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From: barmar@mit-eddie.UUCP (Barry Margolin)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.nlang
Subject: Re: One for our side
Message-ID: <316@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 5-Nov-85 02:05:41 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.316
Posted: Tue Nov  5 02:05:41 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Nov-85 04:08:19 EST
References: <973@decwrl.UUCP> <12580@rochester.UUCP> <1587@uwmacc.UUCP> <1385@ihlpg.UUCP> <348@ubvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: barmar@mit-eddie.UUCP (Barry Margolin)
Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 23
Xref: linus net.politics:11162 net.nlang:3386


The full name of the US is "The United States of America".  As far as I
know, we are the only country whose name contains the name "America".
Just as residents of The Commonwealth of Virginia call themselves
"Virginians" and residents of The Republic of West Germany (I think
that's its full name, please don't flame at me if I am wrong) call
themselves "West Germans", residents of "The US of America" can call
themselves Americans.  Indeed, some other collection of states could
unite themselves, and they might be The United States of Foobar; they
would call themselves "Foobarians", not "Unitedstatesians", just as West
Germans do not call themselves "Republicans".

Yes, it is a problem that there are several geographical and political
entities whose names are some variant on "America".  But residents of
the United States of America have no more or less right than residents
of South America to call themselves "Americans".  However, except for
residents of the US of A, all the other Americans have other
country-name-based designations (e.g. "Brazilians", "Mexicans",
"Canadians"); why do they want our name?
-- 
    Barry Margolin
    ARPA: barmar@MIT-Multics
    UUCP: ..!genrad!mit-eddie!barmar