South Africa being more "British"/"European" and less "American" than Australia (appliances, to buy)
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Why is it that on a whole range of things, South Africa is more "British" or "European" and less "American" than Australia?
I'm not talking about South Africa being a republic for a long time vs. Australia not - at least as of yet - being a republic, nor of the South African whites having a much lower percentage of English-speakers than in Australia. And I'm certainly not talking about any racial patterns.
What I mean is more like the following:
1) Why are the plug socket shapes in South Africa descended from the British or European patterns whereas those in Australia are descended from a pattern formerly used decades ago in the United States but now obsolete in the latter?
2) Why is there only one imitator company in name and so forth, in South Africa, of an American company (Woolworths), whereas in Australia there are several (including also Kmart, Target, Greyhound, and so forth)?
3) Why are most cars in South Africa still on manual transmission whereas many or most cars in Australia are nowadays on automatic?
4) Why are the road signs in South Africa similar to those in Europe (Britain included) while in Australia many of them are more similar to those of the United States?
I'm not too familiar with SA but from what I've seen it seems to be similar to Australia, at least people and culture wise.
South African history also has more to do with the Dutch and the Afrikaans than the British, and relations between the two were often strained, especially when Britain banned slavery in 1833, and it should be noted that the system of racial segregation known as apartheid which was introduced in 1948.
The Dutch history in South Africa goes all the way back to the 16th century, however in terms of Britain, it's interest only occurred in 1815 relation to the Cape of Good Hope, due to it's importance as a strategic naval base.
Britain expanded it's influence due to the natural resources in the region, however South Africa was always problematic, and was a source of a lot of conflict, with British rule in South Africa ending in 1910 when the four colonies there formed the Union of South Africa as an independent Dominion of the British Empire. British influence was therefore relatively short, especially compared to the Dutch.
Britain's relationship with Australia was far longer and more meaningful in terms of cultural impact, and this included everything from sport to entertainment, to even types of food, and Australia has a large first generation British population, as well as a large number of those of British/Irish ancestry .
Britain has always had a far stronger relationship with Australia and New Zealand in this respect than with South Africa, and there was always historic problem relating to apartheid in terms if South Africa.
Last edited by Brave New World; 03-05-2024 at 07:49 AM..
As I said, I'm not talking about broad cultural or historical developments. I'm talking precisely about relative American vs. British/European influences in South Africa and in Australia in terms of plug socket shapes, imitation of various American companies, manual vs. automatic transmission, road signs, and things to that effect.
As I said, I'm not talking about broad cultural or historical developments. I'm talking precisely about relative American vs. British/European influences in South Africa and in Australia in terms of plug socket shapes, imitation of various American companies, manual vs. automatic transmission, road signs, and things to that effect.
As far as the sockets, the US was an early producer of electrical appliances and Australia an early adapter. It was cheaper to import appliances from the US so it was decided to use American type sockets which are now obsolete there.
As far as the cars, surely you know that Australia is a much wealthier country than SA. Manuals are cheaper to buy and cheaper to run so more in demand in poorer countries.
As far as road signs go, they are regulated by the states. However when we changed from Imperial measurements to metric in 1966 the road signs were generally reviewed and brought more in line with European ones.
I'm not too familiar with SA but from what I've seen it seems to be similar to Australia, at least people and culture wise.
Have you been to SA and to Australia? I am not sure what similarities you can observe? We spent two weeks in SA last year and I really cannot think of many comparisons at all.
I have spent a fair amount of time in both South Africa ( mostly Cape Town and Johannesburg ) and Australia ( mostly Melbourne and Sydney and Brisbane ), and South Africa simply does not have an "American" presence, while Australia certainly does. During WWII the Brits, Yanks, and Aussies worked very closely, with many Brits and Yanks on Aussie soil. Must have left an impression.
So while we "think" of South Africa as having been British, the Afrikaaners were more of a lasting presence.
And. How many Americans do you think vacation in South Africa compared with Australia. Answer: Very few and many, respectively.
As far as the cars, surely you know that Australia is a much wealthier country than SA. Manuals are cheaper to buy and cheaper to run so more in demand in poorer countries.
Is this true even among the whites in South Africa?!
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