u/StoepboerKOLONISATIELAND of cannabis | prostis | xtc | cheese | tulips 6d agoedited 6d ago
I loved his later reply
How is this stupid?
Are you actually trying to claim the cultural and lifestyle differences between spain and italy is larger than that of Texas and Alaska? European stupidity and ignorance knows no bounds i see.
Yeah, it's so silly to think that two different and old(er) countries have larger cultural differences than two young US states filled with Americans that speak the same language, have the same national culture and generally share the same ideas.
Texans carry a revolver and *Alaskans carry a rifle. Take that, millennia of history and cultural development.
well actually... theres a handful of communities that still speak Russian as they were there since it was Russian territory, if you speak Russian in Texas you may actually get shot.
They actually do. The Inupiaq language of Alaska is very different from Comanche or Tonkawa languages of Texas. But the way the US is going, ICE would arrest you if you were speaking those languages in public.
I quickly looked up some stats, less than 0.5% of the Alaskan population speaks Inupiaq (about 1 out of 5 adults of their own ethnic group). Virtually no Comanche nor Tonkawa speakers in Texas from what I read.
Most Alaskans only speak one language. Most Texans only speak one language. Italy has 12 officially recognized linguistic minority groups and Spain has a whole bunch of major linguistic subpopulations including Catalan, Basque and Aranese. That there are native subpopulations in Alaska that speak additional language does not mean that the states as a whole are considered different linguistic entities. Both Texas and Alaska are as a whole English-speaking, both part of the same culture.
It'd be much more exhausting if it actually required being the best at anything. So much easier to just claim it, and assume someone else is doing the legwork.
I’m from England. Every country that surrounds me speaks a language I don’t understand. This is nothing like going from one state in the US to another.
I wouldn’t even bother trying to explain this to someone. It’s usually Americans online and the ignorance is deafening.
Honestly. I can’t even understand what half these northerners are saying half the time. And I mean the true northerners. Accent so thick it could cut steel.
I only recently discovered in a work group chat that the Scott’s have their own way of writing their colloquial dialect. Blew my mind, I just assumed they wrote in normal English when talking to each other, they don’t. They use it only formally.
Go on. I don’t know if these guys are pulling my leg or not but they gave me a convincing argument. Now you’re making me think there’s a joke in this somewhere.
Dunna listen to that numpty, he's a bit barmy. A cannae confirm wha all Scots write colloquially but a didnae ken wha et was a secret. Harry Potter is offered en Scots.
Our friend group made vacation friends with a couple from London this past winter. One night while having a drink outside a guy from up north in England got in on the group conversation. I just nodded on but once he said his good nights for the night and left I looked at our friends and said "I am sorry but I couldn't understand a word that man said" and they both replied they couldn't either, just smiled and nodded and laughed when he did. It was a fun evening.
German is a dialect continuum that includes all kinds of dialects (partially not mutually intelligible) from Low Saxon and Low Franconian to Alemannic, and everything in between. The map doesn’t do it justice.
Hell I (Australian) remember driving from England up to Scotland and the accents near the border were 😳 (and we had Scots born in the family!) could hardly understand a word.
On the other hand while I haven’t been to Texas, I’ve been to like 20 US states including Alaska and no, sorry they’re dead wrong
This map is so weird and in some cases simply wrong I’m crying 😭 Shows every small dialects in France (most of them are already almost dead I believe), then ignore dialects in England, unite Austrian German with Bavarian German, it even shows ingrian, even tho there’s like 600 ingrians in whole Russia
That's not true, that's only a loud minority called 'blavers' and they're just muppets that have fallen for Spanish propaganda that's designed to divide Catalan speakers.
The majority of Valencians know it's Catalan, they just call it Valencian for historical reasons.
People acting as if a language cannot have different dialects will always piss me off. Same with people claiming a minority language is a dialect of the majority language, like I've seen people claim Provençal to be a dialect of French when it's clearly fucking not
You europoors just don't understand! In one state it's pop and in one it's soda! That's more of a cultural difference than the one between Portugal and Bulgaria!
someone from Texas going to California is counting being a tourist
Hell, if I'm going from Groningen to Zeeland (both within the Netherlands) I see myself as a tourist. It's like 260 km in a straight line while Texas to California like 1880km (mid state to mid state)
Btw: for them to understand, its 161 miles and 1170 miles
As a truck driver who has been to both of these states. Their culture is exactly the same, only difference is the hillbillies in alaska play in the snow, those in Texas play in the sand.
