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The term is a relatively recent, less ambiguous alternative to the term America , which may refer to either the entire Landmass or the United States Of America . The former, and original, usage to describe what is sometimes considered a single continent or Supercontinent is Deprecated For Clarity , for which ''the Americas'' is used to collectively refer to the landmass and various regions of it. When used to describe a single landmass, analogous terms to ''America'' or ''(the) Americas'' are '' Eurasia '', which consists of Europe and Asia collectively, and '' Eurafrasia '', which is Eurasia and Africa . Naming of America The earliest known use of the name ''America'' for the greater landmass dates from 1507 . It appears on a globe and a large map created by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges . An accompanying book, '' Cosmographiae Introductio '', explains that the name was derived from the Latin ized version of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci 's name, ''Americus Vespucius'', in its feminine form, ''America'', as the other continents all have Latin feminine names. However, as Dr. Basil Cottle (Author, ''Dictionary of Surnames'', 1967) points out, new countries or continents are never named after a person's first name, always after their second name. Thus, America should really have become ''Vespucci Land'' or ''Vespuccia'' if the Italian explorer really gave his name to the newly discovered continent. Christopher Columbus , who had first brought the continents' existence to the attention of Renaissance era voyagers, had died in 1506 (believing, to the end, that he'd discovered and conquered part of India) and could not protest Waldseemüller's decision. A few alternative theories regarding the landmass' naming have been proposed, but none of them has achieved any widespread acceptance. One alternative first proposed by a Bristol Antiquary and Naturalist , Alfred Hudd, was that ''America'' is derived from Richard Amerike , a merchant from Bristol, who is believed to have financed John Cabot 's voyage of discovery from England to Newfoundland in 1497 . Supposedly, Bristol fishermen had been visiting the coast of North America for at least a century before Columbus' voyage and Waldseemüller's maps are alleged to incorporate information from the early English journeys to North America. The theory holds that a variant of Amerike's name appeared on an early English map (of which however no copies survive) and that this was the true inspiration for Waldseemüller. Another theory, first advanced by Jules Marcou in 1875 and later recounted by novelist Jan Carew , is that the name ''America'' derives from the district of ''Amerrique'' in Nicaragua . The gold-rich district of Amerrique was purportedly visited by both Vespucci and Columbus, for whom the name became synonymous with gold. According to Marcou, Vespucci later applied the name to the New World, and even changed the spelling of his own name from ''Alberigo'' to ''Amerigo'' to reflect the importance of the discovery. Vespucci's role in the naming issue, like his exploratory activity, is unclear and most probably a tale. Some sources say that he was unaware of the widespread use of his name to refer to the new landmass. Others hold that he promulgated a story that he had made a secret voyage westward and sighted land in 1491 , a year before Columbus. If he did indeed make such claims, they backfired, and only served to prolong the ongoing debate on whether the " Indies " were really a new land, or just an extension of Asia . Usage America/Americas Throughout the world, '' America '' in the Singular is commonly used as a colloquial name for the United States Of America ; however, ''(the) Americas'' ( Plural with '' S '' and generally with The Definite Article ) is not and is invariably used to refer to the lands and regions of the Western hemisphere. Usage of ''America'' to also refer to this collectivity remains fairly common. While those in the United States of America generally refer to the country as ''America'' and themselves as '' Americans ,'' many individuals elsewhere in the Americas resent what they perceive as appropriation of the term in this context and, thus, this usage is frequently avoided. In Canada , their southern neighbour is seldom referred to as "America" with "the United States", "the U.S.", or (informally) "the States" used instead. Numerous English dictionaries and compendiums differ regarding usage and rendition. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} American See Also: Use of the word American English usage Whether usage of ''America'' or ''the Americas'' is preferred, ''American'' is a self-referential term for many people living in the Americas. However, most of the English-speaking world (including Canada) uses the word to refer solely to a Citizen , Resident , or National of the United States of America. This may be due, at least in part, to the fact that the phrase "United States" does not easily translate into an Adjective or descriptive Noun in English. In addition, many Canadians resent being referred to as Americans because of mistaken assumptions that they are U.S. citizens or an inability—particularly of people overseas—to distinguish Canadian and American Accents . Spanish usage While Spanish -speaking peoples in Latin America use the word ''estadounidense'' (literally, "United-States-ian" or "of the United States"), calling someone a "United States-man" or "United States'er" or other such constructions sounds awkward in English. This has led to the use of the word ''American''. Nevertheless, calling a U.S. citizen simply ''americano'' or ''americana'' in Spanish is considered offensive in some areas of Latin America. Some Latin Americans, however, will use "''americano''" or "''americana''" to refer to people from the United States in colloquial speech while still considering themselves "American", just as Germans or Spaniards would consider themselves " Europe an". Demography Ethnology The population of the Americas is made up of the descendents of three large , Eskimo s, and Aleut s; Europe ans, mainly Spanish , English , Irish , Portuguese , French , Italian , German and Dutch ; and Black African s. There are also more recent immigrants, such as from Eastern Europe , the Middle East , and Central and Eastern Asia . The majority of the people live in and the United States (in Northern America ) have predominantly British roots and are quite different in terms of linguistical, cultural, and economic situation from other countries in the Americas. Languages Various Language s are spoken in the Americas. Some are of the European origin, others are spoken by indigenous peoples or are the mixture of various idioms like the different creoles.
Most of the non-native languages have, to different degrees, evolved differently from the mother country, but are usually still mutually intelligible. Some have combined though, which has even resulted in completely new languages, such as Papiamentu , which is a combination of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch (representing the respective colonisers), native Arawak , various African Languages and, more recently, English. Because of immigration, there are many communities where other languages are spoken from all parts of the world, especially in the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Canada, four very important destinations for immigrants. Notes Note|Fowler}} Burchfield, R. W. 2004. '' Fowler's Modern English Usage .'' (ISBN 0-19-861021-1) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; p. 48. Note|OxfCdn}} Fee, Margery and McAlpine, J. 1997. ''Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage.'' (ISBN 0-19-541619-8) Toronto: Oxford University Press; p. 36. Sources
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