What Anglospheric (US, UK, Aus, Canada) customs are considered weird/wrong in your country? (middle school, stations)

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Rob702

I can only compare the two countries I have lived in (US and Germany) because everywhere else I was just on vacation or not at all.

- In the US you are usually called by your first name by colleagues and you'd call a salesperson in a store by their first name, too. In Germany that's totally unacceptable, you only call people by their first names if you know them better (ie friends, family, children or colleagues you've known for a long time). Also, it usually is the older one who has to offer this.
- Americans beat around the bush a lot and you need to read between the lines to know what exactly they are talking about. A German would just say "no" if he doesn't want certain things.
- American "love" their friends, Germans don't. Love is reserved for boyfriends, girlfriends and maybe the family.
- Hugging is a big deal in the US while Germans only hug good friends and family members.
- The American alcohol policies and attitude towards alcohol in general seems very strange to Germans and other Europeans.
- Politics and religion are far more openly discussed in Germany.

Would be interesting to know what the influence of German immigrants was on American society.

German society seems even more private and 'standoffish' than English society, but with the added bluntness.

The thing about names is interesting. So it's more a familiarity than respect thing?

So when two German people meet in a social situation - do they either say their full name, and last name, and they're expected to refer themselves to each other as say 'Mr Mueller' or 'Mueller'?

The thing about friendship is interesting. So Germans have no concept of non-familial platonic love? I'm sure the concept of sacrificing for one's friend is known in German, maybe it's a matter of terminology? Like a different word is used for 'romantic/familial' love?

[irish_bob]

Originally Posted by GioLM

Americans are easily offended compared to their fellow anglophones, and this naturally makes them more PC. I think the British have all about done away with being PC in most casual or semi-casual situations, having a bit more of a global sense will less likely cause you to shame someone for a simple remark. I also agree that interactions are far more genuine amongst Brits compared to the rest of the anglosphere, in general.

I was going to mention the culture of alcohol consumption as did a previous poster. It is a strange thing that most anglophones are out to down the sip that puts them over the edge. In the states this has caused a strange taboo with alcohol and how it is viewed by the much of the society. People still will act like school-children when alcohol is the subject or when someone brings a bottle out. However, it is more common to have strict limitations on where and when it is appropriate to drink, as to not offend anyone...this drives me crazy. I have been to countless "dry weddings" in the states, or family get-togethers where alcohol is shunned, in fear that the kids might see or someone will take it too far. This is most definitely not the case in Britain, or Australia even, where having a pint is almost always appropriate in any kind of social situation (I did say ALMOST ALWAYS). Often on a lunch break at work I will suggest to my colleagues that we go grab a pint or a glass of wine...and usually I get this odd gitty reaction, like I asked them to pee on a cop car or something, and then they usually follow with "oh I better not" or "WE ARE AT WORK..hahaha!!!"...so usually only my English colleagues will take the walk with me to the pub, and inevitably have a discussion over the cultural differences on the way.

Adding to this, my family is of Italian heritage, so often times for dinner or any kind of hosting the appropriate drinks are available and being served depending on the time of day (apertifs, wine at dinner, digestives, etc). It is always funny to see how our (typical) american friends (those that aren't accustomed to this) respond. It usually starts with a strange amount of discomfort, or a strange amount of excitement...like they are about to do something bad. Inevitably, it's those same people who we have to babysit (adultsit) for an extra while to make sure they get home ok. They find out that they like a nice negroni, and then they have one too many...

being PC is not about not offending people , its about not offending specific demographics and cultures which have had liberal sacred cow status bestowed upon them , the PC brigade in the uk are small in number and are almost exclusivley involved in the media or the QUANGO extensions of goverment , ireland is similar in this regard , common irish people are not especially PC but the PC brigade here are behind the scenes in every facet of the media and increasingly so within goverment funded agencys QUANGO,s

the professional PC do gooders in this country are often refered to as the chattering classes

[irish_bob]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Most definitely, the Scots were some of the most gung-ho fervent imperialists. The idea that Britain = England is annoying. My city, Perth, was founded by the scotsman James Stirling who named it after the town in Scotland. It's the most Scottish as well as the most English city in Australia, many suburbs/neighbourhoods/streets are named after places in Scotland or Scottish settlers. While we have plenty of Irish-descended, the Irish roots seem to go deeper in places like Queensland and Victoria.

