r/AskEurope

There's a famous scene in the Quentin Tarantino World War Two film, "Inglourious Basterds", where a German officer becomes suspicious of a British spy when he's unable to place the spy's German accent (the spy, already under scrutiny, then gives himself away with a gesture).

What I've always found odd about this scene is that it's presented as if the German officer has a special skill -- he describes himself as having "an acute ear for accents".

However, in my country, the UK, it is quite normal to be able to tell where someone is from just by hearing their accent. Even if you can't tell precisely where someone is from, you can usually hear the basic area -- for example, you might not know where exactly someone is from in London, but you can still hear that they're from London.

Some people in the UK have what's called a "received pronunciation" accent (more commonly known as having "no accent" -- that is, no accent associated with any particular place. This is the UK accent most other countries are familiar with), which makes it much harder to tell where someone is from. But for anyone with a normal local UK accent, it's often relatively easy to hear where that person is from, at least down to the approximate region.

What is it like in your country? Can you tell where your fellow countrymen and countrywomen are from just by hearing their accents?

Thank you.

Here on Reddit I read a lot of comments from Europeans saying it's super normal to speak 3+ languages. I'm European as well, and I do speak a third language at a (semi) decent level, but I always thought that it's not very common to learn a third language to a high level by yourself. So I'm curious, if you learned a third language, how well do you really speak it?

The Slovak Constitution is one of the easiest to amend worldwide. All that's needed is a 3/5 majority in the National Council voting in favour (90 out of the 150 members) and you're done.

How is it in your country?

I’m curious about how the name is perceived across Europe.

If someone says “Audi quattro”, do most people where you live know what they’re talking about?
What do you associate it with personally?

And does it still feel like a relevant/recognisable Audi name today, or more like something connected to an older generation of cars and advertising?

Hi I’m working on a little project where I’ll be showcasing songs that tell a stories of struggle or issues in european countries, past or present. I don’t care about language, genre or the popularity of the song. I care about songs that mean something to people in your country/group/region and that can teach something about life in your country that people from other countries overlook.

Examples of themes I'm looking out for:
Crime, violence, racism, minority or indigenous rights, persecution, queer rights, feminism, mental health, denied history, cultural loss, drug addiction, migration, war, occupation, or dictatorship.

This list isn’t complete. If your song touches a heavy topic I haven’t mentionned, it’s absolutely welcome.

If you have a song in mind, please comment the song title, artist, the country, what it’s about, why it matters. If you’re motivated and have the time to break down themes, lyrics and context, please, you’ll only make my project better.

Thank you for your help! :)

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses I will take time to have a proper look at them later! I see a lot of historically significant and popular songs which is amazing, to clarify I'm also open to very modern songs from artists who are lesser known :)

I don’t particularly like this belief, because of centuries of history, culture and political identity, but I would like to know how other people in Europe would weigh in on this

I am looking for a wedding guest dress with the theme elegant. I want something a bit more unique but still under 200 euro, but every time I think I find something it turns out to be a total scam, stolen design, or a dodgy dropshipping site.

Where are you guys buying/ordering legit dresses in Europe that don't look super basic or are not any of the well known fast fashion brands like Zara or & Other Stories. Any brand or site recommendations that actually ship reliably and have good quality would be amazing.

If you lived in a country outside your home, which language would you prefer to be talked to, the Native language of said country or English?

Hi everyone, I was very curios about how the EU is seen by us, the citizen.

From my perspective, Europe is the last area of ​​peace and unity in the world, but I've seen that many believe this to be wrong. In Italy, the European Union is generally seen as positive, but the debate about its pros and cons has always been open.

From your perspective, is the EU useful? Do you feel European in your country? Are we the last island of peace in the world?

Out of sincere curiosity, I'm wondering how you managed to become multilingual. Does it help that Europe is a tourist hub where you interact with different languages or did personal interest play a role in how you became fluent in different languages?

As I get to know more about wines, I understand that it is very rare to be influenced by just one factor.

Sometimes it is the variety of grapes, sometimes the geographical origin of the wine, sometimes the cost and sometimes a suggestion from somebody. But now I am also getting to care about the story and where the wine comes from. I have encountered a new winery and I got to wonder how much influence the selection in a specific shop can make on our choice.

