Editing American (word) (section)

==Other languages==
{{see also|Demonyms for the United States}}
[[French language|French]], [[German language|German]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]],{{efn|name=ja-american|Japanese: "U.S. citizen" is {{nihongo||アメリカ人|amerika-jin}}<ref name="jap-dict">{{cite web|url=http://www.wordreference.com/enja/American|title=American|work=WordReference English-Japanese Dictionary|year=2013|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=December 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230200940/http://www.wordreference.com/enja/american|url-status=live}}</ref>}} [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], and [[Russian language|Russian]]{{efn|Russian: "U.S. citizen" is {{Transliteration|ru|amerikanec}} ({{lang|ru|американец}}) for males and {{Transliteration|ru|amerikanka}} ({{lang|ru|американка}}) for females<ref name="dict-ru">{{cite web|url=http://www.wordreference.com/enru/American|title=American|work=WordReference English-Russian Dictionary|year=2013}}</ref>}} speakers may use cognates of ''American'' to refer to inhabitants of the Americas or to U.S. nationals. They generally have other terms specific to U.S. nationals, such as the German {{lang|de|US-Amerikaner}},<ref name="de-dict">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://wortschatz.uni-leipzig.de/cgi-bin/wort_www.exe?site=1&Wort=US-Amerikaner|title=US-Amerikaner|encyclopedia=Wortschatz|language=de|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120193458/http://wortschatz.uni-leipzig.de/cgi-bin/wort_www.exe?site=1&Wort=US-Amerikaner|archive-date=2015-01-20}}</ref> French {{lang|fr|étatsunien}},<ref name="french-etatsunien">{{cite news|url=http://correcteurs.blog.lemonde.fr/2007/07/06/etats-uniens-ou-americains-that-is-the-question/|title=Etats-Uniens ou Américains, that is the question|newspaper=[[Le Monde]]|date=July 6, 2007|language=fr|archive-date=December 27, 2010|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227105310/http://correcteurs.blog.lemonde.fr/2007/07/06/etats-uniens-ou-americains-that-is-the-question/|url-status=live}}</ref> Japanese {{nihongo||米国人|beikokujin}},<ref name="jap-dict-detail">{{cite web|url=http://webdico.com:8080/kanji/quicks?dbname=kokug&sword=American&stype=1|title=American|work=Online English-Japanese Pictorial Dictionary|publisher=Free Light Software|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195900/http://webdico.com:8080/kanji/quicks?dbname=kokug&sword=American&stype=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Italian {{lang|it|statunitense}}.<ref name="dict-it">{{cite web|url=http://www.wordreference.com/iten/statunitense|title=statunitense|work=WordReference English-Italiano Dictionary|year=2013|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202216/http://www.wordreference.com/iten/statunitense|url-status=live}}</ref> These specific terms may be less common than the term ''American''.<ref name="french-etatsunien"/>

In French, {{lang|fr|états-unien}}, {{lang|fr|étas-unien}} or {{lang|fr|étasunien}}, from {{lang|fr|États-Unis d'Amérique}} ("United States of America"), is a rarely used word that distinguishes U.S. things and persons from the adjective {{lang|fr|américain}}, which denotes persons and things from the United States, but may also refer to "the Americas".<ref name="french-etatsunien"/>

