It seems to me like a simple cultural/language difference related to how we count the continents. In the Anglosphere (not just the USA) children are brought up thinking of seven continents, including North and South America, while in Spanish‐speaking countries they think of six, including simply America. Neither is really right or wrong, because there’s no formal definition of what a continent is—it’s merely convention. (Some people consider Eurasia a single continent, some people don’t consider Antarctica a continent…)
Because of this difference in convention, the word “América” in Spanish is more accurately translated to English as “the Americas” than “America.”
Is this actually a problem that needs fixing in English? Is it a problem at all? Are there any Canadians out there offended at not being called Americans despite making up a major part of [North] America?
The suggested alternative of using “United States” to refer to America‐the‐country overlooks that there is another country (even another North American country!) with that name: Estados Unidos Mexicanos.
It seems to me like a simple cultural/language difference related to how we count the continents. In the Anglosphere (not just the USA) children are brought up thinking of seven continents, including North and South America, while in Spanish‐speaking countries they think of six, including simply America. Neither is really right or wrong, because there’s no formal definition of what a continent is—it’s merely convention. (Some people consider Eurasia a single continent, some people don’t consider Antarctica a continent…)
Because of this difference in convention, the word “América” in Spanish is more accurately translated to English as “the Americas” than “America.”
Is this actually a problem that needs fixing in English? Is it a problem at all? Are there any Canadians out there offended at not being called Americans despite making up a major part of [North] America?
The suggested alternative of using “United States” to refer to America‐the‐country overlooks that there is another country (even another North American country!) with that name: Estados Unidos Mexicanos.