I was going to drop this but you keep insulting me with things like my being blinded by ethnocentrism while failing to recognize any possible bias on your part. I have “locals” in Argentina, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Belize and at least 6 African countries describe people from the USA as “Americans” so I am not sure how “my” ethnocentrism comes into play and not yours? I know that it is not important in the world where American Storm Troopers are killing their own citizens but until you can come up with a more succinct term than Americans that is what’s they are going to be called everywhere outside of your universe. And as a Canadian I am aware that I, also, technically am an “American” as well as a Norte Americano.

It's not an insult. It's a FACTUAL OBSERVATION.

Oh, people in other lands speak English to you and say you what they think you want to hear? Huh. Whaddayaknow?

I use "U.S. citizens" without any difficulty.

It was rough for Galileo to get his message across, too.

Un saludo.

I desperately want to insert that "beating a very dead horse" emoji but can't figure out how.

Are English-speakers really that ethnocentric and stubborn to correcting historical errors? Mark Carney doesn't appear to think so.

Well, good luck with that windmill.

Where I live, we don't see it that way. Please try not to be blinded by your own ethnocentrism.

How about USer (pronounced youESSer)? Short and sweet.

I think BSer might be more appropriate for Yours Truly.

(I know there is a better joke in here somewhere but I haven't been able to coax it out of me. Can anybody do a better job?)

What word/words would you prefer that we use instead of the universal “American”?

The Spanish word is "Estadounidense." I translate it as "UnitedStater" and that's what I call myself. "I am a UnitedStater." People usually give me a blank or quizzical stare.

How about USer (pronounced youESSer)? Short and sweet.

I understand that everyone living in the Americas are, technically, Americans but in the real world the term is used to denote people from the U.S.A. I realize that most of us have our little pet peeves, one of mine is the confusion over complement and compliment, but I don’t know what words that I should use for “residents or citizens or expats of the United States of America”? For brevity most of us describe the above as “Americans” while Canadians, Mexicans, etc. are blessed with having proper nomenclature. What word/words would you prefer that we use instead of the universal “American”?

No, it's not "the real world". It's the ethnocentric bubble too many angloparlantes live in. An acceptance of ignorance is a poor education. When I hear someone make an incorrect statement, I tend to want to correct them rather than let the lie slide.

It's like allowing someone to call you by the wrong name all your life. If they don't know better, and you don't correct them, then the lie (i.e. wrong name) is simply perpetuated, yet it remains incorrect.

I'm sure you're already aware that hispanoparlantes mostly refer to them as Gringos and Estadounidenses.

A shame to see U.S. citizens apparently unable to come up with their own demonym, unlike the rest of the nations of the world. Perhaps it explains their politics, too.

What word/words would you prefer that we use instead of the universal “American”?

The Spanish word is "Estadounidense." I translate it as "UnitedStater" and that's what I call myself. "I am a UnitedStater." People usually give me a blank or quizzical stare.

It is neither a hang up or a loss, it is the reality. The hangup is is hanging on to word meanings that change over the years.You may be correct in historical references but those are dead. Move on. Go anywhere in the world and call yourself American and people will think you are a US citizen. You refer to yourself as a Mexican citizen…right? Not an American.No Canadian will call themselves an American…..especially now.

You underscored my point. Why would I call myself an American if the discussion isn't about nationality? You keep assuming that's the topic when it isn't. AMERICAN ISN'T A NATIONALITY. But don't take my word for it. Ask a Gringo to show you their passport. And I never refer to myself as "American" as a nationality since no such nation exists. As far as nationality, I'm more American than most because I'm a Gringo-Mexicano. You'd think a nation full of so many supposedly well-educated people would have figured out a relevant demonym for themselves by now 250 years after the founding of their nation.

While you are correct, I suspect that a person from Zihuatanejo or a person from Toronto, should they identify themselves as “American” in Europe will be treated less kindly than they would be if the identified themselves as Mexican or Canadian respectively.

The point being, we don't use it to refer to a nationality.