Likewise, German's use of {{lang|de|U.S.-amerikanisch}} and {{lang|de|U.S.-Amerikaner}}<ref name="de-dict"/> observe this cultural distinction, solely denoting U.S. things and people. In normal parlance, the adjective "American" and its direct cognates are usually used if the context renders the nationality of the person clear. This differentiation is prevalent in German-speaking countries, as indicated by the [[style manual]] of the {{Lang|de|[[Neue Zürcher Zeitung]]}} (one of the leading German-language newspapers in Switzerland) which dismisses the term {{lang|de|U.S.-amerikanisch}} as both 'unnecessary' and 'artificial' and recommends replacing it with ''amerikanisch''.<ref>''Vademecum. Der sprachlich-technische Leitfaden der «Neuen Zürcher Zeitung»'', 13th edition. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich 2013, p. 102, s. v. ''US-amerikanisch''.</ref> The respective guidelines of the foreign ministries of Austria, Germany and Switzerland all prescribe ''Amerikaner'' and ''amerikanisch'' in reference to the United States for official usage, making no mention of {{lang|de|U.S.-Amerikaner}} or {{lang|de|U.S.-amerikanisch}}.<ref>Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten: [http://www.eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib/downloads/edazen/topics/intla/cintla.Par.0011.File.tmp/lt_080506_statenames_de.pdf „Liste der Staatenbezeichnungen“] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103122940/http://www.eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib/downloads/edazen/topics/intla/cintla.Par.0011.File.tmp/lt_080506_statenames_de.pdf |date=2015-11-03 }}; Bundesministerium für europäische und internationale Angelegenheiten: [http://www.bmeia.gv.at/fileadmin/user_upload/oracle/staatennamen_de.pdf „Liste der Staatennamen und deren Ableitungen in den vom Bundesministerium für europäische und internationale Angelegenheiten verwendeten Formen“] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031193419/http://www.bmeia.gv.at/fileadmin/user_upload/oracle/staatennamen_de.pdf |date=October 31, 2014 }}; Auswärtiges Amt: [http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/cae/servlet/contentblob/332368/publicationFile/3097/Staatennamen.pdf „Verzeichnis der Staatennamen für den amtlichen Gebrauch in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland“]</ref>

Portuguese has {{lang|pt|americano}}, denoting both a person or thing from the Americas and a U.S. national.<ref name="pt-americano">{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa|url=http://www.priberam.pt/dlpo/default.aspx?pal=americano|title=americano|language=pt|access-date=July 16, 2011|archive-date=September 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927055924/http://www.priberam.pt/dlpo/default.aspx?pal=americano|url-status=live}}</ref> For referring specifically to a U.S. national and things, some words used are {{lang|pt|estadunidense}} (also spelled {{lang|pt|estado-unidense}}, "United States person"), from {{lang|pt|Estados Unidos da América}}, and {{lang|pt|ianque}} ("Yankee")—both usages exist in Brazil (although "americano" is more frequent), but are uncommon in Portugal—but the term most often used, and the only one in Portugal, is {{lang|pt|norte-americano}}, even though it could, as with its Spanish equivalent, apply to Canadians and Mexicans as well.

In Spanish, {{lang|es|americano}} denotes geographic and cultural origin in the New World, as well as (infrequently) a U.S. citizen;<ref name="rae-americano">{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=[[Diccionario de la lengua española]]|title=americano|url=http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltGUIBusUsual?TIPO_HTML=2&TIPO_BUS=3&LEMA=americano|publisher=Real Academia Española|language=es|access-date=July 16, 2011|archive-date=April 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404155419/http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltGUIBusUsual?TIPO_HTML=2&TIPO_BUS=3&LEMA=americano|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Pequeño Larousse Ilustrado 1992 edition, look up word Americano: Contains the Observation: Debe evitarse el empleo de americano con el sentido de norteamericano o de los Estados Unidos|trans-title=Usage of the word with the meaning of U.S. citizen or the United States must be avoided |language=es}}</ref>{{efn|The first two definitions in ''[[Diccionario de la lengua española]]'' (the [[Linguistic prescription#Authority|official dictionary]] in Spanish) define {{lang|es|americano}} as "Native of America" [{{lang|es|Natural de América}}] and "Pertaining or relating to this part of the world" [{{lang|es|Perteneciente o relativo a esta parte del mundo}}], where {{lang|es|América}} refers to the continent.{{refn|{{cite encyclopedia|title=América|encyclopedia=WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary|url=http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=Am%C3%A9rica}}}} The fourth definition of {{lang|es|americano}} is defined as "United States person" [{{lang|es|estadounidense}}].}} the more common term is {{lang|es|estadounidense}} ("United States person"), which derives from {{lang|es|Estados Unidos de América}} ("United States of America"). The Spanish term {{lang|es|norteamericano}} ("North American") is frequently used to refer things and persons from the United States, but this term can also denote people and things from Canada and Mexico.<ref name="rae-estadosunidos">{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Diccionario panhispánico de dudas|url=http://buscon.rae.es/dpd/?key=norteamericano&origen=REDPD|title=norteamericano|language=es|access-date=October 26, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185639/http://buscon.rae.es/dpd/?key=norteamericano&origen=REDPD|url-status=live}}</ref> Among Spanish-speakers, North America generally does not include Central America or the Caribbean.

