The British tend to be attributed with certain characteristics, which are supposedly typical. However societies change over time while their reputations lag behind. Many things which are often regarded as typically British derived from books, songs or plays that were written a long time ago and are no longer representative of modern life. One example is that most tourist brochures claim that Britain is the land of traditions: the annual ceremony of the state opening of Parliament, for instance, carefully follows customs which are centuries old. Likewise, the changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace never changes.
However, in their private daily life, the British as individuals are probably less inclined to follow tradition. There are very few ancient customs that are followed by the majority of families on special occasions. The country has fewer local parades or processions with genuine folk roots than most other countries have. The English language has fewer sayings or proverbs that are in common everyday use than many other languages do. The British are too individualistic for these things. In addition, it should be noted that they are the most enthusiastic in video-watching people in the world – the very opposite of a traditional pastime!
Another example is the stereotyped image of London ‘city gent’ includes the wearing of a bowler hat. In fact, this type of hat has not been commonly worn for a long time. Food and drink provide other examples. The traditional ‘British’ (or ‘English’) breakfast is a large ‘fry-up’ preceded by cereal with milk and followed by toast, butter and marmalade, all washed down with lots of tea. In fact, only about 10 % of the people in Britain actually have this sort of breakfast. Two-thirds have cut out the fry-up and just have the cereal, tea and toast. The rest have even less. What the vast majority of British people have in the mornings is therefore much closer to what they call ‘continental’ breakfast. The image of the British as a nation of tea-drinkers is another stereotype which is somewhat out of date. It is true that it is still prepared in a distinctive way (strong and with milk), but more coffee than tea is now bought in the country’s shops.
Even when a British habit conforms to the stereotype, the wrong conclusions can be drawn from it. The supposed British love of queuing is an example. Yes, British people do form queues whenever they are waiting for something, but this does not mean that they enjoy it. In 1992, a survey found that the average wait to pay in a British supermarket was three minutes and twenty-three seconds. So, the British hate having to wait and have less patience than people in many other countries.
There is an opinion that Britain is a very conservative country. Mostly, it is true. The British have few living folk traditions and are too individualistic to have the same everyday habits as each other. However, this doesn’t mean that they like change. They don’t. They may not behave in traditional ways, but they like symbols of tradition and stability. They don’t consider it especially smart to live in a new house and, in fact, there is prestige in living in an obviously old one. They have a general sentimental attachment to older, supposedly safer, times. Their Christmas cards usually depict scenes from past centuries; they like their pubs to look old.
The British can be particularly and stubbornly conservative about anything which is perceived as a token of Britishness. In these matters, their conservatism can combine with their individualism; they are rather proud of being different. It is, for example, very difficult to imagine they will ever agree to change from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right-hand side driving. Why should they change just to be like everyone else? Indeed, as far as they are concerned, not being like everyone else is a good reason not to change.
Development of European Union level which might cause a change in some everyday aspects of British life are usually greeted with suspicion and hostility. System of measurement is an example. The British government has been trying for years and years to promote the metric system and to get British people to use the same scales that are used nearly everywhere else in the world. But it has only limited success. British manufactures are obliged to give the weight of their tins and packets in kilos and grams. But everybody in Britain still shops in pounds and ounces. The weather forecasters on the TV use the Celsius scale of temperature. But nearly everybody still thinks in Fahrenheit.
The tourist view of Britain involves lots of formal ceremonies. Some people have drawn the conclusion from this that the British are rather formal in their general behavior. This is not true. There is a difference between observing formalities and being formal in everyday life. Attitudes towards clothes are a good indication of this difference. It all depends whether the person plays a public role or a private role. A male bank employee, for example, is expected to wear a suit with a tie, even if he cannot afford a very smart one. So are politicians. On the other hand, when people don’t play a public role – when they are just themselves – there seem to be no rules at all. The British are probably more tolerant to ‘strange’ clothing than other people: you may find the same bank employee on his lunch break in hot weather, walking through the street with his tie round his waist and his collar unbuttoned. He is no longer ‘at work’ and for his employers to criticize him for his appearance would be seen as a gross breach of privacy. Generally the British are comparatively uninterested in clothes. They spend a lower proportion of their income on clothing than other Europeans. Many people buy second-hand clothes and are not at all embarrassed to admit this. If you are somewhere in a Mediterranean holiday area it is usually possible to identify British tourist – he or she is the one who looks so badly dressed.
The difference between formalities and formality is the key to what people from other countries sometimes experience as coldness among the British. The key is this: being friendly in Britain often involves showing that you are not bothering with the formalities. This means not addressing someone by his or her title, not dressing smartly when entertaining guests, not shaking hands when meeting and not saying ‘please’ when making a request. When they avoid doing these things with you, the British are not being unfriendly or disrespectful, they are implying that you are in the category ‘friend’, and so all the rules can be ignored. To address someone by his or her title or to say ‘please’ is to observe formalities and therefore to put a distance between the people involved.
It is probably true that the British, especially the English, are more reserved than the people of other countries. They find it comparatively difficult to indicate friendship by open displays or affection. It is not the conventional to kiss when meeting a friend. Instead, friendship is symbolized by behaving as casually as possible. If you are in the British person’s house, and you are told to help yourself’ to something, your host is not being rude – he or she is showing that you are completely accepted and just like ‘one of the family’. In the last decades of the 20th century, the general amount on informality has been increasing. Buffet-type meals, at which people do not sit down at a table to eat, are a common form of hospitality. At the same time, the traditional reserve has also been breaking down. More groups in society now kiss when meeting each other (but still never man and man!).
Tasks
1. Read the text for detailed understanding. Translate the 8th paragraph of the text.
2. Give the summary of the text.
3. Retell the text as if you were:
1) Young citizen of Britain;
2) Conservative citizen of Britain;
3) Foreign tourist.
Part 2
Pre-reading questions:
1. What names of Britain do you know?
2. What nationalities inhabit Great Britain?
3. What is the geographical position of Britain?
4. What is the UK made of?
5. What is the climate of GB?
6. What type of government does it have?
7. What are the major political parties in GB?
8. Is it an industrial country? What does it produce?
9. What do British people prefer to do in their spare time?
10. What sports do British people like to play most of all?
11. What is the most popular hobby in the UK?