Why do Americans talk so loudly when abroad?

37 comments

1. We only give passports to the loud ones to annoy you.

2. [removed]

3. People get excited on vacation and you only notice the loud ones.

4. As a quiet American who’s also annoyed by them overseas, you are just noticing the loud ones, lol. As to why they’re like that, I don’t really know. Maybe restaurants and cafes here play louder music so some people get used to talking louder? No idea if that’s true or not.

5. Maybe it has something to do with background noise? If everything is really quiet sounds even at just regular level sound louder. So maybe there’s just more background noise, especially in cities.

6. I could ask the same of Brits, Spaniards, etc.

   You lot are deafening when you get here.

7. Things that are different stand out. One American accent is a sea of them sounds normal, but if it’s the only one in a room full of other accents (or even more other languages) it’ll stand out more.

8. I’m currently in Sweden.

   And here the loud ones are the Germans. (Though here in Granna, a handful of the Swedes are definitely giving it a go at being louder; I’m typing this as a couple chat at a volume way louder than I’d be comfortable with.)

   I think this is partially selection bias as well: you hear someone being loud, you assume they’re an American. And you only notice the ones being loud; a quiet couple talking amongst themselves and you probably assume they’re not American.

9. It’s funny. I’m from NYC and tourists speak surprisingly loud on subways. It’s funny. Maybe they aren’t used to speaking over the background noise of the train’s rumbles and squeals?

10. Could it be that their accent makes them stand out more? Someone with a different accent than the locals tends to stand out more. When I worked in a public library, I remember an Australian lady coming in and she was *so freaking loud*. Stood out like a sore thumb.

    In my experience, southern and eastern Europeans were the loudest tourists in London. Maybe I found that to be the case because I wasn’t used to them. Maybe you find Americans to be loud because you don’t come across us as frequently as other Europeans.

11. Survivorship bias. You only identify and remember the loud people.

12. Selection bias. You don’t notice the ones who aren’t loud and probably don’t realize they are American.

13. Some of it is Americans being loud, some of it is people assuming that everyone who is loud has to be an American. This is kind of like when that British guy defaced the colosseum and everyone was like “We don’t even have to ask, we all know it was an American”. Then when it came out he was British nobody said another word about it.

14. we have no matters or awareness for other people and cultures.

    obviously not all of us. i’m not loud. but I’d be honest that Americans can be a bit loud and unaware.

15. Probably because you only notice the ones that do.

16. You wouldn’t notice the quiet ones, would you? Come on, put a little thought in it next time.

17. How can you tell they’re Americans and not Canadians? If you don’t like what someone is doing, it demands the assumption they’re American?

18. You wouldn’t notice the quiet ones because they don’t talk loudly enough for you to hear.

19. I can think of three reasons.

    1. You are comparing them to local standards.

    2. They are on vacation, so they are excited.

    3. Alcohol.

20. > and notice loud Americans all the time

    Answered your own question without knowing you did.

    How many quiet Americans did you notice? None? Of course not, because they weren’t making a damn nuisance of themselves.

21. Have you ever encountered Italians or Spaniards?

22. Context.

23. Cars are loud

24. You notice it when it stands out.

    When you visit the US you don’t notice loud Americans because everyone is speaking relatively the same volume.

    Though I would appreciate it if you came and shamed my kids because they seem to have literally only one volume when they open their mouths and it is 11. No amount of asking them to use their inside voices or stop yelling seems to work. Maybe a third party could get through to them.

25. Do you all even know about your reputation abroad? lol. If there’s someone shouting loudly in English in Spain, it probably ain’t an American.

26. Just got back from Europe, and the American tourists weren’t really louder than anyone else. Mmm, are Americans in London more likely to work in finance?

27. Is it possible that loud people are easier to notice, and there are quiet American visitors you don’t?

28. I very much doubt that a lot of Americans are quiet at home but decide to get loud when they’re abroad. Most likely there are a few factors at play:

    -when you’re in America, American accents fade into the background. When you’re in the UK they stand out more, so they sound subjectively louder to you in London than they do in Chicago.

    -of course loud people are louder than quiet people, so they’ll be noticed more. A quiet American is less likely to be heard than a loud American.

    -the UK and Ireland are relatively easy tourist destinations for Americans. They are safe countries that speak English and that a lot of Americans have positive associations with. So they might tend to get more inexperienced tourists. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be loud, but it might mean they’ll be more awkward and less adept at modulating to local norms. Of course this isn’t all tourists who go to those countries, but probably a decent number.

29. Have you ever seen British ppl abroad? Trust me, a lot of them aren’t quiet and polite.

30. We do not change our talking volume when traveling abroad. Or at least most do not outside of situational need. The reason you did not notice a difference is that in the US everyone is talking at that volume so that is the norm. You would only notice a difference if there were one, such as when we travel abroad.

31. I read somewhere that a voice with a different accent will stand out amongst other voices. I think this is true because whenever I hear someone speaking with an accent it’s louder to me as well. Its also probably because when Americans are visiting the UK they’re there to have a good time which can get loud. Brits at a pub for a football match can get quite loud. I am sure there are plenty of Americans who are not loud who you’re not noticing.

32. This is a troll post. Don’t feed the troll.

33. I could say the same

34. Speak up Chester, get the mashed potatoes out of your mouth.

35. When you speak English loudly it helps other people’s babel fish or universal translators work better.

36. Alcohol

37. I could ask the same, A lot of tourists are pretty loud!