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.
First, disclaimer: PLEASE DISCUSS CULTURE, BE RESPECTFUL, AND AVOID POLITICS. I do not want to hear snide remarks about America being backwards or the like.
I'll repost some of my thoughts from a different post I made:
Quote:
"On average, I find that America fits with the Anglosphere probably the least of the big five/six (UK, US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand - yes, despite Canada's French language block) - it has a cultural vibe that feels more "South American/Creole", even Caribbean to me (even ignoring the physical adjacency and more recent Latin American immigration) - the only distinction being that it's somewhat more defined by broader northern and central European cultural elements than, say, Brazil, Dominica, Cuba, Jamaica or Argentina are. After all, huge parts of American culture are defined by the mixture of European and African folkways - which other Caribbean and South American countries like Brazil, Cuba, and Jamaica also share - the other Anglosphere countries are much more exclusively European, historically and culturally, so this really creates a cultural gap between Britain and her actual cousins, and America, which is a superpower, for one, and it's own culture completely."
I think there's a tendency to focus too exclusively on language when pretending like the US and the Anglosphere "share a common bond", but even then I find it kind of weird - America's culture is largely one of broader European and African traditions mixing together, whereas, for example, Canada's population is mostly British with a significant French language element, and Australia really is kind of a British cultural exclave - not entirely, but much more so than almost any other commonwealth member aside from New Zealand.
Nonetheless, both still have the Monarchy and simply haven't developed as a culture like the US has, which is a cultural superpower due to the popularity abroad of it's own, distinctly American culture - America is often said to have birthed "popular culture".
Other commonwealth countries bear the same burden as CAN and AUS, but many were long established cultures that developed before British rule, or else grew to contain demographic elements that put them more at odds with the culture of Britain and the three most adjacent countries to it, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
I think America bears more cultural-psychological similarity to places like Brazil, Cuba, Dominica, or Jamaica than the rest of the Anglosphere - we focus too much on language and history when insisting that America's cultural cousins are Britain and Australia, while disregarding that a lot of stuff that defines America culturally (music, dance, art, tradition, cuisine, style, sociological elements, recreation, etc) is really more comparable to the stuff that defines Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, or Jamaica, and that's one of the reasons outside of proximity and life quality/wealth attainment that Brazilians, Cubans, Dominicans, and Colombians elect to move to the US instead of, say, Canada or Britain.
(Note, I am not remotely drawing a comparison between the standard of living in Latin American and the standard of living in the US. That would be absurd. Note that I'm also not claiming America is culturally identical to any country. I am aware, for example, that Cuba is communist and America is definitely not.)
Last edited by Sinatimitin; 08-02-2021 at 10:13 PM..
I think there's a tendency to focus too exclusively on language when pretending like the US and the Anglosphere "share a common bond", but even then I find it kind of weird - America's culture is largely one of broader European and African traditions mixing together, whereas, for example, Canada's population is mostly British with a significant French language element, and Australia really is kind of a British cultural exclave - not entirely, but much more so than almost any other commonwealth member aside from New Zealand.
I agree that the U.S. departs the furthest from the Anglosphere (historically), but I do think Canada is much more similar to the U.S. than the U.K.
Quote:
Nonetheless, both still have the Monarchy and simply haven't developed as a culture like the US has, which is a cultural superpower due to the popularity abroad of it's own, distinctly American culture - America is often said to have birthed "popular culture".
Canada doesn't have a separate identity, but certainly developed alongside us.
Quote:
I think America bears more cultural-psychological similarity to places like Brazil, Cuba, Dominica, or Jamaica than the rest of the Anglosphere - we focus too much on language and history when insisting that America's cultural cousins are Britain and Australia, while disregarding that a lot of stuff that defines America culturally (music, dance, art, tradition, cuisine, style, sociological elements, recreation, etc) is really more comparable to the stuff that defines Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, or Jamaica, and that's one of the reasons outside of proximity and life quality/wealth attainment that Brazilians, Cubans, Dominicans, and Colombians elect to move to the US instead of, say, Canada or Britain.
