Americas
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/* Singular vs plural */ of course that didn't work, silly me :)
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[[Image:LocationAmericas.png|thumb|World map showing the Americas]]
[[Image:N&SAmerica-pol.jpg|thumb|300px|CIA political map of the Americas in an [[Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection|equal-area]] [[Map projection|projection]]]]
The '''Americas''' are the lands of the [[Western hemisphere]] or [[New World]], consisting of the [[continent]]s of [[North America]] and [[South America]] with their associated [[island]]s and [[region]]s. The Americas cover 8.3% of the [[Earth]]'s total surface area (28.4% of its land area) and contain about 14% of the [[human population]] (about 900 million people). In many cultures, the landmass is regarded as one continent and originally, it was called ''America''. <ref>[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/america america - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]. Retrieved on [[January 27]], [[2008]].</ref><ref>america. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/america (accessed: January 27, 2008).</ref> However, this name is also often used for the [[United States|''United States of'' America]], in which case use of this name would lead to ambiguity.
== History ==
{{euromericas}}
{{main|History of the Americas}}
=== Formation ===
South America broke off from the west of the [[supercontinent]] [[Gondwanaland]] around 135 [[million years ago]] (Ma), forming its own continent.<ref>{{cite journal|author = Brian C. Story|journal = Nature|date = [[28 September]] [[1995]]|title = The role of mantle plumes in continental breakup: case histories from Gondwanaland|volume = 377|pages = 301–309|doi = 10.1038/377301a0}}</ref> Starting around 15 Ma, the collision of the [[Caribbean Plate]] and the [[Pacific Plate]] resulted in a series of volcanoes along the border that created a number of islands. The gaps in the archipelago of [[Central America]] filled in with material eroded off North America and South America, plus new land created by continued volcanism. By 3 Ma, the continents of North America and South America were linked by the [[Isthmus of Panama]], thereby forming the single landmass of the Americas.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/andes/bridge.html|title = Land bridge: How did the formation of a sliver of land result in major changes in biodiversity|publisher = Public Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>
=== Settlement ===
{{see also|Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact}}
Archaeological finds establish the widespread presence of the [[Clovis culture]] in North America and South America around 10000 BC.<ref>{{cite journal|url = http://www.jstor.org/view/00027316/ap010226/01a00040/0|author = David S. Whitley and Ronald I. Dorn|title = New Perspectives on the Clovis versus Pre-Clovis Controversy|journal = American Antiquity|year = 1993|pages = 626–647|format = {{Dead link|date=June 2008}} – <sup>[http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=intitle%3ANew+Perspectives+on+the+Clovis+versus+Pre-Clovis+Controversy&as_publication=American+Antiquity&as_ylo=1993&as_yhi=1993&btnG=Search Scholar search]</sup>}}</ref> Whether this is the first migration of humans into North America and South America is disputed, with [[Models of migration to the New World|alternative theories]] holding that humans arrived in North America and South America as early as 40000 BC.
The [[Inuit]] migrated into the [[Arctic]] section of North America in another wave of migration, arriving around 1000 CE.<ref>{{cite web
|publisher=[[Canadian Museum of Civilization]]
|url = http://www.civilization.ca/educat/oracle/modules/dmorrison/page01_e.html
|title = Canadian Inuit History}}</ref> Around the same time as the Inuit migrated into North America, [[Norse colonization of the Americas|Viking settlers]] began arriving in [[Greenland]] in 982 and [[Vinland]] shortly thereafter.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.civilization.ca/educat/oracle/modules/rmcghee/page01_e.html|title = Vinland|publisher = Canadian Museum of Civilization}}</ref> The Viking settlers quickly abandoned Vinland, and disappeared from Greenland by 1500.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.greenland-guide.gl/leif2000/history.htm|publisher = Greenland Guide - The Official Travel Index|title = The Norse settlers in Greenland - A short history}}</ref>
Large-scale [[European colonization of the Americas]] began shortly after the voyages of [[Christopher Columbus]] in 1492. The spread of new diseases brought by Europeans and Africans killed most of the inhabitants of North America and South America,<ref>{{cite journal|url = http://www.jstor.org/view/00113204/dm991519/99p0234k/0?currentResult=00113204%2bdm991519%2b99p0234k%2b0%2c7F&searchUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fsearch%2FBasicResults%3Fhp%3D25%26si%3D1%26gw%3Djtx%26jtxsi%3D1%26jcpsi%3D1%26artsi%3D1%26Query%3DNative%2BAmerican%2BDisease%26wc%3Don|title = Aboriginal North American Population and Rates of Decline, c.a. A.D. 1500 - 1900|author = Russell Thornton|journal = Current Anthropology|volume = 38|number = 2|pages = 310–315|doi = 10.1086/204615|year = 1997|format = {{Dead link|date=June 2008}} – <sup>[http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=intitle%3AAboriginal+North+American+Population+and+Rates+of+Decline%2C+c.a.+A.D.+1500+-+1900&as_publication=Current+Anthropology&as_ylo=1997&as_yhi=1997&btnG=Search Scholar search]</sup>}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-5597%28197604%293%3A33%3A2%3C289%3AVSEAAF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X|title = Virgin Soil Epidemics as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in America|author = Alfred W. Crosby|journal = David and Mary Quarterly|pages = 289–299|volume = 33|number = 2|date=April 1976}}</ref> with a general [[Population history of American indigenous peoples|population crash of Native Americans]] occurring in the mid-sixteenth century, often well ahead of European contact.<ref>{{cite journal|url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0084-6570%281993%292%3A22%3C273%3ADTAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-R|title = Disease Transfer at Contact|author = Henry F. Dobyns|journal = Annual Review of Anthropology|volume = 22|pages = 273–291|year = 1993|doi = 10.1146/annurev.an.22.100193.001421}}</ref> Native peoples and European colonizers came into widespread conflict, resulting in what [[David Stannard]] has called a [[genocides in history#Americas|genocide]] of the indigenous populations.<ref name=DS-Review>Staff. [http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryAmerican/NativeAmerican/?view=usa&ci=0195085574 A review] of ''American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World'' (by [[David Stannard]]), on the website of the Oxford University Press (the publishers)</ref> Early European immigrants were often part of state-sponsored attempts to found colonies in the Americas. Migration continued as people moved to the Americas fleeing [[religious persecution]] or seeking economic opportunities. Many individuals were forcibly transported to the Americas as [[slave]]s, [[prison]]ers or [[indentured servant]]s.
