Six American language habits worth borrowing

In the daily life of Americans, there are several language habits that - if not make life easier - then at least add positivity to it.

Фото: Depositphotos

First - compliment. In the USA, it is customary to give compliments to complete strangers - on the street, in a store, on the subway, in a word, anywhere, writes Ksenia Turkova for VOA. Any passerby can smile and say, “Cool bag” or “Great shoes.” Where did you buy them?

Here, compliments are scattered, not sparing. Almost every day I hear something good from strangers to me: about the beautiful color of the dress, which I really like; about hair; about clothes and shoes; about your son.

“Almost every day I hear something good from people I don’t know.”

To some, this may seem forced, like a supposed “fake American smile.” For another, it’s a violation of boundaries: why on earth does an unfamiliar aunt praise my shoes? But I see only good things in this genre of everyday micro-praise. You rush to work in the morning in a bad mood - and suddenly you see a smile and hear something pleasant about yourself. It warms you up!

Another language habit is wish you a good day. In general - any time of day. It is no coincidence that when saying goodbye, Americans often say: “Have a good ONE!” It's like "good afternoon", but without the "day". That is, it is not specified exactly what period of time, event or type of pastime we are talking about. Whatever you do, let everything be fine!

Фото: Depositphotos

The language habit number three in the list is called conditionally. "connecting link". When you have a “small talk” - a small everyday conversation - your interlocutor often tries to find something in common between you. If, for example, an Uber driver asks you where you are from, and you say: “from Ukraine,” rest assured, he will immediately find something in common: his neighbor or colleague will be from Ukraine, or maybe he himself was once there . I see this language habit, which is very common in America, as a manifestation of interest and empathy. The person shows that what is close to you is at least a little close to him.

Another habit is similar to the “connecting link” - Review. If you tell an American something, he will definitely demonstrate that he is listening, and literally every few seconds he will say signal words: “Cool!”, “What, really?”, “Wow!”, “Great!” , “Oh, what a pity.” The arsenal of these signal words for reaction in conversation is very large. This language habit allows you to not feel alone in a conversation.

“A random fellow traveler or neighbor will not prove to you why you should love this or that political figure.”

Фото: Depositphotos

But perhaps even more important. what is silent. It’s hard to call this a language habit, but rather the absence of one. This is the habit of not asking tactless questions that violate personal boundaries: how much do you earn, why are you still not married, why don’t you have children or when will you have a second one, why is your child without a hat, why do you allow him something harmful and how do you raise him in general? ?

An accidental fellow traveler, or a neighbor, will not splash saliva to prove to you why you need to love this or that politician, whom, as he just discovered, you dislike. In general, one of the most valuable language habits of Americans, paradoxically, I would define as silence.

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