Obviously English is the dominant language in the US, but what I mean is do Americans think of themselves as part of a 'club' (with lack of a better term) with the other English speaking countries like Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, etc.?
Do Americans see themselves as part of the anglophone world, or as being in a separate category?
CULTUREI agree. Language, yes. Overall culture, less so (but not absent, of course). We've been independent much longer than anyone else in the Anglosphere so we inherited and experienced far fewer of the changes in the UK sphere that happened in the 19th and 20th centuries. For instance, Gallipoli is pretty meaningless to us. What happened in India had no real bearing for us. All those people from the Empire populating those colonial outposts had no impact on us directly. We had other fish to fry.
A lot of the influences from the UK came much later in our history. Non-rhoticity in Southern port cities only developed after independence, funnily enough.
We have a huge amount of common culture with the Anglosphere. You don’t notice it until you exit it. From music, to literature, to just day to day political trends. Of course there are differences but the underlying similarities outweigh them.
I think American culture is very clearly rooted in British culture even despite the mass immigration and other influences since American independence. The entire foundation of American society from its capitalist system to its individualist values are rooted in English or British influence.
The "capitalist" system we use is from the Dutch, not the English
Work hard, try to get ahead and make a better life for yourself - that's Dutch mercantile capitalism
I just read about this recently in a history book! Dutch American women were self made and did business with native Americans,French and English (better than the English men) . In upstate New York The dutch women learned words in native languages and French and were able to navigate business really well to the point that English men were jealous.
It went like this: * Jews were expelled from Spain. * Many moved to The Netherlands. * While Spain was colonizing the Americas with the Crown's money, The Jews created publicly funded companies with the purpose of exploration, exploitation, and resource extraction. * Then the Brits were hhmm I want a piece of that, and you got the Virginia Company that began the exploration of Continental US, and the Hudson's Bay Company that basically ruled Canada.
Capitalism developed in Britain because of the Industrial Revolution.
The industrial revolution happened after 1776. Dutch merchantile capitalism started in the 1300s and was brought here in the 1600s by the Dutch.
I'd say that our capitalism, at least where I am, has more of a Puritan backdrop. Being successful is considered righteous, working yourself to death is considered good. Being lazy, or poor is considered a personal failing.
It is disingenuous to claim that mercantile capitalism is what is most influential in the US now when the country continues to be defined by the kind of capitalism that developed during the Industrial Revolution. The practice of mass producing goods using increasingly mechanised methods developed in Britain and later transferred to America.
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa so the Dutch brought capitalism to the United States and you're giving credit to Britain for capitalism in the US even though they didn't transfer here they had nothing to do with it at all
We know this because Adam Smith wrote Wealth Of Nations in 1776. he is considered the father of modern-day capitalism, and was exceedingly influential on the founding father.
You are spreading misinformation. It's not ok
Being from Hawai'i, I personally see the negative effects of capitalism. it's sad, but that's the system that the US has chosen, and as far as I know, there is much effort to fix those negative effects
Are you saying Britain’s Industrial Revolution and economic influence through that had ZERO effect on the development of the US? Being in denial and making disingenuous arguments isn’t a good look. There’s a reason why the South and the North were historically so different, and why everything in America appears to be run for profit
I've laid out my argument extremely clearly, trying to twist my words to what you wished them to be so you actually have an argument is ridiculous
Although the Industrial Revolution had its origins in Britain it’s not Britain’s Industrial Revolution. Is it Italy’s Renaissance? We had it here too, so did many other countries. And they couldn’t have had it without southern cotton and slavery. It was the start of global capitalism. It’s incredibly disingenuous to claim that the Industrial Revolution wasn’t a global event and that it somehow makes our country an anglophone one. Hell, after the Civil War the British started getting their cotton from India does that make India an anglophone country?
American culture is very clearly rooted in British culture even despite the mass immigration and other influences since American independence
I dunno, I see so much more Germanic culture in the states. Food wise much more Germanic, religious same.
Specifically to texas you dont see any English culture. It's a wonderful mix of German (and central European) and Spanish culture.
America’s constitution, individualist and capitalist culture, main religious denominations, much of its food, folk music, most popular sports and of course language are all rooted in English or British culture and tradition.
individualist and capitalist culture
That's more of a dutch trait.
much of its food, folk music,
Much more germanic, Hamburger & hot dogs anyone?
