Even Greener Pastures

I think it is odd that while there is an English adjective for people from almost every other country--- British, German, Dutch, Spanish, etc, there is no ¨unitedstatesian¨ ¨unitedarian¨or anything in the English language to describe someone from the U.S. except for American.    I think that is what causes the problems-- of course South Americans are American, but they aren´t from the U.S., and since people from the U.S. are ¨Americans¨-- where does that leave things.   

In Spanish, instead of saying American, I was taught to say ¨soy estadounidense,¨ but I never do because it is such tongue twister.  In Spanish, it is easier to say ¨soy de Los Estados Unidos¨ instead of that.

I totally agree with Alharacas. If you tell someone in Germany you are an Amerikaner, that`s always going to mean you are from the US, or a US citizen. The same usage applies in the UK, to my knowledge.  No one is going to think you are from Mexico. And Amerika always refers to the US, not other countries on the Continent. The shortened version of Amerikaner is Ami, but I was told a long time ago (like 1980) that this referred to US military personnel. I don`t know if this is still true, or ever was, because Duden, the German language authority, says Ami simply means Amerikaner. I`d personally defer to Alharacas as the REAL authority (I`d ever put her opinion above Duden`s).

So, I`m not sure. I frankly don`t use the word „Ami“ myself, and I`ve frankly not heard it used among Germans very often, or only rarely (not to suggest they don`t use it). So, I would be curious to hear from Alharacas on this. Is an Ami a US soldier, or just any American? (If Duden is wrong, I`ll have to write them and tell them they are wrong

I agree it seems unfair, since the US is just one part of the North American continent (what about Canadians for example?), but that`s just the way the language has developed. US Americans pretty much always refer to themselves as Americans and the country, America.

I have noticed a bit of a push back to this amongst Mexicans, but Canadians seem quite content not to be considered Americans.

Hmm... I think the term Ami developed around the US military bases in Germany, yes. I grew up near one of the biggest of those bases, and the term's very much in use there, while you don't hear it that often in other parts of the country.
But I have heard people say Ami when they simply meant a US citizen, and also, in Bavarian bei die Amis (this is a mistake in standard German!) means "in the US".
By the way, in case you're wondering about pronunciation: in German, Ami rhymes with "mummy".

It's sweet of you to put my opinion above the Duden's, Steven, but you do know that it reflects usage, don't you? So, it's quite possible that Ami used to be a term for US military personnel 30 or 40 years ago, but now refers to any US citizen.

Thanks Alharacas, for your comments.

Coincidentally, today I was able to ask a local German native speaker this question at lunch. She and her husband run a local German bakery they started here 26 years ago. I always like running into her there because I can speak German with her.

I asked about Ami,and she confirmed that it just means an American of any sort, and not just soldiers. I told her it was not a word I ever use, and really not even one I’ve heard people use much in Germany today. Plus, I told her I wasn’t really too fond of the word because I felt it had a slightly abwertend, pejorative, sound to it. Not terribly pejorative, but only slightly so. She agreed and said she doesn’t like the word either, and laughed and said her relatives will often email her and tell her she’s in Amiland. So, we got a laugh out of that.

Duden doesn’t always give a lot of details on the history of words, but I strongly suspect Ami originated in the late 40s to 50s and did refer to American soldiers. Then, as the decades passed, the word probably changed (like words do with time) and came to refer to all Americans.

Like I said, I would swear I heard it said no later than around 1980, that the word referred to American soldiers, and that may have come from one of my German professors at the time, most likely the native speaking lady from Hamburg. But, she was 60 at the time, and had been living in the US for at least 20 years by then, and would have been speaking a German used primarily in the 1940s and 1950s. When I think of Amis, I immediately think of post-war occupying American troops, which is why it sort of has a slightly negative feel to it, like the British use of yanks.

I was a bit surprised at how German has undergone some changes in the last 4 decades. I’ve actually heard native speakers say „in 2018“ , which is totally wrong, as you know. When I learned German I was taught you NEVER said that. It was either „im Jahre 2018“ or just „2018.“ Take your pick, but you can’t say „in“. Now, I heard someplace a few years ago that saying „im Jahre“ is a little old-fashioned sounding and that the „e“ in „Jahre“ can and often is omitted. Leaving it off sounds weird to me, so I just leave it in.

