America is ultimately a nation of immigrants and as a result is a cultural mish-mash in every sense of the word.  Not only is the country populated by people from foreign countries but all Americans in one way or another trace their ancestry back to another culture, whether Irish, German, Italian or Scottish.  Looking around any major city  one will notice the 'melting-pot' that it is.

The United States does not have an official language, but English is spoken by about 82% of the population as a native language.  The variety of English spoken in the United States is known as American English; together with Canadian English it makes up the group of dialects known as North American English.  Spanish is the second-most common language in the country, spoken by almost 30 million people (around 12% of the population).

Most visitors to the United States may already know a few thing about the Americans through TV.  Although this is of course a skewed reality, some of the stereotypes are true.  Especially American friendliness and informality!  People tend to not wait to be introduced, will begin to speak with strangers as they stand in a queue, sit next to each other at an event, etc.  Visitors can often be surprised when people are so informal to the point of being very direct or even rude.

This is the  country that coined the phrase "time is money" and they obviously live the phase.  In America, time is a very important commodity.  People 'save' time and 'spend' time as if it were money in the bank.  Americans ascribe personality characteristics and values based on how poeple use time.  For instance, people who are on-time are considered to be good people, reliable poeple who others can count on.

The family unit is generally considered the nuclear family, and is typically small (with exceptions among certain ethnic groups).  Extended family relatives live in their own homes, often at great distances from their children.  Individualism is prized and this is reflected in the family unit.  People are proud of their individual accomplishments, initiative and success and may or may not, share those sources with their elders.

Mainstream American culinary arts are similar to those in other Western countries.  Wheat is the primary cereal grain.  Traditional American cuisine uses ingredients such as turkey, white-tailed deer venison, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash and maple syrup, indigenous foods employed by American Indians and early European settlers.  Slow cooked pork and beef BBQ, crab cakes, potato chips and chocolate chip cookies are distinctively American styles.  Soul food, developed by African slaves, is popular around the South and among many African Americans elsewhere.  Americans also generally prefer coffee to tea, with more than half the adult population drinking at least one cup a day. 

American popular culture has expressed itself through a number of media, including movies, music, sports and cultural icons (Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny).  Fashion in the United States is eclectic and predominantly informal.  Blue jeans were popularized as work clothes in the 1850s by merchant Levi Strauss, a German immigrant in San Fransisco and adopted by many American teenagers a century later.  They are worn in every state by people of all ages and social classes.  Along with mass-marketed informal wear in general, blue jeans are arguably U.S. culture's primary contribution to global fashion.  Blue jeans are worn with a brand name displayed.  Cardigans and sneakers are worn by young people when going out.