Well, everybody born in the american continent is technically “american” too, including Central and South America. Is there a specific term in english for these people?
Edit: Thanks for all your answers, especially the wholesome ones and those patient enough to explain it thoroughly. Since we (South Americans) and you (North Americans) use different models/conventions of continent boundaries, it makes sense for you to go by “Americans”, while it doesn’t for us.
Can’t we though? All language is arbitrary at first. A person (or community) often names things, sometimes from pure scratch. The words “Kodak” and “Xerox” come to mind.
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Yes a community create a name that becomes used over time. However it has implications farther than just that. African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, are all very common terms for different people in the country by taking away that term, the names for many groups change as well. The fact is in English so many groups use the term, and every single one would have to change how they identify themselves for such a change. I don’t believe that is possible.