To ask about people from different countries

@Kneidlach

I think you have missed the point I am trying to make.

In most cases the information received to make a decision about someone's nationality is then attributed to the people of that nationality.
It is pure confirmation bias.

@AllProperTeaIsTheft

By hearing them speak, presumably

How do you distinguish between the German and the Austrian?

Unless you are an expert in many languages, how do you distinguish between the Swede and the Norwegian?

By hearing them speak, presumably.

Every explanation given for how we know someone's nationality is based on assumptions. I don't understand how we can assume someone's nationality based on their behaviour and then say people of that nationality behave in that way.

Bit this is literally how our brains work. We see things, and based on our previous experiences, our brains make the necessary links and shortcuts to understand a situation or make a judgement. Our brains might not get it right 100% of the time but are generally pretty accurate I think. Unconscious bias and all that.

Similarly to previous posters I agree it’s interesting to observe other people abroad and guess where they are from. I’m not always right but that’s part of the interest for me. For example I saw a family in a Greece holiday resort that based on appearance, clothing, mannerisms etc I thought could only be English. But walking past then later I heard them speaking Dutch.

As a dane i agree with yous but compared to brits we are quite reserved. Was a big culture shock for me that strangers kept talking to me when I moved here. Not a huge fan of it 😅
And again, OP also described brits as rule breakers which I do not recognise at all so we might just disagree with their assessments😅

My British sociologist husband completely dismisses any notion of national characteristics as stereotypes and points out the different nations in Britain, class differences, ethnic distinctions etc whenever I claim that something is "typically British". I am also very aware of strong regional differences in my small EU country but still... having lived in several different countries, I am convinced that education, religion, politics, ideology, weather, geography, history, popular culture, etc shape our behaviours, our values, aesthetics and outlook on life. I speak several languages fluently and know that I behave differently when I speak a different language and my body language changes. I can spot people from my country easily although I haven't lived there for 30 years. At the same time, I am often considered foreign when I visit because I don't fit in completely any longer and my accent has changed and it takes a while to readjust. I find the idea of what makes me "me" fascinating because it so clearly depends on context. I could be a completely different person had I been born in Finland!

On my various travels I enjoy finding the similarities (if any) between my native British self and the people in the places I'm visting. Currently finding many similarities between a coastal Portugese City/Town and the SW UK town I live in - I think down to very similar local geographies and the historical Cod/Newfoundland Timber and 3rd stop Trade routes.

The most standout cultural similarity for me was Albanian humour - the amount of mutual laughs I have had in interactions there is significant. Which, like the OP suggested, I think is down to Island Nation culture, where it develops when geographically cut off from nearby countries and cultures. In Albania's case, they were cut off in every way from other countries for decades due to Hoxha's long standing dictatorship.

Anyways, quite an interesting topic OP

so can I.

Agreed - we noticed this in Mediterranean countries with warmer weather and lighter evenings (BST+1/2). Also that the kids are all out and about with their parents instead of tucked up in bed while it's still daylight.

Go to DW in Florida. Never seen so many British parents shouting in their kids faces.

With British people abroad it's often a class thing. Tracey in Torremolinos would look and act differently than Saskia in Sicily. The former would be more likely to be shouting at her kids. No one I know would dream of doing that in public

Spot on every word.

If I’d see Danes abroad I’d think they were reserved compared to many other people. And I would feel ’at home’ with them. But when I go to Denmark I do see them as less reserved than us.

And if you can’t see them they make sure you hear them.

I think it's very relative.

Danes may not seem reserved compared to Norwegians or Finns. But they certainly do when compared to, say, Greeks or Spaniards. That's an obvious generalisation in the sense that there are many introverted Greeks and many exuberant Danes, but you know what I mean.

I think the perceptions of Danes versus Swedes was an important element in the brilliant TV series 'The Bridge' even if went over the heads of most English speaking viewers!

Now Americans in Paris.

They stand out like a sore thumb.

Or Americans anywhere really.

When I hosted a group of Danes visiting here, not having previously known any Danes, we got on so easily and naturally, chatting and laughing with seemingly the same sense of humour, I found myself thinking they were just like us!

With clothes, it can be quite subtle or very obvious, even in Europe. In some countries, it’s very obvious if your clothes aren’t from there. In Russia 20 years ago, for example, not only were the clothes different but Russian women in their 20s dressed very differently from British women of the same age - no trainers, for example. You literally could tell by looking.

France is another one - it’s maybe less pronounced these days but when I lived there, most French women wouldn’t wear bright colours or patterns beyond stripes. You could just tell if you saw someone in certain clothing that they weren’t French.

They are certainly not wild and crazy. But nor are they generally reserved. I’d say they are just nice, decent people!

I am Swedish and could spot Swedish people anywhere. And Danes. My DH is not from here but he is even better than me at spotting them. And the other day we were at a restaurant being served by a younger British guy. He looked at my DH and started speaking English to him (and Swedish to me). He picked which country my DH is from straight away, even though he has lived here for 20 years.

But they’re the drunken uncle by Scandi standards, which don’t necessarily translate into a different culture’s idea of wild and kerraaazeee…?

Germans, on holiday at least, very often have practical shoes, waterproof jackets and an old backpack. With practical things in it I’m sure. I don’t know anyone where I live who couldn’t spot a German miles away. 😅 It’s the clothes and hair too. You can just tell.

Agreed. And what about border regions? I spent time in Alsace this summer, which has moved back and forth between France and Germany a number of times. Are its population ‘less French’ than Parisians or Bretons? No. Are they culturally quite distinct in some ways from, say, Provençal people? Almost certainly.

Another example, in London this time. Again heard German, noticed they were wearing a German brand of shoes (Rieker, really practical, not completely stylish but very well made and pricey too). They were drinking beer, and being relaxed.
I noticed one of them said Tisch-le when referring to the table. He used a German word for Table and ended it with a Frenchism.
Swiss.

Or in Mallorca again, standing next to some Statuesque blonde late middle aged couples who looked the epitome of health and wellness. They were speaking a Nordic language, I'm not that familiar with them, but put them as either Danes, Swedish or Norwegians. No idea what they were saying, but then I saw one had a book on the table, with ø in one of the words. So that ruled out Swedish.
I never got further than that, but you get the gist.

@Fladdermus I laughed out loud at that too. I’ve yet to meet a reserved Dane. 😂

As a swede, I did chuckle at your description of danes as reserved. They're generally seen as the drunken uncle of the Scandinavian family.

I think swedish reservedness is a result of our history. A few hundred years ago land reform laws led to people moving out of settlements to their new patches of land, often miles away from the nearest neighbours. There was also a period of time when the nobles were fearful of uprising so social gatherings were banned.