=== Naming ===
[[Image:Ct000725C-wh012 5-Universalis cosmographia secundum Ptholomaei traditionem et Americi Vespucii alioru-m-que lustrationes..gif|thumb|left|World Map of Waldseemüller which first named America (in the map over Paraguay). ''Germany, 1507'']]
The earliest known use of the name ''America'' (singular) for this particular landmass dates from [[April 25]], [[1507]]. It appears on a globe and a large map created by the [[Germany|German]] [[cartographer]] [[Martin Waldseemüller]] in [[Saint-Dié-des-Vosges]]. The last known surviving copy of the Waldseemüller map was recently acquired by the US [[Library of Congress]] for $US 10 million.<ref> Wyatt Mason, ''New York Times Magazine,'' 12/2/2007, pp. 11-13 </ref> An accompanying book, ''[[Cosmographiae Introductio]]'', explains that the name was derived from the [[Latin]]ized version of the explorer [[Amerigo Vespucci]]'s name, ''Americus Vespucius'', in its feminine form, ''America'', as the other continents all have Latin feminine names.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-24-america-turns-500_N.htm?csp=34 Cartographer put 'America' on the map 500 years ago - USATODAY.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Vespucci's role in the naming issue, like his exploratory activity, is unclear. Some sources say that he was unaware of the widespread use of his name to refer to the new landmass. Waldseemüller may have been misled by the [[Soderini Letter]], now thought to be a forgery, which reports that the New World is populated by giants, cannibals, and sexually insatiable females and implies it was discovered first by Vespucci.<ref> Wyatt Mason, ''New York Times Magazine,'' 12/2/2007, pp. 11-13 </ref> Christopher Columbus, who had first brought the region's existence to the attention of [[Renaissance]] era voyagers, had died in 1506 (believing, to the end, that he had discovered and colonized part of India) and could not protest Waldseemüller's decision.
[[Image:MapaAméricaJonghe.JPG|thumb|right|Map of America by Jonghe, c. 1770.]]
A few alternative theories regarding the landmass's naming have been proposed, but none of them has achieved any widespread acceptance.
One alternative, first advanced by [[Jules Marcou]] in 1875 and later recounted by novelist [[Jan Carew]], is that the name ''America'' derives from the district of ''Amerrique'' in [[Nicaragua]].<ref>{{cite journal|title = The Origin of the Name "America"|author = George C. Hurlbut|journal = Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York|volume = 20|year = 1888|pages = 183–196|url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1536-0407%281888%2920%3C183%3ATOOTN%22%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P|doi = 10.2307/196759}}</ref> The gold-rich district of Amerrique was purportedly visited by both Vespucci and Columbus, for whom the name became synonymous with gold. According to Marcou, Vespucci later applied the name to the New World, and even changed the spelling of his own name from ''Alberigo'' to ''Amerigo'' to reflect the importance of the discovery.
Another theory, first proposed by a [[Bristol]] [[antiquary]] and [[natural history|naturalist]], Alfred Hudd, in 1908 was that ''America'' is derived from [[Richard Amerike]] (Richard ap Meryke), a Welsh merchant from Bristol, who is believed to have financed [[John Cabot]]'s voyage of discovery from [[England]] to [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] in 1497 as found in some documents from [[Westminster Abbey]] a few decades ago. Supposedly, Bristol fishermen had been visiting the coast of North America for at least a century before Columbus' voyage and Waldseemüller's maps are alleged to incorporate information from the early English journeys to North America. The theory holds that a variant of Amerike's name appeared on an early English map (of which, however, no copies survive) and that this was the true inspiration for Waldseemüller.
===Singular vs plural===
The plural name ''Americas'' helps distinguish between the landmass and the country [[USA|''United States of'' America]], which is often referred to as simply 'America'. As in the English speaking world 'America' in practise referred to the English [[colony|colonies]], in the Spanish speaking world it referred to the Spanish colonies. To this day, in [[Latin America]], the singular name is used for the landmass, which is regarded as one continent, as it is in many other cultures.
== Geography ==
{{see|Geography of North America|Geography of South America}}
=== Extent ===
The northernmost point of the Americas is [[Kaffeklubben Island]], which is the northernmost point of land on Earth.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/06/17/BAG4J779M31.DTL&type=science|title = Romancing the north Berkeley explorer may have stepped on ancient Thule|author = Charles Burress|publisher = San Francisco Chronicle|date = [[June 17]] [[2004]]}}</ref> The southernmost point is the islands of [[Southern Thule]], although they are sometimes considered part of [[Antarctica]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.coolantarctica.com/Travel/south_georgia_south_sandwich_islands.htm|title = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Antarctica - Travel}}</ref> The easternmost point is [[Nordostrundingen]]. The westernmost point is [[Attu Island]].
