America????

[carlos]

Fortunately on his own board, far far away...


Can I just ask one question? Literally, what does "la Dominicana" translate to, word for word? My guess is "the Dominican"...you hear countless Dominicans calling their country "la Dominicana", why is that so bad to translate this into English?

I have yet to hear anyone I know use the term " La Dominicana" except for maybe whey they are speaking of a female who is from DR.

" Ella es la muchacha Dominicana de quien yo te hablaba"

" La Dominicana" in reference to DR is incorrect

 

[trina]

I have yet to hear anyone I know use the term " La Dominicana" except for maybe whey they are speaking of a female who is from DR.

" Ella es la muchacha Dominicana de quien yo te hablaba"

" La Dominicana" in reference to DR is incorrect

You've never heard someone say, "Voy pa' la Dominicana!"????? All.the.time. And whether or not it's perceived correct is simply a matter of opinion.

 

[miguel]

Just!!

Fiesta Mama, you know I like you but I need to ask you this: what would you tell someone that calls Canadians "Americans", you would correct them, right?. That said, I WILL educate whomever comes here calling the DR "Dominican", out of respect to the DR. Some people DO think that it's the right way to say it.

Miguel, you know I like you, but you're comparing apples to oranges. Should you call a Canadian an American, you may be, for whatever reason, offending a person directly. Maybe offending is the wrong word, but you get the gist. The term "American", again for whatever reason, is generally reserved for our friends living in the US, even though many countries make up "the Americas". Should you call the DR "the Dominican", you are simply translating "la Dominicana" into English.

I was just trying to prove a point because, as you know, some people in the DR think that all whites are Americans. So if someone asks, Fiesta Mami "how's the weather in the US, I am sure that she would correct them and she will tell them that she is from Canada. I am just trying to make a point that when someone is wrong, that person should be corrected.

 

[Fiesta Mama]

Spot on!

Ok, I'm seeing the point! Miguel you are so right my friend... I am a proud Canadian and do not like when I am referred to as an American in the DR - I always take the time to correct people when they make that assumption.

I was just trying to prove a point because, as you know, some people in the DR think that all whites are Americans. So if someone asks, Fiesta Mami "how's the weather in the US, I am sure that she would correct them and she will tell them that she is from Canada. I am just trying to make a point that when someone is wrong, that person should be corrected.

 

[trina]

I was just trying to prove a point because, as you know, some people in the DR think that all whites are Americans. So if someone asks, Fiesta Mami "how's the weather in the US, I am sure that she would correct them and she will tell them that she is from Canada. I am just trying to make a point that when someone is wrong, that person should be corrected.

That's right, Miguel, but again, you're talking about 2 different countries when you talk US and Canada. The DR and "the Dominican" are the same country, and whether people like it or not, "the Dominican" is widely used, never as an insult, but more an endearing term equivalent to "la Dominicana".

 

[BushBaby]

What about a couple of guys named "James Brown" and "John Mellencamp". They certainly refer to the US as "America". Just listen to their songs "Living in America" and "Little Pink Houses".

JB lyrics....... "I live in America"
JM lyrics......."Oh, but ain't that America, for you and me" etc. etc. etc.

Now I'm not too sure about the DR people......whether or not they say they are from the "Dominican", but there certainly are US citizens that claim to be from America.

And don't the US of A citizens swear "Allegiance" to The American Flag??? Most tourists refer to themselves as "Americans" rather than 'citizen of the US of A. Then there is The American League, American Football, .......... just check in to CNN & hear how many times "America" or "Americans" are mentioned when what they really mean is United States of America or US of A citizens!!

How about Dubyas opening comments on his TV broadcasts ... "My Fellow Americans ...." or "The American People" & "God Bless America"?? Isn't there a refrain in some song that says " Long live America ......"???

I think Cmedina07, you will be very surprised at how often this error is perpetuated on US of A television. We al know what is MEANT by this & we allow it to continue due to laziness on our part & not wanting to seem unpatriotic by wanting the situation put right!! - Grahame (a Brit., UK citizen, member of the European Community etc., etc. etc.!!).

 

[jsizemore]

Maybe left over from colonial days

Remember when the US of A became an independant country from Briton it was the only independant country in the Hemisphere. All other places were colonies or teritories of another. When the American Revolution was going on the citizens of the US was refered to as Americans. The the war of 1812 and so forth.
It was just a matter of history that the United States of America was shortened to America.
John

 

[Texas Bill]

OK, Everybody, The point IS?????

The term "America" was coined to describe a geographical area commonly known as the USA.
People from that geographical area are commonly called "Americans" by people from other countries.
The term "American" is an international coloquilism, nothing less, nothing more.
So what is all the fal-de-rall about???
You're all having a hey-day over symantics and it leads nowhere, although in some respects, it is rather entertaining.
An Italian named Americus Vespucius originally wrote some commentary on the then "New World" and as a result of his very popular meanderings, the "New World" became known as "America". The noun has since evolved to designate the USA worldwide.
It's that simple. Right or Wrong. it really makes no difference, should not insult anyone, and if it does,that's a minus TS under the radical. Algebraic constipation.