Not really. The bill of rights and concepts of individual liberty and the social contract developed by John Locke and Thomas Hobbes came from England. The number of Americans with British ancestry also numbers around 90 million whereas Dutch Americans amount to 3 million….
So you went from the market system and food and drink, one that's built off the dutch system to legal codes? https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-dutch-roots-of-capitalism/
With German immigration you tend to run into a problem, it didn't really exist till the late 1800s. Still when you combine the Germanic cultures, Dutch, Polish, Czech, and other central Europeans nations the population nears what English populations were, but more importantly their culture stuck. You still have literal German towns in the US, you really don't see this with English towns.
So we have a legal system based on the UK (makes sense, we were a colony) but our food, music, traditions are mostly based on Central Europeans cultures.
Yes. It’s all relevant to what I was saying. I didn’t care to write a book on every single point I’ve made because it is not my job to educate you. If you are this ignorant about the foundation of your own nation, it’s not my problem. And that’s not to say that the country has no other cultural influences. But Britain was foundational to the U.S. in many ways
But Britain was foundational to the U.S. in many ways
I never said it wasn't....
I didn’t care to write a book on every single point I’ve made because it is not my job to educate you.
Putting your head in the dirt isn't educational, it's hard to see why rate a legal system as more culturally reflective than the traditions, food and way of life.
If you can't see that I can't help you...
If you are this ignorant about the foundation of your own nation,
speak for yourself
Agree. I feel more connected with the likes of the UK and certainly Canada, but at no point do I feel part of the Commonwealth.
It all depends on how your country became independent from Britain. The Commonwealth was a tool for Britain to keep a soft power while granting independence to many new countries. But countries like Ireland, that despite bordering Britain, wants nothing to do with it.
In Canada we're on a grey area. We were fond of Queen Elizabeth II, but now that she's dead, many, if not most Canadians don't want to have the British Crown as head of State. And in Quebec it's much worse. Harry wouldn't be able to live in Quebec, like he's doing in California, despite being Commonwealth Territory.
I mean, most of the commonwealth isn't really anglophone either
I dont think most Americans even think about this but now that I'm learning Japanese I definitely feel a connection with other English speaking countries
I think after I started traveling, I felt the same way. I've been to conferences with people from all over Europe and I immediately gravitate to the Brits. Native languages can bring people together. We definitely don't feel any connection with the Commonwealth though.
I experienced the exact same thing while living in Japan. Americans tended to gravitate together with Western Europeans. By the end of my time there we had a motley crew consisting of Americans, Brits, Canadians, Australians, French, Germans, Swiss, Italians, Danes, and Swedes, and even Koreans, Chinese, and Taiwanese.
It was more a reaction to being somewhat “otherized” in Japan and having broad cultural similarities and shared language (or at least ability to speak the shared language) than it was a result of particularly strong shared cultural roots within the Western microsphere, however. Japan was simply so insular that it contributed to pulling us together.
I got a lot less of that while living in Mexico.
Agreed 100%, to the average American I think they don't think much about where they "fit in" culturally in the world but when you are in Asia, pretty much all the people from the "Western" countries cluster together and the differences don't seem all that big anymore. We all came from the same fundamentals and see things through skewed visions of the same lens, which become more apparent when you are in a much more "alien" culture
I've never related to a username more in my life than I do to yours
Other anglophone countries are like the weird second cousins who grew up very differently than you did. Related, but not as close as the elderly relatives seem to think you should be.
The US is like a father to those other countries. We have states bigger than them.
I think in some sense it's definitely true in music. Bands and musicians flow pretty seamlessly from one zone to the other. Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, Ireland are pretty interchangeable. (Of course not every band is successful at that but bands from any of those countries could be equally successful in any of those countries.)
Indeed, and this can also be shown in the fact that many songs have become hits in all of these countries.
Anglophone, by definition, is just predominantly native English speakers. We certainly fit that context. We are a part of the Anglosphere but are not a Commonwealth country.
Ehhh, there’s some kinship but we aren’t a part of their commonwealth club. I’d say we feel closest to Canada, which makes sense.
