Americans. Please help me understand

[Helmholtz Watson]

First of all, because being "American" doesn't mean anything more than being "European". Being "American" could mean Canadian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, Dominican, Native American, etc. and it's always been a bit weird that people born and raised in the United States are referred to as "American", but there's no simpler way of referring to us because what, are we going to use an unwieldy phrase like "Statesian"?

Being American almost always refers to the US. The fact that Canada and Central/South America exist doesn't change that. Its like when people in the US say a person is Asian, while it could technically include Jews/Israelis, it is almost never done. The vast majority of the time the person is referring to another individual from East or South East Asia.

You have no idea how much Latin Americans complain about this, they think it makes them clever, personally I've just given up, it's not like we can call them anything else besides Gringos and they don't like that word -_-'

Probably because Gringo sounds racist like "Guera" or "Negrita"[footnote]if the person is Black-American.[/footnote].

 

[Prosis]

Cultural pride. Often times if they are first or second generation of their family to be born in USA, they grew up with their culture's heritage and traditions.
Sure, many of them have never seen their "homeland". But then again, many Asian Americans have never been to Asia (or one of the other eastern countries), and many African Americans have never been to Africa. When it comes to being able to declare yourself a certain race, it often comes down to your family's history, rather than just your own.
They are part of that ethnicity, and they want to celebrate it. More power to them.

Sure, you do get some people who use their ethnicity as a way to declare themselves unique, rather than out of any cultural pride. You know, people who insistently remind you of their ethnicity, like people who insist that they're hipster or Gothic or whatever. But I think they're in the minority in comparison to culturally proud Americans.

EDIT: It can also be a factor that "American" isn't really an ethnicity (other than Native American of course). While there definitely is American culture, you have to look at your family's history for ethnicity. So you're of [insert] ethnicity, living in American culture. So, people declare themselves [Ethnicity] Americans.

 

[spartan231490]

Why do some Americans, who were born in the USA, refer to themselves as Italian or Irish or ect... Many of them not having even been to the country in question.

I ask because a new friend of my sisters refers to herself as an Italian American yet she has never been to Italy. Her Grandparents were from Italy. It just makes no sense to me.

My Grandmother was from Irland, my farther was born in England and he has never been to Irland and at no point in his life has he or his brother ever refered to themselves as English Irishmen.

I get being proud of your family history but it just seems really strange and I have nevr encountered anyone from any other country who does this.

This is not ment as an attack or a criticism I just want to know why as it is bugging the hell out of me.

In America, when you say you're Italian or Irish or ect. it means you are descended from that place. Ex: "I am Dutch, German, English, and Irish." If you want to say you are from somewhere, you would say something like "I am from Italy." or "I lived in Italy". Something like that. don't know why, it's just how we say things.

 

[TheEndlessGrey]

I notice it more in families that are relatively recent immigrants, or those that live in a community where everyone is originally from a specific country, and they marry from within that community. So for example, if someone's parents were from Italy, or maybe even their grandparents, they might refer to themselves as Italian or Italian American. Alternatively, their family could have been here for several generations, but they live in a community that is heavily Italian or Italian-descended immigrants, and therefore identify themselves as Italian or Italian American.

Personally, I'm an American. No prefixes or modifiers, partly because the paternal line on both sides has been here since before the revolution, and also because I'm a mutt and it would take too long to list them all in normal conversation. Unless it's normal to introduce yourself as a mostly Welsh, German, Mexican, French American, with a dash of Irish and Spanish, and I somehow just don't know it.

 

[Ambitiousmould]

My Grandmother was from Irland, my farther was born in England and he has never been to Irland and at no point in his life has he or his brother ever refered to themselves as English Irishmen.

I get being proud of your family history but it just seems really strange and I have nevr encountered anyone from any other country who does this.

I'm English born and never lived anywhere outside of my town, but my grandmother (on my dad's side) is from the ukraine or thereabouts and i sometimes like to say i'm not 100% english, mostly because i am not proud of where i live (barnsley, search on uncyclopedia and you'll see why) so it helps to have heritage from other places.

 

[Olas]

My ancestry comes from Germany, Ireland, and Portugal but I just call myself an American. I think it comes down to whether the culture is still strong within you and your family, not whether you've physically been to said country. I've actually been to Ireland and Germany, but I still wouldn't call myself an Irish or German American because the culture still feels foreign to me. I think most Americans are in my boat, I doubt too many of them would normally call themselves X-American in common speech unless it's to differentiate themselves.

 

[NeutralDrow]

We tend to divide between nationality and ethnicity.

This, a million times this.

Pretty much everyone else got to say what I could, but this is the most succinct summation possible.

 

[Xan Krieger]

Personally I call myself native american since I was born in New York so I'm native to America. I don't care for my family's ancestry, doesn't affect me at all.

 

[acewolf1569]

Well, my dad was born in Vietnam and is Vietnamese. Does living in America somehow invalidate the fact that I am half Asian?

 

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

First of all, because being "American" doesn't mean anything more than being "European". Being "American" could mean Canadian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, Dominican, Native American, etc. and it's always been a bit weird that people born and raised in the United States are referred to as "American", but there's no simpler way of referring to us because what, are we going to use an unwieldy phrase like "Statesian"?

