Portuguese language teacher and consultant Thaís Nicoleti also clarified that the use of each is optional – though disputes about that are nothing new.

“It should be noted that the name of the country is ‘United States of America’, as well as the full name of Brazil, which was formerly ‘United States of Brazil’, is ‘Federated Republic of Brazil’. ‘United States of America’ or ‘Federated Republic’ refers to a type of country. The name, in fact, is was what came after: America and Brazil.”

Despite rules and standards, the use of “America” ​​is often questioned by newsreaders and social media commentators.

After all: if there is an “America” ​​continent, how can “America” ​​identify only one country? This discussion stems from the emergence of the US as a nation.

The first document to record the occurrence of the word “America” ​​was a 1507 map by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller. The most accepted theory is that the “christening” is a tribute to the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci (Americo Vespucci), who first identified the landmass called the “New World” as continents separated by oceans.

The first record of “America” ​​as part of the name of the country of the United States of America is credited to the draft Declaration of Independence, in 1776. Previously, the territory was known as the Thirteen Colonies and, later, the United Colony — at the time, these territories were the unified to form a new nation, the first independent in the Americas.

Canadian Sean Purdy, professor of US History at the University of São Paulo (USP), points to other names that were proposed at the time: Imperial America, Greater Republic, and Greater United States.

According to the professor, the adjective “American” (as in “American music”) and the noun “American” (“he is American”) came into use soon after the founding of the republic, coexisting with regional or state names, such as Southerner (South). , New Yorker (New Yorker) or descent such as Scottish (Scottish) and Irish (Irish).

“But consistent use took time, because the founders knew that the new republic would not encompass all of America. Over the decades, many rulers used ‘United States of America’, ‘Republic’, ‘Union’ and ‘Columbia’ for the country,” said Purdy. .

It was only when the US became a power in the late 19th century, with foreign intervention in Latin America, that the term “America” ​​came into common use.

“Presidents and other republican rulers rarely referred to the country as America until the late 19th century. After the 1898 Spanish-American War against Spain, when the US conquered Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and everyone since started using ‘America’ as their country. Therefore, it reflects how language is constructed in the context of power and social relations,” mirrors Purdy.

Although Brazilians rarely use the name “América”​​to refer to the United States, “Americano” remains the country’s most common gentile.

In other languages, such as Spanish spoken in Latin America or French spoken in Canada, the equivalent of “America” ​​is most commonly used.

“I believe this has a lot to do with the fact that Spanish speakers in America identify more with the term America and with other Latin American countries (especially where they speak Spanish) than Brazilian Americans”, argues Sean Purdy.

Consultant Thaís Nicoleti points out that “America” ​​has been written like this in Brazil since the works of writers Machado de Assis and Lima Barreto, “which attests to the fact that it was a common form in the late 19th and early 20th centuries”. In Prison Memoriesby Graciliano Ramos, a book written in the 1930s, both “America” ​​and “North America” ​​appear to mean the same thing.

Aversion to US “imperialism” (policies of territorial and cultural expansion and domination) will be the main reason for attempts to use the term “America”, according to two experts consulted.

“Many researchers want to differentiate the United States from the rest of America. This has to do with anti-imperialist policies towards the United States and also to strengthen the relationship and identity between Brazil and other Latin American countries”, said Sean Purdy, about the academic.

Thaís Nicoletti, on the other hand, associates the use of “America” ​​or even “North America” ​​with left-wing publications, as an attempt to “prevent one country, not coincidentally the American imperialist powers, from expropriating the Gentiles of the entire continent”.

To him, this argument “seems baseless”, as the context does not allow us to confuse “America” ​​referring to the country with its homonym referring to the continent”.

“In my view, although they may translate political positions, this use, by itself, has almost insignificant effect as a form of resistance. They must be linked to an appreciation of our culture and of the Portuguese language, which is constantly influenced by fashion coming from the ‘giants of the north'”, he argues.

The Portuguese teacher explained that “rule”, in language, is “order”, i.e. that which is repeated frequently.

In the case of non-Jews, although some suffixes occur more frequently (such as -ês in English, French, or Senegalese), there is a great diversity of forms.

Nicoleti describes the case of “Fluminense”, which designates both those born in the State of Rio de Janeiro and those born in the city of Rio de Janeiro until the early 20th century, by residents of the capital in later years.

“All discussions about which terms to use are legitimate. But the majority adoption of US terms, for example, will depend on whether there is a significant change in social relations, power relations between countries, closer identification with other Latin American countries. I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” said Professor Sean Purdy.

“In language, not everything is reduced to ‘right / wrong’ — in fact, everything can always be deepened”, concludes Nicoleti.

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