Define: North America

[Babbler]

Simple poll, inspired by the America thread.

When people say, "North America", what do you think they are meaning?

 

[luiz]

Mexico, United States, Canada. Maybe some islands too. I think that's pretty much the only meaning.

 

[emzie]

Cuturally: The US and Canada.
Geographically: Mexico, the US, Canada, Greenland (Denmark) and maybe Cuba.

 

[Perfection]

My views.

 

[Godwynn]

Canada + USA + Mexico + Central America + Caribbean Islands

 

[Millman]

My truths: It comes down to social-acceptablity. What's culturly acceptable of the meaning of the words/phrases at the time.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

Canada, US, Mexico, Greenland, Central America, Caribbean islands

 

[GenMarshall]

Anything above the Panama Canal.

 

[Ball Lightning]

Canada, Mexico & USA

 

[Quasar1011]

Depends who you ask. My Honduran girlfriend from a few years back told me that residents of Central America do not consider themselves to be norteamericanos. To them, it was pretty much Canada-USA-Mexico only.

Panama was part of Colombia until 1903. I think some geographers redefined the border between North and South America at that point, placing it at that new international border.

 

[Tee Kay]

Anything above Panama Canal.

 

[Birdjaguar]

What he said. ^^^^

 

[Leonel]

I figure anything north of Panama

 

[LightFang]

Canada, the US, and Mexico, of course!

 

[Winner]

Only the US and Canada. The rest is Latin America / Caribbean Archipelago

 

[bhsup]

Canada, USA, Mexico, the Central American nations, the Carribbean, and Greenland.

 

[Bugfatty300]

When not teaching the continents North American means Canada + USA

Afterall Mexicans call us North Americans.

 

[Mise]

North America is above this red line:

My next holiday destination:

 

[Mirc]

I figure anything north of Panama

Romania too!!

 

[Winner]

You have to separate the political-cultural and geographic meaning.

Geography aside, from the political and cultural point of view, North America means just Canada and the United States. Mexico is culturally much different, it is a Latin American country. The only thing that could question that is its membership in NAFTA.