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Use of the word ''American'' in the English Language differs between historical, geographical and political contexts. It derives from '' America '', a term originally referring to all of the New World (also called the Americas ), and its usage has evolved over time. The word can be used as both a Noun and an Adjective . In adjectival use, it is generally understood to mean "of or relating to the United States Of America "; for example, " Elvis Presley was an American singer" or "the American president gave a speech today;" in noun form, it generally means U.S. Citizen Or National . When used with a Grammatical Qualifier the adjective ''American'' can mean "of or relating to the Americas," as in Latin America n or Indigenous American . Less frequently, the adjective can take this meaning without a qualifier, even when used in the United States, as in " American Spanish dialects and pronunciation differ by country," or "The ancient American civilizations of the Pre-Columbian period were advanced in mathematics and astronomy." A third use of the term pertains specifically to the Indigenous Peoples Of The Americas , for instance, "In the 15th Century , many Americans died from European diseases during the Spanish Conquest". French , German , and Italian speakers may use Cognates of the word "American" to refer specifically to United States citizens, as in English, or to the New World, as in Spanish. In Spanish , ''americano'' often refers to the entire New World; the adjective and noun describing the United States is ''estadounidense'', deriving from ''Estados Unidos de América'', the United States of America. Also, the terms ''estadounidense'', ''norteamericano'' and Gringo are popularly used in some Central American and South American countries to describe the people of the United States. The differences in usage of the cognates cause some cultural friction between U.S. nationals and Latin Americans ; Latin Americans, in particular, may object to the primary English usage of ''American'', feeling it unfairly appropriates the term. HISTORY OF THE WORD .]] Various Theories exist for the derivation of the word ''America''. The most commonly expounded Theory is that German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller derived it from the Latinized version of the name of Amerigo Vespucci (''Americus Vespucius''), an Italian merchant and cartographer whose exploratory journeys in the early 1500s brought him to the eastern coastline of South America and to the Caribbean . Some of Vespucci's letters were published, and they were the basis of Waldseemüller's 1507 Map , which was the first to use the word ''America''. (See 1) In 1886, Jules Marcou states that Vespucci changed his Christian name of Alberigo Vespucci (''Albericus Vespucius'') to Amerigo Vespucci only after coming into contact with natives from the eponymous Amerrique ranges of Nicaragua , which connect North America to South America , an important geographical feature of New World maps and charts. The newest theory from 1908 suggests ''America'' derives from the name of one Richard Amerike of Bristol in England , financier of John Cabot 's expedition in 1497. Cabot is believed to be the first Western European to set foot on the mainland. However it came into existence, the term ''American'' was subsequently used as an adjective describing the New World and its native people. In the 16th century, the word ''American'' was used by Europeans for the indigenous inhabitants of the New World; soon it was extended to describe newly settled Europeans, namely Spaniards and their mixed progeny. In 1776, the Declaration Of Independence and the Articles Of Confederation proclaimed a new country, "The United States of America". The Articles of Confederation state the following above the signatories: "In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in Congress. Done at Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania the ninth day of July in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Eight, and in the Third Year of the independence of America." Divergence in usage becomes evident because only the word America, not the United States, is used in this section. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison employ two different meanings for ''American'' in the Federalist Papers . For example, Madison and Hamilton write of "the American republic" in '' Federalist Paper 51 ''2 and ''70'' respectively.3 In contrast, Hamilton uses ''American'' to describe land outside the political borders of the United States of America in ''Federalist Paper 24''4 In 1796, during George Washington's Farewell address, the president is quoted as saying "The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation."http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2002/may02/psrmay02.shtml Some proposals for a different name for the country were made prior to the Constitutional Convention, with the most popular name being " Columbia ". The problems with the name "the United States of America" (its length, awkwardness, vague and imprecise meaning) were known and discussed at the time, but the Constitution did not address the topic, using both "the United States of America" and "the United States" interchangeably. In contrast, the word "Colombia" comes from the name of Christopher Columbus (''Cristóbal Colón'' in Spanish, ''Cristoforo Colombo'' in Italian). It was conceived by the revolutionary Francisco De Miranda as a reference to the New World, especially to all American territories and colonies under Spanish and Portuguese rule, and which eventually led to the short-lived United States of Colombia to distinguish it from the United States of America. Peculiar inconsistencies are evident in official documents shortly after the United States became a sovereign nation. The 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France uses the term "the United States of North America" in the first sentence, but subsequently uses just "the said United States". Both "the United States of America" and "the United States of North America" came from the earlier terms "the United Colonies of America" and "the United Colonies of North America". The Treaty of Peace and Amity, Signed at Algiers September 5 , 1795 , 5 is an agreement with "the United States of North America" which uses both "citizens of the United States" and "American Citizens" in the document. Semantic divergence in the Anglophone world would not affect the Spanish colonies. In 1801, a document titled "Letter to American Spaniards" is believed to have directly influenced the Act of Independence and the 1811 Constitution of Venezuela .6 This document was published in French, Spanish, and English in 1799, 1801 and 1808, respectively. The LDS Articles Of Faith make reference to the American Continent as the place where Zion is to be built {Link without Title} . The Old Catholic Encyclopedia refers to America as "the Western Continent or the New World". It discusses a wide variety of American republics ranging from the United States of America to the "the republic of Mexico, the Central American republics of Guatemala, Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Leon, and Panama; the Antillian republics of Haiti, Santo Domingo, and Cuba, and the South American republics of Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, the Argentine, and Chile." {Link without Title} . Since the late 18th century ''American'' has been used in both the historical continental sense, and to refer to the United States of America. Though the English and Spanish cognates have multiple, nearly identical meanings today, the common unqualified form in the respective language often differs. DISAGREEMENT OVER MEANING The use of ''American'' as a national Demonym for U.S. citizens has been frequently challenged primarily by Latin Americans.7 Political-cultural views Latin America |
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