It's like having a distant cousin, with Canada being a first cousin
I think a big part of why Canada seems so much more similar is on account of us being neighbors and having more interaction. But, something that I think shouldn't be undervalued is that Canadian English is a lot more similar to American English than it is to British English or than British English is to American English.
So when I'm talking with a Canadian, it feels more like we are speaking the same language than it does when I am talking to a Brit. The only real "translation" that I find myself doing in conversation is in units, the occasional idiom (in my experience, Canadians tend to be pretty familiar with most American idioms already, far moreso than Brits), and when talking about politics to connect the different layers of their government and our government.
Australia has more in common than you think. A mild Australian accent sounds almost exactly like general American. And if you've ever seen an Australian city or suburb they look pretty similar too.
Both cultures are entirely too casual about our murder machine wildlife, too.
It'd be hard to not view ourselves as a fellow English-speaking country. We're taught about our Revolution against the British, our alliances with the UK, and Canada is our northern neighbor.
That being said, it doesn't go beyond that, honestly. The average American doesn't think about the rest of the English-speaking world outside of knowing those countries also speak English. We cut off ties with the British Empire in 1776, have had massive waves of immigration since independence, and have overtaken the UK in terms of cultural influence. We also were never part of the Commonwealth, due to the Revolution.
I'd honestly say the closest nations to us are Canada and Mexico, just due to them being our only land-bordering neighbors, and our histories being so heavily intertwined. Canada is literally the US with a more British style government and more French-speakers and a lot of Mexico mirrors the American Southwest. Spanish & French also have long histories in the US and continue to be spoken by millions today.
I’ll throw in that to me Canadians somehow feel more European. Despite the language barrier I’ve often found more in common with Mexicans. I don’t really know how to describe it but Mexico just feels more like a “New World” culture.
Where are you from in the US?
As a Northeasterner - Most of the eastern half of Canada feels basically exactly the same as here. Even Quebec just feels like the US with some added french flavoring.
Mexico feels very foreign, and my interactions with Mexicans - while generally pleasant, feel like they're much further from what I'm used to, culturally.
This as well. Most of Canada, even Quebec, feels pretty American. However, I've lived near Canada and half my family is from the Southwest, so perhaps I have a different perspective.
Northern Mexico is extremely similar to the US. Lots of Americans there, you'll hear a lot of American English in cities, some American brands dominate the local markets, etc. They have a lot of the same stores as well. Walmart, CVS, KFC, McDonald's, Tractor Supply, etc.
Further south you go, the less American it feels. Especially outside of large cities without American immigrant communities.
I live in SoCal
End of the day “American” has emerged as its own separate identity and sense of cultural origin. It is technically even its own ethnicity at this point, since after 400 years, in many parts of the country where people descend from “old stock” white and black Americans, there are now close genetic ties that distinctly identify us as USA Americans. The USA’s story is rooted in a lot of English influence, but England alone was never truly considered as this country’s original predecessor.
A lot of our early settlers were from the border areas of England and Scotland where the sense of national identity was relatively weak and tied to neither country, while a lot of the rest were Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Scotch-Irish (refuse of the Ulster Plantation), Dutch, German, and French, as well as thousands of West Africans as well as Native Americans mixed in. After what is now going on 400+ years of relative geographic isolation and continued immigration, the “Anglo” aspect of American identity has generally waned past the use of English and strengthened ties following WWI and WWII. We are simply too mixed of a people and too far gone from Europe’s influence to truly be “part of the club” with all of the other recent subjects of the British Empire who then became Commonwealth countries.
100 years from now, “Anglo” ties are likely only going to be weaker. As a population we are simply trending away from that - it's a melting pot where the end result after a generation or two is just "American,” and there is less and less English (or even British) going into the pot compared to others. Like everyone else, we’ll probably continue to use English, but other languages will continue to permeate into everyday life (especially Spanish).
America’s constitution, use of common law, capitalist societal set-up, individualist culture, and much of its traditional food, folk music and some of its Protestant churches are rooted in English culture and traditions. The connection goes far beyond the English language and WW2 relationships.
It’s also worth mentioning that Ireland isn’t in the Commonwealth but is by far the most similar country to England in almost every aspect.