Texas Bill

 

[KrackedKris]

Flag

And don't the US of A citizens swear "Allegiance" to The American Flag??? Most tourists refer to themselves as "Americans" rather than 'citizen of the US of A. Then there is The American League, American Football, .......... just check in to CNN & hear how many times "America" or "Americans" are mentioned when what they really mean is United States of America or US of A citizens!!

How about Dubyas opening comments on his TV broadcasts ... "My Fellow Americans ...." or "The American People" & "God Bless America"?? Isn't there a refrain in some song that says " Long live America ......"???

I think Cmedina07, you will be very surprised at how often this error is perpetuated on US of A television. We al know what is MEANT by this & we allow it to continue due to laziness on our part & not wanting to seem unpatriotic by wanting the situation put right!! - Grahame (a Brit., UK citizen, member of the European Community etc., etc. etc.!!).

Last I knew, we Pledge our allegience to the Flag, of The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA....Note United States

When I was in Normandy last year, A brit was giving a gudied tour of the "AMERICAN" Cemeterity East of Caeen to his high school clas, he made sure they understood how each "AMerican" maintains his identity by showing on the back of the Tombstones the STATE which each fallen soldier called home

 

[MommC]

I guess I'm one of those "anal" ppl!!

:speechles
I ALWAYS correct when I hear someone from any country (including the US of A) using America incorrectly. For example....in our travels-when talking to a fellow traveller if he/she is asked "where are you from?" and he/she responds "America" or "I'm American" the next question is "Which part of America-North or South?" or "Really-so am I! I'm from Canada in North America! Which American country do you come from!".
Also if someone refers to me as American (as a lot of ppl from Europe do when hearing me speak in English to my hubby) I ALWAYS let them know that I'm Canadian- from the northern part of North America!

I also have never heard a native Dominican refers to their country as " the Dominican". I HAVE OFTEN heard them refer to it as "La Repubblica"! "Quisquaya" also seems to be a term used when referring to their homeland.
I plead guilty to sometime referring to the country as the Dominican but usually when in conversation with someone not familiar with the island and not likely to visit it either! :dead:

 

[BushBaby]

Last I knew, we Pledge our allegience to the Flag, of The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA....Note United States

When I was in Normandy last year, A brit was giving a gudied tour of the "AMERICAN" Cemeterity East of Caeen to his high school clas, he made sure they understood how each "AMerican" maintains his identity by showing on the back of the Tombstones the STATE which each fallen soldier called home

KK,
I stand corrected & offer due apologies for not knowing the Pledge of Allegience, ...... What do we Brits know anyway?? I acknowledge (as I think I was doing in my initial post) that MOST people allow the "Coloquial" term to be "the accepted one". By jove fella, I even do it myself (& kick myself afterwards for being so "Lazy").

TexasBill.
MY point was simply that "YES" it has become so coloquial that we don't realise we are doing it. For someone to state that they have not heard "I am an American" being used to describe themselves, is so incorrect that it cries out for a rebuffal!!

I have thought of many other examples to the list posted earlier but as only ONE of those submitted has been (correctly) challenged, it seems a bit churlish to post more!! Don't get hot under the collar Bill - it is only a thought provoking discussion!! - Grahame.

 

[pati]

For those of us born in the USA our nationality is American. However we are citizens of the United States of America or the U.S.

The term America is not an evolved term used to shorten the words United States of America. When first discovered the country was named America. Later on we became the United States of America.

Just like at one time there was a U.S.S.R but now they are divided into different countries.

To compare calling the U.S. "America" to calling the Dominican Republic "the Dominican" is like comparing apples and oranges.

First off the term "America" is used more on an international level than on an everyday basis because other countries refer to us as America. Why, I don't know. Maybe because their history lessons of the U.S. only go as far as when Columbus and Amerigo discovered the new world they named America.

I look at it this way, my grandmother is the only person I ever heard call my aunt Connie, Phyllis. It wasn't until I was in my teens when I asked my mother why does grandma call aunt Connie, Phyllis. It turns out that Phyllis was my aunts given name but she changed it when she got older. So is it wrong when my grandmother calls her by her old name? Not necessarily but would my aunt or anyone who has met her call her anything other than Connie, I don't see why they would.

Now to use the term "the Dominican" to refer to the Dominican Republic is a whole other story. I could actually use two arguments one being that "the Dominican" really refers to a person but that's been tried before and it just incited a feud. I could even say to those that say the term "la Dominica" is commonly used. Have you ever heard the saying "it gets lost in the translation".But I'm going to use a different approach.