=== Topography ===
[[Image:Aconcagua - Argentina - January 2005 - by Sergio Schmiegelow.jpg|[[Aconcagua]], the highest mountain in the Americas|thumb|right]]
The western geography of the Americas is dominated by the [[American cordillera]], with the [[Andes]] running along the west coast of South America<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes.htm|title = Andes Mountain Range}}</ref> and the [[Rocky Mountains]] and other [[Pacific Coast Ranges]] running the western side of North America.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/wm146.htm | title = Rocky Mountains}}</ref> The 2300 km long [[Appalachian Mountains]] run along the east coast of North America from [[Alabama]] to [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2067|title = Appalachian Mountains|publisher = Ohio History Central}}</ref> North of the Appalachians, the [[Arctic Cordillera]] runs along the eastern coast of Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.evergreen.ca/nativeplants/learn-more/arctic-cordillera.php|title = Arctic Cordillera}}</ref>
Between its coastal mountain ranges, North America has vast flat areas. The [[Interior Plains]] spread over much of the continent with low relief.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicPast/Notes/interior_plains_region.html|title = Interior Plains Region}}</ref> The [[Canadian Shield]] covers almost 5 million km² of North America and is generally quite flat.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://redpath-museum.mcgill.ca/Qbp/Natural%20History/nat_hist.html|title = Natural History of Quebec}}</ref> Similarly, the north-east of South America is covered by the flat [[Amazon Basin]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.amazonconservation.org/home/strategy.html|title = Strategy|publisher = Amazon Conservation Association}}</ref> The [[Brazilian Highlands]] on the east coast are fairly smooth but show some variations in landform, while further south the [[Gran Chaco]] and [[Pampas]] are broad [[lowland]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/southAmerica.htm|title = SRTM SOUTH AMERICA IMAGES}}</ref>
=== Hydrology ===
With coastal mountains and interior plains, the Americas have several large [[river basin]]s that drain the continents. The largest river basin in South America is that of the [[Amazon Basin|Amazon]], which has the highest volume flow of any river on Earth.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.greatestplaces.org/notes/amazon.htm|title = Greatest Places: Notes: Amazonia}}</ref> The largest river basin in North America is that of the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]], covering the second largest [[Drainage basin|watershed]] on the planet.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/ms137.htm|title = Mississippi River}}</ref> The second largest watershed of South America is that of the [[Paraná River]], which covers about 2.5 million km².<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.nature.org/wherewework/greatrivers/samerica/|title = Great Rivers Partnership - Paraguay-Parana}}</ref>
== Demography ==
=== Population ===
[[Image:Mexico DF City.jpg|[[Mexico City]] is the most populous city in North America|thumb|right]]
[[Image:São Paulo - Itaim Bibi.jpg|right|thumb|[[São Paulo]] is the most populous city in South America.]]
[[Image:Newyorkcity groundzero.jpg|[[New York City]] is the third most populous city in the Americas|thumb|right]]
[[Image:Palermo Skyline.JPG|[[Buenos Aires]] is the fourth most populous city in the Americas|thumb|right]]
The total population of the Americas is 858,000,000 people per the [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/seriesa/introduction.asp United Nations' Population and Vital Statistics Report], and is divided as follows:
* North America: 2001 with 495 million and in 2002 with 501 million (includes [[Central America]] and [[Hawaii]])
* South America: 2001 with 352 million and in 2002 with 357 million
See also:
* [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/vitstats/serATab2.pdf UN population data by latest available Census: 2007]
* [[List of American countries by population]]
=== Ethnology ===
The population of the Americas is made up of the descendants of eight large [[ethnic group]]s and their combinations.
* 1. The [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas]], being [[Amerindian]]s, [[Inuit]], and [[Aleut]]s.
* 2. [[Europe]]ans, mainly [[Spanish people|Spanish]], [[British people|British]], [[Irish people|Irish]], [[Italians|Italian]], [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]], [[French people|French]], [[Polish people|Polish]], [[Germans|German]], [[Dutch (ethnic group)|Dutch]], and [[Danish people]].
* 3. [[Mestizo]]s, those of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry.
* 4. Those of [[Black African]] ancestry.
* 5. [[Mulatto]]es, people of mixed Black African and European ancestry.
* 6. [[Zambo]]s (Spanish) or [[Cafuso]]s (Portuguese), those of mixed Black African and Amerindian ancestry.
* 7. [[Asian people|Asian]]s, that is, those of [[Eastern Asia|Eastern]], [[South Asia|South]], and [[Southeast Asia]]n ancestry.
* 8. Those from the [[Middle East]] (''Middle Easterners'').
* 9. [[Amerasian]], those of mixed, usually European, and Asian ancestry.
The majority of the population live in [[Latin America]], named for its dominant languages, [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], both of which are descended from [[Latin language|Latin]]. Latin America is typically contrasted with [[Anglo-America]], where [[English language|English]] (a [[Germanic language]]) prevails; namely, [[Canada]] (with the exception of francophone Canada: see [[Québec]] and [[Acadia]]) and the [[United States]], both in North America, have predominantly British roots and are quite different in terms of linguistic, cultural, and economic situation from other countries in the Americas.