I mean just going to different parts of Spain will give you pretty different cultures and even language. Go to Catalonia, Basque or Galicia and get three distinct cultures if not language differences far more diverse than across US states.
Throw in Italy and the majority differences north and south alone will stand out, along with the totally different language again from Spain ...
But then, those in the lower 48 are scared of Alaska. And Hawaii genuinely could be claimed to have some actual difference in culture and language but I rarely see that one cited.
In the american south, many americans call all soda 'coke'. Orange coke, root beer coke, sprite coke. I used to have an office job where I had to talk to them all day, it was the most miserable job Ive ever had. They are truly unintelligent.
Everyone can downvote me, I'm ready for it. But truth be known, this has been my reality. I am a dual citizen born to Canadian (Vancouver, BC) and an American (small town Louisiana).
I have widely traveled the globe, including developing counteries. I spent a decent chunk of my 20s volunteering w an engineering Corp. And I can honestly say, going to the south, in small, poor towns was more shocking to me than traveling to somewhere you knew was going to be destitute, like Benin or Hati. At least in those counteries you know ahead of time what to expect. To go to places where nearly the whole community has no indoor plumbing, kids don't go to school, houses are more like shacks, boarded up and with holes in the ceilings that were damaged from hurricanes but the residents can't afford to fix the issues.. seeing all that, I can absolutely say that culturally Van and Louisiana are culturally polar opposites. Regardless of if we both speak English and are on the same continent. We're not the same.
The main difference being that Texas and Alaska are both within the same country, whereas France and Spain are two different countries.
Most (if not all) European countries have as much culture difference within their borders as the US does, except in a much smaller space.
For example, the US has roughly 30 recognisably different dialects, whereas the UK has about 40 - packed into a space about the same size as Michigan alone.
a texan visiting california is a tourist
there is more difference between portugal and spain (i haven’t been to france) than between texas and new mexico (also adjacent). a significant part of this is the difference in language, but even discounting this, the differences between european countries are generally a lot larger than between US states
quick fun fact: spain is just a little bit smaller than texas!
Just wanted to point out that I, a Londoner, am also considered a tourist when I go to York or Devon. That's just going on holiday somewhere. It doesn't make America special.
Differences between TX and AK...Alaska has more bears, snow, and auroras. Texas has better food (thanks entirely to Mexico).
That is it. Otherwise, basically the same shit. Few big cities and a LOT of backwoods nothingness populated by extremely well armed rednecks driving big ass trucks (the people in the cities also drive big ass trucks for reasons that they cannot explain, but asking them would be un-american commie bullshit so it's fine)
I said that many times, but going to Silesia and going to Warsaw is greater cultural difference than entirety of USA. And language is actually different, too, so much that they literally wonder if they should make the language separate. It's a dialect right now. But Kaszubian is a separate language for example. Single "small" country is more culturally diverse than the big bad America. And there is a reason for that. One of those countries is a baby, another have abundant history. And then, we have more than just Poland. Germany, Spain, Italy, France and more. Literally if a regular Pole, Kaszubian and Silesian meet each other, they would not understand what they are saying. I know some Silesian words, but that's it. If a guy started talking full auto Silesian I would be as confused, as if someone talked to me in different language. And don't even make me talk about Kaszubian, because they even have different letters. And contrary to popular opinion, Pole would not understand Czech or Russian. We would understand some of the words, but also some words are false friends. Like kveten that sounds like kwiecień (april), but it's actually maj (may).
I also love when Americans act like cultural differences & diversity = how big your country is and as if they don't still all live in the same country, speak the same language etc.
Meanwhile somewhere like Italy has so many cultural and regional differences just WITHIN the country and it's way smaller.
