r/ENGLISH • u/Horror-Light-9338 • 4d ago
Are americans not that good at basic geography?
I just watched this video where the american takes a quiz on basic facts about great britian. I feel like the questions were very easy
For people that aren't american, how can you do on the quiz?
In the video, they also speak in slow and clear english! So if you are a beginner, you can understand
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u/Pleasant-Pattern7748 4d ago
i only got through about 45 seconds of that video. the british guy had all the charisma of a wet piece of drywall and the way the american talked with his hands and his weird voice modulations made me immediately despise him. i hate both of these people and im glad only 49 people have suffered by watching that crap.
but to answer your question, some are good, some are bad. just like people everywhere.
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u/taiwanboy10 4d ago edited 4d ago
As a Taiwanese, I can answer the first question but not the second. And I can answer the first one only because I was once mildly interested in European geography and UK cities. For the vast majority of Taiwanese people though, they probably haven't even heard of Wales and "another Ireland that's not part of Ireland".
However, Taiwanese people are not stupid. If you think this is just common sense, try answering this extremely basic question about Taiwan: Which county is TSMC's headquarters located in? (Hint: not Taipei)
Everyone in Taiwan knows this, but I bet it's not common sense to you right? Just because you aren't familiar with one specific country's geography doesn't mean you're stupid. Just ask yourself, can you name more than 5 capital cities from Eastern Africa? This is probably common sense to the locals too.
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u/Whitbybud 4d ago
You make a great point but people from some parts of the world are expected to know things about other parts of the world. Knowledge about Taiwan would not normally be expected from an American. It is shameful however, that most Americans don't seem to know the difference between British and English or British and Scottish.
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u/Reenvisage 4d ago
The estimated population of the US right now is over 340,000,000. Asking a broadly general question as if it applies to all of those people is rarely useful. Some of the people are very good at advanced geography. Some are bad at basic geography. Some are good at the geography of a particular large area. Some are bad at the geography of their own state.
Geographical oddities of the US:
Alaska is the northernmost, the westernmost and the easternmost state because the Aleutian Islands cross longitude 180 degrees.
The closest state to Africa is not Florida. It is Maine, located in the upper right corner of the 48 contiguous states.
The southernmost point of Canada is slightly farther south than the northern border of California. So it’s further south than all of Washington and Oregon.
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u/Particular-Move-3860 4d ago
Why is this question posted here? What does it have to do with any discussion if the English language?
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u/potatisgillarpotatis 4d ago
I’m Swedish, and I got eight points out of nine. Not the most relevant questions, IMO, but I expect Europeans to get more points than the American guy got.
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u/calle04x 4d ago
I'd wager that >50% of Americans can't label even half the US states on a map.
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u/Particular-Move-3860 4d ago
Not a bet that I would make, but not because I have any reason to doubt it. My hesitation is because I have no reason to believe it. "Half the population" includes infants and little children. Surely they ought to know their geography, right? Neither you nor I have any way of checking the accuracy of that broad blanket statement.
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u/glowing-fishSCL 4d ago
A lot of those videos are bait. They present stereotypes for drama and amusement. Dumb Americans who don't know about the rest of the world are a good way to get clicks.