=== Religion ===
The most prevalent faiths in the Americas are as follows:
*1. Christianity (North America: 85 percent; South America: 93 percent)<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/montreal/features/religion/christianity_world.html CBC Montreal - Religion<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
**[[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] (practiced by 85 percent of [[Mexican]] population; approximately 24 percent of the United States population<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html#People CIA - The World Factbook - United States<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and more than 40 percent of all of [[Demography of Canada|Canadians]])<ref>[http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030513/d030513a.htm The Daily, Tuesday, May 13, 2003. Census of Population: Income of individuals, families and households; religion<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
**[[Protestantism]] (practiced mostly in United States, where half of the population are Protestant, and Canada, with slightly more than a quarter of the population; there is a growing contingent of [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] and [[Pentecostal]] movements in predominantly Catholic Latin America<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1348759.htm</ref>)
**[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]] (found mostly in the United States and Canada—0.5 percent of the US citizenry; this Christian group is growing faster than many other Christian groups in Canada and now represents roughly 3 percent of the population)
**Other Christians and non-denominational Christians (some 1,000 different Christian denominations and sects practiced in the Americas)
*2. [[Atheism]] (mostly found in North America—atheists make up 16 percent of Canadians, 12 percent of the U.S. population, and less than 5 percent of Mexicans; 4 percent of South Americans are atheistic)
*3. [[Judaism]] (practiced by 2 percent of North Americans—approximately 2.5 percent of the U.S. population and 1.2 percent of Canadians<ref>[http://www.jcpa.org/cjc/cjc-robinson-06.htm Canadian Jewry Today: Portrait of a Community in the Process of Change - Ira Robinson<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>; 0.23 percent of Latin Americans—[[Argentina]] has the largest Jewish communities in Latin America with 200,000 members<ref>[http://www.ujc.org/page.html?ArticleID=26170 First Planeload of Jews Fleeing Argentina Arrives in Israel<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>)
*4. [[Islam]] (1.9 percent of Canadians (600,000 persons)<ref>[http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo30a.htm?sdi=religion Population by religion, by province and territory (2001 Census)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, 0.6% percent of the U.S. population (1,820,000 persons)<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html#People CIA - The World Factbook - United States<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, and 0.2% of Mexicans (<250,000 persons)<ref>[http://islamdom.blogspot.com/2007/11/islam-in-mexico.html Islam and Christianity: Islam in Mexico<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. Together, Islam constitutes approximately 0.5% of the North American population. North American cities with high concentrations of Muslims include [[Toronto]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Detroit]], and [[New York City]].; 0.3 percent of all Latin Americans)
Other faiths include [[Sikhism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Hinduism]], and [[Bahá'í Faith|Bahá'í]] in small numbers, plus some native [[animist]]s.
=== Languages ===
Various [[language]]s are spoken in the Americas. Some are of European origin, others are spoken by indigenous peoples or are the mixture of various idioms like the different creoles.
The dominant language of [[Latin America]] is [[Spanish language|Spanish]], though the largest nation in Latin America, [[Brazil]], speaks [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]. Small enclaves of French- and English-speaking regions also exist in Latin America, notably in [[French Guiana]] and [[Nicaragua]]'s [[Mosquito Coast]], respectively, and [[Haitian Creole language|Haitian Creole]], of French origin, is dominant in the nation of [[Haiti]]. [[Indigenous languages of the Americas|Native languages]] are more prominent in Latin America than in [[Anglo-America]], with [[Nahuatl language|Nahuatl]], [[Quechua]], [[Aymara language|Aymara]] and [[Guaraní language|Guaraní]] as the most common. Various other native languages are spoken with lesser frequency across both Anglo-America and Latin America. [[Creole language]]s other than Haitian Creole are also spoken in parts of Latin America.
The dominant language of Anglo-America, as the name suggests, is [[English language|English]]. [[French language|French]] is also official in [[Canada]], where it is the predominant language in [[Québec]] and an official language in [[New Brunswick]] along with English. It is also an important language in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Louisiana]]. Spanish has become widely spoken in parts of the [[United States]] due to heavy immigration from Latin America. High levels of immigration in general have brought great linguistic diversity to Anglo-America, with over 300 languages known to be spoken in the United States alone, but most languages are spoken only in small enclaves and by relatively small immigrant groups.
The nations of [[Guyana]], [[Suriname]], and [[Belize]] are generally considered not to fall into either Anglo-America or Latin America due to lingual differences with Latin America and geographic and cultural differences with Anglo-America; English is the primary language of Guyana and Belize, and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] is the primary language of Suriname.
*Spanish – spoken by approximately 320 million in many nations, regions, islands, and communities throughout both continents.
*English – spoken by approximately 300 million people in the United States, Canada, [[Jamaica]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[The Bahamas]], [[Bermuda]], Belize, Guyana, and many islands of the [[Caribbean]].
*Portuguese – spoken by approximately 185 million in South America, mostly Brazil<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.portugueselanguage.net/portuguese/facts.asp|title = Portuguese Facts}}</ref>
*French – spoken by approximately 12 million in Canada (majority 7 million in Québec—see also [[Québec French]]), and [[Acadian]] communities in New Brunswick and [[Nova Scotia]]); the Caribbean (Haiti, [[Guadeloupe]], [[Martinique]]); French Guiana; the French islands of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]]; and [[Acadiana]] (a Francophone area in southern Louisiana, United States).