Conversely, in [[Czech language|Czech]], there is no possibility for disambiguation. ''[[:wiktionary:Američan|Američan]]'' (m.) and ''[[:wiktionary:Američanka|američanka]]'' (f.) can refer to persons from the United States or from the continents of the Americas, and there is no specific word capable of distinguishing the two meanings. For this reason, the latter meaning is very rarely used, and word {{lang|cs|američan(ka)}} is used almost exclusively to refer to persons from the United States. The usage is exactly parallel to the English word.

In other languages, however, there is no possibility for confusion. For example, the [[Chinese language|Chinese]] word for "U.S. national" is {{Transliteration|zh|měiguórén}} ({{lang-zh|t=美國人|s=美国人}})<ref name="zh-dict-us-natural">{{cite web|url=http://www.wordreference.com/zhen/%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA|title=美国人|work=WordReference English-Chinese Dictionary|year=2013|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110350/http://www.wordreference.com/zhen/%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|{{Transliteration|zh|Měiguórén}} is the [[Standard Mandarin]] pronunciation.}} is derived from a word for the United States, {{Transliteration|zh|měiguó}}, where {{Transliteration|zh|měi}} is an abbreviation for ''Yàměilìjiā'' ("America") and {{Transliteration|zh|guó}} is "country".<ref name="zh-dict-us">{{cite web|url=http://www.wordreference.com/enzh/United%20States|title=United States|work=WordReference English-Chinese Dictionary|year=2013|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195610/http://www.wordreference.com/enzh/United%20States|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="zh-dict-america">{{cite web|url=http://www.wordreference.com/enzh/America|title=America|work=WordReference English-Chinese Dictionary|year=2013|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029190447/http://www.wordreference.com/enzh/America|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="zh-dict-country">{{cite web|url=http://www.wordreference.com/enzh/country|title=country|work=WordReference English-Chinese Dictionary|year=2013|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192052/http://www.wordreference.com/enzh/country|url-status=live}}</ref> The name for the American continents is {{Transliteration|zh|měizhōu}}, from {{Transliteration|zh|měi}} plus {{Transliteration|zh|zhōu}} ("continent").<ref name="zh-dict-continent">{{cite web|url=http://www.wordreference.com/enzh/continent|title=continent|work=WordReference English-Chinese Dictionary|year=2013|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195433/http://www.wordreference.com/enzh/continent|url-status=live}}</ref> Thus, a {{Transliteration|zh|měi'''zhōu'''rén}} is an American in the continent sense, and a {{Transliteration|zh|měi'''guó'''rén}} is an American in the U.S. sense.{{efn|Chinese: {{Transliteration|zh|měiguó}} ("United States") is written as {{lang|zh|美国}}, {{Transliteration|zh|měizhōu}} ("America the continent") is written as {{lang|zh|美洲}}, {{Transliteration|zh|guó}} ("country") is written as {{lang|zh|国}}, and {{Transliteration|zh|zhōu}} ("continent") is written as {{lang|zh|洲}}.<ref name="zh-dict-us"/><ref name="zh-dict-america"/><ref name="zh-dict-country"/><ref name="zh-dict-continent"/>}}

