Hey, how's it going guys?
I'm Gavin, I'm from the United States,
and I'm teaching myself Portuguese over here.
Today I'd like to discuss,
or maybe complain a little bit:
recently, in the last three or four months,
I've received several comments, maybe 10 or 15,
On my video: "an American talks about the incredible experience of learning Portuguese."
And they're complaining because
I called myself an "American"
And, like I said,
there are a bunch of comments,
but I'm going to read a comment
that I feel is a good summary of the situation, of the majority of the complaints.
And it is:
Funny that people from the United States
call themselves "American"
given that this denomination is for everyone who was born in the American continents.
In some countries,
those who are born in the US are called "estadounidense."
In Brazil they are called "norte-americanos"
which in my opinion is also confusing,
given that Mexico and also Canada
are located in North America
and therefore are also "North American."
For me this is annoying,
because it restricts the term "American" to just those who were born in the US
especially those who don't even care about the rest of the continent.
It's as if they think that
their culture is superior to ours,
and therefore they are the "real" Americans
and the rest of us are not:
we're latinos, sul-americanos, brasileiros,
cariocas, índios, amazônicas,
...but definitely not "Americans."
Guys, I want to make two points.
The first is about myself.
In this video that I did,
I'm talking about my experience
as a person from the United States
learning Brazilian Portuguese.
I talk about how I loved the music,
I enjoyed the culture,
I liked the authors,
Jorge Amado, Graciliano Ramos, and others.
Essentially, I'm demonstrating that
I'm very open-minded
And people leaving me comments like that
made me a little sad
because I'm not trying to be rude or impolite, you know?
But my second point is more general,
and it has to do with all Americans
...or rather, everyone from the United States...
who is learning Portuguese.
In English, the term for someone from a certain country
is "demonym"
which I think in Portuguese is called "gentílico," I believe.
For example, someone from Brazil is called a "brasileiro."
The English demonym for someone who lives in the United States
is "American,"
and no other one exists.
It's only "American."
And so, when we say "americano" in Portuguese
it's a literal translation, a direct translation, you know?
And so when I made the video 11 months ago
I was still learning Portuguese.
Of course I'm still learning Portuguese:
getting better, getting better, y'know?
But back then, I didn't know that there are
other terms like "norte-americano," "estadunidense," etc.
And it's the same case, I bet,
with other new speakers of Portuguese
that normally speak English.
Guys, I agree that it would be better if there were
a more perfect term for someone from the US,
in English and also in Portuguese,
but honestly I don't think one exists,
and it especially doesn't exist in English.
In fact, the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright,
from the US,
proposed a new demonym,
a new word, a new "gentílico,"
for a person from the US, besides "American":
it was "Usonian,"
due to U-S-A,
the letters we refer to our country with.
But, "Usonian" never caught on,
so we're still stuck with just "American."
So, I know that the majority of you guys already know,
but the next time that you guys
read, or hear a native speaker of English,
call themself an "American,"
Believe me that I, and others,
do not mean to be rude, or impolite,
when we say in Portuguese
that it's we who are Americans.
We don't find our culture
superior to yours - let's be serious.
99% of the population doesn't, that is.
It's not like one day
we decided that "American," "americano,"
would be the perfect term for us.
It's just that it's a direct translation
from English to Portuguese,
and perhaps it's a little wrong, but there is no alternative.
And that's how it is.
Of course I still love Brazil!
So then, guys, thanks again a ton for watching.
And I also apologize for having to complain just a little bit.
But it was also good practice for me.
I really appreciate your understanding.
A "big hug" to you all,
and we'll see each other soon! Buh-bye.
Oh, and before wrapping up,
because several people asked me:
"The rat gnawed the king of Rome's clothes." [Portuguese tongue-twister]
Cool!