Another important English-speaking country is the United States which is located in North America.Its official full name is the United States of America.It can be simply called the United States.The British call it the States.Its shortened form is U.S.A or U.S.It can also be called America.Actually,America is a big conception.It may refer to the whole American Continent,including North America,Central America and South America.America,as a whole continent,is bounded throughout by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west.When America is used only to refer to the United States,it is disliked by the people from other countries of North,Central and South America.Latin America refers to the countries of South America,Central America and Mexico,because Spanish or Portuguese that was developed from Latin is the official language in these countries.
The United States is a country of multi-cultures and multi-races.An American is a person who comes from the United States.In a broad sense,an American can also refer to a person from North,Central or South America.A Yank is a person from the United States,which is a slightly offensive word used mainly in British English.A Yankee also refers to a citizen from the United States,and especially a person born or living in the northern or northeastern states of the United States,which is a word used mainly in American English.The original inhabitants of America were called Native Americans,or American Indians.The shortened form of American Indian is Amerindian.A Native American or an American Indian is a person from one of the first groups of people who lived in America before white people arrived there.These expressions are used especially about people from South America and sometimes considered offensive.In the 17th century,the colonists from Britain came to settle in North America and colonized it.In the 18th century,the colonists traded slaves from Africa.The American Blacks are called African Americans or Afro-Americans.An African American or an Afro-American is a black American whose family originally came from Africa,especially as slaves.In the 19th century and the 20th century,there were several immigration tides.Immigrants from every corner of the world came to settle in the Uinted States.People who originally came from Mexico or whose family originally came from Mexico are called Chicanos;while people who originally came from Latin America or whose family originally came from Latin America,are called Latinos.Immigrants from Asian countries are called Asian Americans.Those Americans of Chinese descent are called Chinese Americans.Those Chinese Americans who were born in the United States are called American-born Chinese,or ABC for short.