During the Paris Olympics, for example, a Mexican watching other athletes would likely feel more drawn to root other Americans, even if they weren't all Spanish speakers. It's how we commonly refer to our collective selves.

Even a U.S. passport under Nationality does not say "American".

You are correct however no Canadian will ever refer to themselves as American.

That's their own hangup and loss. I'm proud to be an American, a person born of this continent. I'm not necessarily proud of being a U.S. citizen. They are two distinct things. There is no nation called America, just as there is no nation called Europe, Africa or Asia. Australia is the only nation that is also a continent. One would think that Canadians were educated enough to distinguish these things without prejudice. But they have a hangup about not wanting to be confused for U.S. citizens, who erroneously and arrogantly believe they are the only Americans.

When rooting for teams in sports, Americans tend to root for American teams. Not sure what Canadians do, maybe they consider themselves more European than American? Except for their people they refer to as First Nations.

Mexico's equivalent of a Declaration of Independence is called Los Sentimientos de la Nación. Written by José María Morelos y Pavón and presented in El Primer Congreso de Anáhuac in Chilpancingo in 1813, it also serves as the precursor to our Constitución.

The first paragraph reads:
1o. Que la América es libre e independiente de España y de toda otra Nación, Gobierno o Monarquía, y que así se sancione dando al mundo las razones.

The fifth:
5o. Que la Soberanía dimana inmediatamente del pueblo, el que sólo quiere depositarla en el Supremo Congreso Nacional Americano, compuesto de representantes de las provincias en igualdad de números.

The fifteenth:
15o. Que la esclavitud se proscriba para siempre y lo mismo la distinción de castas, quedando todos iguales, y solo distinguirá a un americano de otro el vicio y la virtud.

Maybe it was arrogant of Mexico to speak for all of America while we were busy trying to kick out the Spanish monarchy and all others, but at least it represents the correct use of the words "America" and "American" as they are understood by everyone else in this land apparently except for the USA and Canada. The USA especially wasn't ready to get rid of slavery at the time it was written, so maybe that's why they prefer to ignore such trivialities.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste, so let's be better educated.

BTW, I know you've been led to erroneously believe that Canadians are not Americans, and that "American" is a nationality, but neither of those things is true. America is a supercontinent, and up and down this continent people have referred to themselves and other inhabitants here as Americans for centuries before the USA ever existed. It's really past time to correct this grammatical and geographical error.

Really?

The first use of the term America by Europeans was in 1507. The US began to “exist” in 1776. So Europeans were using the term for less than 300 years before the USA.

During that time the indigenous populations of what is now “the Americas” far outnumbered the European invaders. I bet you that few of those indigenous people were referring to their lands by the words that the invaders used. In fact, I suggest that the majority of indigenous peoples throughout “the Americas” had even heard the term.

Even those colonialists in what is now the US and Canada didn’t refer to ourselves as American. We were “British” who were living in “British Noeth America”. North of the 49th parallel that remained after 1776 through to the establishment of Canada through the British Parliament’s passing of the “British North American Act”.

No, I think that the term “American” had limited usage before the establishment of the USA, was a term imposed by invaders, not widely adopted by indigenous peoples, and not even adopted by all colonizing people.

Let’s not tarnish Canadians by implying that they may be Americans posing as Canadians. That wouldn’t be fair to make Canadians suspect all the time. If they are polite and respectful lets just assume that they are actually Canadians.

Just repeating what U.S. citizens themselves say they do.

BTW, I know you've been led to erroneously believe that Canadians are not Americans, and that "American" is a nationality, but neither of those things is true. America is a supercontinent, and up and down this continent people have referred to themselves and other inhabitants here as Americans for centuries before the USA ever existed. It's really past time to correct this grammatical and geographical error.

Simply being from the USA does not automatically equate to embracing Trump's actions. That would be prejudice ...

Of course not. In our trips to Europe this year, (France,Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Ireland and Scotland) people were very reserved when we initially talked with them until they knew we were not supporters. In general, they we baffled as to how it could have happened.