a lot of paddys dont like to admit it but a sizeable number of irish people took the queens shilling and took what was going under the empire aswell , in australia their were few if any irish noblemen but in places like africa and india , the irish lived well and were happy to accept titles , irish people have always been divils for money yet we have never aquired a reputation for it

where we differ from scotland or wales however is that the british spent bugger all on infrastructure in ireland compared to the rest of the uk ( ireland was part of the uk until 1922 and the commonwealth until 1948 ) and almost no industry was located in ireland during the nineteenth century , we had no steel or coal but we did have tonnes of turf

irelands biggest contribution to the empire was cannon fodder , we lost a huge number of men in WW1 , most people are unaware of this domestically let alone internationally , this is due to the fact that we rebelled against london during the great war , those who returned home from fighting in belguim etc were given no recognition and many were branded as west brits , its only in the past number of years that soldiers who fought and died in the great war are being honoured , a small number of irish men signed up to fight for britain in the second world war but the state offically remained neutral , we got a bad reputation out of this but its more complex than appears , we were neutral but on the side of the allies , dublin got hit by mistake ( known as the emmergency ) and their was co-opperation of a sort with ports , churchill was talking about invading due to fears the germans would use ireland as backdoor , our leader at the time was not a zealot but he was loathe to sign up for war alongside a country who was trying to kill him less than twenty years previous and he was an isolationist in every sense of the word , his cabinet were even less keen , had the opposition ( founders of the state ) been in goverment at the time , it is a certainty that we would have been involved , its not that they were pro british per say but they were much less idealogical when it came to britain , personally speaking i thing we should have been involved , we got nothing from the marshall plan as a result

[Rob702]

Originally Posted by OZpharmer

You actually mean, hugging isn't a big deal in the US? I thought Americans also hug only their close friends and family members...Don't they?

Hmm not really my experience. Americans that I only met once hugged me right away...

Originally Posted by Trimac20

So when two German people meet in a social situation - do they either say their full name, and last name, and they're expected to refer themselves to each other as say 'Mr Mueller' or 'Mueller'?

Yep, they call each other Mr Mueller and Mrs Schmidt. There are also different versions of "you", depending on whether you call them by their first name or last name.

Originally Posted by Trimac20

The thing about friendship is interesting. So Germans have no concept of non-familial platonic love? I'm sure the concept of sacrificing for one's friend is known in German, maybe it's a matter of terminology? Like a different word is used for 'romantic/familial' love?

The concept is known but I would never tell a friend that I "love" him or her. There are other words you'd use with a friend. So I was pretty surprised when my friends told me how they "love" me

[ABQConvict]

I agree with the informality of Americans regarding the use of first names. That is something that was not uncommon in the late 20th century and is nearly ubiquitous today unless a situation is necessarily formal.

For example, I would never have called any of my university professors by their first name, Only 'Professor' even in my state which is one of the most informal states in the U.S. Likewise, I would never call my employer by his first name (though we use his fist name behind his back), my close supervisors, on the other hand, are on a first name basis.

Another interesting variation on the use of first versus last names in America is that, in my experience, I was allowed to call may parents' friends by their first names, for example, my father's friend Axel was 'Axel' to me. But it was considered inappropriate to call the parent of a youthful friend by their first name, for example, my childhood friend's father was 'Mr. Rodriguez'. This pattern followed in all similar relationships.

As far as hugging, it depends. Some Americans are 'touchy-feely' and quick to hug, others are not. This seems to vary by location and individual personality. In some circles in America (often pretentious ones ;-) it is even common to 'brush-kiss', a very light or even non-contact 'kiss' when meeting similar to the custom in southern Europe.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

I agree with the informality of Americans regarding the use of first names. That is something that was not uncommon in the late 20th century and is nearly ubiquitous today unless a situation is necessarily formal.

For example, I would never have called any of my university professors by their first name, Only 'Professor' even in my state which is one of the most informal states in the U.S. Likewise, I would never call my employer by his first name (though we use his fist name behind his back), my close supervisors, on the other hand, are on a first name basis.

Another interesting variation on the use of first versus last names in America is that, in my experience, I was allowed to call may parents' friends by their first names, for example, my father's friend Axel was 'Axel' to me. But it was considered inappropriate to call the parent of a youthful friend by their first name, for example, my childhood friend's father was 'Mr. Rodriguez'. This pattern followed in all similar relationships.

As far as hugging, it depends. Some Americans are 'touchy-feely' and quick to hug, others are not. This seems to vary by location and individual personality. In some circles in America (often pretentious ones ;-) it is even common to 'brush-kiss', a very light or even non-contact 'kiss' when meeting similar to the custom in southern Europe.

We call our colleagues, superiors, professors by their first names. Kids still say Mrs or Mr to adults to be polite, but outside of school it depends on the parents as well.