Oh well. It’s just one of many examples of how languages can change a little in just a generation.

In post-USSR countries word "America" is more associated with US than continent  and word "Americans" is more associated with Unitedstatians.

Thanks, guys. I was curious to check if it was an English-language thing or if it was accepted universally.

SHL is right.
Some people find it (extremely) offensive when you associate the word “America” with the US.
His Europe reasoning explains why.
As for not wanting to be an “American”, (at least in the other Americas ), the problem is not really being about “American” (meaning you’re from the American continent), but about being a “gringo”
If you’re from a Latin American country and, when visiting another Latin American country, people take you for an American (from the US, I mean) some people find it annoying.

While the Brits all consider themselves European,

SHL, are you quite sure about that? I think many in England at least would be horrified by the suggestion that they're European. Actually the term "European" often tends to be used interchangeably with "continental" (i.e. to contrast with "British"), but I've noticed that in Italian too people talk about "Europa" to mean "Europe not including Italy", so it's not an exclusively British thing.

SHL, it's more than just the fact that they (the English) live on an island: on that very same island the Scots and Welsh (at least the Welsh-speaking ones) are much more inclined to see themselves as European (and the Irish too, despite also being island-dwellers but even further removed from the European mainland), so it's not very meaningful to speak about "what the British think" on the matter. Actually the idea of "Britishness" is just a recent invention, and it caught on more in England than in the other countries of the Union; nowadays it seems to be getting even less common to identify as "British" rather than "English", "Welsh" or "Scottish".

SHL, people who don't want to be part of the EU are the ones most reluctant to be called European. Britain, and England in particular, is known for its Euroscepticism. It has been the case for a long time. Czech artist David Cerny made a controversial sculpture to "celebrate" our presidency of the Council of the EU in 2009. It showed each country within the EU and the stereotypes (or in some cases skeletons in the closet) that are associated with them. There was an empty space where the UK should be - because it's common knowledge that they don't really want to be there.
Here's more about how he depicted various countries

Quote from: SHL on December 22, 2018, 02:19:37 am

Coligno,
So why would the English be disinclined to consider themselves European? That´s the part I`m missing.

Well, SHL, that's a good question. English exceptionalism, I suppose, but I don't really know why. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that a lot of English people are stuck in the colonialist mindset, they consider themselves superior as a nation and hark back to the good old days of the Empire (which was mostly outside of Europe) and imagine England as a much more important global power than it actually is nowadays, and to which other European countries are traditionally arch-rivals. That's what you can discern from the kind of things brexiters are saying anyway, but it's an attitude that goes back a long way. Of course not all English people think like that, and many, particularly younger ones, do in fact consider themselves European. For the other nations of the UK, being European as well as Scottish or Welsh or Irish is also a way of downplaying the dominance of England over their countries, but this advantage doesn't exist for England.

Coligno,

Thanks for that excellent analysis. That does really explain a lot.

I had forgotten the fairly recent colonial role worldwide that the English held for centuries and were staunchly proud of. That the younger generation would fall away from that now, and embrace being European I can understand. But, I think I know exactly what you are talking about. I`ve heard a lot about the so-called “special relationship” the English have with the US. There`s a lot of truth to it. Part of it is the link with the colonial past, which Americans are actually proud of since the American Revolution is something Americans see as ancient history of no relevance today, and the English probably too. The common language also is a factor. A common language does have a tendency to pull people together.

Many Americans are enamoured with England and find it especially fascinating, that is if they have an extensive ancestorial connection to England, like my mom does. Her 23 and Me DNA testing showed her to have about 55% English and Irish ancestry, with the rest being German, Scandinavian and Northwestern European. But, her true love is England. She loves the Royal Family, pretty much anything English.

Other Americans with other than English ancestry don`t feel the same connection to England. It`s a bit ironic, in growing up we always referred to the English, as distinct from the Welch, Scottish and Irish and never used the terms UK or Britain. My dad, with his Scottish and Irish ancestry never felt any affinity with the English.

We all know that, as Americans, if you are on the run from the US, never to run to England for refuge, because they would be fastest country to send you back to the US. Again, it`s that “special relationship” concept which I`ve heard is weakening. I certainly hope so.