[[Korean language|Korean]] and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] also use unambiguous terms, with Korean having {{Transliteration|ko|Migug}} ({{lang|ko|미국(인)}}) for the country versus {{Transliteration|ko|Amerika}} ({{lang|ko|아메리카}}) for the continents,<ref name="ko-dict-america">{{cite web|url=http://www.wordreference.com/enko/america|title=america|work=WordReference English-Korean Dictionary|year=2013|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191432/http://www.wordreference.com/enko/america|url-status=live}}</ref> and Vietnamese having {{lang|vi|Hoa Kỳ}} for the country versus {{lang|vi|Châu Mỹ}} for the continents.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} [[Japanese language|Japanese]] has such terms as well ({{Transliteration|ja|beikoku(jin)}} [{{lang|ja|米国(人)}} versus {{Transliteration|ja|beishū(jin)}} [{{lang|ja|米洲人}}]), but they are found more in newspaper headlines than in speech, where {{Transliteration|ja|amerikajin}} predominates.{{efn|name=ja-american}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the/japanese-word-for-768685ca582abd0af2fbb57ca37752aa98c9372b.html|title=How to say "united states" in Japanese|access-date=February 13, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308155141/https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the/japanese-word-for-768685ca582abd0af2fbb57ca37752aa98c9372b.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[Swahili language|Swahili]], {{lang|sw|Marekani}} means specifically the United States, and {{lang|sw|Mmarekani}} is a U.S. national, whereas the international form {{lang|sw|Amerika}} refers to the continents, and {{lang|sw|Mwamerika}} would be an inhabitant thereof.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sw.bab.la/kamusi/kiingereza-kiswahili/united-states|title=United States|publisher=Wasilana & Amana|work=bab.la|access-date=2013-10-27|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131028003031/http://sw.bab.la/kamusi/kiingereza-kiswahili/united-states|archive-date=2013-10-28|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sw.bab.la/kamusi/kiswahili-kiingereza/amerika|title=amerika|publisher=Wasilana & Amana|work=bab.la|access-date=2013-10-27|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131028003013/http://sw.bab.la/kamusi/kiswahili-kiingereza/amerika|archive-date=2013-10-28|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sw.bab.la/kamusi/kiingereza-kiswahili/american|title=American|publisher=Wasilana & Amana|work=bab.la|access-date=2013-10-27|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131028002946/http://sw.bab.la/kamusi/kiingereza-kiswahili/american|archive-date=2013-10-28|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{efn|In Swahili, adding the prefix ''m(w)-'' to a word indicates a person (''wa-'' would indicate people).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.masai-mara.com/mmsw2.htm|title=Introduction to Swahili|author=Youngman, Jeremy|work=Masai Mara|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=November 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102155034/http://www.masai-mara.com/mmsw2.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} Likewise, the [[Esperanto]] word {{lang|eo|Ameriko}} refers to the continents. For the country there is the term {{lang|eo|Usono}}. Thus, a citizen of the United States is an {{lang|eo|usonano}}, whereas an {{lang|eo|amerikano}} is an inhabitant of the Americas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esperanto.mobi/en/dictionary-esperanto-english/Ameriko|title=Ameriko|work=Esperanto–English Dictionary|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193716/http://www.esperanto.mobi/en/dictionary-esperanto-english/Ameriko|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esperanto.mobi/en/dictionary-esperanto-english/Usono|title=Usono|work=Esperanto–English Dictionary|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=December 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221205330/http://www.esperanto.mobi/en/dictionary-esperanto-english/Usono|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esperanto.mobi/en/dictionary-esperanto-english/usonano|title=usonano|work=Esperanto–English Dictionary|access-date=October 27, 2013|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029201232/http://www.esperanto.mobi/en/dictionary-esperanto-english/usonano|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{in lang|eo}} {{cite web|url=http://reta-vortaro.de/revo/art/amerik.html|title=Reta Vortaro|trans-title=Internet Dictionary|access-date=December 21, 2014|archive-date=December 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221211241/http://reta-vortaro.de/revo/art/amerik.html|url-status=live}}</ref>