Unraveling the Hidden Stories of American English and Culture, Familiar Yet Unfamiliar

A collection of essays on American English culture, sometimes humorously and sometimes seriously, by Florida Ahn, a self-proclaimed American expert.
The content on American English and American culture, sharply explained through the eyes of a foreigner living and assimilating into America, is refreshing every time you read it, and it's fun to accumulate knowledge.
The author's assertion that one cannot speak a language well without knowing the culture, and that culture cannot exist without language, is reflected in the overwhelmingly unique content, providing an immersive experience that is impossible to look away from.
Even on YouTube Live, it's difficult to fully grasp the ins and outs of American culture and the English expressions that reflect it, and this explanation makes me realize once again what the joy of reading is.

If you learn a variety of these metonymic expressions, you will be able to speak English more similar to native speakers.
However, as Yul points out, most metonymic expressions are highly conventionalized, reflecting the conventions of language users.
To properly understand and use metonymic expressions in English, one must also understand the culture, including American customs, manners, and linguistic habits.
In other words, this means that if customs and habits are different, metonymic expressions may also change.
Therefore, due to differences in customs and practices, metonymy in the United States and the United Kingdom often differs.
For example, in British English, “I got a Chinese.” means “I ordered Chinese food,” and similarly, “I got an Indian.” means “I ordered Indian food.”
In this sentence, 'a Chinese' is a metonymy for Chinese cuisine, and 'an Indian' is a metonymy for Indian cuisine.
But Americans don't understand this type of metonymy at all.
This is because the language habits of Americans and British people are formed differently.

--- From "Metonymy: Linguistic Expressions Born from Custom"

Let's start with the easiest example of American direct speech. In the United States, when you offer food or drink, Americans usually say "Yes, please."
(When receiving food) “Thank you!” If you don’t want to eat, reply “No, but thanks!”
In this way, Americans first clearly tell the other person whether they will eat or not (yes or no) before they politely say “Thank you!”
In contrast, in Glasgow, Scotland, where the same English language is spoken, people first say “Thank you” and then say whether they want to eat it (yes) or not (no).
In the same context, the reason Americans, unlike Glasgow, use a more direct style of speaking, saying yes or no before thanking others, is because Americans prefer more explicit communication.
Dr. Stewart says that unlike Americans who clearly say yes or no, we Asians prefer indirect communication.
For example, he introduces the Japanese way of communicating, which uses subtlety of nuance and silence while avoiding direct confrontation, in contrast to American communication.
The article he cites, “Sixteen Ways to Avoid Saying 'No' in Japanese,” written by a Japanese person, provides various examples of how Japanese people avoid using the direct way of saying no.
--- From "Characteristics of American Directness"

…For example, if an applicant who received generous financial support from wealthy parents and an applicant who had to take care of a family or work part-time while studying due to difficult family circumstances have similar grades, American universities will select the applicant from the difficult family background.
(Omitted) Of course, it is advantageous to have good grades, GPA, and SAT scores, but American universities do not only look at the grades but also look at the process that produced those results.
So why don't American universities place as much weight on SAT scores in their admissions decisions as we do? Some Americans even argue that selecting students based on SAT scores is unfair.

--- From "American College Admissions and Affirmative Action Policies"

Bible Belt: The Bible Belt is made up of the southern and central states of the United States, which have a strong Christian religious influence. It wasn't surprising at all that adultery existed in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, where abortion is illegal, but it was quite surprising to see New York and Illinois there.
However, if you look at the materials related to adultery in the United States, there are clues that are clearly stated in all of them.
Although adultery is still illegal, this provision of the law is not actively enforced in practice at present.
Still, the fact that adultery remains a crime in the law as of 2024 seems to show a facet of the still-conservative nature of American law and institutions.
If this is the law regarding adultery in the United States, what do Americans think about it?
There was a post on the American internet platform Quora asking, “Should adultery be a crime?” and more Americans than expected answered that it should be.
Let's hear what an American woman had to say about this question.

--- From "American Perspectives on Adultery"