To ask about people from different countries

Yes, that is also true. There are many factors.

The Brits sometimes lose it, but with the French it's non-stop moderate-level exasperation. "Non mais ça suffit ! Faut que ça s'arrête maintenant, tu me fais chier", in response to the most minor transgression imaginable.

Sit down at a restaurant and just listen to conversations.

I was in Mallorca, sat down next to a group of men, I heard them speak German, narrows it down to German, Austrian or maybe Swiss.
Then looked at the clothing, ok, so jeans and a t shirt, not very helpful. Their phone case is blue and white checkered, bavarian colours (bayern munich fan), looks wise dark hair and brown eyes.
I've deduced (correctly in this case) they're from Southern Germany.

It's actually quite easy, once you got to know countries, the people, and little quirks.

I was born in a European country where my family have lived for about four centuries, and I never fitted in. My parents tried all sorts to figure out what was wrong with me, to no avail. As an adult, I moved to the UK and fitted right in - everything has been fine since. Clearly my upbringing did nothing to remedy the fact that somehow, oddly enough, I belong here 😅

@ToBeOrNotToBee

There are clues if you look close enough. Like the language of the book/newspaper they're reading, the label on the clothes, even shoes (certain brands popular in some countries but not all).

These allow you to guess though not to know. People can be bilingual and read books in a language that is not from their country.

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.

You're the one to know!

That's true, although until a few centuries ago, most countries were pretty sparsely populated.

I think the Lutheran faith and the weather, specifically the long, dark winters, have also contributed a lot to the stereotypical Scandinavian character.

A lot of stereotypes are often very true indeed!

^
Completely true

@samarrange The French do scream at their kids a lot. But so do many British people. I only ever see it in France or the UK, and it is as shocking every time.

Really interesting subject

I'm convinced the weather has something to do with it

Southern Europeans spend more time outside chatting into the late evening

Brits are in the pub

But we're all so different??

If you go way back, for example in a Scandi country that wasn’t crowded and so no need for people to invade each other’s space when talking etc, many people still feel strongly about their personal space. Don’t come too close when talking, or queuing for the bus for example. It’s interesting.

I think that most of what OP is seeing is confirmation bias. There are lots of unhealthy Danes, introverted Italians, and child-phobic Germans.

Perhaps there might be one or two national characteristics that show up in a holiday situation where people are otherwise from comparable socio-economic backgrounds (e.g., the Spanish kids might go to bed later than the Dutch ones), but as any social scientist will tell you, within-group variance is always greater than between-group variance. What are Luxembourgers supposed to be like?

I used to work in an organisation with nearly 50 nationalities. At no point did anyone suggest that Klaus or Pierre were the way they were because of their national origin. It simply wasn't an issue.

Consider that in both Italy and Germany, the people from one end of the country have very strong ideas about what people from the other end of the country are like, to the extent that in Italy there is a political movement in the north that basically wants to be rid of the south.

Or just look at the UK — or even just England. You might be talking to a French person who has just had their first proper conversation with a British person. If that Brit is from Tunbridge Wells versus Hull, do you think the French person might have different opinions about what "Brits" are like? (Spoiler: The person from Tunbridge Wells is a mechanic and the one from Hull is a barrister.)

With all that said, though, it is a hard scientific fact that the French do shout at their kids a lot!

Excellent thread, I find the formation of culture absolutely fascinating. I personally think it's a huge combination of all sorts of factors, from weather to history, from landscape to music. What I find really interesting is how cultures change though... When I was growing up, the British were renowned for being polite, graceful and reserved - I don't think we'd be accused of any of those things any more! What happened, and was it intentional?

I have heard northern Italians call southerners "i Greci".

I've heard them call Southerners a lot worse!

Oh I have, very much so for 35+ years. And will keep enjoying them for many more if I am lucky. Thank you.

It does strike me as a bit odd not to care or be interested in where people come from, if you are an avid traveler I love different cultures and find it fascinating to learn more. I do hope I will never become tired of it.

Yes, imagine that. 😂

I manage to look at both architecture AND people when I travel.
Neither the buildings nor the people have ever complained

It's not something that occurs to me. I don't really care where other people are from, like I said, we all have our own interests. Enjoy your travels.

Well, in the eyes of the the Italians anything below Rome is a different country! I have heard northern Italians call southerners "i Greci". The diet, the lifestyle and outlook are culturally very different. I love the north but at heart I will always be Napoletana.

I have a few friends from South Africa. They can't get over how bonkers we all go at Christmas ( which starts in October). They were like this is next level insanity.

I'm not British but have lived here for q decade and the last thing I'd describe the British as (if I were to generalise several countries like that) is rebellious or rule breakers 😅 quite the opposite to me.

Socialisation I presume though. If you grow up in a south European country doing a lot of socialising at night when it's cooler in the way I've noticed when I've visited that'll be what you're used to and what you'll do. Whereas if you grow up in Scandinavia like I did where most socialise in their homes, particularly in the colder months, you probably socialise with smaller groups and less often.

Just because you can’t read people well doesn’t mean that others can’t. Got nothing to do about reasons for traveling. That is just a daft comparison.

Milan and Naples seem like totally different countries much of the time. Which I guess makes sense, since until relatively recently that's exactly what they were.

Its mostly not that hard

@username44416 Id say that trying to guess peoples nationality when I'm not in the uk is one of my favourite things to do I love people watching though.