I'm back

It certainly has been a busy month of October 2015!  My sister got married and I have just come back from 2 weeks in the U.S. visiting my family.  When visiting family, most of my professional activities take the back burner, including unfortunately this blog.

What I learned from the trip on linguistic and cultural levels.

On the Linguistic Level

1. The words awesome and amazing are way, way overused.  People talk about an "awesome" sandwich or an "amazing" cocktail.   This is clearly, for me, an attempt to come closer to younger people (millennials), or to establish a relationship where the younger person can "trust" or "relate to" the older person or vice-versa (see more below).  I would sound ridiculous using very popular or slang language with my students because there is clearly a vast generational difference -- though I do not consider myself "old," I am clearly older in terms of number of years than many of their parents.
   I am fully in favor of using the appropriate word for the appropriate moment:
   - What do you think would be more appropriate terms?
   - What do you think the meanings of these two adjectives are?
   - In which contexts would you use them?
2. I found that American English is becoming far more nasalized.  Nasalization is a natural tendency that exists in many languages worldwide -- French, Portuguese, Catalan are just three examples in Europe.  However, many people are using nasalization, in my opinion as a means of rapprochement, of becoming closer or establishing a rapport with their audience.  This is especially true of people who need to or like being heard -- yes, like teachers (laughing out loud) -- but for me, I had the impression that the speaker who was over-nasalizing her/his speech was doing so to bring her-/himself closer to the people to whom s/he was speaking.
3. Another trend I noticed, and of course I have no empirical data for it so naturally I could be very wrong, was that many people are using very folksy or populist ways of speaking.  In my opinion this is related to the first two blog posts:
1. Older people (my generation) is using very familiar language to each other and to younger générations to establish rapport or to get the younger people to open up more.
2. I think, and have thought this for quite some time, that Americans have issues with formal language.  A contradiction?  Very possibly, however I am making reference to cable news channels (CNN, MSNBC, etc.), daytime and late night talk shows, as well as speaking to people in shops and restaurants, or even guests at my sister's wedding, some of whom I had not seen for years and years if ever.  In order to "get closer" to someone and make her/him feel more at ease, there is a false sense of closeness or proximity that can be misleading for many learners of English.
   For example, my students never call me by my first name...at least to my face.  I use this as a means of keeping a distance between us in order for them to understand that I am their teacher and not their friend.  Some of them wish to go beyond this relationship, but this must happen organically (naturally) and not artificially.

On the Cultural Level

Now, keep in mind that the following points are for non-native speakers of English who will be experiencing the United States for the first time.  There are things that Americans say and do that may surprise or even shock you.  Please keep in mind that these things are culturally acceptable in the United States and that you are not being targeted because you are from another country.

1. Politics
   Americans talk about politics a lot...and I mean a lot especially as political (presidential) campaigns begin earlier and earlier.  The constant presence of cable news networks has exacerbated this problem, in other words has made this problem worse.
   Americans in general will not hesitate at all in discussing politics openly, including giving their own personal political opinions. You should not see this as an invasion of your privacy but rather as an opening to discussion and maybe find common ground or test your powers of argumentation.  You may end up agreeing to disagree but  you will most likely know the person better.
   In any case, the person with whom you are speaking will also be sizing you up and trying to get to know how you think, e.g. your methodology, in a professional context.
   
2. Religion 
   Churches and synagogues are everywhere in the U.S. and many more people attend religious services regularly than in most European countries.  Again, the person with whom you are speaking is attempting to find common ground and understand your values.  Churches and synagogues are considered both as religious and social centers, handling many more activities than only religious services.
   