It will be interesting to see what approaches people use in different countries of Europe. Are you always going for wines from your home country or you like to experiment and choose smth completely new?

And what criteria matter most to you when selecting a bottle of wine: taste, geographical origin, producer, cost, recommendation, novelty?

I keep hearing from Europeans about how much more rigorous their system of math is compared to the US. How true is this?

US System: The US's math progression varies on the person and on the School District. There are some who are going into Trades or non-college careers who dont really go beyond algebra 2 (Quadratics, logs, etc). Most college bound students that i see finish high school with Calculus 1 and often Calculus 2 credits.

Math up until Precalculus is generally considered to be relatively trivial in the US.

How is the progression and pacing for grades 9-12 in Europe?

edit:

If people are confused by the courses that i listed here they are:

Algebra 1: Linear Equations, Formulas, Quadratics, exponent rules, polynomials, etc. usually taken in middle school.

Geometry: Basic Trigonometry, Proofs, Theorums, Congruency, right angle rules, circles, area and volume rules, etc.

Algebra 2: Expanded Quadratics and Polynomials, complex numbers, logs, exponential functions, sequences/series, rational expressions.

Precalculus: Advanced trigonometric identities and equations, vectors, polar coordinates, parametric equations, conic sections, limits, and a foundational introduction to derivatives.

Calculus: Limits, continuity, derivatives (rates of change, optimization), integrals (area under a curve, volume of solids), and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus

Also im sorry if i somehow stuck a nerve. I did not mean to

What do you think about your president / head of state?

Obviously, there's plenty of EU citizens who don't care, but I seem many comments on social media posts discussing Brexit from EU citizens expressing upset at the loss of the UK from the EU. Many British citizens mourn the loss of the right to live, work, study and retire in 26 other countries, but you EU citizens still can travel and live freely. Is it felt as a loss to you guys?

Hi! I am an international student currently studying at a university in the US and considering continuing my studies in Europe. I am a pet lover and plan to keep some pets while studying there. Which country: Ireland, Germany, Denmark, or the Netherlands, would be best if I want to keep parrots, amphibians or reptiles, and some cichlids? Which of these countries has the richest resources for those pets?

Italy still has no same-sex marriage, restricts adoption for same-sex couples, and even criminalizes Italians seeking surrogacy abroad. Why has Italy remained so much more socially conservative on LGBT rights than most of Western Europe?

Always when I fly to Europe. I am impressed by the amount of buildings decorated with old designs and architectural sculptures. I always wonder what it is like for the people who live here? Are they also impressed by it? What do they think of the grandeur it brings to the streets.

Sometimes it also feels like one crazy scene to me, walking down the street with hundreds of details on each building and dozens of statues looking down on the street from the tops of the buildings.

(I'm talking about classical European architecture, Renaissance, etc. Not new buildings)

In the US most people walk to lunch but there were a few kids who absolutely sprinted to the cafeteria for lunch to get there first. They were seen as odd or whatever

Is this an occurrence in Europe too?

I know it can be kept in fridge or outside of the fridge but all the people I know except him they kept it outside the fridge....

I asked him why tf u do that, it is waste of space. He said his parents do it too, so he also follow them lol

As the title says

I can't help but notice this recurring vibe that Denmark considers itself the "true capital" of Scandinavia.

Whenever I see Danes talking about Sweden or Norway there seems to be an underlying smugness. They often look down on Sweden as being overly rigid/bureaucratic and politically correct (they call it forbudssverige), and they always joke about Norway just being a historically poor rugged mountain province that got lucky with oil money. I've seen Sweden being called poor too.

Plus, Copenhagen always markets itself as the "Capital of Scandinavia." For example Scandinavian Airlines (national airline of Sweden, Norway and Denmark) selected Copenhagen as their sole global hub for international travel over Oslo and Stockholm. I should note Helsinki offers more intercontinental flights than both Stockholm and Oslo.

Another thing I noticed when looking at their music charts is they consume very little Swedish (and Norwegian) music. For example, Sweden's last Eurovision winner went #1 in Sweden, #2 in Norway, #3 in Finland but only #13 in Denmark (it charted higher in basically every other European country). You can have the #1 song in the world, but if you are Swedish, Danish radio will act like it doesn't exist.