Why are Brits more talkative & social than Germans and other Germanic people?

Posted by _max_steele@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 30 comments

I noticed that British people (and people from other Anglo countries like Australia & the USA) are much more talkative, open, and outgoing than other Germanic people, like the Germans and/or Scandinavian people, are. How come? Wasn't Britain settled by people from northern Germany originally and don't they share the same language family? I noticed Swedes, for instance, are super reserved and introverted. And Germans are known to be famously rude and like to small talk. Brits however, seem to have the chit chat culture that is more common perhaps in southern Europe.

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30 Comments

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cgcmake@reddit

The same reason north american and australian are irish are. People crossing sea to get to a new place often exhibit this cultural trait.

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_max_steele@reddit (OP)

Interesting.

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Ok-Charge-6998@reddit

Not sure that’s really true. I’ve found Germans very talkative, and also have the silliest sense of humour, always cracking the dumbest jokes. I’m German though, so maybe a little biased. I think it’s more of a stereotype that Germans are serious, but not at all in my experience. Norwegians are also a ton of fun, casually invited me, a random person they just met, on to a boat party, and boy was it a good time. I had lots of conversations with random people in Oslo, and I was never the one who initiated it.

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WeDoingThisAgainRWe@reddit

Britain isn’t Germanic. England sort of is. People really do need to learn the difference.

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Relevant-Law9161@reddit

Celtic as well.

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WeDoingThisAgainRWe@reddit

Exactly. And there’s obviously parts of England who are heavily Celtic, e.g. Cornwall.

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Relevant-Law9161@reddit

Relative to their Eastern neighbours like Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, they definitely are not introverted.

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cgcmake@reddit

You don't know french very much

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Psychological-Ad1264@reddit

Parts of Scotland certainly have Germanic heritage. Edinburgh was named by the Anglo-Saxons for instance.

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WeDoingThisAgainRWe@reddit

Anglicised names aren’t necessarily a sign of Germanic origins. They are more often a sign of overlords deciding rather than the people.

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Psychological-Ad1264@reddit

Where did all the Browns come from? To pretend that there was no Anglo Saxon legacy in Scotland is ridiculous.

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WeDoingThisAgainRWe@reddit

I’ve already said about anglicised names. They’re not the original names. Most Irish names are anglicised versions of Irish names and it’s not because the people are Germanic. You’re ignoring the elephant in the room of forced changes.

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Psychological-Ad1264@reddit

Large parts of Lowland Scotland were an Anglo Saxon kingdom for pity's sake. Stop being so obtuse.

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ratttertintattertins@reddit

\> Edinburgh was named by the Anglo-Saxons for instance Lowland Scotland didn't used to be Scotland. It was originally part of the anglo-saxon kingdom of Northerland which pre-dated Scotland and England.

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InZim@reddit

Scotland is largely Germanic culturally and genetically

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_max_steele@reddit (OP)

But the Angles and Saxons, who settled Britain, came from northern Germany.

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ratttertintattertins@reddit

Not really true. British people today have more in common with the celtic peoples than the people in saxony. It was a predominantly cultural takeover that made us anglo-saxon and largely not a genetic one.

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_max_steele@reddit (OP)

Not true. Eastern England especially is very Germanic: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic\_history\_of\_the\_British\_Isles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_history_of_the_British_Isles)

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Relevant-Law9161@reddit

Native British people are not just Anglo-Saxon in origin. There’s Norman, Norse, Celtic and even Romance heritage as well.

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WeDoingThisAgainRWe@reddit

They didn’t settle Britain. You need to learn the difference between Britain and England. And they didn’t come into an empty England. And the Scandinavian settlements spread into England as well. I’ve already explained it.

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Human677@reddit

I think 'Brits' is too general. It varies hugely on the region. Where I'm from in the east of England, people are quite reserved and less likely to engage in smalltalk. Up in York, where I've spent quite a bit of time, people are incredibly chatty in comparison.

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Imperterritus0907@reddit

Can confirm. Foreigner in Yorkshire but once I got sent down to the southwest for a couple of weeks. It was quite a culture shock in that aspect.

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_max_steele@reddit (OP)

Interesting.

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AverageCheap4990@reddit

Different culture. France was also settled by germanic people as well as large parts of Europe, but they all have different cultures, histories, etc. British people speak a Germanic language but are a mix of cultures and genetics.

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DanTheLegoMan@reddit

Small talk is inefficient.

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Plenty_Air_6512@reddit

Tbh I think when you actually get out and meet people stereotypes often don’t hold water. I work with a German guy and he’s non stop cracking jokes even in serious meetings. People are more complicated than geographical stereotypes.

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jetjebrooks@reddit

on the other hand sometimes geographical stereotypes are more representative of a group than the singular example of german gareth from work

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_max_steele@reddit (OP)

Yes, of course this does not apply to everyone. But I have lived in both countries. There are significant differences on average.

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