People who aren't from the US, how do you spot an American and how quickly can you tell whether someone you see is from the US? How do you spot an American tourist "from a mile away" simply by observing the way they act out and present themselves?
Americans can be quite loud and get very enthusiastic about things. I have seen them for years but our town used to be one popular with French and German youngsters on organised Summer-holiday exchange-trips; accomodated in willing(?) families' own homes. They stood out like sore thumbs by flock-behaviour in identical clothes and small ruck-sacks that helped them ignore the one concept few of them understood - queuing at bus-stops, etc.!
I doubt they do stand out by mere sight in the crowd in the UK, which sees so many visitors from so many different lands (plagues permitting!), but the Americans' accents and attempts to pronounce British place-names phonetically are the real give-aways! The latter may be even harder if they tour the country because the British accents and dialects change significantly often across distances well under 100 miles; and to the local ear, sometimes even across the width of a major conurbation.
Even we English are caught out! I had no idea until a few days ago that a local directing you to "Aptwick," is helping you find the Northen English village of Appletreewick. It works the other way round of course; and with other countries. Most of we Britons would not know Californian from Massachusets accents; Canadian from United-States American; nor Breton from Pyrennean. After all, most of we Anglo-Saxon/ Norman stock living South of the Rivers Trent and Severn would not know NW Lancastrian from S. Yorkshire voices, representing two neighbouring, large Northern English counties ! They’re politically charged, a little bit up tight and the y’all’s are free flowing. In person they’re nice people but the internet seems to be a platform for their inner demons where they can lash out at people as much as they want. In the distance, you see a caravan slowly reverse park before it hikes up its pants and your like, Oh that's an American right there, it's just plain to see!
I doubt they do stand out by mere sight in the crowd in the UK, which sees so many visitors from so many different lands (plagues permitting!), but the Americans' accents and attempts to pronounce British place-names phonetically are the real give-aways! The latter may be even harder if they tour the country because the British accents and dialects change significantly often across distances well under 100 miles; and to the local ear, sometimes even across the width of a major conurbation.
Even we English are caught out! I had no idea until a few days ago that a local directing you to "Aptwick," is helping you find the Northen English village of Appletreewick. It works the other way round of course; and with other countries. Most of we Britons would not know Californian from Massachusets accents; Canadian from United-States American; nor Breton from Pyrennean. After all, most of we Anglo-Saxon/ Norman stock living South of the Rivers Trent and Severn would not know NW Lancastrian from S. Yorkshire voices, representing two neighbouring, large Northern English counties ! They’re politically charged, a little bit up tight and the y’all’s are free flowing. In person they’re nice people but the internet seems to be a platform for their inner demons where they can lash out at people as much as they want. In the distance, you see a caravan slowly reverse park before it hikes up its pants and your like, Oh that's an American right there, it's just plain to see!
Liked by:
ŞωεεT† ɮȩ̷̠̝͙̎̑̆ℓℓล ♡♪