Historically, agreed. It was especially so for the wealthier aspects of early American society, many of whom descended from wealthy families in the south of England. A lot of “second sons” left for the Americas as they did not stand to inherit from their fathers. As I said:
The USA’s story is rooted in a lot of English influence
However, I would not count most of those cultural points (food, music, churches, etc.) as rooted specifically in England. Our traditional food is largely a mixture of English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish, with big influences from West Africa and Native American cultures as well as Dutch, French, and German. Our folk music stems largely from Scotch-Irish and Welsh settlers + early West Africans playing the banjo (West African) and fiddle (using Scottish/Irish methods). Most of our Protestant sects and churches are a direct reaction against English Protestantism of that era and the history of the many wars of religion that took place in the British Isles in the 1500s-1700s. They simply aren’t distinctly “English” as much as they are “British.” It would be more accurate to say we have cultural traits that are strongly-rooted in “British Isles” culture, but England itself (meaning the “Anglo” aspect) is only a partial source of early American culture, and they originally migrated here when the “United Kingdom” (est. 1801) didn’t exist, and “Great Britain” (est. 1707) either didn’t exist or hadn’t been around for long, so common feeling and identity was not rooted in a sense of unity from the “old country” or in English cultural dominance of the British Isles. That played a big part in American opinions by the time of the Revolution.
Our laws, however, are clearly rooted in the English common law as opposed to mainland Europe’s civil law systems...except for Louisiana which uses a type of civil law system (with their historically stronger French and Spanish ties). But, technically, our legal system doesn’t play much into our sense of cultural identification with England as much as it is a reaction against England. It still stems from English influence, but we view its form as a “break” from England and a rejection of English customs.
I feel like we sometimes have this view that we’re just mostly separated from the world at large. It mostly depends on individual experiences and which countries you have more personal connections to
As a Canadian to my American brothers and sisters:
The British monarchy does not provide for Canadians' basic needs or ensure their safety. America does. As North Americans, embracing our North American identity unites us. Let's remove the monarchy to strengthen our connection and focus on what truly matters for our people. 🇨🇦🇺🇸
I think of America that way, but I'm a folk musician, and our music is Anglo/Celtic/African fusion. So, you can't ignore the Anglosphere influence. Our best old time ballads are English, Scottish, and Irish stuff, while Africa gave us the pentatonic scale, the backbeat, the banjo, the blues, etc.
What’s your band? If you don’t mind me asking I love Afro Celt music.
Well english is the dominant language of the US. We have many different languages here but most paperwork that is handed to us is written in english first. So I think we are closer to the anglosphere countries that you mentioned
We are indeed part of what is typically called the Core Anglosphere. We share a lot of historical and cultural ideas and assumptions, and we have generally pretty similar geopolitical goals. That said, there is a distinction to be made between that and the Commonwealth nations once part of the British Empire. US is not part of that group.
I did until I got on the internet. Particularly reddit, haha. Makes me feel we are not necessarily welcome in that club lol.
That aside, my media consumption and my social interactions in the world at large, yes... very much so.
Absolutely; the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are our closest allies and cultural analogues.
Special Relationship
I speak English (and Spanish) fluently and nothing like this ever crossed my mind until I went to Europe and finding someone who spoke English or Spanish was like a drink of fresh water. I especially noticed it when I was in Ireland and could actually speak to any random person off the street.
So I think yeah there is some kinda club. But only those who travel might be aware of it.
I think traveling is a whole different experience when you speak the language of the place vs. when you don’t.
I even found this to be true in places like Iceland or the Philippines where most people can speak English to a reasonable degree, but it’s very clearly not their native language.
Like, you definitely don’t need to learn the language of a place you’re going to in order to make traveling there worthwhile, but when you do, you learn about the people in a way that you don’t otherwise.
99% of Americans have never thought about the word "anglophone".
Yes to a fair extent. I wouldn't downplay the fact that we're all ideological and cultural allies. If a world war broke out we'd all be on the same side. If I was going to move to another country, the commonwealth countries would be the top choices, due to the lack of a language barrier.
But I do think there is a limit to that inclusion. Other anglophone countries are like dwarf planets while the USA is a gas giant. Yes, even Canada. We have a lot more weight to throw around when it comes to the military, but also cultural things like music, movies, and sports. I don't necessarily root for anglophone countries during the Olympics based on our shared language alone.
I doubt most Americans think of themselves as having any kinship with other English speaking countries. I’m very interested in history and I’m somewhat of a linguistics junkie so I tend to think of our place in the anglosphere as being part of a club, but not something as intense as a brotherhood.
