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English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO] History / military
English term or phrase:American and America
Help please. I have a long Dutch-English text about Americans and their entry into the First World War. The Dutch text constantly says America (for the country) and talks about the American army (to quote just one example). Is it correct to stick with the Dutch American/America or should /could I use US (adjective) /United States for elegant variation?
Were they more likely to say American/America during that period and did the US/United States formulation become more prevalent during the Second World War?
I wrote to ask an American friend, who said I could use the words interchangeable but thinking back to conversation with him and other American friends I think they always said something like back in the States!!!
Even these more recent links (as yours is from 2005) say the same, basically. Some style guides even require that you use ""black"--albeit as an adjective, mostly. It's just as a noun that it may sound odd to some; same as "America," I guess.
From my experience, "Black" is preferred now, even by people who probably have African ancestry. It is a new identity. Of course, the *tone* used when referring to this group of people is important. Interesting question. This is how officials define the racial groups: (PDF) https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/Form-SF-181-Aug200...
Funny, that's what I had in mind too. Technically, "United States" could refer to two countries in North America (NAFTA borders).
Don't know what you or Sheri think, but after having followed US politics for about a decade, I cannot confirm Textpertise's statement here: "morphed first to Black and then to African American." It's what I've been taught too, but I discovered that this isn't very accurate. A lot of people on TV (whether the channel leans left or right politically) do speak of "Blacks" and BLM (Black Lives Matter) isn't called AALM either. What's more, M-W has quotes from newspapers and websites using black/Black without this being some kind of anti-PC statement: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/black
When the U.S.A. claimed indepence and wrote its constitution, it was the only recognized nation in America/the New World, so the rest of the world called it "America." "America" is still used for the nation/country, and the New World is now referred to as the Americas (North, Central, South). Canada is not part of America; it is part of North America and the Americas. I don't know why any Canadian would want to be referred to as "American." "U.S." was also used during WWI dakinarchives.net/iphoto/wwIcartoons/Desktop.html Also interesting: funtrivia.com/askft/question87572.html Isn't "United States" more self-assuming than "America"? en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_(disambiguation)
I thought it's seven continents for Americans anyway, i.e., the Americas.
I've once read a blog entry (I think it was on "Separated by a Common Language") about the word "American" and the point is that unlike "America," where you could say United States/USA, you don't really have a choice when it comes to the people and only one alternative for the adjective (U.S. in AP style). While people from Colombia hail from a nation located in South America, they're called Colombians; same with Chileans, etc. But "Americans" will only be the ones born in the States. There is the rare form of "US American," but it's nonstandard.
In the US today, 'America' and 'the US' are definitely not interchangeable, at least for educated speakers. 'America' has a somewhat nationalist ring to it, the kind of term politicitians of all stripes throw out on the campaign trail or that Fox News proudly uses any chance they get to show their in-your-face anti-PC attitude. I'd be careful about when I use that term in a modern text. If you're trying to replicate an earlier form of American English, that's a different story I suppose.
Interestingly, I don't think the adjective 'American' has the same nationalist connotations.
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
14:26 Aug 16, 2017
I agree with Textpertise. You should be faithful to the historical context and say America and the Americans. Today America and the US are used interchangeably in the media, by politicians, etc. but in regular conversation people still say America and Americans.
Silly I did not think of it before but I just found a Wikipedia post about “American entry into World War I “ only to discover they use America/United States, American/US interchangeably. So presumably not a Dutchism or Britishism! Thanks for your patience.
In that period, America and American would have meant the US. People in the US had a certain kind of arrogance (still do) about their country. In the late twentieth century, it became "the thing" to be politically correct and nomenclature underwent a sea change. For example, words like Negro morphed first to Black and then to African American. It is only in the late twentieth/early twenty-first century that a certain sensitivity has begun to emerge about the fact that using "America" to designate the US only ignores the existence of other countries in America besides the US (such as Canada, Mexico and all the Central and South American countries). If you want to be politically correct in our times, you should use US or United States. If you want the translation to reflect the historical usage at that time, use American and America.
Thanks for your answer. Although I am not sure it is just a Dutchism. I tend to say America a lot for the country and I am English (albeit an older one). And I do see some book titles saying such things as the American Army during the First World War. I appreciate that Canadians and South Americans are Americans but I am thinking more in terms of what would sound right to American (as in United States ears).
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
3 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): -1
amerikaans en Verenigde Staten
Explanation: One could say: “President of United States” (formal) or “the American President” (casual). It is interchangeable, depending on fluency of text.
Louise Rothschild United States Local time: 07:03 Native speaker of: Dutch, English
5 days confidence:
american and america
US
Explanation: "U.S. president Donald Trump" "the US army"
to differentiate, as others have said, from the rest of us North Americans
NancyLynn Canada Local time: 10:03 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 4
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