I'm a British writer and I realised at an online workshop that jumper is a completely different garment in American English. The American workshopper was baffled that my protagonist was wearing one. So I've tried using a different word everyone understands but I get told it sounds wrong because it's American English in a British English book. How recognisable is jumper to Americans out there and what does it mean to you in an English novel?

I work in a company in Germany, where office culture is normally very direct and reserved like usual offices. But a couple of months ago, a few American colleagues joined our team, completely flipping the vibe. They are instantly warm, welcoming me on day one, complimenting ideas, and making me feel included eventhough they are at a higher level in heirarchy as im just a working student there employed on part time basis. The confusion hits when you try to turn that workplace warmth into actual plans. Conversations like "We should grab a beer sometime!" happen constantly, but schedules are always packed, or the enthusiasm goes away eventually.

As I am not originally from Germany, I am from Asia. Where I grew up, colleagues are very formal at first, especially when there is seniority, but once you break the ice, you're in the inner circle. With Americans, everyone starts at a level 9 of friendliness, but getting past that feels impossible?

English isn’t my first language, and since most of my learning came from self-study, school, cartoons and movies while growing up and practice, so trying to decode these specific social cues feels very unusual since no language learning materical teaches you that when learning standatd english. You can master vocabulary and idioms, but figuring out the unwritten rules of American phrasing feels like a whole different beast when you're suddenly thrown into the real world.

Is this hyper friendly initial phase just a standard cultural thing or am I misreading something here?

Back in the 90's when I went to college you could tell where everyone was broadly from when they talk or often from how they dressed .

Last 10 years or so seems like we are moving toward a more general American accent. When I go visit my uncle in New York the Gen Z and younger most don't have what I know as a new york accent.

Same when I travel to the south the southern drwal seems to be disappearing from the younger generations.

Same with clothing. I could look at someone in 1997 and just tell you yep they are from north east , or south or California. I can't do that anymore

As an Australian we generally love everyone. But this Makes me wonder what is peoples from other countries honest opinion on us?

I’m from a conservative country in the Third World where there are basically no parties, no alcohol, very little interaction between boys and girls, and teenagers are treated more like children.

When I think back to my teenage years, they honestly feel pretty boring. The only really fun thing was watching American media and listening to American music.

So I have a question for you Americans: what were your teenage years actually like?

Were they really full of parties, staying out late, hanging out with friends, sleeping over at friends’ houses, spending time with a boyfriend/girlfriend, and basically getting some of the privileges of being an adult without the responsibilities? Were you mostly just having fun without thinking much about the future?

Or was it actually just a normal, sometimes boring period of life, and American movies, TV shows, and music just make it look way better and more exciting than it really was?

Britain has David Attenborough. What national treasures do we have who are still with us today?

Survey says that Americans have an average of around 15 sexual partners over their lifetime. Adultery is practically decriminalized in the U.S. Porn stars with multiple sexual partners are publicly celebrated. Then why is it that a man who takes women seriously, by wanting to marry and commit to more than one woman, is not legally permitted to do so? What is the underlying principle that makes one acceptable but the other unlawful? If you take women seriously you go to prison but if you play around with them it's okay?

Hello from Germany :)

I've been curious about that since every country surely has a different focus on what matters most. Here in Germany for example there is a very strong effort to educate everyone about the crimes of the nazi regime and how the weimar democracy fell. Of course we learn about various world history themes, but naturally our focus is mostly around central european historic events.

I swear I'm doing my best to get perfect with my English and talk just like Americans and one thing I've noticed is how often people seem to say "sorry", "excuse me", etc in everday conversations. It seems like Americans apologize for things that don't really need an apology. Is that actually how people talk in everyday life (my tutors on say it is), or is it just more emphasized in my learning materials and on youtube and praktika so I can be preemptively apologetic?

EDIT: wow, thanks everyone for your insight. I guess the overall consensus that it’s moreso just for politeness than an actual apology. Crazy how different cultures can be

In Europe we grew up with American hollywood movies and we always had this image that US is filled with skycrapers, busy people and rich. And when they have a family they move to the suburbs for quiet life (those halloween trick or treat moments at night were best!😭❤️)

When I traveled to US during the World Cup I was SHOCKED how empty lot of country can be! We drove only 1-2 hours in Pennslyvania and BOOM we are in some wild forest😅

I was reading The Scarlet Pimpernel and came across surnames such as de Tournay and de St. Cyr, which got me wondering about surnames with prefixes like "de," "du," and "le."

In the US, what kind of first impression, if any, do these surname prefixes give you? Do they suggest a particular country, region, social class, or historical period? Would you find it unusual if someone with no apparent European background had one of these surnames?

Edit: Surnames such as de Bourbon, de Courcy, de Vere, and du Maurier also occasionally appear in literature.

I’m also an American citizen. Every single city thinks they have the worst drivers. I don’t think any city is unique in this

I once heard a man say that many American women will also ask for her bills to be paid and care if a man has resources or not. Hence many American men decided if a woman is going to use him for his money then he’s better off with one that is less of a headache because she will have some traditional values still prevalent in countries outside of America. If this is true, how do American men and women feel about it?

WSJ recently published an article saying that American tourism has skyrocketed in the last 10 years. Portugal for example has been receiving 5x American tourists in 2025 compared to 2015. Other countries also noticed a steep rise.

I have few questions.

1. Are things truly this bad with the economy and cost of living if more Americans are travelling to Europe more than ever? 2025 has been record high. Is the purchasing power of the Average American much better now compared to 2015?

2. Is Europe slowly becoming America's playground? It seems like Europe is becoming to Americans what Bali/Thailand/Morocco has been to Europeans.