Gerben42 Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 It depends. Csaba you sound like a politician. We are having early elections soon in Netherlands, perhaps you want to run for some office? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbradley62 Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Mexicans and Canadians are not Americans, just like folks from Brooklyn and Queens are not Long Islanders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike777 Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Mexicans and Canadians are not Americans, just like folks from Brooklyn and Queens are not Long Islanders. I dont know why but something feels wrong here...not sure what.......... but then I am midwestern so who knows.... clearly canadians are not american but we all knew that..... but I think we can be nice and kind and let Pamela Anderson in.....but we do need to set standards.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 but I think we can be nice and kind and let Pamela Anderson in.....but we do need to set standards....She's an American now -- she became a naturalized citizen in 2004. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike777 Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 She's an American now -- she became a naturalized citizen in 2004. so you have set the standard........ can disagree with bbo? Not that I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggwhiz Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Canadians are not Americans No kidding. An exit poll of American tourists got the comment.... Canadians are so polite they say thank you to ATM machines. A contest run by McLeans magazine asked us to fill in As American as Apple Pie = As Canadian as ? and the winner was "As possible under the circumstances". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 No kidding. An exit poll of American tourists got the comment.... Canadians are so polite they say thank you to ATM machines. A contest run by McLeans magazine asked us to fill in As American as Apple Pie = As Canadian as ? and the winner was "As possible under the circumstances". Gets my vote! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanoi5 Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 The whole continent is called America so all its inhabitants are americanos. Some people refer to the not-English speakers as latinoamericanos or suramericanos (but the last one leaves out the Mexicans and to some extent the people from Central America). It's a matter of politics, I suppose. People from the left will claim we're americanos and call Americans gringos or estadounidenses. Unitedstatian, maybe you should adopt that word... In fact it is something weird, as many countries are called officially the united states of XYZ. So in a way the US stole the name from all americanos. Probably this reinforces the idea that they think (or know?) that everything below the Rio Grande is just their backyard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted April 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 In fact it is something weird, as many countries are called officially the united states of XYZ. So in a way the US stole the name from all americanos. Probably this reinforces the idea that they think (or know?) that everything below the Rio Grande is just their backyard... Name ten such countries. B-) As for "stealing" the name, not if we used it first. And regarding your last point above, I found this article interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WellSpyder Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Name ten such countries. B-) Hmmm, I can't immediately think of that many. But without straying too far off the topic of this thread there are the United States of Mexico, for instance. And I seem to recall hearing that the United States of Brazil was the official name of that country at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbradley62 Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 In fact it is something weird, as many countries are called officially the united states of XYZ. Name ten such countries.Name 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted April 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Hmmm, I can't immediately think of that many. But without straying too far off the topic of this thread there are the United States of Mexico, for instance. And I seem to recall hearing that the United States of Brazil was the official name of that country at some point. I don't know about "at some point", but Brazil is currently "officially the Federative Republic of Brazil", according to wikipedia. Mexico is "The United Mexican States", so I'll give you that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WellSpyder Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 I don't know about "at some point", but Brazil is currently "officially the Federative Republic of Brazil", according to wikipedia. Mexico is "The United Mexican States", so I'll give you that one.Also according to wikipedia, Brazil was the republic of the United States of Brazil from 1889-1967 - my geography teacher at school must have been a bit out of date because I'm not (quite) old enough to have studied geography before 1967. And apparently Venezuela was the United States of Venezuela from the mid 19th to the mid 20th century. Seems to have been quite a common designation on the continent of america, but perhaps names have gradually been changed to avoid confusion with another country on the same continent which still uses the name United States.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmar Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 I suspect the reason for the designation is due to the history of colonization and consolidation in this hemisphere. Nations were formed by uniting numerous former colonies: the colonies become states, and the nations were referred to as "united states of XXX", where XXX is the name they've given to themselves as a group. The USA managed to usurp the name of the continent simply because we did it first (about 35 years before the Mexican War of Independence). Plus, I have a feeling that the colonies that became the USA were formerly known as "American colonies". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeh Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Yes, it is often a mistake to assume that words have the same meaning across languages.Anyone who is a fan of Top Gear (the original UK series) will recall the hilarious Albania trip: one of their all time bests. Two of the terms they customarily use in their discussions of the merits of cars were, in Albanian, words for genitalia. Btw, if you haven't ever watched the UK version of Top Gear, and have any interest at all in cars, this has to be the best show ever....while it rarely gives you any practical advice (unless you are having to choose which supercar you want to own....the show is often extremely funny because they spend a lot of time doing silly contests and challenges. I once saw a US version, and it wasn't funny and it wasn't informative....it was awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 I am more than willing to believe that I want the original, not the US impostor. Browsing the web, it appears that I will need to get it on DVD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberyeti Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 Yes, it is often a mistake to assume that words have the same meaning across languages.One of my British online gaming friends used to delight in saying he was going outside to "smoke a fag" which tended to somewhat bemuse Americans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PassedOut Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Btw, if you haven't ever watched the UK version of Top Gear, and have any interest at all in cars, this has to be the best show ever....I have seen the UK version and it is indeed great entertainment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cthulhu D Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 I have seen the UK version and it is indeed great entertainment. I'm not sure it needs the 'even vaguely interested in cars' disclaimer. I'm sure anyone who watches, say, the episode where they drive some toyata utes to the north pole will be impressed and entertained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanoi5 Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Name ten such countries. B-) As for "stealing" the name, not if we used it first. And regarding your last point above, I found this article interesting. You're right. You used it first. And then we all chose to copy your name. But then we all reverted to normal names (Republic of ...). Venezuela was the first to declare itself independent from Spain (19th April 1810). Probably ships arrived faster with the news that Napoleón had taken over Spain... And about that article, that is such a naive thought! The US will never stop caring or meddling in Latinamerican affairs as long as they are a world power. For example, there is this judge in Venezuela who got rejected by the regime (after serving them for 12 years). He got to talk to the DEA: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/19/world/americas/venezuela-ex-judge/index.html Do you think the US wouldn't love to Norieguize Chavez? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackshoe Posted April 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 You're right. You used it first. And then we all chose to copy your name. But then we all reverted to normal names (Republic of ...). Venezuela was the first to declare itself independent from Spain (19th April 1810). Probably ships arrived faster with the news that Napoleón had taken over Spain... And about that article, that is such a naive thought! The US will never stop caring or meddling in Latinamerican affairs as long as they are a world power. For example, there is this judge in Venezuela who got rejected by the regime (after serving them for 12 years). He got to talk to the DEA: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/19/world/americas/venezuela-ex-judge/index.html Do you think the US wouldn't love to Norieguize Chavez? It sounds to me like this ex-judge may have a lot of good intel about the workings of the drug trade (and other things) in Venezuela. I'm not at all surprised that the DEA may be interested in what he has to say. It also sounds like if he goes (or gets sent) back to Venezuela at this point, he's going to end up in prison, or worse, regardless whether he's actually committed a crime. Of course, it's highly unlikely that the CNN article you linked has reported anything like "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". As for the US wanting to "Norieguize" Chavez (I love the way people invent words) I'm sure there are some in the US government who think that's a good idea. I'm sure there are more who don't. Venezuela is not Panama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeh Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 I am more than willing to believe that I want the original, not the US impostor. Browsing the web, it appears that I will need to get it on DVD?I think some episodes (maybe most) are available on Netflix, and here in Canada, Netflix is about $9 a month. Now, I know that the US dollar is worth less than ours, but not by much :P I brag about that because I remember going on our honeymoon 18 years ago with our dollar being worth about 65 cents :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PassedOut Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 I am more than willing to believe that I want the original, not the US impostor. Browsing the web, it appears that I will need to get it on DVD?Top Gear on BBC America Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrothgar Posted April 26, 2012 Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Name ten such countries. B-) As for "stealing" the name, not if we used it first. And regarding your last point above, I found this article interesting. Should be possible if synonyms and translations are allowed For example consider the "Bundesrepublik Deutschland". This formally refers to a collection of "federal states" which are joined together into something bigger.In a similar fashion, back in the good old days there was something called the CCCP (aka Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, aka Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik). Or, if you prefer english The Union of Sovoet Socialist Republics. And who can forget the United Arab Republic, the Confederate States of America, the Union of Africa States, the United Colonies of New England, ... I can go on for a while (This sort of construction is pretty common) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenberg Posted April 27, 2012 Report Share Posted April 27, 2012 Top Gear on BBC America OK, thanks, I will give it a shot. Oddly, this brief excursion into tv has feedback to the posted topic. I did a search on BBC America. I found the summary:"The best and the latest of British television in the United States." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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