United States Culture & Language

The United States has no official language at federal level, though English is universal in practice and Spanish is spoken by tens of millions. Regional difference is the thing most underestimated by visitors: food, accent, religiosity, politics and law vary more between states than between some European countries.

Musical forms that travelled worldwide — blues, jazz, country, rock and roll, hip hop — all originated here, most of them in Black American communities in the South and in northern cities, and the places they came from can be visited.

Federalism means law is genuinely local. Drinking age, cannabis legality, road rules, sales tax and shop opening all change at a state line, sometimes sharply.

National parks are a distinctive American institution, established from 1872 and among the best-run public landscapes anywhere.

There is no official language, but English is used everywhere and visitors will not need another. Spanish is the second language of the country and dominant in parts of the South-west, Florida and many cities.

Vocabulary differences from British English are worth knowing in practical settings: the ground floor is the first floor, a bill is a check, petrol is gas, and trousers are pants — where pants means underwear in British usage.

Service interactions are warmer and more talkative than in much of Europe, and it is conventional rather than intrusive.