Her: Columbia. > Me: So, South Carolina? > Her: No. Colombia, South America. > > My new Colombian friend scolded me for misinterpreting “American.” Didn’t I realize, she lectured, how unfair, imperialistic, and U.S.-centric it is for U.S. people to steal the terms “America” and “American” to refer specifically to their country and themselves? She was American, she asserted. I’m American too, apparently, but only to the extent that I live on this continent. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/2 "2013-08-19T23:06:58Z")
I always say I’m Canadian-nobody ever take s Canadians hostage. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/3 "2013-08-19T23:53:06Z")
I never met a South American identifying himself/herself as an “American”. Always as a Peruano, Colombiano, Mexicano, etc… ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/4 "2013-08-19T23:56:27Z")
I had a Spanish teacher from Mexico who lectured us on this point. He considered himself American and thought it was very offensive that Americans from the US just assume that Amercian = US Citizen. He said it was a very common belief in Mexico to consider yourself American. Unfortunately, this anecdote is the best I can do for you, no cite. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/5 "2013-08-20T00:00:33Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I never met a South American identifying himself/herself as an “American”. Always as a Peruano, Colombiano, Mexicano, etc… Yeah here in Ireland, people from that part of the world I’ve met have always used their country. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone saying they were South American or American from those countries. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/6 "2013-08-20T00:03:11Z")
I don’t have a direct answer for the OP, but do agree that the woman in the bar was setting up the author. Why else, when asked in a casual conversation, would she say American, and by that mean “I’m from somewhere between Canada and Argentina”? I could see saying that she’s from South America, from Bogota or from Colombia but to say American and mean somewhere in the Americas is being deliberately vague. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/7 "2013-08-20T00:07:43Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I never met a South American identifying himself/herself as an “American”. Always as a Peruano, Colombiano, Mexicano, etc… This. IME, people from elsewhere in the Americas tend to be interested in avoiding any possible confusion with Americans, the very opposite of the OP scenario. Immigrants without papers, in certain contexts, being the only exception. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_From\_Here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/2acd7d/32.png) [@Not\_From\_Here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_From_Here)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/8 "2013-08-20T00:26:19Z")
I am Brazilian and i don’t know of anyone from Brazil that would identify themselves as americans.Americans is how we call people from the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/9 "2013-08-20T01:39:45Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I had a Spanish teacher from Mexico who lectured us on this point. He considered himself American and thought it was very offensive that Americans from the US just assume that Amercian = US Citizen. He said it was a very common belief in Mexico to consider yourself American. Unfortunately, this anecdote is the best I can do for you, no cite. Usually that’s the attitude of butt-hurt intellectuals in Mexico. While _norteamericano_ is more commonly used than _americano_ it also applies to Canadians, and so in order to distinguish they will simply say _Americano_ or _canadiense_ respectively, and then point out, “_¡Pero tambien somos americanos!_” One thing to consider is that Asians feel Asian, Europeans feel European, Africans feel African, and it’s okay for South Americans to feel South American in this context. In general US-Americans (and even Canadians and even Mexicans) don’t identify with their continent the same way, because only the three of us occupy the majority of the entire continent and we’re much more self-focused. I don’t feel like part of some North American community; I feel American. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/10 "2013-08-20T02:10:22Z")
I learned the word norteamericano in high school Spanish class, where it was shorthand for someone from the USA or Canada. But that notably excludes people from Mexico (as well as people from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Honduras and the islands in the Caribbean). So if people are objecting to those from the USA using the term “American”, why is that OK? ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/11 "2013-08-20T04:41:57Z")
I was born in Paris, have Peruvian nationality and I have US citizenship. Actually dual citizenship. But before 1998, when I was solely peruana, traveled with a Peruvian passport and had a Green Card – when asked, I would have said I was Peruvian not “American.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/12 "2013-08-20T05:12:17Z")