I would say it is more like family than a club. Canada is our close cousin, the UK is more like a second cousin. The other countries are like family we are related to somehow... some kind of twice removed cousin or something.
Strictly speaking I suppose we are. Whenever I see maps of the 'anglosphere' the US is included. I think of us as part of it, but I don't know if any of my other fellow Americans do.
I find it interesting when I'm watching British based spy dramas the Americans (usually the CIA) are sometimes referred to as the 'cousins'.
I'm pretty sure it's the other way around. The commonwealth club is following America out of a desire to benefit from our military and economic might. I don't feel much connection to them at all and I was born in the UK (to American parents).
The other anglosphere countries do influence us culturally. Lots of British, Canadian, and Australian actors and singers. Lots of cross Atlantic media exchange.
Yes. Sometimes I forget how big the cultural differences can be, because in my head it feels like since we speak the same language, everything else must be the same too.
Watching shows on BBC America schooled me very quickly in the fact that we don't speak the same language as much as I thought we did. 😅
Yeah, I think we feel a deep sense of kinship with those countries.
Anglo Canada is honestly so similar to the US that it can be hard to remember you’re in a foreign country when you’re there. So, definitely feel like siblings there. Canadian TV shows are basically indiscernible from ours to where both Americans and Canadians mistake them for ours. We trade actors and musicians all the time and There’s also a lot of playful ribbing of each other in our media.
The UK is second with that feeling of kinship and familiarity. We know a lot about British culture and government compared to any other countries. News about the British Royal Family, British politicians, and British celebrities get coverage here in a way we don’t do for any other country.
I would put Australia and Ireland third, then New Zealand, then South Africa in that order.
However, the undertone is that we’re also in this ring of dominant global powers vying for global influence and that’s an arena the rest of the Anglosphere doesn’t play in, which makes us take up an unrelatable amount of room and causes insecurity and resentment with the rest of our “relatives.”
Honestly I get the impression that the American fondness for Canadians mostly goes one way. They often define themselves almost exclusively as ‘not America’ and are very critical of our systems, while also bemoaning their own.
Brits often come across as they assumed America would be more familiar than it actually is. The Aussies I’ve known are very surface level friendly but don’t seem interested in anything more substantial.
Absolutely part of the anglophone world. We share a lot of similar media because of it and geopolitically our closest allies are all English speaking counties like those in Five Eyes.
We are not part of the common wealth though and aren’t as closely connected to countries where English is spoken, but isn’t necessary the primary language like in many African countries or India if that makes sense.
Anglophone, sure. But the linguistic similarities are mostly with Canada. The English-speaking islands of the Caribbean have their own patois, although they are often mutually intelligible. We can understand most of what gets said by English folks. Less from Scotland and Ireland.
Australian almost seems like another language sometimes.
In my experience, Americans generally think of those places as accessible places to travel abroad. I don’t think we really feel like kindred spirits or a club really though… I think a lot of people already struggle to identify with all the US states.
We know about those places historically and the news, but we aren’t really exposed to those places as modern normal things and they generally don’t come to mind. For example, we don’t have Australian or British restaurants/products all over the place to interact with daily like we do with other cultures.
I do remember in the 2010s there was a pretty sudden surge of popularity of a lot of British Vloggers, and I assume that was in part because seeing their side of things was different enough it was fascinating to people.
I do. I definitely consider England dad, Canada brother, and Australia and New Zealand as cousins.
The five eyes? Yes
The "club" that we associate with is American.
Part of the club? We think we run it
Yes and No. We definitely went down a different development path than the Anglophone Commonwealth sphere.
We speak English. Why wouldn’t we be an Anglophone country?
nah the avg american beyond speaking the same language thinks of those countries as totally different.
No one in America ever considers the topic and if they do there's usually something really cursed about the rest of their beliefs.
Personally, I do. I see the shared linguistic, philosophical, and legal traditions as a pretty strong unifying force. While there are differences in how these evolved separate from one another I think we have much more in common than with other people groups. I think we have more in common with one another than even many of us appreciate. Which is a bit of a shame.
But that's me and I have an interest in those sorts of things. I doubt it's something most Americans give much thought to despite it being the water that they swim in, unless they have a particular interest in history or philosophy.
