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FrogPrincess@lemmy.ml to Asklemmy@lemmy.mlEnglish · 7 months ago

German-speakers of Lemmy, does 'Amerika' normally mean 'the Americas' or 'the USA'?

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German-speakers of Lemmy, does 'Amerika' normally mean 'the Americas' or 'the USA'?

FrogPrincess@lemmy.ml to Asklemmy@lemmy.mlEnglish · 7 months ago
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  • kambusha@sh.itjust.works
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    7 months ago

    We’re all living in Amerika. Coca cola. Wonder-bra.

    • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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      7 months ago

      I read the question and my brain also immediately went to - “Oh, they just listened to Rammstein”.

      • doofy77@aussie.zone
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        7 months ago

        Thought it was a Kafka thing.

  • Captain Baka@feddit.org
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    7 months ago

    Most people use “Amerika” for “the USA”. If one talks about “the Americas” we use “Südamerika” (south) and “Nordamerika” (north).

    • grandel@lemmy.ml
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      7 months ago

      I believe everybody uses it wrong though. Technically “Amerika” is the continent. But most people mean “Die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika” (The United States of America aka USA)

  • PonyOfWar@pawb.social
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    7 months ago

    It’s most commonly used to refer to the USA.

  • Microw@lemm.ee
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    7 months ago

    Depends on the context. If it is written/talked about in a geographic context, it will usually mean “the Americas”. If it’s in a political context, it will mean “the USA”.

    Keep on mind that reputable news outlets won’t use “Amerika” when referring to the US however, they will use “Vereinigte Staaten” (United States). “Amerika” as a term for the US is very much a colloquial thing.

    • FrogPrincess@lemmy.mlOP
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      7 months ago

      Depends on the context. If it is written/talked about in a geographic context, it will usually mean “the Americas”. If it’s in a political context, it will mean “the USA”.

      That’s a good point.

  • Thoralf Will@discuss.tchncs.de
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    7 months ago

    I would not use „Amerika“ if I would refer to the US. I usually mean the geographical combination of North and South America if I would use the term.

    If I want to reference the US, I would use „die USA“, „die Vereinigten Staaten“ or in short just „die Staaten“.

    • very_well_lost@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      die USA

      NSA has entered the chat

  • viking@infosec.pub
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    7 months ago

    The US. We’d usually use North/South/Central/Latin America for specifics, or if we wanted to imply something happens all over the Americas, then we’d refer to “the entire American continent” or continental America.

  • Nicht BurningTurtle@feddit.org
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    7 months ago

    I use both to refer to the USA, since the meaning can be inferred from the context, but use US more often.

  • mathemachristian [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    7 months ago

    The US.

  • FrogPrincess@lemmy.mlOP
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    7 months ago

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerika

  • andrewta@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Stupid question is that how they would spell America in Germany “Amerika”?

    • PonyOfWar@pawb.social
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      7 months ago

      Yep, that’s how we spell it.

    • FrogPrincess@lemmy.mlOP
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      7 months ago

      Ja

    • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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      7 months ago

      Just wait until you see how Americans spell Deutschland…

    • superkret@feddit.org
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      7 months ago

      Just wait till you hear how we pronounce “Chicago”.

      • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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        7 months ago

        Eh, as a Bostonian I’m always much more impressed by how people’s tongues try to leave orbit when they first encounter Worcester.

      • yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de
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        7 months ago

        It’s obviously pronounced Kicago, just like Chamäleon, Chemie and China :)

        • mbirth@lemmy.ml
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          7 months ago

          Kemie and Kina

          I threw up a little…

          • yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de
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            7 months ago

            But Chemie comes from Chemnitz (obviously) so it must be pronounced with K

            Don’t know where China comes from, maybe from Chinese which is obviously pronounced with K.

    • unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz
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      7 months ago

      The hard “c” sound as you see in America is always a ‘k’ auf deutsch.

      • andrewta@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        That makes sense

    • Captain Baka@feddit.org
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      7 months ago

      Something a person that definitely doesn’t speak german would say. We spell it exactly like this.

      • Magister Sieran@discuss.tchncs.de
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        7 months ago

        …Yes, that’s why they’re asking.

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