Even though there are many other very important issues to focus our energies on, this one is –with more or less transcendence-- part of the whole solution equation. As Luís Cláudio Villafañe G. Santos mentioned at H-LatAm:
Terms used to identify peoples, cultures, and regions have lately come under intense scrutiny. It has been recognized that those words can harm people not only because they are sometimes received as an overt insult but also because they can propagate a debasing representation of those people which affects their social status, political leverage, and access to public goods. The appropriation of the collective identity of the continent by one country is clearly an expression of power and a mode of manipulation that reinforces the idea of alterity used to describe the countries and peoples of the American continent excluded from this definition of America.
As Director of the Hemispheric Institute on the Americas at University of California at Davis, Thomas Holloway is well aware of the problematic use of “American” as a definition of the citizens of one specific country in the Western Hemisphere.
The reasons why the people from the States use the adjective 'American' to refer to themselves is explained in several articles at H-LatAm; and, even though many Latin Americans think that this is just another form of cultural imperialism, when seen under the light of the Ethics from Immanuel Kant --my very favorite philosopher, it is my understanding that the appropriation of the term was not tainted with such thoughts. Nevertheless, besides the reasons mentioned by Dr. Villafañe above, it is geographically and historically wrong; hence, I will follow the recommendation put forth by Dr. Holloway and I'll use the term "United Statian" when referring to the people of the States on this blog.
2 comentarios:
Nobody is going to follow such a stupid idea: "United Statetian", or any other word aren't going to catch up.
So, if you don't like it you better go back to Mexico.
It is NOT a stupid idea to call USA people “United Statesian”. It is a better demonym for USA’s nationality rather than using American … whenever referring to only that country. That word shall catch up.
I’m Canadian and I am as much American as United States people are (neither more or less). So to describe someone from the United States, the Best Demonym for their country (in my opinion) is U.S.American! That word in fact shall exist in English and must catch up with all English speakers around the world!
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