USONIAN forever!

[jesse_the_k]

I write to urge the use of Usonian to mean "someone who lives in the USA."

The noun Usonia is formed from the first letters of the United States Of North America. Add the "-ian" suffix meaning "from this place" to make a very useful adjective.

Many writers of my acquaintance recognize this issue, and use USian to describe USA residents. Unfortunately, USian is hard to say. Usonian rolls readily off the tongue.

Why bother? This point was brought home to me while chatting in an English-language practice conversation with a visitor from Chile. He was dumbstruck—how dare these estadounidense claim ownership over all of America?

America, of course, begins way up in Nunavut, Canada, North America and extends all the way south to the Diego Ramírez islands in Chile, South America. Usonian is a more precise way to describe people from the United States.

You may have heard the word before: Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Usonian house as an affordable architecture that responded to the width and openness of the US suburban. The first Wright Usonian house is just a mile from me.. While Wright is often credited with coining the term, the credit is actually due to Scottish immigrant James Duff Law, who wrote in 1903:

We of the United States, in justice to Canadians and Mexicans, have no right to use the title "Americans" when referring to matters pertaining exclusively to ourselves. A much more euphonious word is "Usonia," and as it represents in a similar way the "United States of Northern Independent America " (a most important qualifying and accurately descriptive adjective being added) I am inclined to think it makes a perfect word and a dignified name to designate our land, our people and our nation — "Usonia," "Usonian" and "Usonians" sounding equally well. It has also to us Scots the added merit of making a good rhyme to Caledonia, and thus knitting more closely together both Usonians and Caledonians.

Here and There in Two Hemispheres

What say you! American? USian? Usonian? Terran?

Comments

[redbird]

I like the Spanish word "estadounidense," but it's a bit long, and I think would confuse a lot of people who speak English and not Spanish.

[petra]

Someday I will ask a Mexican what they think of that word, as they are also Estados Unidos.

[jesse_the_k]

The perils of monolingualism — thanks for this new info!

[anais_pf]

When I visited Mexico and would discuss where people were from, they called themselves mexicanos and me, estadunidense.

[petra]

I'm aware it's in use, but then so is "americano/a/e" in plenty of places in the Americas that aren't the USA.

[fred_mouse]

I rather like (and use) USian, which has the double pronunciation options of us-ian and yous-ian, which allows for both in-group and out-group usages to differ. That may relate to my out-group status, and the variability of intonation on 'yous' that allows for a range of implication.

Your option, while more intuitive to pronounce, fails for me as having obvious meaning, even though you explained it, I had to go back and re-read to see how you had derived it.

Oh!!!

[jesse_the_k]

I’d never thought of that pronunciation duality. That’s helpful.

[anais_pf]

Usonian! Then again, I am a big FLW fan so I recognized the word immediately.

Yeah, how DARE Usonians try to claim two entire continents as theirs!

[jesse_the_k]

I’m also a big FLW fan, and (along with Oak Park, IL), Madison is a great town for appreciating and interacting with his work. I’ve had the good fortune of visiting two families living in Usonian houses built by Wright follower Marshall Erdman, and we married in FLW’s Unitarian Meeting House. The oddest re-use may be Sigma Phi, who they transformed a stunning modern mansion into a frat house.

I’d love to hear about your FLW fannishness.

[ivorygates]

As if we don't have a grabbyhands track record... ;)

[cmcmck]

I usually use USian!

[jesse_the_k]

Is that a frequent UK usage?

[yourlibrarian]

Usonian sounds like a good option to me. Have also long been annoyed by American though there seemed to be no alternatives (though Yanks also seems a good choice).

Oh!

[jesse_the_k]

Yanks is a good option -- it's legible in a way that Usonians isn't, and it's as old as the USA.

Re: Oh!

[fred_mouse]

Does it get read as a positive word? Because I've definitely encountered it used as a pejorative, if not an outright slur -- possibly not in recent decades though? Might have just been some of my parental's friends.

[isis]

American. That's the historical name for people living in the United States of America. That's what I prefer to be called.

Humans are perfectly capable of understanding context; nobody's saying that the Republic of Georgia has to find another name so it won't get confused with the home of CNN and Coca-Cola. Washington DC and Washington State are both Washington. Nobody really believes that Americans think our part of America is the only one that matters...well, okay, many Americans do think that, but it has nothing to do with our designation! :-)

And after all, our neighbor to the south is, officially, the United Mexican States, so leaning on the "United States" part is just as ambiguous as leaning on the "American" part.

I will admit that Usonian is more euphonious than Usian, but that "North" is a bit of a cheat! I hate the latter with a passion (for a while I used a text replacer, but it slowed down websites too much). Please don't call me Usian. I'll accept US American, if the context needs extra clarification, but - please call me an American.

Alrighty!

[jesse_the_k]

Well argued, thanks.

[naraht]

Yeah, I'm with you. I mean, people can call me what they like but I identify as an American.

If people start getting confused and saying "but which country in America are you from?" I may change my mind, but I suspect that's a long way off.

[wendelah1]

This makes sense to me. Context matters.

[swingandswirl]

Usonian! I love it.

And I am also reminded of an argument I had with someone from the States who was Very Offended at the idea that other people may object to the US' presumption in appropriating 'American' for themselves. My response to his tantrum about how 'USian' was offensive was that I could call him Usian or I could call his Texas ass a Yank. He accepted Usian.

...

[ivorygates]

I was encouraged by an Aussie acquaintance to use USAsian, which is, of course, pronounced "US-Asian". I don't know whether it's better or not, but it's stuck with me.

I like Usonian because it's a bit more precise. As would be USAnian? I don't know. Anyway we're going to be The People's Republic Of after November 6th. *sigh*