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Lynne Hand	British Culture		Lead	[-]
Super Member Posts: 28447 17/12/07 6:57 PM Your Teacher	Tags : british culture, britain, england, wales, scotland, northern ireland Anything about us Brits that you don't understand? You can read lots about different aspects of British culture here. Last Edited By: Lynne Hand 15/02/09 8:35 PM. Edited 1 time.
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hermine	Lady and Sir	#1	[url]	[-]
Moderator Super Member Posts: 6454 14/10/07 6:01 PM Moderator	Hello Lynne, If I meet people on the street and I don`t know them. Mabye it comes to a talk. How could I call them: It is a man: Sir, Mister It is a woman: Lady, Ms / I haven`t any clue, I know it is a pity. Please, what does a Brit say to them...?
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Lynne Hand	Re: Lady and Sir	#2	[url]	[-]
Super Member Posts: 28447 15/10/07 4:54 PM Your Teacher	"Hello." "> Last Edited By: Lynne Hand 17/12/07 6:58 PM. Edited 1 time.
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hermine	Re: Lady and Sir	#3	[url]	[-]
Moderator Super Member Posts: 6454 15/10/07 6:52 PM Moderator	Hi Lynne, I think you misunderstand me completly. What would be a nice address. If I write a letter I say "Sir" or by a woman "Mrs.or Ms.". But on the street which name could I call them. Please try it again.
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Lynne Hand	Re: Lady and Sir	#4	[url]	[-]
Super Member Posts: 28447 15/10/07 8:07 PM Your Teacher	Hi Hermine, No, I didn't misunderstand you. We just wouldn't say anything like that. You might hear "Good evening sir" or "Good evening madam" in a posh restaurant, but that's about it, and be warned, it sounds very servile. But it gets worse, I'm afraid if you said "Hello Mrs" you would sound like a London taxi driver. A nice, friendly "Hello" is really all you need. After a while you will find out what their name is and then you'll know whether to use their first name or whether you need to be more formal.
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hermine	Re: Lady and Sir	#5	[url]	[-]
Moderator Super Member Posts: 6454 16/10/07 8:14 AM Moderator	Oh dear Lynne, thank you very much! I be glad to have you here.
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mukmany		#6	[url]	[-]
Super Member Old Timer Posts: 296 22/12/07 2:27 PM Super Member	I think I understand what you meant, Hermine, because in my country when we call someone we use a pronoun before their names, like if his name is Somchai, we would call him "Khun Somchai". "Khun", I think, is like a pronoun, used in front of the names when we call them, but of couse it sounds more formal. We also have the other pronouns to use to call people, depending on we're closed friends or not. But "Khun" is used in genallry and in both of men and women.
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sreejimunthikodu		#7	[url]	[-]
Be Nice Posts: 7 24/12/07 4:06 PM	i want to know about the marital relationship in Briton..... do you guys really care relationships?...Is marriage a temperory kind of mutual understanding and leave when you feel bored with the mate? Here in India,we mostly have only one partner for the entire life.
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Lynne Hand	Divorce rates	#8	[url]	[-]
Super Member Posts: 28447 31/12/07 12:55 PM Your Teacher	It really depends on the individual concerned. In the UK it is relatively easy to get a divorce and it isn't the social stigma it once was. You might find these statistics interesting.
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SophiaDA		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 107 03/01/08 1:17 PM	I've found those articles really interesting, I've red the one abuot houses, I really dream about having a house, here flats are much more cheaper, but I could never live in such a small house! Like the article says "The Italians lead the rest of Europe with the most space" mmh... I really need all that room yeh...
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Lynne Hand		#10	[url]	[-]
Super Member Posts: 28447 03/01/08 3:29 PM Your Teacher	Me too. I need lots of space for all my books.
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paljicka		#11	[url]	[-]
Be Nice Posts: 5 13/03/08 1:13 PM	Hello Lynne...i'm doing a presentation about differences between British and Serbian people...mostly about mentality...so i would be very grateful if you could give me some feedback about British people and their mentaility...i've searched everywhere but i couldn't find many interesting facts....thank you in advance!
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Lynne Hand		#12	[url]	[-]
Super Member Posts: 28447 13/03/08 9:02 PM Your Teacher	Hi Paljicka, I've written some stuff on British culture here. But the mentality of the British is a huge subject, it's very dependent on the area and your upbringing, basically England is very diverse. It might be easier if you give me a clue as to what aspects you are looking at.
