American voices

[rva_jeremy]

Why is it that americans talk so loud?
Is it something they teach you at school?
where does that come from?

I've lived in Germany for a while, so I know what you mean. In my personal opinion there's a few things going on.

1. Anytime somebody doesn't speak your language in a normal voice when you're not expecting it, it can sound loud. I definitely do not believe this accounts for your total experience, but I think it is worth mentioning. I think some of the anti-immigrant sentiment in America comes from, for example, hearing Spanish spoken in a way that is not necessarily loud so much as not self-conscious.
2. I do think Americans often have little experience engaging with other cultures, which leads them to be very excited. It's novel to them, and this raises their engagement and consequently their voice level. Since we also often travel in groups, this can be accentuated. I've seen plenty of foreigners in big groups be disruptive in any country; I think Americans tend to stand out sometimes because our media culture makes us so easily identifiable to the rest of the world.
3. There's a gregariousness that is seen as desirable in American culture, whereas in some other cultures this is perceived as cloying or overwhelming. Perhaps this has to do with how much space we have in our country and, therefore, how free we often feel to disregard matters of space. But even in urban areas you can see it. Which leads me to…
4. Individualism approaching solipsism. As a country whose natural tribal units were abandoned long ago by our immigrant forebears, we often don't have a highly developed sense of community that comes from centuries of culture and tradition. Combine that with the kind of marketing that celebrates the aggrandizement of the self (you see some of this in the UK, too, I think, anywhere where capitalism has really seized the airwaves of the national discourse) with little counterbalance in the cultural temperament, and I think that rounds the matter out.

Probably a lot I've missed there. If you're courageous, ask them to quiet down -- most of the time they don't realize how loud they're being, and the reminder that they are in somebody else's space will often shock them. If they're truly an "ugly American" then it's not going to matter what you do, but there is a lot of just plain inability to place oneself in another's shoes. For most Americans, engagement with them would be the highest honor, and it would afford you a way to at least have a somewhat interesting exchange.