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Can we have a rule that prevents using the word "American/s" to refer to Usonians?

I understand some people may not even realize it's a word that puts yankees before all the rest of America, or that English didn't have a better word like Spanish (Estadounidense) and other languages do, but I feel that since this is a pretty big community and one where the word will be out there a lot could be an opportunity to help spread a better word that does not minimizes a lot of oppressed people.

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2 comments

  • You might want to explain a bit more. UK here and I have no clue what your referring to.

    • I make a concerted effort to use the full country's name (well, the initialism of its full name): USA. It's not "US", because there are many countries that use the words united states in their name (including the USA's southern neighbor, United Mexican States). It's also not "America", because every country in either of the NA or SA continents are "American".

      It seems banal, and making a scene over it is not useful, but it does matter in principle. It's the same reason I try to use PRC instead of China (when the simple act of doing so would not invite antagonism), and DPRK instead of North Korea.

      Edit to add: "Usonian" is a term to refer to people from the USA. (It's not the only term, there are several that get used)