Since the USA is the only country I know of that actually has the word “America” in its official name, isn’t it logical that its citizens would refer to themselves as “Americans”? Why anyone else would refer to themselves as “American” without a qualifier (e.g., North, Central, South) is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/13 "2013-08-20T05:22:06Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Why anyone else would refer to themselves as “American” without a qualifier (e.g., North, Central, South) is beyond me. A) They’re being tendentious. B) They’re genuinely ignorant of the difference between “_americano_” and “American.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/14 "2013-08-20T05:43:32Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I learned the word norteamericano in high school Spanish class, where it was shorthand for someone from the USA or Canada. But that notably excludes people from Mexico (as well as people from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Honduras and the islands in the Caribbean). So if people are objecting to those from the USA using the term “American”, why is that OK? Technically, [North America](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_america) extends from Canada in the north, down to Panama in the south. And includes the Caribbean. Central America isn’t a continent. Most people just associate it with the countries north of the Rio Grande, true, but it’s a little disingenuous. Personally, if I am traveling in a foreign country, being the Ugly [del]American[/del] Colombian is the last thing on my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/15 "2013-08-20T07:58:33Z")
Part of the problem is that in Spanish-speaking countries, children are taught that there are six continents: Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, and _America_. In the US, children are taught that North America and South America are separate continents. Wikipedia [backs me up](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent) on this, though it claims that America was considered a single continent in the US until WWII. Nevertheless, in modern usage, the term _America_ in the US has only one meaning: the country also known as the United States. The supercontinent known in Spanish as _América_ has only one name in modern US English: _the Americas_ (plural). Given this difference, it makes sense that folks from Latin America might think it odd that they cannot refer to themselves as Americans in the same way that Africans, Europeans, and Asians refer to themselves and are referred to by other as such, while folks from the US and Canada might wonder why they don’t refer to themselves a South Americans using the same analogy. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/16 "2013-08-20T09:48:06Z")
I’ve had a bunch of friends and gfs from South America, and not one of them ever ID’d themselves as ‘American’. They would say ‘National name, etc…’. Even the PR’s would say “Puerto Rico”. Your little buddy had a stick up her ass and has probably lectured every ‘American’ whom she ever met in the same way you were victimized. She probably didn’t realize that none of the nations down there have the word ‘America’ in their names, as does the United States of America. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/17 "2013-08-20T10:35:15Z")
The other thing is that saying “American,” even if technically true for everyone in the Western Hemisphere, isn’t helpful because it’s so vague. I doubt many French tourists would just shrug and say “I’m from Europe”–and that’s actually _more_ specific than “American” as used in the OP. My brother, who worked extensively in Guatemala and Argentina, says he’s never met someone who called themselves “American.” FWIW, I’ve also never met a Canadian (and I’m from Canada) who introduced him/herself as American, even though it’s just as “true” for us as for the Colombian in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/18 "2013-08-20T15:17:32Z")
> [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](#): > > The other thing is that saying “American,” even if technically true for everyone in the Western Hemisphere, isn’t helpful because it’s so vague. I doubt many French tourists would just shrug and say “I’m from Europe”–and that’s actually _more_ specific than “American” as used in the OP. > > My brother, who worked extensively in Guatemala and Argentina, says he’s never met someone who called themselves “American.” FWIW, I’ve also never met a Canadian (and I’m from Canada) who introduced him/herself as American, even though it’s just as “true” for us as for the Colombian in the OP. That’s what I was thinking. People usually don’t say that they are African or European when asked where they’re from, they say that they are from Cameroon or France or wherever. I wouldn’t be upset if I met someone from Colombia who said they were American, I would just roll with it, but I would be a little surprised. I’ve met several people from South America and they all identify either from the city or country they are from, not just as American. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/19 "2013-08-20T15:25:14Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Your little buddy had a stick up her ass and has probably lectured every ‘American’ whom she ever met in the same way you were victimized. She probably didn’t realize that none of the nations down there have the word ‘America’ in their names, as does the United States of America. Yeah, she was being a dick. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664/20 "2013-08-20T15:43:56Z")
It could be viewed as arrogance when people from the US call themselves Americans, but really the problem is there’s no other demonym for it. (Yes, I had to look up demonym.) There’s not another country I can think of in the Americas where that’s true, but other countries do have the same problem. What do people from the United Arab Emirates call themselves, or people from the Central African Republic? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-any-south-americans-identify-themselves-as-americans-when-traveling-internationally/666664.md?page=2)