The Culture of the United States is a Western culture,and has been developing since long before the United States became a country.Today the United States is a diverse and multi-cultural nation.
The types of food served at home vary greatly and depend upon the region of the country and the family's own cultural heritage.Recent immigrants tend to eat food similar to that of their country of origin,and Americanized versions of these cultural foods,such as American Chinese cuisine or Italian-American cuisine often eventually appear.German cuisine also had a profound impact on American cuisine,especially the mid-western cuisine,with potatoes and meat being the most iconic ingredients in both cuisines.[3] Dishes such as the hamburger,pot roast,baked ham and hot dogs are examples of American dishes derived from German cuisine
The primary,although not official,language of the United States is American English.According to the 2000 U.S.Census,more than 97% of Americans can speak English well,and for 81% it is the only language spoken at home.Nearly 30 million native speakers of Spanish also reside in the US.There are more than 300 languages besides English which can claim native speakers in the United States—some of which are spoken by the indigenous peoples (about 150 living languages) and others which were imported by immigrants.American Sign Language,used mainly by the deaf,is also native to the country.Hawaiian is also a language native to the United States,as it is indigenous nowhere else except in the state of Hawaii.Spanish is the second most common language in the United States,and is one of the official languages,and the most widely spoken,in the U.S.Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
There are four major regional dialects in the United States:northeastern,south,inland north,and midwestern.The Midwestern accent (considered the "standard accent" in the United States,and analogous in some respects to the received pronunciation elsewhere in the English-speaking world) extends from what were once the "Middle Colonies" across the Midwest to the Pacific states.