American Culture

People, languages, nationalities

There are about 328 million inhabitants in the USA (2019) , not taking into account illegal immigrants,
making it the third most populous country in the world after China and India. Almost 84% of the population
is urban (living in cities). Most Americans are of European origin, 14% of them are Afro-Americans, mainly
descendants of former black slaves. Then there are people of Hispanic origin, Chinese, Japanese, Irish (more
than in Ireland), Jews (more than in Israel) and others. The most populous state of the USA is California
with more than 30 million inhabitants.
The USA has no official language, but the primary language is English. In the USA, the American variety of
English is used, which is slightly different from British English in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling and
grammar. The second most widely used language is undoubtedly Spanish and many other languages are
spoken, including European, Asian and African languages and languages of Native Americans.

American society
In general, Americans are open and friendly people. They tend to be quite patriotic and they of course
consider the USA the best country in the world. Religion is an important part of everyday life in the USA.
People shake hands quite often and the so-called “small talk” is widespread – shop-assistants, bus drivers
and other people will usually exchange a few friendly words with you.
Americans as a nation suffer from a high level of obesity, which is probably caused by many factors, food
being the most important one. Generally, people do not walk much, there are even no sidewalks (pavements
in Br.E.) in many places, so they do not have enough exercise. Although sport is an important part of
American culture, a lot of people are not very active in their everyday life. Moreover, traditional American
food is quite fatty and calorific.
The American social system is not as generous as ours or the one in the UK for example. Sick or
unemployed people can get into deep trouble quite easily. There have been some changes to the American
healthcare system recently, but it is still quite problematic, because not everybody has got an insurance and
there are different types, so people do not often know what exactly their insurance covers.

Traditions
Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November and it commemorates the first harvest
Pilgrim Fathers had in 1621. The first winter in America was very harsh and difficult for the newcomers
from the “Old World” and quite a lot of people did not survive. Nevertheless, local Native Americans helped
the new settlers to grow food and in the fall of 1621 Pilgrim Fathers celebrated the first harvest together with
Native Americans. The traditional food for Thanksgiving is typically American - turkey, cranberry sauce,
pumpkin pie etc.
4th July is the so-called Independence Day, probably the most important public holiday in the USA. It
commemorates signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It is celebrated all over the country with
parades, fireworks, brass-band music etc.
Christmas is celebrated in the USA in a similar way as in the UK. Presents are unwrapped on the 25 th
December in the morning. American children believe that Santa Claus brings them Christmas presents. The
traditional Christmas meal is turkey or ham with cranberry sauce. In New England (the states of
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine) there are shops called !
Christmas Shops” that only sell Christmas decorations and toys all year round. People in America like to
decorate the outsides of their houses with lights and sometimes even statues of Santa Claus, Snowmen and
Reindeer.

Food
Food in the USA is really varied. However, people tend to prefer fatty, fried and highly calorific food such as
fast food. The best known fast food chains are MacDonald's, KFC, Dunkin Donut and others. People often
eat hamburgers, hot dogs, donuts, popcorn and a lot of ice-cream. Ready-made meals are also popular. Local
cuisines (Creole in New Orleans), international cuisines (Chinese, Indian, Italian...)are also widespread.
There are many special food cultures, for example vegetarians, vegans, frutarians, paleo diet etc. Tips in
restaurants are a necessity, because wages of waiters and waitresses are very low.

Sports and free-time activities

The three most popular sports in the USA are baseball, basketball and American football. Other sports are
also widespread, for example ice-hockey, which is the fourth most popular sport in the country. Sport is an
important part of US popular culture and sports legends are on the same level as film stars, pop musicians
etc.
Sports in the USA are connected with education and most high schools and universities have organized
sports. University sport, especially college basketball and college football, seems to be as popular as
professional sport.

Education
Education in the USA usually starts with pre-school education in kindergartens (which is a word of
German origin). Children from the age of 4 to the age of 6 usually go there, although there are also facilities
for younger children.
Compulsory school education starts with elementary schools for children aged 6 to 10 (12), where children
learn the basic skills like reading, writing, counting, drawing etc. Children from the age of 10 to 14 go to
middle schools, where the workload gets more academic with subjects like Biology or History and
teenagers between 14 and 18 attend high schools where you can choose from a wide variety of subjects.
Children in American schools start their day with reciting the Pledge of Allegiance (přísaha věrnosti
americké vlajce). As for evaluating school work, there are five grades – A, B, C, D and F, meaning failed.
Pupils in the first grade of hight school are called freshmen, second-grade students are called sophomores,
then there are juniors and seniors. A typical high-school ball is called a prom. During the graduation
ceremony, students toss their mortarboards.
In the USA, public schools are state-run schools where you do not have to pay tuition fees. However, they
often are of poor quality. There are also private schools, but only rich people can afford them for their
children.
After leaving high school, students can go to universities and colleges. There are more than 2,000 of them in
the USA. The oldest universities are called the Ivy League (Harvard, Yale, Princeton and five others).
Nevertheless, nowadays (2017) the top three American universities are California Institute of Technology,
Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The most common university degrees in the USA are BA (bachelor of arts), BSc (Bachelor of Sciences), MA
(Master of Arts), MSc (Master of Sciences) and PhD (doctor of philosophy).