*Quechua – native language spoken by 10–13 million speakers in [[Ecuador]], [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]], northern [[Chile]], and northwest [[Argentina]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2006/08/71664|title = Now Bolivia Can Do Windows}}</ref>
*Haitian Creole – creole language, based in French and various African languages, spoken by 6 million in Haiti and the [[Haitian Diaspora]] in Canada and the United States.<ref>{{cite journal|title = The "Real" Haitian Creole: Ideology, Metalinguistics, and Orthographic Choice|author = Bambi B. Schieffelin; Rachelle Charlier Doucet|journal = American Ethnologist|volume = 21|number = 1|date = February 1994|pages = 176–200|url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0094-0496%28199402%2921%3A1%3C176%3AT%22HCIM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D|doi = 10.1525/ae.1994.21.1.02a00090}}</ref>
*[[Guaraní language|Guaraní]] (avañe'ẽ) – native language spoken by approximately 6 million people in [[Paraguay]], and regions of [[Argentina]], [[Bolivia]], and Brazil.
*[[Italian language|Italian]] – spoken by approximately 4 million people, mostly [[New England]] / [[Mid-Atlantic]] in the United States, [[southern Ontario]] and Quebec in Canada, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, and also includes pidgin dialects of Italian such as [[Talian]] (Brazil), and [[Chipilo]] (Mexico).
*[[German language|German]] – Some 2.2 million. Spoken by 1.1 million people in the United States plus another million in parts of Latin America, such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and El Salvador.
*Aymará – native language spoken by about 2.2 million speakers in the [[Andes]], in Bolivia and Peru.
*[[Quiché language|Quiché]] and other [[Maya language]]s – native languages spoken by about 1.9 million speakers in [[Guatemala]] and southern [[Mexico]].
*Nahuatl – native language of central Mexico with 1.5 million speakers. Also was the language of the [[Aztec]] People of Mexico.
*[[Antillean Creole]] – spoken by approximately 1.2 million in the [[Eastern Caribbean]] (Guadeloupe, Martinique, [[Dominica]], [[Saint Lucia]]) and French Guiana.
*[[American Sign Language]] – An estimated 100,000–500,000 people within the Deaf Community use ASL as their primary language in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.indiana.edu/~hlw/Appendices/languages.html|title = A3 Languages cited in this book|author = Mike Gasser}}</ref>
*[[Mapudungun language|Mapudungun]] (or Mapuche) – native language spoken by approximately 440,000 people in [[Chile]] and Argentina.
*[[Navajo language|Navajo]] – native language spoken by about 178,000 speakers in the Southwest U.S. on the [[Navajo Nation]] (Indian reservation).<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features/001492.html|title = American Indian & Alaska Native Heritage Month: November 2003|publisher = United States' Census Bureau}}</ref> The tribe's isolation until the early 1900s provided a language used in a military code in [[World War II]].
*Dutch – spoken in the [[Netherlands Antilles]], [[Aruba]], and [[Suriname]] by about 210,000 speakers.
*[[Miskito language|Miskito]] – Spoken by up over 180,000 [[Miskito]]s. They are Indigenous people who inhabit the Caribbean coast of [[Nicaragua]] and the easternmost region of [[Honduras]].
*[[Pennsylvania Dutch]] – Some descendants of the Pennsylvania Dutch in the Northeast U.S. speak a local form of the German language which dates back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They number about 85,000.
*[[Inuit language|Inuit]] – native language spoken by about 75,000 across the North American Arctic and to some extent in the subarctic in [[Labrador]].
*[[Danish language|Danish]] – and Greenlandic (Inuit) are the official languages of Greenland; most of the population speak both of the languages (approximately 50,000 people). A minority of Danish migrants with no [[Inuit]] ancestry speak Danish as their first, or only, language.
*[[Cree language|Cree]] – Cree is the name for a group of closely-related Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 50,000 speakers across Canada.
*[[Miskito Coastal Creole|Nicaraguan Creole]] – Spoken in Nicaragua by up to 30,000 people. It is spoken primarily by persons of [[Africa]]n, [[Amerindian]], and [[Europe]]an descent on the Caribbean Coast.
* [[Garífuna]] (or Garinagu) - native language spoken by the Garífuna people who inhabits parts of the caribbean coast of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The vast majority of them live in Honduras.
*[[Welsh language|Welsh]] – In Argentina, two towns of [[Trelew]] and [[Rawson, Chubut|Rawson]] were settled by [[Welsh people|Welsh]] immigrants in the late nineteenth century and the Welsh language remains spoken by about 25,000, including the towns' older residents.
*[[Cherokee]] – native language spoken in a small corner of [[Oklahoma]], U.S. by about 19,000 speakers. The use of this language has rebounded in the late twentieth century. It is known to possess its own alphabet, the Cherokee syllabary.
*[[Gullah language|Gullah]] – a creole language based on English with strong influences from West and Central African languages spoken by the Gullah people, an African American population living on the coastal region of the U.S. states of [[South Carolina]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].
Most of the non-native languages have, to different degrees, evolved differently from the mother country, but are usually still mutually intelligible. Some have combined, however, which has even resulted in completely new languages, such as [[Papiamentu]], which is a combination of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch (representing the respective colonizers), native [[Arawak]], various [[African languages]], and, more recently, English. Because of immigration, there are many communities where other languages are spoken from all parts of the world, especially in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Canada, four very important destinations for immigrants.