   Please, do not feel offended if someone talks about religion or asks you about yours.  Your religious views and activities are your own to express or to keep to yourself.  If you wish to talk about your religious views, then fine, go ahead if someone brings this up.  However, if you feel uncomfortable speaking about religion, then find a neutral phrase to let the person with whom you are speaking know that this is not really your cup of tea.
3. Money 
   
   Americans talk about money...a lot!  They are especially interested in telling others about good deals, bargains, discounts, sales, and so on.  They don't hesitate, when asked, to give the price of homes, cars, vacations or other major purchases, especially when they have saved money or gotten the item for an under-the-market price.  Most of the time, this is only to pass along information to others or to encourage them to participate in the savings as well.  It could also be to elicit a reaction from the person with whom they are speaking, especially if the savings are considered great.
   On the other hand and contrary to many beliefs, Americans will not discuss openly how much money they earn in their jobs.  This is considered private and, unless talking with a family member or a very close friend, will stick to percentages and not go into specific amounts in terms of salary.
   
4. Cars, Roads, Traffic and ItinerariesI am not a car person.  I drive when I can, but I just do not care about cars.  This is unnerving for a lot of people, especially men, in the United States, especially in some areas like southern California where the car is absolutely king!
   Americans love talking about their cars, but they also love talking about roads and itineraries.  Road work or construction can occupy some people for hours talking about the building necessity or opportunity, the detours needed, traffic slowdowns, traffic buildups, and the unnecessary accidents that might come out of these roadworks.
   Itineraries are also big topics of conversation.  It's not about going from Point A to Point B, but how you get there and how much time you saved by taking a smart itinerary or finding that unknown short cut.  Californians are famous in the U.S. for telling people exactly how they managed their way around Los Angeles' myriad system of roads, highways, freeways and other thoroughfares.  And they will do this in detail, very often in far too much detail.  Americans will not hesitate to give you advice on which road(s) to take and will very often disagree with each other about what "the best way" is to get to your destination.  If you are traveling in the countryside, don't hesitate to stop at a gas station, bar or restaurant to ask your way, but be prepared to get 6 different ways from 3 different people.
   One last thing--keep in mind that Americans will use the four cardinal points of a compass (north, south, east and west) when talking about which way to drive.  They will often use the suffix -bound (in the direction of) in talking about which way to go For example, "Follow I94 northbound until you hit 35, then go eastbound until highway JJ."
   And remember, 1 mile = 1.6km and Americans will always talk in miles -- they will never, if ever use the metric system.
5. Football and Sports Teams 
   
   
   Sports is a topic that many, many Americans are obsessed with, especially because the weekends are filled with nothing but sports.  A match is the British term for a game (U.S. term), and when (American) football season is on -- a period from around August through the end of January -- everyone is glued to her/his television on Saturday afternoons for the college and university games, Sundays and Monday nights and now Thursday nights -- this last evening was a new event for me on this trip home -- for the professional football leagues.  You can find the rules to the game at this link.  And now there are even "fantasy" football leagues for men (but not only) who don't have enough of the game, but please don't ask me how these "fantasy" leagues work as I have no idea.
   I am not a huge fan of football either, but I do understand how it is played.  Americans will talk about their favorite sports teams -- football, basketball, baseball and hockey usually -- in terms that are borderline fanatical.  
   I come from the state of Wisconsin and the home team is called the Green Bay Packers (see the picture).  My fellow citizens of Wisconsin are obsessively possessive and proud of the Packers.  Why?  Probably because Wisconsin, with its 5,757,564 inhabitants (source:  US Census bureau) is most likelyl too small to have a professional football team, and a good one at that, at least in the 2015 season!  The city of Green Bay is really an oddball place for a pro football team with a little over 104,000 inhabitants in 2015 (source), far too small to be a proper host for such an immense industry, because professional football is an industry -- nothing more, nothing less.  So why are the Packers still in Green Bay?  The team, early on in its history, sold shares in the club to private investors first in 1923, making it the only publicly owned team in the NFL.  If a private investor wanted to buy the team, s/he would have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars (if not more) to purchase all of the shares -- most likely over 100,000 -- from some very proud fans.
   Americans will talk constantly about American sports and have no idea who Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or AS Roma are.  And don't even try getting them on the idea of handball, completely unknown in the U.S. and, in fact, a totally different sport.  When dealing with them, if you do not understand something about their sports team(s), ask politely for help in understanding.  Who knows?  You may even get an invitation to attend a game!  But let's hope the invitation isn't to a Packers game in December, when temperatures in Green Bay can dip well below -20°C!