Housing
In the USA, apartments are always rented. However, you can own a condominium, which is a part of an
apartment building in which each person owns their own home. A townhouse is a string of houses attached
together. A duplex is just to houses side by side. A bungalow is a single floor family home, mostly in the
North, Midwest and West. A ranch house is a single floor family home with a low roof and attached garage,
which is extremely popular in the South. A trailer is a factory-made home transported to the buyer's site.
They are often grouped together in a community called a trailer park.

Transport
Since America is a huge county, people often have to travel long distances. Flying is really popular and there
are many airlines in the USA. The car is a necessity, because there are even no sidewalks in some parts of
American cities and towns. People often live far away from they workplace or school and have to commute
for an hour or more. Buses and coaches are quite cheap in the USA, trains are more expensive, but in
general they are much cleaner and more comfortable than the Czech ones. There are metro systems
(subway)s in most big American cities. Chicago has got “L”, meaning an elevated rapid transport system,
not an underground one.

Optional

Religion
Nearly every known religion is practised in the United States, which was founded on the basis of religious
freedom. More than 75 percent of Americans are Christians. About one half are Protestants, about one
quarter are Catholics, and a small percentage are Mormons. After Christianity, Judaism is the second most
common religion, at about 1.4 percent of the population. About 20 percent of the population has no religious
affiliation. Nevertheless, God is an important part of American life and it is not very wise to declare openly
that someone is an atheist.

American style
Generally, Americans like to wear jeans, sneakers (trainers in BrE) and cowboy hats and boots. This, of
course, does not mean that every American wears that. The USA is a very tolerant country and basically
people tend to wear what they like. Some not very orthodox combinations are possible and acceptable – for
example a summer dress and sneakers for women. On the whole, ordinary Americans tend to dress quite
informally in everyday life and often do not care about colour and pattern combinations as much as people
in some other countries do. Some well-known American brands are Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Michael
Kors and Victoria’s Secret. American fashion is widely influenced by celebrities.

Hollywood
Hollywood is a district of Los Angeles (California), which lies to the north-east of the city centre
(downtown). Its cinematographic and cultural identity is so famous, that the word „Hollywood“ is often used
as a name for the whole American film and television industry. Even though most of the film industry is
nowadays located in the surrounding districts such as Burbank or Westside, the supporting and technical
services (film editing, film effects, post-production, lights) stay in Hollywood. Many historical cinemas in
Hollywood became venues for main premieres and for significant events like The Academy Awards,
commonly known as “Oscars”. A great number of brilliant actors and directors come from USA. There
aren’t many people today who don’t know Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese or Clint Eastwood, for
example.

American football
Even though baseball is very popular, the most popular sport in USA, which is undoubtedly a part of the
American culture, is the American football. The game is quite similar to rugby, but there are some
differences. It’s played by two teams with eleven members on a rectangular field with goalposts on each
side. The purpose of the game is to gain more points than the opponent. Players score by getting the ball
behind the rival team’s end line (touchdown), by kicking it through the goalpost (field goal), or by taking
down the enemy player holding a ball in his own end zone (safety). The final match of the NFL (National
Football League) play-off is called Super Bowl and is one of the most anticipated events of the year.

Comics
A significant part of the American culture are superhero comics. Currently there are two major comic book
companies – DC Comics and Marvel. The first superhero ever brought to life was Superman in the first issue
of the Action Comics 75 years ago, followed by Batman and The Flash. These comics became so popular
that many other comic book companies started to come and American comics are now sold worldwide. In
1978 first comic book film – Superman by Richard Donner, starring Christopher Reeve was introduced and
since then, comic book movies have become a very lucrative business.

Music
American music influenced the whole world. First it was blues and gospel music, then jazz came with Louis
Armstrong as its greatest star. All these types of music have their roots in the rhythms of Afro-Americans,
the former black slaves. After jazz there was country, which is a music style typical for United States.

The most popular country artist was Johnny Cash. His best-known songs include Folsom Prison Blues, I
Walk the Line or The Ring of Fire. His second wife, country singer June Carter, worked and sang with him
for many years.

The biggest icon of American music undoubtedly Elvis Presley. The King of Rock’n‘Roll started his career
in 1956 with his first hit single Heartbreak Hotel. Amongst his most memorable songs belong Love Me
Tender, Hound Dog or Blue Suede Shoes. Besides his music career, he was also an actor.

His future son-in-law – The King of Pop - is another major American icon. At the age of 12, Michael
Jackson started his music career in a band The Jackson 5 consisting of his brothers. Since then till 2009, he
published 12 albums. Two more albums were published after his death.

Other American singers and composers who are also worth mentioning are soul singer James Brown, rock
singer and guitarist Jimmy Hendrix, or Bob Dylan whose song Like a Rolling Stone was declared the best
song by the Rolling Stone magazine. Bob Dylan has won the Nobel Prize for Literature recently.

Vocabulary

take into account

descendant

populous

undoubtedly

patriotic

widespread

insurance

harvest

brass-band
ready-made

wages

apartment

condominium

townhouse

duplex

sidewalk