== Terminology ==
{{Subdivisions of America|100px}}
{{see|Americas (terminology)}}
=== America/Americas ===
In many parts of the world, ''[[America (disambiguation)|America]]'' in the [[grammatical number|singular]] is commonly used as a name for the United States of America; however, ''(the) Americas'' ([[plural]] with ''[[s]]'' and generally with [[the|the definite article]]) is invariably used to refer to the lands and regions of the Western hemisphere. Usage of ''America'' to also refer to this collectivity remains fairly common.
While many in the United States of America generally refer to the country as ''America'' and themselves as ''[[#American|Americans]]'',<ref>Burchfield, R. W. 2004. ''[[Fowler's Modern English Usage]].'' (ISBN 0-19-861021-1) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; p. 48.</ref> many people elsewhere in the Americas resent what they perceive as misappropriation<ref> "Uso abusivo", numeral 4 ''http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltGUIBusDPD?lema=Estados%20Unidos'' </ref> of the term in this context and, thus, this usage is frequently avoided.<ref> "American." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (ISBN 0-19-214183-X); McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 35.</ref><ref name="oxfcdn">"America." ''Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage.'' (ISBN 0-19-541619-8) Fee, Margery and McAlpine, J., ed., 1997. Toronto: Oxford University Press; p. 36.</ref><ref>"[http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/america.html America]." ''[http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx Microsoft Encarta Dictionary]''. 2007. [[Microsoft]].</ref> In Canada, their southern neighbour is seldom referred to as "America", with ''the United States'', ''the U.S.'', or (informally) ''the States'' used instead.<ref name="oxfcdn" /> English dictionaries and compendiums differ regarding usage and rendition.<ref>[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/America America - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=America America - Definitions from Dictionary.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
=== American ===
{{main|Use of the word American}}
==== English usage ====
Whether usage of ''America'' or ''the Americas'' is preferred, ''American'' is a self-referential term for many people living in the Americas. However, much of the English-speaking world uses the word to refer solely to a [[citizen]], [[Demographics of the United States|resident]], or [[Nationality|national]] of the United States of America. Instead, the word ''[[pan-American]]'' is sometimes used as an unambiguous adjective to refer to the Americas.
In addition, many Canadians resent being referred to as Americans because of mistaken assumptions that they are U.S. citizens or an inability—particularly of people overseas—to distinguish [[Canadian English]] and [[American English]] [[accent (linguistics)|accents]].<ref name="oxfcdn" />
==== Spanish usage ====
[[Image:Spanish Empire-Americas.png|thumb|left|The [[Spain|Spanish]] [[Colonization of the Americas|American colonies]]]]
In Spanish, ''América'' is the name of a region considered a single continent composed of the [[subcontinent]]s of ''Sudamérica'' and ''Norteamérica'', the [[land bridge]] of ''Centroamérica'', and the islands of the ''[[Antilles|Antillas]]''. ''Americano/a'' in Spanish refers to a person from ''América'' in a similar way that ''europeo'' or ''europea'' refers to a person from ''Europe''. The terms ''sudamericano/a'', ''centroamericano/a'', ''antillano/a'' and ''norteamericano/a'' can be used to more specifically refer to the location where a person may live.
Citizens of the United States of America are normally referred to by the term ''estadounidense'' instead of ''americano'' or ''americana''. Also, the term ''norteamericano'' may refer to a citizen of the United States. This term is primarily used to refer to citizens of the United States, rarely those of other North American countries.<ref>[http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltGUIBusDPD?lema=Norteam%E9rica Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas:Norteamérica]</ref>
==== Portuguese usage ====
In Portuguese, the word ''americano'' refers to the whole of the ''Americas''. But, in Brazil and Portugal, it is widely used to refer to the citizens of the United States. Sometimes ''norte-americano'' is also used, but ''americano'' is the most common term employed by people and media at large, while ''norte-americano'' (North American) is more common in books. The least ambiguous term, ''estadunidense'' (used more frequently in Brazil) or ''estado-unidense'' (used more frequently in Portugal), something like "United Statian" or "estadounidense" in Spanish language), and "ianque"—the Portuguese version of "Yankee"—are also used, though almost exclusively in academic language.
''América'', however, is not that frequently used as synonym to the country, and almost exclusively in current speech, while in print and in more formal environments the US is usually called either ''Estados Unidos da América'' (i.e. United States of America) or only ''Estados Unidos'' (i.e. United States). There is some difference between the usage of these words in Portugal and in Brazil, the Brazilians being less prone than the Portuguese to apply the term ''América'' to the country. A well-known example of such use is the translation of the title of Alain Resnais' movie "Mon Oncle d'Amérique": "O Meu Tio da América".
==== French usage ====
In French, as in English, the word ''Américain'' can be confusing as it can be used to refer either to the United States, or to the American continents.
The noun ''Amérique'' sometimes refers to the whole as one continent, and sometimes two continents, southern and northern; the United States is generally referred to as ''les États-Unis d'Amérique'', ''les États-Unis'', or ''les USA''. However, the usage of ''Amérique'' to refer to the United States, while technically not correct, does still have some currency in France.
The adjective ''américain'' is most often used for things relating to the United States; however, it may also be used for things relating to the American continents. Books by United States authors translated from English are often described as "traduit de l'américain".
Things relating to the United States can be referred to without ambiguity by the words ''états-unien'', ''étasunien'', or ''étatsunien'', although their usage is rare.
==== Dutch usage ====
In Dutch, the word ''Amerika'' almost always refers to the United States. Although the United States is equally often referred to as ''de Verenigde Staten'' or ''de VS'', ''Amerika'' only extremely rarely refers to the entire continent of the Americas. There is no alternative and commonly used Dutch word for the Americas. Therefore, in order to stress that something concerns the Americas as a whole, Dutch uses a combination, namely ''Noord- en Zuid Amerika'' (North and South America).