These populations move to the U.S. because our economy has been a powerhouse for over a century, with far better opportunities for immigrants than any other country. These groups have existing in the U.S. for decades and are well established.
Also, there are more Brits of Jamaican ancestry than Americans. In my mind, that negates this entire argument.
I agree that the U.S. departs the furthest from the Anglosphere (historically), but I do think Canada is much more similar to the U.S. than the U.K.
Canada doesn't have a separate identity, but certainly developed alongside us.
These populations move to the U.S. because our economy has been a powerhouse for over a century, with far better opportunities for immigrants than any other country. These groups have existing in the U.S. for decades and are well established.
Also, there are more Brits of Jamaican ancestry than Americans. In my mind, that negates this entire argument.
1) I addressed that that was one of the reasons why those populations move to the US. Not sure why you’re pointing that out.
2) Your statement about there being “more Brits of Jamaican ancestry than Americans” is flat out wrong. There are over 1 million Americans of Jamaican ancestry, around 800,000 Brits of Jamaican ancestry
3) How does the fact that ONE of the Caribbean groups I named has a significant (recent immigrant) presence in the UK “negate the entire argument”? That doesn’t make the UK culturally adjacent to Latin America and the Caribbean - British culture historically has not had an African element like the US or Jamaica do, which both have indigenous African populations that contribute to a national culture…is Dub British because British people play it? Is Rock or Hip Hop British because British people play it? Could these genres have been invented in Britain?
Pointing out these cultural elements drives home my point…
I agree that the U.S. departs the furthest from the Anglosphere (historically), but I do think Canada is much more similar to the U.S. than the U.K.
Canada doesn't have a separate identity, but certainly developed alongside us.
These populations move to the U.S. because our economy has been a powerhouse for over a century, with far better opportunities for immigrants than any other country. These groups have existing in the U.S. for decades and are well established.
Also, there are more Brits of Jamaican ancestry than Americans. In my mind, that negates this entire argument.
Canada is claimed to be “like the US” because of cultural transfusion - from the US. The elements of Canadian culture and society that clearly aren’t American or similar to something American still put it adjacent to Britain and more exclusively in the European cultural sphere than the US is.
I think you’re the one who helps to dog pile any post that’s 1) critical about the UK or 2) positive of the US.
You can stop stalking posts accusing people of sockpuppetry. What do you have to add to this discussion, and why does this Wikipedia link add?
You dismiss any criticism of the UK while exaggerating and legitimizing every criticism or of the US that you can. Ignored.
Okay Irene.
In terms of criticism of the UK, there wasn't even any, however I think your post is such nonsense, I am not even going to bother to waste my time with any further analysis.
The USA is generally quite a bit older and has been on its own (ie distanced from the UK administratively) for longer than most of the major anglosphere countries like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and (Anglo-)Canada*.
(*French Canada is about as old as the 13 colonies of America, and also feels similarly distant from the old country, like the USA does. One of the reasons for this, though not the only one, is the age of the society.)
I agree that the U.S. departs the furthest from the Anglosphere (historically), but I do think Canada is much more similar to the U.S. than the U.K.
Canada doesn't have a separate identity, but certainly developed alongside us.
These populations move to the U.S. because our economy has been a powerhouse for over a century, with far better opportunities for immigrants than any other country. These groups have existing in the U.S. for decades and are well established.
Also, there are more Brits of Jamaican ancestry than Americans. In my mind, that negates this entire argument.
Canada is a halfway point between the US and the UK. However mentality and in many many subtle ways Canadians are far closer to the UK than to Americans.
On top of that, Quebec strongly sets Canada apart from the US, which you cannot class as Anglophones.
The US to me is pretty far from the commonwealth/anglosphere way. Even in Jamaica you feel a connection to the UK. The Us you feel virtually no connection to the UK, even with the language being the same.
Comparing it to fruits
Australia is a lemon
New Zealand an orange
Canada a grapefruit
UK a tangerine
Jamaica is a lime
The US a banana
see the difference?
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 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.