Nah. We’re our own class.
Yes we do.
“Western” or even 1st world is far more commonly talked about than “Anglophone”, in my experience. Half of America probably have never used that word and many won’t intuitively know the meaning with certainty…
Canada, Australia, and UK, as well as Ireland and NZ, are particularly close due to language and certain historical or cultural elements. But France and Germany are probably considered closer than many of the other countries that speak English as a native language.
I’m curious if there would be demographical differences in the answers you get to this though.
I do when I’m watching ww2 documentaries
I would yes. I did a good bit of backpacking in my 20s and anytime there was an aussie or brit in the same hostel we would almost immediately connect. In general I feel the english speaking world shares a culture. There are differences yes but you can easily find commonalities to talk about.
Yes and no.
Most Americans don't know what that means🤣
I say we are part of the Anglosphere and I do support strong ties with our brothers and cousins, but we are all independent with our own culture and respect each other’s boundaries.
Definitely when I’m abroad. Living in the US not so much simply because it’s rare that I’m interacting with British/Canadian/Aussie/Kiwi people or their culture while at home. But go to an hostel abroad and I guarantee I will have at least 2 new Australian friends by the end of the night
From what Australians I’ve met tell me, their lives are not that far off from mine as a west coaster, just that they drive on the wrong side of the road and live side by side with animals that are totally capable of eating them alive.
I tend to think of this question in kind of concentric circles. I feel American, though not too distinctly from my connection to the Anglosphere.
Then I feel a much bigger gap when extending out to Western world (including Latin America, Korea, Japan, Israel).
Then a pretty big jump between that and the highly developed and/or capitalist world (including Russia, China, Philippines, Malaysia, UAE).
Then another huge gap between that and the underdeveloped parts of Asia and Africa.
Dude, Americans don't even know what Anglophone means lol
Imma stop you right there. An American has no fucking clue what an anglophone is, but 99.9% of us are 100% sure its a musical instrument.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
By and large most Americans don’t think about other counties that much unless we’re presently engaged with them. We’re vast and diverse enough to have our internal issues and achievements dominate the discourse.
Also, while we may be technically anglophone, part of the American character is to be ruggedly independent. We typically think of it as us fighting and winning our independence from the UK, and were a new thing that started from that point. And honestly I think that’s the right way to think about it given how the two nations have evolved.
Culturally in some ways sure, politically… not really. We also have our own culture here, despite what others might say, that is reflective of the mixed heritages of many of us Americans.
Like others have said, it’s for a variety of reasons. Also, to add to the discussions regarding who contributed what, and the mentions of the Dutch, we have to remember that a lot of former English possessions such as New York (New Amsterdam) actually used to be Dutch colonies. It’s also worth noting that a lot of early settlers to the colonies were either of Dutch, German, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, or English heritage (though it should be remembered that most of the upper class were and still technically are of English and Dutch origin).
And one of the Kings of Britain was also the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, Prince William of the House of Orange-Nassau (after Parliament effectively overthrew the native Scottish House of Stuart by choice). The future Kings of Britain were and are all of German stock up to today.
Another interesting little factoid, many of our own socio-political elites of the past such as the Roosevelts were of a Dutch related origin.
Yes, Americans generally see themselves as part of the Anglophone world. Many share the sentiment of Winston Churchill about the "fraternal association of the English-speaking peoples." Even with diverse backgrounds, there's a strong connection to English heritage. For example, I have Norwegian and German roots, but my American identity is also tied to my English grandfather who immigrated here with William Penn. This English link is significant in the U.S. - it provides a sense of legitimacy.
Depends on the American.
Culturally, we’d call ourselves more broadly Western as opposed to Anglo specifically. Among our European influences, however, English music, comedy, and literature definitely has had the greatest impact.
Our legal and political systems are based in English common law (except for Louisiana), but that’s something virtually no one spends much time thinking about.
Ngl it feels like America is completely separate from the rest of the English speaking world. Even isolated from Canada for me at least.
Like another said here, I feel closer to Latin America due to being raised in a Hispanic area.
They're acquaintances. Not exactly friends but just short of it. The US is the only superpower.
Only historically speaking, modern day wise no not really the only country that comes close is Canada but even that is not 100 percent.