For clarity, I feel it is beneficial to correct those who use the term "the Dominican" instead of the more grammatical terms and this is why. The other day I came across a thread that had a link to photonet.com (sorry I don't recall who posted it). So I posted the pictures of DR and showed them to a co-worker. He in turn stopped someone passing by and told them to look at the pictures. I then clicked on the picture and said this is in Santo Dominigo. She said, Oh is that "the Dominican". I then corrected her and said, the Dominican Republic. She then said (and I know this is not typical but..)which one is that? Referring to the name Dominican Republic.So I said to her there's Dominica and there's the Dominican Republic. She then asked me which one is an island (like I said this is not a typical response but..) It just goes to show the term is not only grammatically incorrect but it can cause confusion among those who are not that familiar with your country.

When people say America, right or wrong there is no confusion on whether or not someone is referring to a person or a place. There also is no confusion on which country they are referring to.

 

[AtlantaBob]

Yes, Mommc,

If you ask me where I'm from and I respond "America" and then you ask me "which America??"...yes then I would know you are anal. Once again, "America" is part of the name of the country, the USA. It is not part of the name of the country Canada or Mexico or Brazil.

BTW, I know a lady laying in a hospital bed right now, dying of cancer, who could give a F**k what you call it!

 

[trina]

Now to use the term "the Dominican" to refer to the Dominican Republic is a whole other story. I could actually use two arguments one being that "the Dominican" really refers to a person but that's been tried before and it just incited a feud. I could even say to those that say the term "la Dominica" is commonly used. Have you ever heard the saying "it gets lost in the translation".But I'm going to use a different approach.

For clarity, I feel it is beneficial to correct those who use the term "the Dominican" instead of the more grammatical terms and this is why. The other day I came across a thread that had a link to photonet.com (sorry I don't recall who posted it). So I posted the pictures of DR and showed them to a co-worker. He in turn stopped someone passing by and told them to look at the pictures. I then clicked on the picture and said this is in Santo Dominigo. She said, Oh is that "the Dominican". I then corrected her and said, the Dominican Republic. She then said (and I know this is not typical but..)which one is that? Referring to the name Dominican Republic.So I said to her there's Dominica and there's the Dominican Republic. She then asked me which one is an island (like I said this is not a typical response but..) It just goes to show the term is not only grammatically incorrect but it can cause confusion among those who are not that familiar with your country.

I still say big.deal. It is like everything else, if it is used in the correct context, you wouldn't confuse a country for a person. NO one can tell me they've never heard the phrase "yo voy por la Dominicana" because I've heard it, along with other references to "la Dominicana" hundreds of times, and NOT in reference to a person, rather, a country. Guess what? la Dominicana = the Dominican. period. So anyone anally inclined to correct me for using the Dominican will definitely hear about it...especially when it's an ex-pat that isn't even entitled to feel so utterly abused. If you don't think it's right...guess what, that's your opinion, I couldn't really care less. My opinion is that it's a shortened version of the country name that I couldn't be bothered to write in full all the time, seeing that I use it so much. My husband is Dominican, and if that doesn't offend him or any of his friends or family, I say that it's just a bunch of people with nothing better to do than nitpick. This board is made up of a mixture of people, a lot whose first language is not English, and make many grammatical errors. If we're going to correct "what each and every person feels, in their opinion, is right" and nitpick, that's all this board is going to be, and what a sad state everyone will be in. Correcting someone's use of the term "the Dominican" only promotes hijacking each and every thread that it's posted in (just like this one was), and we all know what a "pissing contest" that turns out to be.

 

[miguel]

This is getting sickening!

Call it as you want but since it's your choice you call it as you please, then it's my choice to correct you. If you don't like to be corrected, then say it the way that it's supposed to me said. A friend of mine told me a few years ago; " I am going to spend some time with some Dominican friends in Dominica", meaning the island of Dominica.
From now on, to save myself from speaking so many words when going to a foreign country, my vocabulary will be limited to the following (and since it has some part of thre country's name on it, it should make it ok):

I will be going to Rican and meet some people from San over there and then we will all go to the Union to be with some friends from Korea (which Korea, well, one of them since I am it's too hard to say which one), and then we will go to that country named Republic (which one, well I am saying Republic so pick one since you are a magician and you know which one I am trying to tell you). Then we will travel to all the other countries that have two names and we will just say the first or lat name of it and I know that people will know what we are talking about.
Call it as you please but I will correct you. Is it nitpicking, sure , but it's also nitpicking in your part to say that your way is right just because you hear people call it that way.

 

[marymack]

You folks in "Paradise" have way too much time on your hands..