Latin America is generally referred to as ''Latijns Amerika'' or, less frequently, ''Zuid Amerika'' (South America).
The adjective ''amerikaans'' is most often used for things or people relating to the United States. There are no alternative words to distinguish between things relating to the United States or to the Americas. Dutch uses the local alternative for things relating to elsewhere in the Americas, such as ''Argentijns'' for Argentinian etc.
== Countries ==
[[Image:Americas independence map.PNG|thumb|right|Map showing the dates of independence of the countries of the Americas. Black shows areas not independent.]]
{|
|-
|
* {{flagcountry|Antigua and Barbuda}}
* {{flagcountry|Argentina}}
* {{flagcountry|Bahamas}}
* {{flagcountry|Barbados}}
* {{flagcountry|Belize}}
* {{flagcountry|Bolivia}}
* {{flagcountry|Brazil}}
* {{flagcountry|Canada}}
* {{flagcountry|Chile}}
* {{flagcountry|Colombia}}
* {{flagcountry|Costa Rica}}
* {{flagcountry|Cuba}}
| width="20" |
| valign=top |
* {{flagcountry|Dominica}}
* {{flagcountry|Dominican Republic}}
* {{flagcountry|Ecuador}}
* {{flagcountry|El Salvador}}
* {{flagcountry|Grenada}}
* {{flagcountry|Guatemala}}
* {{flagcountry|Guyana}}
* {{flagcountry|Haiti}}
* {{flagcountry|Honduras}}
* {{flagcountry|Jamaica}}
* {{flagcountry|Mexico}}
* {{flagcountry|Nicaragua}}
| width="20" |
| valign=top |
* {{flagcountry|Panama}}
* {{flagcountry|Paraguay}}
* {{flagcountry|Peru}}
* {{flagcountry|Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
* {{flagcountry|Saint Lucia}}
* {{flagcountry|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines}}
* {{flagcountry|Suriname}}
* {{flagcountry|Trinidad and Tobago}}
* {{flagcountry|United States}}
* {{flagcountry|Uruguay}}
* {{flagcountry|Venezuela}}
|}
== Overseas regions and dependencies ==
{|
|-
|
*{{flagcountry|Denmark}}
**{{flagcountry|Greenland}}
<br />
*{{flagcountry|France}}
**{{flagcountry|Guadeloupe|local}}
**[[Image:Flag of French Guiana.svg|22px|boder]] [[French Guiana]]
**{{flagcountry|Martinique|local}}
**{{flagcountry|Saint Barthélemy|local}}
**{{flagcountry|Saint Martin|local}}
**{{flagcountry|Saint Pierre and Miquelon|local}}
| width="20" |
| valign=top |
*{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
**{{flagcountry|Anguilla}}
**{{flagcountry|Bermuda}}
**{{flagcountry|British Virgin Islands}}
**{{flagcountry|Cayman Islands}}
**{{flagcountry|Falkland Islands}}
**{{flagcountry|Montserrat}}
**{{flagcountry|South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands}}
**{{flagcountry|Turks and Caicos Islands}}
| width="20" |
| valign=top |
*{{flagcountry|Netherlands}}
**{{flagcountry|Aruba}}
**{{flagcountry|Netherlands Antilles}}
<br />
*{{flagcountry|United States}}
**{{flagcountry|Puerto Rico}}
**{{flagcountry|U.S. Virgin Islands}}
|}
== Multinational organizations in the Americas ==
{{Wiktionary}}
{|
|valign=top|
* [[Organization of American States]]
* [[American Capital of Culture]]
* [[Organization of Ibero-American States]]
* [[Union of South American Nations]]
* [[Rio Group]]
* [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
* [[North American Free Trade Agreement]]
* [[Free Trade Area of the Americas]]
* [[Mercosur|Mercosur or Mercosul]]
* [[Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas]]
* [[LAFTA|Latin American Free Trade Agreement]]
* [[Regional Security System]]
| width="50" |
| valign=top |
* [[Alliance for Progress]]
* [[Association of Caribbean States]]
* [[Caribbean Community]]
* [[Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States]]
* [[Contadora Group]]
* [[Central American Parliament]]
* [[CARICOM Single Market and Economy]]
* [[School of the Americas]]
* [[Summit of the Americas]]
* [[Central American Common Market]]
* [[Andean Community of Nations]]
* [[Latin American Parliament]] or ([[Parlatino]])
* [[Bank of the South]]
|}
==See also==
{{euromericas}}
{|
|valign=top|
* [[List of American countries]]
* [[List of American countries by population]]
* [[List of extinct states|Former American countries]]
* [[Panamericanism]]
* [[La Merika]]
* [[Northern America]]
* [[Middle America (Americas)]]
* [[Ethnic groups in Central America]]
* [[Southern Cone]]
| width="50" |
| valign=top |
* [[British North America]]
* [[New Sweden]]
* [[Decolonization of the Americas]]
* [[French America]]
* [[New Spain]]
* [[Conquistadors]]
* [[Mesoamerica]]
* [[Columbia (name)|Columbia]]
* [[List of conflicts in the Americas|Conflicts in the Americas]]
|}
==Footnotes==
<!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <references/)> tags--> {{reflist|2}}
==References==
* "Americas". ''[http://www.columbiagazetteer.org/ The Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online]''. 2006. New York: Columbia University Press.