I see us more as being in a separate category. We do have closer relations with other English speaking countries than non-anglophone ones generally, but I'm not sure if it's a club. It's more like they are a club with their club's leader (the UK) sometimes inviting us to join their party if they need numbers because the French/German party across the street is making a lot more noise. But I don't think the other anglophone countries see the US as a full member of their group. We are not part of the British Commonwealth, we ditched their monarchy, and we have been independent for much longer while the other anglophone countries have all maintained those close cultural ties. I see the US as it's own thing, and all the other anglophone countries as roughly "British" more or less.
The notion of a "world" of native English speakers is an abstract concept that has little to no impact on our everyday lives. We never look at the world in terms of who does and who doesn't speak the language that is spoken by the majority here.
The United States has never enshrined English as it's official language, and in fact it has no official language. The USA is very diverse and its culture includes influences from all over the world. The United States is not an English-only country nor does it take all of its cultural cues from other countries who have populations composed of a majority of native English speakers.
Nope. We're American.
I mean, we are, but it doesn’t mean much to me. Culturally I think we’re much closer to, say, Germany, than much of Barbados probably. And most places I travel to speak enough English for me to get around even outside the Anglosphere, so it’s not important for me as a cultural ‘club’ or as a practical touristic consideration.
You only think that because you don't recognize the UK origins of a lot of what you consider baseline American culture. It's the same reason self-reported ancestry always shows the UK as a small percentage of the US even though statistically that doesn't make sense, people just consider the standard to be American instead of British.
I’d say Southern US culture shows a lot more commonalities to UK culture than the north or west. There is of course some overlap across the country, but I mean behaviorally as far as directness and politeness go.
I definitely do when I'm abroad lol
I'm not sure, in what way?
If an English-speaking American knows the word Anglophone, they would think of themselves as such. Many Americans however are monolingual, and don't get exposed to a lot of foreign language culture, except in there are lots of Spanish speakers. Americans do a lot less foreign travel than others, and you have to travel a lot further to get somewhere where English isn't the main language spoken.
Canadian English-speakers are mostly all required to take some French in school, so they all learn the difference between the Anglosphere and the Francosphere.
No. We don’t recognize the rest of the world as existing because we’re better than them
Yes. English, Australians, Kiwis are our cousins. The Irish are our younger cousin who drinks too much, never went to college, and has only had restaurant jobs.
I do. But I lived in Australia so I do shared some cultural identity with them and the similarities between our cultures made it easy to find friends quickly and navigate social interactions with ease.
I tend to view Britain (England in particular) as our nation’s “mother country”, with Canada being our sibling, and Australia and New Zealand being our cousins.
I live in New England, which was part of the original Thirteen Colonies, so I don’t know if it applies to the more western states.
The funny thing is, my family doesn’t even come from England, they come from Francophone Canada, though that’s a few generations back at this point.
Speaking of Canada, the US-Canada Peace Arch has the phrase “Children of a Common Mother”, so there’s definitely some kinship there.
Canada is like a brother, Australia and British Isles are like cousins, and the others are like your parents' friends who knew you as a baby but you only remember from stories about them.
I don't think most Americans give it much thought, but I don't know anyone that sees us particularly as part of the other english speaking countries.
Though more traditional pre ww2 stuff can be quite different. modern pop Culture flows almost seamlessly between the big five. (the more recent the more shared) Sometimes it feels like the Australian accent is no more foreign then the southern accent. Also since ww2 if you had to list America's closest allies it would be the anglosphere. In many ways on the diplomatic stage we are one country.
I only feel a connection to Canadians, but that's because my family is French-Canadian. So my connection has nothing to do with English lol.
We have a language in common with those countries mentioned but America is its own animal.
I think American Exceptionalism is a real thing unfortunately, and if Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain dropped off the face of the earth, most people in the US would just shrug. I don't think there is a sense of being in a club with these nations based on our language.
In an age of internet, I believe a native language holds more cultural weight than an exact country.
Yes, angloshere but not commonwealth if that makes sense in my experience, since a lot of Americans tend to associate the commonwealth with colonial attachment.
Considering if the UK goes to war or something like that, the king of England has control of the Canadian and Australian military. (I think I have that right) Which isn’t true of the US military since we became independent.
