American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States 美国文化：风俗与传统

“Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things,” said Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London.

“文化包括宗教，食物，我们穿什么，我们穿什么，我们怎么穿，我们的语言，婚姻，音乐，我们认为是对是错，我们如何坐在餐桌上，我们如何迎接来访者，我们如何与所爱的人相处，以及其他无数的东西。”伦敦巴内特和南门学院的人类学家Cristina De Rossi说。

The United States is the third largest country in the world with a population of more than 325 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A child is born every 8 seconds, and a person dies every 12 seconds.

美国人口普查局数据显示，美国是世界第三大国家，人口超过3.25亿。每8秒就有一个孩子出生，每12秒就有一个人去世。

In addition to Native Americans who were already living on the continent, the population of the United States was built on immigration from other countries. Despite recent moves to close the U.S. borders to new immigrants and refugees, a new immigrant moves to the United States every 33 seconds, according to the Census Bureau.

除了已经生活在美洲大陆上的美洲原住民之外，美国的人口是建立在来自其他国家的移民基础上的。据美国人口普查局的数据，尽管最近美国采取了对新移民和难民关闭美国边境的措施，但每33秒就有一名新移民迁入美国。

Because of this, the United States is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Nearly every region of the world has influenced American culture, most notably the English who colonized the country beginning in the early 1600s. U.S. culture has also been shaped by the cultures of Native Americans, Latin Americans, Africans and Asians.

正因为如此，美国是世界上文化最多元的国家之一。世界上几乎每一个地区都对美国文化产生了影响，其中为从17世纪初开始在美国进行殖民统治的英国文化最为重要。美国文化同样受到了美洲土著人、拉丁美洲人、非洲人和亚洲人文化的影响。

The United States is sometimes described as a “melting pot” in which different cultures have contributed their own distinct “flavors” to American culture. Just as cultures from around the world have influenced American culture, today American culture influences the world.

美国有时被描述为一个“大熔炉”，不同的文化为美国文化贡献了自己独特的“风味”。就像来自世界各地的文化影响了美国文化一样，今天美国文化也影响着世界。

The way people “melt” in the United States differs. Different groups of immigrants integrate in different ways. For example, in the United States, Catholic Spanish-speaking communities might keep their language and other cultural family traditions, but are integrated in the urban community and have embraced the American way of life in many other ways.“ Different parts of the United States all have distinct traditions and customs. Here is a brief overview of the culture of the United States.

在美国，人们“融化”的方式不同。不同的移民群体方式。为了例如，在美国，讲西班牙语的天主教社区可能保留他们的语言和其他文化家庭传统，但他们融入了城市社区，并在许多其他方面接受了美国的生活方式。美国不同的地区都有不同的风俗习惯，以下是对美国文化的简要概述。

There is no official language of the United States, according to the U.S. government. While almost every language in the world is spoken in the United States, the most frequently spoken non-English languages are Spanish, Chinese, French and German. Ninety percent of the U.S. population speaks and understands at least some English, and most official business is conducted in English.

美国政府称，美国没有官方语言。虽然世界上几乎每种语言都在美国使用，但最常用的非英语语言是西班牙语、汉语、法语和德语。百分之九十的美国人口至少会说和懂一些英语，而且大多数公务都是用英语进行的。

The Census Bureau estimates that more than 300 languages are spoken in the United States. The bureau divides those languages into four categories: Spanish; other Indo-European languages, which includes German, Yiddish, Swedish, French, Italian, Russian, Polish, Hindi, Greek and several others; Asian and Pacific Island languages, including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Tamil and more; and “all other languages,” which is a category for languages that didn't fit into the first three categories, such as Hungarian, Arabic, Hebrew, languages of Africa and languages of native people of North, Central and South America.

人口普查局估计美国有300多种语言。该局将这些语言分为四类：西班牙语；其他印欧语系语言，包括德语、意第绪语、瑞典语、法语、意大利语、俄语、波兰语、印地语、希腊语和其他几种语言；亚洲和太平洋岛屿语言，包括汉语、韩语、日语、泰语、泰米尔语等；“所有其他语言，“这是一个不符合前三类语言的分类，如匈牙利语、阿拉伯语、希伯来语、非洲语言和北美洲、中美洲和南美洲土著人的语言。

Nearly every known religion is practiced in the United States, which was founded on the basis of religious freedom. About 71% of Americans identify themselves as Christians, according to information gathered by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan research group, in 2017. The research also found that about 23% had no religious affiliation at all and around 6% of the population is made up non-Christian religions. However, the number of people who identify with no religion seems to be decreasing.

