South America vs South American

South America and South American both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
South America	Yes	No	No	No
South American	Yes	Yes	No	No

South America (noun)	South American (noun)
the nations of the South American continent collectively	a native or inhabitant of South America
a continent in the western hemisphere connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama

South America (adjective)	South American (adjective)
	of or pertaining to or characteristic of the continent or countries of South America or their peoples