 

[trina]

Call it as you want but since it's your choice you call it as you please, then it's my choice to correct you. If you don't like to be corrected, then say it the way that it's supposed to me said. A friend of mine told me a few years ago; " I am going to spend some time with some Dominican friends in Dominica", meaning the island of Dominica.
From now on, to save myself from speaking so many words when going to a foreign country, my vocabulary will be limited to the following (and since it has some part of thre country's name on it, it should make it ok):

I will be going to Rican and meet some people from San over there and then we will all go to the Union to be with some friends from Korea (which Korea, well, one of them since I am it's too hard to say which one), and then we will go to that country named Republic (which one, well I am saying Republic so pick one since you are a magician and you know which one I am trying to tell you). Then we will travel to all the other countries that have two names and we will just say the first or lat name of it and I know that people will know what we are talking about.
Call it as you please but I will correct you. Is it nitpicking, sure , but it's also nitpicking in your part to say that your way is right just because you hear people call it that way.

Go ahead and correct what simply "in your opinion" is wrong when I say "the Dominican," and in doing so, hijack the thread, and I'll be all over you correcting every.little.thing. that I feel, in my opinion, is wrong in what you say. People correct someone for saying it, and every time, it will turn into yet another pissing contest, with eventually the thread closing, like so often happens. Again, "la Dominicana" = "the Dominican", and therefore, is NOT wrong. Your choices above are not widely used, like "the Dominican" is, so therefore, if you want to use those expressions, go ahead. I'm not an anal nitpicker. But I can be, if someone chooses to constantly berate my opinion and freedom to use the words I please. And I do agree, it's sickening how people hijack every thread that someone uses "the Dominican" in, as this one has been. So we've said our peace, let's leave it at that and leave people call this country that we all love in our own terms.

 

[pati]

I still say big.deal. It is like everything else, if it is used in the correct context, you wouldn't confuse a country for a person. NO one can tell me they've never heard the phrase "yo voy por la Dominicana" because I've heard it, along with other references to "la Dominicana" hundreds of times, and NOT in reference to a person, rather, a country. Guess what? la Dominicana = the Dominican. period. So anyone anally inclined to correct me for using the Dominican will definitely hear about it...especially when it's an ex-pat that isn't even entitled to feel so utterly abused. If you don't think it's right...guess what, that's your opinion, I couldn't really care less. My opinion is that it's a shortened version of the country name that I couldn't be bothered to write in full all the time, seeing that I use it so much. My husband is Dominican, and if that doesn't offend him or any of his friends or family, I say that it's just a bunch of people with nothing better to do than nitpick. This board is made up of a mixture of people, a lot whose first language is not English, and make many grammatical errors. If we're going to correct "what each and every person feels, in their opinion, is right" and nitpick, that's all this board is going to be, and what a sad state everyone will be in. Correcting someone's use of the term "the Dominican" only promotes hijacking each and every thread that it's posted in (just like this one was), and we all know what a "pissing contest" that turns out to be.

First of all what makes your opinion any more important then anyone elses. I am not nitpicking nor am I the one making this personal. I thought I was participating in an adult conversation with people who may or may not have different perspectives. I guess I was wrong.I hear people saying "it bees like that" , heck I even heard it in a song. That doen't mean it's correct nor would I would ever consider saying it myself. My husband who is Dominican has never used the term "the Dominican" or "la Dominicana".
As far as hijacking the thead, I don't see that happening here unless some of you start making it personal rather than just a conversation.

 

[URock]

You know what.......

I know this topic has been beat to death over and over and there will be no way for either side of the arguement to come out on top.

But.......... Just yesterday, a co-worker was discussing travel and mentioned to the group at the lunch table something concerning a trip to "the Dominican". I of course, because of the continueous talk here on DR1 about how "grating" that can be, spoke up immediately to correct him that in fact it was the "Dominican Republic" that he was referring.

Well, and really not to my surprise, he gave me one of those "shut-up you moron" looks and said, "yeah, the dominican, that's what I said".

BTW, I'm talking about a conversation in Canada, and these people are
by no means backwoods hicks.

Anyway......There really isn't much point in trying to correct anyone, at least around here, because it makes me look like more of an idiot than anyone using the term. Just about everybody, and there are plenty, that travels to the DR from Halifax, refers to the country as "the Dominican". No, I'm not saying it's right.

The point is, good luck trying to change the masses on how they refer to the name of the DR. Really......who cares, just sit back and enjoy all the tourist dollars.

No problem........No problem :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

 

[BushBaby]

Surely, if the Dominicans refer to the country as La Dominicana, then that is how it should be used - The Dominicana NOT the Dominican!!!

Just to throw a REAL spanner in the works, how do people feel about DOMINICANS who refer to the country by the nake of it's Capital?? YES, I have heard reasonably well educated Dominicans call the country "Santo Domingo" & when I checked, they said it used to be called that sometime ago!!

As I said, just to lighten things up a bit & cause UTTER confusion in this hijacked thread.