Not like the US likely isn’t going to war if the UK is anyway because we’re just too close of allies. (UK is basically our father country) So I don’t think it makes much difference personally, but it’s the idea anyway.
We do tend to still also associate those countries with familiarity attachment, even if we don’t see ourselves as the commonwealth. We do see ourselves as apart of the angloshere.
We inherit stuff from Old England, but our connection is far lesser and far less sentimentalized than in the Commonwealth countries.
I think previously I would say that we don’t see ourselves as part of that world outside of the connection to Canada and the more historic connection to the U.K., recently though there seems to be greater cultural spillover.
Particularly as many of the five eyes countries are becoming much more diverse (UK, Aus, Can, US and NZ) and seem to be more adept at integrating new cultures into their existing I could see the similarities continue to grow in an increasingly globalized world. Maybe long down the road a sort of loose union of states (weaker than the EU but stronger than NAFTA) although personally the US may be a laggard to join.
Other anglophone countries seem to have much less cultural overlap with us though (South Africa, Ireland, Belize, etc). With these I think it would be unlikely to see any kind of connection.
From the US’ perspective the anglophone countries in the Caribbean/ Central and South America are probably the most similar outside of the five eyes (with a slight exception made for Dublin due to the tech influence).
I think of us as part of the Anglophone world. The Anglophone is vast so it is hard to distinguish it from the world in total (for example India has the highest rate of English speakers behind the US). I do feel more culturally relatable to be with people from the Anglophone world — things like sarcasm and idioms are well understood so subtle humor can be used.
Yeah, who is considered a native English speaker is a minefield in and of itself. I went to college with international students from Singapore who should be considered native English speakers - that was the language they did their schooling in, they spoke it at home with their families, are more fluent in it than they are in any other language. They are often fluent in stuff like idiomatic language because they grew up consuming the same media that we did. But they often still have to take language proficiency tests that often get waived if you’re from certain native English speaking countries.
And yes, I do feel a cultural kinship with them. But I also was raised by immigrants from that part of the world, and I don’t know if I still would if that wasn’t true.
I was raised by native English speaking parents in rural Utah and feel attached to people from these types of Anglophone countries. Through my collegiate years I have found it easy to bond with them due to knowledge of the nuances of the language. If it isn’t their home language it exists in their society and they interact with it often. Other students that were truly ESL learners miss a lot of hidden context until they practice English in an Anglophone country. I obviously can’t speak for your feelings but I definitely feel connections to these countries and don’t think the home is the only way for fluency to be achieved.
Honestly not really. I don’t think your average American feels any closer to someone from Canada or the UK than they would someone from Germany or Argentina, in fact I’d say a lot of Americans have a special dislike for other anglophones due to the snobbery toward us. I’d go as far to say that more and more Americans feel closer to Latin America than they do other English speaking countries, especially in Texas, California, and Florida, which are the 3 most populous states.
No. We're in a higher category
In some respects yes. We are one of the five eyes, itself an anchor of western civilization. But the nation is so much more diverse now than it was when that term was originally coined, with lots of different regional identities having developed and so many different influences from different immigrant groups.
So my answer is: yes, but it’s a bit complicated.
If you downvoted me go fuck yourself im right
We don’t. There’s enough Native, French, Spanish and German in American English at this point where it’s an entirely different language. Half the time when I’m watching British TV I think they’re making up words and have to Google them.
As the largest English speaking nation in the world, we're definitely Anglophone. However, I can't relate very well to the UK, Australia or New Zealand. I can relate more to Latin America than I can to those nations.
Well I hope we do, because most of us speak English.
Most Americans I encounter seem to think they invented and own the English language and are deeply offended that other countries dare to speak it, whilst also being very angry that there are countries that don't.
No one thinks this.
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14d
I can't tell if you're being tongue in cheek, but English is the 'default language of the world' because of the fact that only 100 years ago the British Empire ruled over a 1/4 of the planet.
It's both tongue and cheek, and not really.
I genuinely believe most Americans believe it... But that's only because Americans are by and large ignorant and completely self-centered.
Of course centuries of imperialism by the British is why English is spoken around the world... Especially in places like India.
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Anglophone yes, commonwealth no if that makes sense?
Like we recognize the heritage but tend to see ourselves as a much stronger modern influence than our forebears or...idfk siblings or maybe cousins in that regard?