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paljicka		#13	[url]	[-]
Be Nice Posts: 5 14/03/08 10:46 AM	maybe some basic stuff about their mentality...anything interesting...some stiking features...typical of all british
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Lynne Hand		#14	[url]	[-]
Super Member Posts: 28447 14/03/08 11:55 AM Your Teacher	Typical of all British people: That's impossible. There's nothing that specific to the British mentality. That's what makes us so fascinating. A couple of things that are typical of me and my German friends say are typically British are:- Apologizing for things, even when it isn't my fault. Standing up for anyone I think is being bullied. Being extremely polite to people I don't know or I don't like, whilst being rude to my closest friends. Laughing and making jokes about almost anything. Not saying what I really mean. Putting cold milk in my tea.
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paljicka		#15	[url]	[-]
Be Nice Posts: 5 14/03/08 5:41 PM	thank you very much...just one more question and i won't bother you anymore...i have this article in my book:are these just prejudices or is it true? "If you need help because you are a lost foreigner in Britain, you will get it. But don't expect anything else-they are a little reserved. If you want to buy something, you will have to learn a new system of weights. If your train leaves at 11:23, you will have to be there in time, because at 11:24 it is too late. If you are not a cat-lover, you don't have to say it. Even if you don't feel like having a cup of tea, accept it. Your English can be really good, but for an Englishman it can be really "decent". If you want to start a conversation just mention the weather. If you want to buy a few stamps in the post office, you will have to join the queue (even if you are the only one there). And if you want to make them laugh, you must have a fantastic sense of humour."
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Lynne Hand		#16	[url]	[-]
Super Member Posts: 28447 14/03/08 9:40 PM Your Teacher	If you need help because you are lost, you will get it. But don't expect anything else - they are a little reserved. (The further north you go, the less reserved we are.) If you want to buy something, you will have to learn a new system of weights. (Only if your country doesn't use imperial measurements, although many shops nowadays use metric). If your train leaves at 11:23, you will have to be there on time, because at 11:24 it is too late. (True, but sometimes the trains are very late.) If you are not a cat-lover, you don't have to say it. (True. It's best not to mention things you don't like too much.) Even if you don't feel like having a cup of tea, accept it. (Only if you want to sell them something. If you don't drink tea, say so. You can say "Could I have a glass of water instead?") Your English can be really good, but for an Englishman it can be really "decent". ??? If you want to start a conversation just mention the weather. (Oh yes.) If you want to buy a few stamps in the post office, you will have to join the queue (even if you are the only one there). (Oh yes.) And if you want to make them laugh, you must have a fantastic sense of humour. (It depends. There are some miserable people in the UK with no sense of humour whatsoever. Who else could run the police force?)
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paljicka		#17	[url]	[-]
Be Nice Posts: 5 14/03/08 10:09 PM	what British like and dislike, whom they admire and despise, what they eat and what they drink, how they spend their free time, what they dream about and what they believe; in a word, what constitutes a British from the inside?
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Lynne Hand		#18	[url]	[-]
Super Member Posts: 28447 15/03/08 11:57 AM Your Teacher	What do we like and dislike? How long is a piece of string? Utterly impossible to answer. What do we eat and drink? Have a look at my British food pages. We drink water, tea, coffee, coke, lemonade, beer, wine, spirits ... How do we spend our free time? There are too many ways of spending your free time in the UK to describe. What do we dream about? Young Brits tend to dream about being rich and famous. Older Brits tend to dream about being happy and healthy. What do we believe in? You might find this useful. I hope this helps. Last Edited By: Lynne Hand 15/03/08 4:58 PM. Edited 2 times.
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paljicka		#19	[url]	[-]
Be Nice Posts: 5 17/03/08 11:57 AM	and this is really my final question...and thank you so much...you've been more than helpful...can you write me few sentences about English pride and tradition?
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Lynne Hand		#20	[url]	[-]
Super Member Posts: 28447 17/03/08 12:45 PM Your Teacher	English pride is difficult. Are people proud to be English? Yes, some are, but some aren't. Some don't even consider themselves to be "English". Personally I consider myself to be a human being first and foremost. I allow myself to feel some pride over what I've survived and done in my life, but I am not proud to be "English" per se, as far as I know, that was completely out of my control. Simply put, I consider myself to be half English and half Welsh, purely as a matter of explaining my ethnicity, but I do acknowledge that my upbringing has contributed to me being who and what I am, and I'll always be grateful and happy to have been born in a country that allowed me to grow and learn, a country that sheltered me and at times fed me and to some degree educated me, and then in the way of all good parents, let me go my own way. You might find this article interesting:- http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/england.htm "Britishness is a matter of civic rights and obligations, Englishness is a matter of cultural identity. (Neither has much to do with ethnicity - these islands are a melting pot in which successive waves of immigrants have been blending for millennia.)" (I couldn't have put it better myself.) Your Teacher http://www.learn-english-network.org
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