Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > World Forums > World
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
 
Old 09-07-2011, 06:58 PM
 
26,721 posts, read 22,285,737 times
Reputation: 9994

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by syracusa View Post
I can tell American by their countenance/ facial expression / spiritual aura (or rather lack thereof) before I decide based on actual physical features (though those can be a good clue too).

Americans tend to look nonchalant, unassuming and socially disconnected. In some of the worse cases - vacuous, self-absorbed but not self-aware.
Ever dealt with Brits?
I remember back in Moscow - even when in groups, even when in closest proximity to each other, they somehow always managed to carry that "personal space" around each and every one of them. Collectively.
I am not saying that they are one and the same with Americans, but the roots of American culture are still essentially Gr-Br. That's why Americans have to smile all the time - to prove to the world that they are not British and to stay connected with each other the best they can)))).
Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-07-2011, 07:45 PM
 
230 posts, read 902,314 times
Reputation: 233
When we smile and people see our teeth, they do know we are not British. I can usually tell a Brit about 80-90% of the time anyways but when I see the teeth it usually confirms it.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-07-2011, 08:05 PM
 
26,721 posts, read 22,285,737 times
Reputation: 9994
Quote:
Originally Posted by nesne View Post
When we smile and people see our teeth, they do know we are not British. I can usually tell a Brit about 80-90% of the time anyways but when I see the teeth it usually confirms it.
The Brits live the floor above and the walls are very thin...

Last edited by erasure; 09-07-2011 at 08:54 PM..
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-07-2011, 08:27 PM
 
285 posts, read 700,761 times
Reputation: 273
It's fairly easy to spot Canadians. The accent is the strongest clue, and Canadians are generally a bit more reserved than people from the States.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-07-2011, 09:25 PM
 
26,721 posts, read 22,285,737 times
Reputation: 9994
Quote:
Originally Posted by YtownGuy View Post
It's fairly easy to spot Canadians. The accent is the strongest clue, and Canadians are generally a bit more reserved than people from the States.
UNLESS THEY WEAR A SHIRT WITH A WORD "EH?" ON IT I DON'T HAVE A CLUE THEY SOUND LIKE MID-WESTERNERS TO ME))))
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-07-2011, 10:04 PM
 
4,043 posts, read 7,410,218 times
Reputation: 3899
Quote:
Originally Posted by erasure View Post
Ever dealt with Brits?
I remember back in Moscow - even when in groups, even when in closest proximity to each other, they somehow always managed to carry that "personal space" around each and every one of them. Collectively.
I am not saying that they are one and the same with Americans, but the roots of American culture are still essentially Gr-Br. That's why Americans have to smile all the time - to prove to the world that they are not British and to stay connected with each other the best they can)))).
First, disclaimer: kindly refrain from lamentations about "generalizing".

Second: Yes, I have dealt with the Brits. Have lived in the UK for one year and I know what you are talking about. But this is NOT what I was referring to when I characterized Americans.

The Brits clearly value their personal space but they are NOT psychologically disconnected from their social environments like Americans tend to be. They are keen observers of social life, even if they do it from a "superior" distance; and they have a quality of spirit that few cultures, if any, can match. They are not self-absorbed yet unaware-of-self (and others) as Americans tend to be.

Although I am from a culture that has profound incompatibilities with the British culture, I cannot help but admire the Brits, all in all. Like my sister said, I would go crazy trying to acculturate to the British ways but I DO like to watch them from a distance!

They say the French always try to prove to you they are superior.
The Brits KNOW they are superior.

As for Americans, I stick by my guns that there is no lonelier, more disconnected, more fragmented and hazardous-to-mental health culture than America. It's certainly not what the commercial says it is.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2011, 04:18 AM
 
Location: West Coast of Europe
25,915 posts, read 24,587,922 times
Reputation: 9708
Having lived in Britain, I must say that they do have their fair share of white trash as well. They are also surprisingly vulgar sometimes.
The personal space observation is interesting. I used to frequent an Internet cafe and the other day when there was nobody else in there one of the employees started to talk to me. He said something like he doesn't like people from the south as they tend to get too close. I suppose he said that because the Internet cafe was frequented mostly by foreigners and immigrants, while I was usually the only Northern customer.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2011, 07:38 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
26,770 posts, read 37,699,869 times
Reputation: 11542
Quote:
Originally Posted by tvdxer View Post
Could you expand on this concept of "cultural level"?
Manolon will correct me if I am wrong here but I think what was meant here was "classy" or "classier"...
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2011, 08:55 AM
 
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,803,323 times
Reputation: 11862
Americans are a mix of different ethnicities, so there is no one American 'look', or facial or body type. An American of Cuban heritage from Miami will look different from a Wisconsinite with mostly German heritage. So I think it's sort of silly to talk about Americans in terms of physical features.

I can often spot Australians because they often wear boardshorts, singlets or t-shirts and thongs (as in flip flops), if the weather is warm. We also tend to look a bit 'scruffy' but I'm talking the stereotype.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2011, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
26,770 posts, read 37,699,869 times
Reputation: 11542
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20 View Post
Americans are a mix of different ethnicities, so there is no one American 'look', or facial or body type. An American of Cuban heritage from Miami will look different from a Wisconsinite with mostly German heritage. So I think it's sort of silly to talk about Americans in terms of physical features.

.
There is no single American "look" as there are 300 million Americans. But still, there is a stereotypical look that a certain class of Americans seem to have (the "masters of the universe", or at least the "masters of America") and that is easily recognizable.

For example:

http://www.nndb.com/people/551/00003...ny-robbins.jpg

http://mindofmoran.files.wordpress.c...ter-101907.jpg

http://www.freewebs.com/laura_bush/lb1.gif

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/team...olice_gary.jpg
Quick reply to this message
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.


 
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:
Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > World Forums > World

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top