几乎每一种已知的宗教都在美国实行，它建立在宗教自由的基础上。根据无党派研究机构皮尤研究中心于2017年收集的信息，约71%的美国人自称是基督徒。研究还发现，大约23%的人根本没有宗教信仰，约6%的人口是由非基督教宗教组成的。不过，不认同宗教的人数似乎在减少。

Clothing styles vary by social status, region, occupation and climate. Jeans, sneakers, baseball caps, cowboy hats and boots are some items of clothing that are closely associated with Americans. Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Victoria Secret are some well-known American brands.

服装风格因社会地位、地区、职业和气候而不同。牛仔裤、运动鞋、棒球帽、牛仔帽和靴子是一些与美国人息息相关的服装。拉尔夫·劳伦、卡尔文·克莱恩、迈克尔·科尔斯和维多利亚秘密是一些美国知名品牌。

American fashion is widely influenced by celebrities and the media. When fashion sales equal around $200 billion per year, according to a paper published by Harvard University in 2007. More and more Americans are buying fashion, electronics and other things online.

根据哈佛大学2007年发表的一篇论文，美国时尚受到名人和媒体的广泛影响，每年的时尚销售额约为2000亿美元。越来越多的美国人正在购买时装、电子产品和更多的在线产品。

American cuisine was influenced by Europeans and Native Americans in its early history. Today, there are a number of foods that are commonly identified as American, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, cheese and meat loaf. “As American as apple pie” has come to mean something that is authentically American.

美国菜在其早期历史上受到欧洲人和美洲土著人的影响。如今，有许多食品通常被认定为美国食品，如汉堡、热狗、薯片、奶酪和肉饼。“像苹果派一样美国化”逐渐成为真正的美国的意义。

There are also styles of cooking and types of foods that are specific to a region. Southern-style cooking is often called “American comfort food” that includes dishes such as fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas and corn bread. Tex-Mex, popular in Texas and the Southwest, is a blend of Spanish and Mexican cooking styles and includes items such as chili and burritos, and relies heavily on shredded cheese and beans.

美国还存在着一些烹饪风格和特定地区的食物种类。南方风格的烹饪通常被称为“美国舒适食品”，包括炸鸡、羽衣甘蓝、黑眼豌豆和玉米面包等菜肴。德克萨斯州和西南部地区流行的Tex-Mex融合了西班牙和墨西哥的烹饪风格，包括辣椒和墨西哥玉米饼等，主要依赖奶酪和豆类。

The United States is widely known around the world as a leader in mass media production, including television and movies. The television broadcasting industry took hold in the United States in the early 1950s, and American television programs are now shown around the world. The United States also has a vibrant movie industry, centered in Hollywood, California, and American movies are popular worldwide.

美国作为大众传媒生产的领头羊在全世界广为人知，包括电视和电影。那个电视广播业在20世纪50年代初在美国兴起，现在美国的电视节目在世界各地播出。美国也有一个充满活力的电影产业，以好莱坞、加利福尼亚为中心，美国电影在全世界都很受欢迎。

The United States' arts culture extends beyond movies and television shows, though. New York is home to Broadway, and Americans have a rich theatrical history. American folk art is an artistic style and is identified with quilts and other hand-crafted items. American music is very diverse with many, many styles, including rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel, country and western, bluegrass, rock 'n' roll and hip hop.

不过，美国的艺术文化不仅仅局限于电影和电视节目。纽约是百老汇的发源地，美国人有着丰富的戏剧历史。美国民间艺术是一种艺术风格，与被子和其他手工制作的物品相一致。美国音乐有很多很多种风格，包括节奏蓝调音乐、爵士乐、福音、乡村和西部音乐、蓝草音乐、摇滚乐和嘻哈音乐。

There are many different festivals in the rest of the world in the United States. Americans celebrate their independence from Britain on July 4. Memorial Day, celebrated on the last Monday in May, honors those who have died in military service. Labor Day, observed on the first Monday in September, celebrates the country's workforce.

7月4日，美国人庆祝脱离英国独立。阵亡将士纪念日在5月的最后一个星期一举行，纪念那些在服役中牺牲的人。9月的第一个星期一是劳动节，为全国劳动者庆。

Thanksgiving, another distinctive American holiday, falls on the fourth Thursday in November and dates back to colonial times to celebrate the harvest. Presidents' Day, marking the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, is a federal holiday that occurs on the third Monday in February. The contributions of veterans are honored on Veterans' Day, observed on Nov. 11. The contributions of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. are remembered on the third Monday in January.

感恩节是美国另一个与众不同的节日，在11月的第四个星期四，可以追溯到殖民地时期庆祝丰收。美国总统节，纪念乔治·华盛顿和亚伯拉罕·林肯的生日，是一个联邦假日，在二月的第三个星期一。退伍军人的贡献将在11月11日的退伍军人节受到表彰。民权领袖马丁·路德·金的贡献在一月的第三个星期一被人们铭记。