I'm English/American...but I was born in England...
However I don't refer to myself as such. I agree that if you were born here (US) legally, you are an 'American'. If you were born in North or South America does that still make you an 'American'? We are part of North America so could Canadians refer to themselves as 'American'?
From Wikipedia....further musings.
The meaning of the word
American in the English language varies according to the historical, geographical, and political context in which it is used.
American is derived from
America, a term originally denoting all of the
New World (also called
the Americas). In some expressions, it retains this Pan-American sense, but its usage has evolved over time and, for various historical reasons, the word came to denote people or things specifically from the
United States of America.
In modern English,
Americans generally refers to residents of the United States; among native English speakers this usage is almost universal, with any other use of the term requiring specification.
[1] However, this default use has been the source of complaint by some residents of Latin America who feel that using the term solely for the United States misappropriates it.
[2][3] They argue instead that "American" should be broadened to include people from anywhere in North or South America, not just the United States; these critics admit their proposed usage is uncommon in English.
The word can be used as both a
noun and an
adjective. In adjectival use, it is generally understood to mean "of or relating to the United States"; for example, "
Elvis Presley was an American singer" or "the American President gave a speech today". In noun form, it generally means
U.S. citizen or national. The noun is rarely used in
American English to refer to people not connected to the United States.
[1] When used with a
grammatical qualifier, the adjective
American can mean "of or relating to the Americas", as in
Latin American or
Indigenous American. Less frequently, the adjective can take this meaning without a qualifier, as in "
American Spanish dialects and pronunciation differ by country", or the name of the
Organization of American States. A third use of the term pertains specifically to the
indigenous peoples of the Americas, for instance, "In the 16th century, many Americans died from imported diseases during the European conquest".