Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Why when someone from USA calls his country “America”? America is the continent NOT the Country. NO?

I saw on TV and movies that everyone refers to USA as “America” if I’m not wrong America is continent not a country, so why people refers in that way to USA.

10 Answers

Relevance
  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    U.S.A. is the abbreviation for the formal name. The continents are called "North America" and "South America". The landmass en total is called "the Americas". "America" is an appropriate informal name for the nation U.S.A. because it is the only country in the world with the word "America" in it. Calling U.S.A. "America" follows the same linguistic rules as calling the Russian Federation "Russia" or The People's Republic of China "China". It would not be appropriate to call ourselves United Statesians, anymore than it would be appropriate for a Russian to call themselves Federationese. Furthermore, one word can have more than one meaning, i.e. the word "rose" means both a flower and to get up.

    Source(s): geog. major
  • Anonymous
    7 years ago

    It's kind of like this, There's the continent north and South America. And there's the the country just plain of america. The country america is divided up into states. So there's states and there in America. So there called the United States of America. Kind of like the arm of the body.

  • 1 decade ago

    The continents are North America and South America.

  • 1 decade ago

    United States is the country, America the continent. You are correct.

  • How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    That kind of bugs me too. It seems like saying an American would include Canadians, Brazilians and everyone in between. I guess we figure it is easier to say "I'm an American" than "I'm a citizen of the United States of America". We're americans, we like the easy way.

  • 1 decade ago

    No. It's North & South America.

  • 1 decade ago

    It's just a way to keep it shorter. People from China just call their country "China" not "The People's Republic of China". Do British people refer to their country as "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"?

    If everyone used the full name, it would take forever just to have a conversation!

  • 1 decade ago

    Because USA stands for the United States of "America". Just easier to say it.

  • 1 decade ago

    Yes, you are correct...America is the continent. Someone mis-spoke.

    Source(s): 3rd grade World Geography class.
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    cause its our f*cking continent.... muahahaha

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.