posted
Ya know, I've heard a lot of folks wonder, sometimes with a bit of annoyance (Canadians, mostly), why people from the United States of America are called "Americans". Why not call us "United Staters" or "Yoo-Essers" or something like that? Well, something occurred to me a few days ago. Let me run it past you and see if it makes sense.
"United Staters" does not properly differentiate us from certain other Americans. Specifically, I speak of the folks who hail from Mexico. Why Mexico? Well, technically, Mexico is the United States of Mexico. The United States of Mexico is more often simply referred to as "Mexico", just as the USA is usually referred to as "America". If Mexico is populated by Mexicans, it logically follows that America must be populated (largely) by Americans.
posted
I think it's usually the "United Mexican States", though that's probably just an artifact of the translation.
------------------ "Oh, it's an anti-anti-WTO song. It's essentially a pro-Starbucks song. I saw this picture of a guy sticking his foot through a plate-glass window in a Starbucks in Seattle, and he was wearing a Nike. Man, couldn't you just change your shoes?" -- M. Doughty
posted
Actually, I don't follow that logic, since America is a larger whole and "United States of" is the more distinguishing characteristic.
Mexico ("The United States of Mexico," IIRC) is not a larger whole.
Canada isn't either (even though the entire official name is "Canada" and formerly "The Dominion of Canada").
America is. But all this could've been avoided if you lived in the United States of Vespuccia.
------------------ "Warning: The contents of this Physics lab are 100% matter. Should the lab come in contact with antimatter in any way, a catastrophic explosion will occur."
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