Were the same with the hugging and kissing. It varies by person, their substrate culture (despite being Australians those of Italian descent are more demonstrative) and the situation.

[Chava61]

People from Israel find Americans to be very superficial, not really friendly and very indirect (not saying what they really mean).

[elnina]

Originally Posted by Rob702

I can only compare the two countries I have lived in (US and Germany) because everywhere else I was just on vacation or not at all.

- In the US you are usually called by your first name by colleagues and you'd call a salesperson in a store by their first name, too. In Germany that's totally unacceptable, you only call people by their first names if you know them better (ie friends, family, children or colleagues you've known for a long time). Also, it usually is the older one who has to offer this.
- Americans beat around the bush a lot and you need to read between the lines to know what exactly they are talking about. A German would just say "no" if he doesn't want certain things.
- American "love" their friends, Germans don't. Love is reserved for boyfriends, girlfriends and maybe the family.
- Hugging is a big deal in the US while Germans only hug good friends and family members.
- The American alcohol policies and attitude towards alcohol in general seems very strange to Germans and other Europeans.
- Politics and religion are far more openly discussed in Germany.

Well, I agree with ALL of the above, and will add that there must be a significant difference in culture/customs/behavior etc. because you can spot Americans right away. They way they dress, eat, drink, talk etc.
The PC BS is really unnerving. One can't get a straight answer to almost anything, its like plain "yes" and "no" does not exist. Then the strange feeling of walking on shells, because people are so easily offended. Classic: if you don't smile then you are rude.
When I started working here in the US, people were complaining that I am barking at them and they were afraid of me.
That's because whatever I want or don't - I will say polite but straight and direct.
The never ending BS cost a lots of lost time and energy. Its almost like people are talking in tongues: you understand every word, but it still does not make clear sense.
After so many years, I still have hard time at work with all the PC BS politic and I still can't get used to the " everyone on the first name basis" concept. I think that's just shows no manners and no respect.
The famous smile: yes, fake, and very annoying especially when you see it on TV while someone read a very sad news.
Yesterday I was watching Cooking Channel... there was a product presentation by a man and a woman. She said first few sentences and ended them with a big, shiny grin, then he started talking and she kept her grin on for the next 7 minutes. She just were standing there like frozen puppet, her lips never closed, and I was thinking her jaw has been locked.
Americans LOVE everything: the food, the drinks, their homes, cars, jewelry, clothes, little insignificant things, animals, humans... no difference. "Oh, I LOVE this" is probably the most used sentence. Pretty much meaningless to me.
The alcohol and cigarettes policies are ... well strange, but the strangest is the view about nudity. I think most people do not have the slightest idea what is the difference between nudity and pornography.
Very interesting that extreme violence, profanity, corruption, deception, adultery, gangs, drugs, alcohol is not censored in US media world, but don't you dare to show a bare buttock! A topless woman, or naked child = pornography. Two people caressing naked in bed is a taboo, but bloody murder and profanity is OK.
Swimsuits for toddler girls have bra. People want to cover century old Greek and Roman statues. Americans are taught to think that sex is dirty ( hmmm... explain all the teenager pregnancies ) and people have very unhealthy attitudes towards their bodies because of the "prudish" aura that is absent in other countries.

[ABQConvict]

I agree that Americans are prudish about nudity, at least nipples and genitalia, but who except for an absolutely infinitesimal religious minority wants to cover Greek and Roman statues? I have never been in a museum where this has been the case nor the many modern nude statues that decorate public buildings in some American cities. Shoot, my middle school had a frieze of a nude, reclining woman right over the main entrance (we giggled). Neo-Classical art was big in America in the 19th and early 20th century and a lot of that art is still around.

Actually I think the majority of Americans are not that squeamish about the human body, but are quick to bend over for the vocal minority to shut them up or at least to 'keep up with appearances'. The media is front and center in this because advertisers who provide the income for TV networks will balk at even a handful of complaints from the 'Moral Mommy Patrol'.

[SophieLL]

I know you would say to me that is not a custom, more like a non-custom (what?) but im still shocked at how unfamiliar are Americans to the most popular sport in the world.

I mean, FÚTBOL (not soccer, like americans call it) is an international languaje. You go to any country in the world and can completely start a conversation with a stranger about Messi or Ronaldo cause the world cup is the biggest international sport in the world by far. Yet you go to America, you mention futbol, and they have like other made up sport only they play and they have no idea who Messi, Ronaldo, Maradona, Zidane or Pelé are. They are like aliens.
Thats completely shocking. Americans should inmerse themselves in the futbol culture so they would understand what the rest of the world is talking about.