Why has the UK lost interest in former colonies like Australia, New Zealand and Canada? (beach, garage)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Canada is a bit more British than the US, but nowhere near as much as the other two.
I don’t think those generalisations can really be made, though. Societies are complex and there are areas where even the US is closer to the UK than is Australia, and similarly Canada.
Few examples:
The royal family is far less controversial in Canada than in Australia, and Canadians, like the Brits, seem fine with a partially unelected legislature. Why? Canadians overall seem to have attitudes towards government and authority that are a lot closer to Brits than are Aussies.
By far the most popular sport/recreation activity in Australia is the beach/surfing scene. Its pretty much absent in both Canada and the UK. In terms of the personal mobility mindset, Canada is closer to the UK in car ownership levels than is Australia. And in terms of the built form, older US cities and towns in the North East are a lot closer to British models than pretty much anywhere in Australia.
Language is a mixed result, but Aussies notice how many Canadians use “British” terms like “duvet”, “peppers”, or “cobbler” or “British” pronunciation of words like “cafe” or “pasta”.
Last edited by Bakery Hill; 02-13-2018 at 01:58 AM..
I don’t think those generalisations can really be made, though. Societies are complex and there are areas where even the US closer to the UK than is Australia, and similarly Canada.
Few examples:
The royal family is far less controversial in Canada than in Australia, and Canadians, like the Brits, seem fine with a partially unelected legislature. Why? Canadians overall seem to have attitudes towards government and authority that are a lot closer to Brits than are Aussies.
By far the most popular sport/recreation activity in Australia is the beach/surfing scene. Its pretty much absent in both Canada and the UK. In terms of the personal mobility mindset, Canada is closer to the UK in car ownership levels than is Australia. And in terms of the built form, older US cities and towns in the North East are a lot closer to British models than pretty much anywhere in Australia.
Language is a mixed result, but Aussies notice how many Canadians use “British” terms like “duvet”, “peppers”, or “cobbler” or “British” pronunciation of words like “cafe” or “pasta”.
In the US we use all three of these terms too although there are several meanings for "cobbler". In the US, it is a certain style of pie, popular in the south and among Black Americans.
I don't think the UK and US are that culturally similar tbh - certainly not in the way we share cultural similarities with Australia and New Zealand, and even then I think certain people overstate the similarities. I think the shared language is by far the biggest aspect - and without it we'd be much more distant from one another.
Not just language but popular culture, and popular culture causes a strong bond, half the actors/actresses in American movies or TV are British and half the actors/actresses in UK movies are American! Most American initially assumed Ibris Elba or Hugh Laurie were American, we still don't even know if Gillian Anderson is a Brit or an American! As for musically has there ever been two countries share popular music with each other like Americans and Brits? Watch Graham Norton and half his guests are Americans the Late Show anchor man is British, every super hero in film seems to be played by a British actor! Most UK and American TV or film stars have places they live both sides of the Atlantic and the Broadway shows flit across the Atlantic to the West End. The Americans are even trying to set up THE most American of American culture the NFL in the UK! Yes of course there are differences but I suggest that anybody that thinks the UK and US don't share aspects of culture aren't looking very hard.
Not just language but popular culture, and popular culture causes a strong bond, half the actors/actresses in American movies or TV are British and half the actors/actresses in UK movies are American! Most American initially assumed Ibris Elba or Hugh Laurie were American, we still don't even know if Gillian Anderson is a Brit or an American! As for musically has there ever been two countries share popular music with each other like Americans and Brits? Watch Graham Norton and half his guests are Americans the Late Show anchor man is British, every super hero in film seems to be played by a British actor! Most UK and American TV or film stars have places they live both sides of the Atlantic and the Broadway shows flit across the Atlantic to the West End. The Americans are even trying to set up THE most American of American culture the NFL in the UK! Yes of course there are differences but I suggest that anybody that thinks the UK and US don't share aspects of culture aren't looking very hard.
I agree with you 100% on that. As an Aussie, similarities between the UK, Canada and US are pretty obvious, so its puzzling why some make it sound as if the three countries are totally unrelated.
I agree with you 100% on that. As an Aussie, similarities between the UK, Canada and US are pretty obvious, so its puzzling why some make it sound as if the three countries are totally unrelated.
That's why we need a union that is all encompassing. Not having the US would be a missed opportunity.
I don’t think those generalisations can really be made, though. Societies are complex and there are areas where even the US is closer to the UK than is Australia, and similarly Canada.
Few examples:
The royal family is far less controversial in Canada than in Australia, and Canadians, like the Brits, seem fine with a partially unelected legislature. Why? Canadians overall seem to have attitudes towards government and authority that are a lot closer to Brits than are Aussies.
By far the most popular sport/recreation activity in Australia is the beach/surfing scene. Its pretty much absent in both Canada and the UK. In terms of the personal mobility mindset, Canada is closer to the UK in car ownership levels than is Australia. And in terms of the built form, older US cities and towns in the North East are a lot closer to British models than pretty much anywhere in Australia.
Language is a mixed result, but Aussies notice how many Canadians use “British” terms like “duvet”, “peppers”, or “cobbler” or “British” pronunciation of words like “cafe” or “pasta”.
canadian english is far less british orientated than australian english
I don’t think those generalisations can really be made, though. Societies are complex and there are areas where even the US is closer to the UK than is Australia, and similarly Canada.
Few examples:
The royal family is far less controversial in Canada than in Australia, and Canadians, like the Brits, seem fine with a partially unelected legislature. Why? Canadians overall seem to have attitudes towards government and authority that are a lot closer to Brits than are Aussies.
By far the most popular sport/recreation activity in Australia is the beach/surfing scene. Its pretty much absent in both Canada and the UK. In terms of the personal mobility mindset, Canada is closer to the UK in car ownership levels than is Australia. And in terms of the built form, older US cities and towns in the North East are a lot closer to British models than pretty much anywhere in Australia.
Language is a mixed result, but Aussies notice how many Canadians use “British” terms like “duvet”, “peppers”, or “cobbler” or “British” pronunciation of words like “cafe” or “pasta”.
You're right. I took it as a whole, but there are subsets where each country might be more similar to the other.
I don't think there's any major city that matches Boston in European architecture and New England in general has a lot of colonial gems.
Canadian English tends to incorporate elements of both British and American English. It tends to depend on the word. The UK is the only one to spell "programme" this way. The others all spell it as "program". The US is the only one to exclude the 'u' in words ending in "our". Harbor, color...
Of course beach culture will be more prominent in Australia compared to the UK or Canada as the climate is more favorable for those types of activities.
You're right. I took it as a whole, but there are subsets where each country might be more similar to the other.
I don't think there's any major city that matches Boston in European architecture and New England in general has a lot of colonial gems.
Canadian English tends to incorporate elements of both British and American English. It tends to depend on the word. The UK is the only one to spell "programme" this way. The others all spell it as "program". The US is the only one to exclude the 'u' in words ending in "our". Harbor, color...
Of course beach culture will be more prominent in Australia compared to the UK or Canada as the climate is more favorable for those types of activities.
Overall, Canada and Australia to me seem the most similar overall, with the UK and US being the outliers. But even then there are some pretty significant differences between Aussies and most Canadians I've met. The Canada-US dynamic seems very similar the Aus-NZ match.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.