Which country in Europe has the biggest American influence culturally?
July 16, 2024
I’ve been kinda thinking about this recently. I’m curious if there’s been any type of American influence from a cultural standpoint on any countries or even regions in Europe.
7 comments
The UK.
USA is without question a cultural superpower and American culture is very prevalent here, but the UK is surely closest culturally. Language plays a large role here as the UK is, like USA, a country of mostly English native speakers, which means American culture is accessible to most Brits in their native language, which is a huge deal. It also helps that the US was a British colony in the first place, which puts the two countries closer culturally to begin with.
There is some influence in absolutely all countries due to the big american cultural influence.
My guess would be most in Britain and Ireland because the shared language even increases the influence and reduces the barriers.
The UK due to the language communality for sure and being close for the past decades.
Kosovo is also quite close to the US although culturally it’s mainly Albanian.
Ireland & UK hands down. On cultural-wise they both sit at the east coast of Canada/US rather than few km away from France/NL
Old US architecture & “white people” steorotypes often come primarily from them. It goes the other way around as well – due to language US culture flows in as if the flood gates were open, while the rest of the continent seems to be more weary
Outside the UK & Ireland:
Scandinavia as emigrant countries where a large share of the population emigrated to the US and kept in contact with their home countries, many moving back and forth.
Hard to argue with the UK (and Ireland):
* Speak the same language so culture flows more easily.
* Sometimes family connections, thanks to the massive British and Irish diaspora.
* Definitely more economic connections than most of Europe (I’ve exclusively worked for British and American companies).
UK aside, probably France, oddly enough. I see French people use more and more English words compared to 10-15 years ago and French youth have a hgue fascination for American cultural trends, movies, series etc.
7 comments
The UK.
USA is without question a cultural superpower and American culture is very prevalent here, but the UK is surely closest culturally. Language plays a large role here as the UK is, like USA, a country of mostly English native speakers, which means American culture is accessible to most Brits in their native language, which is a huge deal. It also helps that the US was a British colony in the first place, which puts the two countries closer culturally to begin with.
There is some influence in absolutely all countries due to the big american cultural influence.
My guess would be most in Britain and Ireland because the shared language even increases the influence and reduces the barriers.
The UK due to the language communality for sure and being close for the past decades.
Kosovo is also quite close to the US although culturally it’s mainly Albanian.
Ireland & UK hands down. On cultural-wise they both sit at the east coast of Canada/US rather than few km away from France/NL
Old US architecture & “white people” steorotypes often come primarily from them. It goes the other way around as well – due to language US culture flows in as if the flood gates were open, while the rest of the continent seems to be more weary
Outside the UK & Ireland:
Scandinavia as emigrant countries where a large share of the population emigrated to the US and kept in contact with their home countries, many moving back and forth.
Hard to argue with the UK (and Ireland):
* Speak the same language so culture flows more easily.
* Sometimes family connections, thanks to the massive British and Irish diaspora.
* Definitely more economic connections than most of Europe (I’ve exclusively worked for British and American companies).
UK aside, probably France, oddly enough. I see French people use more and more English words compared to 10-15 years ago and French youth have a hgue fascination for American cultural trends, movies, series etc.