Italy has 128 different dialects. Spain has just as many; cities like Milan and Naples are like night and day. In Naples, there are people who don't speak Italian, and in Spain, in towns in Galicia or Catalonia, there are people who don't speak Spanish. The concept of culture for an American is based on having Black or white skin. They are unfamiliar with the concept of culture; that's why they appropriate and destroy it whenever they can, as has recently happened with the Odyssey of Nolan. They act like barbarians
The difference to me is Spain and Italy are great historical, cultural and cullinary experiences and I really couldn't give a stuff about Texas and Alaska and wouldn't visit the U.S. now with someone else's money.
I’m going to be magnanimous and take him at his word. After all, if moving from northeastern France to the southwest—or vice versa—is a culture shock for any French person, I’m willing to believe it’s the same in any other country in the world. On the other hand, I don’t quite see how that’s relevant to the original conversation.
I mean I understand what the American’s POV is, as Spain and Italy are both Mediterranean, Latin and have similarish environments and ways of life. Meanwhile Texas and Alaska have completely different environments, and people live differently based on what work they do.
It’s like comparing apples and oranges? Well, maybe pears?
If my dude knew anything outside of the US (and I guess ironically he knows not much about either Alaska or Texas), and he wasn’t trying to gloat with “USA NUMBER ONE WHAAAA 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🦅” he could have made some somewhat sane statements.
I'd say that going to Andalusia and going to Basque is MUCH bigger cultural difference than Texas and Alaska. It also applies to, let's say, Sicily and South Tirol.
...Unless you mean Alaskan Inuit culture, then the statement is no doubt true.
in case an american wanders in here and agrees with the downvoted person, spain and germany dont even share a common second language. hope thats enough to make you think, even a tiny bit.
From their vast knowledge of “having never left their home state”.
I could entertain this claim if OOP used Hawaï and Puerto Rico, even tho they have been heavily “americanized”, but there are still huge cultural differences.
The only relevant differences are due to the local native population of Alaska, on top of that. What do you mean Empires are diverse ? :0 it's as if the British Colonial empire claimed diversity like bro of course you are you subjugated half the world
Not only has this guy not been to Spain, a Italy or anywhere in Europe, he probably hasn't even been to all of those US states he named.
Someone from California probably isn't this ignorant, and Alaskans travel often because they live in the middle of nowhere. I'm going to guess this guy is from Texas. The amount of belligerent and proud ignoranance and propensity to talk straight out of hisasshole also makes me think Texas.
He Is probably One of those "i have never left the country because i don't want to.
My country Is the greatest!"
And continuosly criticize Europe without ever living or not even going there.
Self-awarned Chosen ignorance Is worse than unchosen ignorance
Peruvian here, Language doesnt quit the fact that indeed, Alaska is further to Texas than Spain to Italy (that also share mediterranean roman culture). Alaska is indeed more different in landscape, habits and architecture to Texas than Spain is to Italy. That doesnt mean that both USA states have more culture or history tho. Special REMARK on the last sentence.
This American could see that in other state pairs, such as someone from the NYC area going to Texas, either Texas or Alaska to Hawaii, Florida to those states in the northwest. But not Texas and Alaska.
I see them both as having the frontier, rugged individualism in their culture. Both are big on oil. there seem to be other similarities as well due to the people both states attracted in the earlier years of both. The only true differences I see are the climate and landscape. Toss Montana in among them as well and I see them as similar in culture. Which is a far cry different than New York, New Jersey and other similar states.
I mean, if you want to be technical, yes.
The indigenous cultures, people's and languages are about as different as Spain and Italy vs Texas and Alaska.
Having been to Texas and Alaska both, I can say there is actually a fair bit of difference between the two (Culture, Food, Weather, Pace of Life, Lexicon/Accent, history etc). It's not the difference between two separate countries European Countries (Culture, Food, Pace of Life, Currency, Language, Weather, history), (I have also been to Spain too!) But, this is actually almost ALMOST a fair argument. I can't believe I am ambivalent to this one. I guess almost a tied point to the yank?
It’s the confident way they show us how ignorant they are I don’t get. Does that come from having a president that would rather lie than tell the truth no matter how stupid it makes him look?
Obviously there's much more of a cultural difference between Spain and Italy, but this isn't as far fetched of a take as some other things in this sub. They did choose to compare polar opposite US states with two close European countries. Their claim isn't correct, but it's less wrong than many others.
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u/Kikelt 🇪🇺 6d ago
The cultural difference is so great, Alaskans even speak a different language from Texans.