Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparrow
When we in Europe talk about 'Americans' we generally mean people from the U.S.; although anyone in South, Central or North America is also an American.
I often wonder - do non-U.S. Americans mind us using 'American' in that way?
(I'd be a tad disconcerted if the term 'European' was assumed to refer to a particular European country.)
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Here in the United States of
America , we call ourselves Americans. There really is no other term that we use. We might break that down into subsets, such as, Virginians or Chicagoans, but on the whole, we're Americans. We are not trying to be exclusive or superior. The word American is a derivative of the name of our country just as the term Canadian derives from the word Canada. If I were from Canada, I would introduce myself as a Canadian not as an American.
As a side note, I don't tend to think of people living in the UK as European. I know that the UK is now a part of the European Union, but, for as long as I can remember people have made references to "the United Kingdom and Europe".
Quote:
Originally Posted by hidari
Most of my friiends us the term gringolandia....That seems to work and there is not fuss about which country it is....... and
Si. Soy gringo ..... y me gusta la palabra.
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The word "gringo" tends to have a negative connotation. It would be the same as if someone used an ethnic slur to describe a person from Japan.
From dictionary.com:
grin·go (grĭng'gō)
n. pl. grin·gos Offensive Slang
Used as a disparaging term for a foreigner in Latin America, especially an American or English person.
[Spanish, foreign, foreign language, gibberish, probably alteration of griego, Greek, from Latin Graecus; see Greek.]
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Yes, having worked in the USA for a while, there is certainly the potential for a much higher standard of living there; the problem is that you don't get the chance to enjoy it! When I tell my American friends that it's normal in the UK (and the rest of Europe) to get 6 or 7 weeks a year off work, they find it amazing; it's entirely normal in the US to get as little as two weeks holiday a year.
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Lucky you!
Frankly, the 4 weeks of vacation my husband gets each year is plenty. Anymore than that and he would start to get on my nerves!
Seriously, that's one of the reasons I've encouraged my college age children to be extremely careful when choosing a career path. You spend a lot of time at work, so you better like what you do.