Falling back on our cultural heritage gives us something to grab onto.

You have no idea how much Latin Americans complain about this, they think it makes them clever, personally I've just given up, it's not like we can call them anything else besides Gringos and they don't like that word -_-'

I like it
It makes me giggle

I guess its some kind of desperate attempt to latch on to a specific culture that they don't belong to. Or a reason to separate themselves from other people that aren't "like" them.

They're stupid but they don't hurt anybody so fuck it.

 

[Lonewolfm16]

Cultural pride mostly. It is especially common with minority groups. Since so many people have English or German or French blood, it is rare to refer to yourself by these groups unless asked, meanwhile more culturally distinct groups, usually those who kept large chunks of their culture when they immigrated (Irish, Italian, Middle Eastern, some Far East Asian groups, ect) are more likely to refer to themselves by the label of ___-American. For my part, I would consider myself a Norse-American or a Scottish-American or a Dutch-American if asked but overall it barely matters. Trace our ancestry back and everyone in America is a immigrant, even the "natives". They were just the first immigrants. Same with anywhere that isn't East Africa.

 

[octafish]

It isn't that important, it is just a modifier to the noun "American". It could just as easily be "proud", "humble", "poor", "rich", "homosexual", "gun-toting", or "crazy". The important thing is they identify as American, and that's nice isn't it, feeling like you belong?

(Spoken as a non-american, who sees a similar thing happening in Australia, though generally we are a younger country.)

 

[afroebob]

One of the greatest things about America (while some of us for some stupid as shit reason think that its a plague) is that we are a nation of immigrants and that has changed our culture. Since the only people who are natively from the Americas are Native Americans who are a very small minority now (yes, that was our bad, we admit it) most people can't say there heritage is native to the Americas so when people ask 'What are you' we usually say the heritage of our ancestors.

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

Technically saying you're "American" only implies that you live in US, because there's a 99.9% chance you, your family or ancestors weren't from there lol. Unless you're one of the Red Indians.

It's like saying I'm a New Zealander (or Kiwi), it only means I'm living here and explains nothing about my true background/heritage.

 

[Fijiman]

First of all, because being "American" doesn't mean anything more than being "European". Being "American" could mean Canadian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, Dominican, Native American, etc. and it's always been a bit weird that people born and raised in the United States are referred to as "American", but there's no simpler way of referring to us because what, are we going to use an unwieldy phrase like "Statesian"?

Too true.

Anyway, a few friends and I had a conversation similar to this the other day. I think that it's because the individual is either: proud of the heritage, ashamed of their country, just trying to look cool, or some combination of the three.

 

[crimson sickle2]

It's usually done by people that have families that only recently immigrated, or of families living in a community of a singular ethnicity. Due to how their families bring that culture along (it's not rare to hear of households that speak completely in a tongue other than English) it's to communicate that they might have a difference in values or experience. Since America is a "land of immigrants," as said before, this minor speech habit increases acceptance in the audience and allows the speaker to maintain their own beliefs in a stable mind. No harm done really.

 

[Kae]

We call them yanquis over here. I don't like using the word 'American' very much since it should technically mean anybody in the whole continent, but people from the US only recognize themselves as American. I get that it's semantically correct since the word 'America' is contained in the name of the country, so you can call yourself that, but if you're from Central America or South America doesn't that make you technically American as well?

I know but I don't care much for arguing[footnote]Makes me wonder what the hell I'm doing in a discussion board.[/footnote] so I just gave up and started calling them Americans, and I thought Yanqui was a word specifically for New Yorkers/Manhattan state, but whatever I guess it works.

Probably because Gringo sounds racist like "Guera" or "Negrita"[footnote]if the person is Black-American.[/footnote].

Well one of the presumed origins of the name is misspelled "Green Go", referring to Mexicans telling the US Army to go away, I think this is attributed the the Battle of the Alamo but I'm not sure, but I can see why they wouldn't like that but whatever.

I like it
It makes me giggle

And all American women are delicious Mexican food [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gringas] with that term!

 

[zerragonoss]

It basically what has more or less been said is that they still have thriving subcultures based on the place they are partially from, mostly based on the fact that when one of the groups that still tend to identify emigrated over they usually did so in mass and stuck together because they were a minority group who felt out of place. many of these place still exist as mostly consisting of people of that same ancestry that have passed on many of their tradition to the point that they are a distinct subculture.
Also I find it amusing that people are calling native Americans one group when they consisted of far more cultures and substance patterns than Europe at the time of arrival with north america alone have somewhere in the hundreds of unique languages or example.

 

[Grottnikk]

Being "American" could mean Canadian...

No self respecting Canadian has ever referred to themselves as such, nor would they

On a more serious side, I think it's a bit of a stance against the whole "melting pot" idea of multi-culturalism. Most people don't WANT their culture to get all smooshed up "swamp-water" style with every other culture and spewed out of the blender all brown and mucky. They like to have an identity that is separate. At it's most basic it's an "us vs. them" thing, but with more emphasis on the "us" part - people looking for a way to identify with others like themselves. Everyone likes to be with people of the same mindset.

 

[Snotnarok]

Yeah that confuses me too, then they like to drop random lines from said country's language while doing something. When many times they can't actually speak the language to any real degree.