* "Americas". ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', 15th ed. 1986. (ISBN 0-85229-434-4) Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
* Burchfield, R. W. 2004. ''[[Fowler's Modern English Usage]].'' (ISBN 0-19-861021-1) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
* Fee, Margery and McAlpine, J. 1997. ''Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage.'' (ISBN 0-19-541619-8) Toronto: Oxford University Press.
*Kane , Katie ''[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0882-4371%28199921%2942%3C81%3ANMLDSC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23&size=LARGE Nits Make Lice: Drogheda, Sand Creek, and the Poetics of Colonial Extermination]'' ''Cultural Critique'', No. 42 (Spring, 1999), pp. 81-103 doi:10.2307/1354592
* Pearsall, Judy and Trumble, Bill., ed. 2002. ''[[Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford English Reference Dictionary]]'', 2nd ed. (rev.) (ISBN 0-19-860652-4) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
*[[Ward Churchill|Churchill, Ward]] ''[http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Yg3sSmRf9OUC A Little Matter of Genocide]'' 1997 City Lights Books ISBN 0872863239
* [http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzamericas.htm What's the difference between North, Latin, Central, Middle, South, Spanish and Anglo America?] Geography at about.com.
==External links==
*[http://www.uhmc.sunysb.edu/surgery/america.html The naming of America: fragments we've shored against ourselves] by Jonathan Cohen
*[http://www.oas.org/ Organization of American States]
{{Continents of the world}}
{{Regions of the world}}
{{America}}
[[Category:Americas| ]]<!-- this is the main article of the category that also includes the two next categories -->
[[Category:North American countries|+Americas]]<!-- "see also" reference only -->
[[Category:South American countries|+Americas]]<!-- "see also" additional reference only -->
[[Category:Supercontinents]]
{{Link FA|lmo}}
[[als:Amerika (Doppelkontinent)]]
[[ar:أمريكيتان]]
[[an:America]]
[[frp:Amèrica]]
[[as:আমেৰিকা]]
[[ast:América]]
[[gn:Amérika]]
[[ay:Amërika]]
[[az:Amerika (qitə)]]
[[bn:আমেরিকা অঞ্চল]]
[[zh-min-nan:Bí-chiu]]
[[be:Амерыка]]
[[be-x-old:Амэрыка]]
[[bcl:Amerika]]
[[bar:Amerika]]
[[bo:ཨ་མེ་རི་ཀ]]
[[bs:Amerika]]
[[br:Amerika]]
[[ca:Amèrica]]
[[cs:Amerika]]
[[cy:Yr Amerig]]
[[da:Amerika]]
[[de:Amerika]]
[[dv:އެމެރިކާބައްރު]]
[[nv:Kéyah Dah Si’ánígíí]]
[[et:Ameerika]]
[[el:Αμερική]]
[[es:América]]
[[eo:Ameriko]]
[[ext:América]]
[[eu:Amerika]]
[[fa:قاره آمریکا]]
[[fr:Amérique]]
[[ff:Aameerik]]
[[gl:América]]
[[zh-classical:亞美利加洲]]
[[ko:아메리카]]
[[hsb:Amerika]]
[[hr:Amerika]]
[[io:Amerika]]
[[ig:Amerikas]]
[[id:Benua Amerika]]
[[ia:America]]
[[ie:Américas]]
[[is:Ameríka]]
[[it:Americhe]]
[[he:אמריקה]]
[[jv:Bawana Amérika]]
[[kw:Amerika]]
[[sw:Amerika]]
[[kg:Amelika]]
[[ht:Amerik]]
[[ku:Emerîka (parzemîn)]]
[[lad:Amerika]]
[[lo:ອະເມລິກາ (ທະວີບ)]]
[[la:America]]
[[lv:Amerika (kontinents)]]
[[lt:Amerika]]
[[ln:Ameríka]]
[[lmo:America]]
[[hu:Amerika]]
[[mk:Америка]]
[[mg:Amerika]]
[[mr:अमेरिका]]
[[mzn:Amərika]]
[[ms:Benua Amerika]]
[[mn:Америк]]
[[my:မြောက်အမေရိကတိုက်]]
[[nah:Ixachitlān]]
[[nl:Amerika (continent)]]
[[ja:アメリカ州]]
[[no:Amerika]]
[[nn:Amerika]]
[[nov:Amerikas]]
[[oc:America]]
[[ps:امريکا]]
[[km:អាមេរិក]]
[[pms:América]]
[[nds:Amerika]]
[[pl:Ameryka]]
[[pt:América]]
[[ro:America]]
[[qu:Awya Yala]]
[[ru:Америка]]
[[sco:Americae]]
[[sq:Amerika (kontinent)]]
[[simple:The Americas]]
[[ss:IMelika]]
[[sk:Amerika]]
[[sr:Америке]]
[[sh:Amerike]]
[[fi:Amerikan manner]]
[[sv:Amerika]]
[[kab:Tamrikt]]
[[th:ทวีปอเมริกา]]
[[vi:Châu Mỹ]]
[[tg:Амрико]]
[[tpi:Amerika (Kontinen)]]
[[to:ʻAmelika]]
[[tr:Amerika Kıtası]]
[[tk:Amerika]]
[[uk:Америка]]
[[ur:امریکین]]
[[vec:Mèrica]]
[[fiu-vro:Ameeriga]]
[[yi:אמעריקע]]
[[diq:Amerika]]
[[bat-smg:Amerėka]]
[[zh:美洲]]