I’ve heard that Americans like a larger personal space than most Europeans. It would make sense that if you’re talking across a greater distance, even if the increase isn’t much, you’d speak louder. Then if you have a group of them, all sort of spread out, you end up really raising your voice to be heard by all.
I’m somewhat hard of hearing, so I appreciate it when people speak up and enunciate.
StG
In my travels, it’s either the Germans or the Americans. The quietest are always the Japanese.
This probably dates from wartime rationing. I have been told by my parents that if you ever saw a queue outside a shop you would join it regardless, because there might be something worth getting in that shop.
I’m in the old homeland of Iowa at the moment. People here definitely speak more softly than in greater NYC, where I now live. But you knew that.
People here definitely have “inside” and “outside” voices. Urban NY folks don’t always, especially if they’re used to crowding and noise.
I’ve never noticed it about Danes, I have to say. So yeah, I think you lot take the crown.
Edit: How about the Chinese? I’m not sure, though, as it might have more to do with the timbral characteristics of the languages involved.
Does it seem condescending abroad? I get impatient with some southerners for speaking slowly (not all do, of course, but I’ve met a fair number that have had me gritting my teeth to keep from yelling "spit it out already!), but since we’re speaking the same language, it’s not condescending.
I find French-Canadians very loud, whether they’re speaking English or French.
A friend and I were told at a bar in Paris that the Americans are easy to pick out because they talk loudly, wear sneakers, and drink beer straight from the bottle.
Cantonese, yeah. Maybe not Mandarin so much.
A Cantonese-speaking friend from Hong Kong “did” Europe with a friend about ten years ago. They had to make a conscious effort to speak quietly, because they kept getting steely glares on public transport, especially in England. This didn’t apply in Italy, where they reported feeling right at home, volume-wise.
I concur. Americans, in general, speak loudly. It’s always easy to pick out the obvious Americans by volume. A few months ago, I drove down from England to escort an American friend around western Germany. In the restaurants and stores it sounded to me like she was yelling, even though it was her normal voice. Apparently I’ve been living overseas too long…
You only have to look at an American TV programme like Fox news. Everyone on there seems to be yelling at the top of their voice. Why?
Rayne, they don’t realize that they don’t have to yell to have their viewers hear them. You know, electronic amplification and all.
This is another reason I don’t watch Faux News. I tuned in one evening and the had three people SHOUTING at one another all at once. First, talking over one another does not result in a satisfying debate. Second, too loud in general.
At an old job my coworkers and I would frequently go to lunch together. I frequently got ‘Am I losing my hearing? Or do you just speak softly?’ IME public places in the US are too loud.
To foster a state of chronic anxiety and stress among the public, is my guess. Keep 'em feeling scared, inadequate, and spending money to compensate for it all.
Don’t we have the fnords for that?
Fox Noise is one large fnord. (Of course, you’re not seeing it.)
I’m English, and I moved to America at 14ish. For the first two or three years, everybody was always asking me to speak up.
This was not, as I recall, a regular occurrence in England. Take that for what you will.
(I had almost completely assimilated the local accent within a year, so it wasn’t that)
I’ve never noticed the average American to be loud, but I’m Canadian, so maybe we’re similar.
But oh my God, Australians. The quietest Australian I’ve ever met talked loudly enough to be heard in the next house. They yell everything, in all contexts. There is no possible way Americans could be louder than Australians; it’s like being around people who’ve had bullhorns implanted in their necks.
All other nationalities sound loud to me. I think it’s just a result of the accents.
Working class Brits are often very loud.
I’m truly amazed that Australians are loud. I trust the combined wisdom of the dopers, so I’ll have to accept it, but it had never crossed my mind that we might be (boorish drunken backpackers excepted, of course).
I’d have said American retirees and young Londoners. And even here, I don’t know it’s so much pure volume as something about the way the voices carry (especially with the Americans). I can follow an American conversation from across a crowded airport concourse, but they’re not actually shouting.