re: America and American... (a Canadian viewpoint)

[--]

 Here is descriptive account by linguists M. Fee and J. McAlpine of
Canadians' usage and perceptions of terms such as America(n) and the
United States (U.S.), as detailed in "Guide to Canadian English Usage":

 "In Canada, AMERICAN is used almost exclusively in reference to the
United States and its citzens. Several American usage guides state that
Canadians resent the appropriation of AMERICAN by the United States.
Whether or not this is so, many Canadians do resent being called
AMERICAN--something quite different--because they assume they are being
mistaken for U.S. citizens. People who call Canadian travellers
AMERICAN may be using a short form for NORTH AMERICAN--a common usage
in Britain and Europe--or they may be unable to distinguish Canadian
and American accents.
 Canadians seldom refer to the United States as AMERICA, although this
usage is quite common around the world. Canadians say THE UNITED STATES
or, informally, THE STATES. The full name 'the United States of
America', and the long abbreviation 'U.S.A.', are uncommon even in
writing. But the short abbreviation U.S. is used frequently as an
adjective in both formal and informal writing. U.S.    usually refers
to things associated with government ('U.S. Army, U.S. dollar) as
opposed to culture ('American dream', 'American film industry').
Sometimes U.S. is used where AMERICAN might have a broader, continental
reference: 'The U.S. market'. [...]"

'A Canadian' Arthur L. Phelps has said, 'is one who is increasingly
aware of being American in the continental sense without being American
in the national sense.'

Best,

Dr. S. Roti

Lexicographer