What are the British like?

Despite the pluri-ethnic population, and difficult though it is to generalise, there are traits common to most in the nation. Where they come from, whether country or urban, and their education and social backgrounds have a great bearing on their behaviour as a whole. People from the countries and rural folk who live quieter lives are usually more polite, friendly and helpful when you ask for help. In the cities, especially London, a request for help does not always elicit warm response. Though this is true of most countries with highly urbanised city centres, public abrasiveness is particularly pronounced in a city that attracts more people than space would allow.

By and large, the local Brits are helpful if you ask for assistance. They are not so ready to warm up though, if you ask too many personal questions. What might seem a normal query like “Which part of the country are you from?” will be construed as nosiness. When you get monosyllabic answers, leave off. Talk about the weather. It’s the safest ground to break ice. The apparent lack of curiosity about other people is simply a greatly cherished sense of privacy and fear of invading yours. The ‘minding one’s own business’ syndrome has unfairly given the British an undeserved reputation for coldness. They are disinclined to make the first move, but when you do, you’ll find the coldness thawing perceptibly – as long as you don’t poke and pry.

Tradesmen in busy city centres are also likely to be offhand and brusque when approach for assistance. They are among the first people new arrivals meet, usually outside a railway station. You must understand that you are likely to be the 100^th person to ask him where Buckingham Palace is. In the countries and suburban areas, people will go out of their way to direct you to a local attraction. For one thing, they don’t get thousands of visitors everyday. For another, pride for one’s local scene is deeply entrenched. The British are notoriously tight-lipped during commuting, whether by train, tube or bus. When a train stops between stations for any reason, even for as long as half an hour, you can hear a pin drop. Few, apart from friends, are inclined to make casual conversation even as relief from the tedium of waiting. The only sound in a carriage of 30 people will be the rustling of newspapers. The occasional sight in tube trains of drunks and vagrants singing and swearing would only make the British turn the other way and pretend this embarrassment is not there. The only people staring and smiling with bemusement are likely to be visitors.

It is imperative that living among different races and nationalities, you’d want to be a part of their local social calendar even if it’s something alien to you at first. When asked to join the local people at pub, don’t demur that you don’t drink. It’s more than having a drink – it’s a national British pastime. If asking neighbours over for a meal elicits no responses initially, probably because they find foreign food off-putting – and many British do – ask them in for tea. Basically the British are more than curious about foreign cultures and lifestyles, but do use subtle persistence to convince them you are totally sincere and do not expect any reciprocation. They are not inclined to hand out casual invitations to their homes and, for this reason, often refuse yours.

It is more than making nodding acquaintances across the garden fence. It’s making the effort to convince the conservative, wary British that foreign residents, whatever their pigmentation, basically want to be accepted even if sometimes they don’t quite understand the need of assimilation. A cheery good morning and cursory conversation about the weather and other light observations will widen your social register.

It is knowing what makes the British tick. The safe ice-breaking subjects are the weather, pets, gardens, children, and their antics, community welfare – such as what to do about loud music from an unreasonable household – and problems that draw neighbours together to fight a common sense.

The office you work in will probably have a large proportion of British staff, so make a supreme effort to be on their wave length. Office procedures all over the world are quite similar, but you can look into their culture in a number of ways, for example by sharing their lunch pattern. British workers often have a rather simple lunch routine: while factories and industrial units may have a workers’ canteen serving a complete, carbohydrate-full lunch or dinner, for many workers, sandwiches and soft drinks augmented by chocolate bars are the order of the workaday week. Besides, the British have a healthy regard for aliens who preserve their own culture and at the same time have a healthy curiosity about theirs. It endorses that fact that you are not a passenger among their midst nothing demystifies the insular tag more than when you show knowledge of British culture. It can become an invaluable cue for the Brit to break out of his rigid reserve and tell you all you want to know. Be it the best way to brew a cup of tea or which pub has the best ale.

Strange bedfellows, yet the slight paradox of being custodian of a jut-jawed stiff upper lip and a wry sense of humour is very British. Here, there must be some qualification as Scottish, Welsh, English people each have their own laughter medicine. Fundamentally, all have a similar self-deprecating sense of humour that is refreshing. Supposed national characteristics are woven into the jockey pattern - Scottish meanness, Welsh romance and English coldness. They great British put-down, as they say, is almost always aimed inwards and you see this more markedly on stage and television than anywhere else. Nothing is sacred when it comes to squeezing a laugh. Not politicians, royalty or even the priesthood.

As for the other side of the British psyche, the indomitable spirit not to break down in the face of disaster is most admirable. Making a scene is being British at all, which also explains why you rarely see them complaining about bad service. If a customer is upset about anything, he will not make a public fuss. He will make a polite comment and leave it at all. Consumer watchdogs in the past few years have been getting at the British public for this reticence to complain, thus perpetuating the bad service. Whether it’s good or bad is not the point here. If you were to become vociferous about some injustice, you would get the feeling you were being uncivilised by the curious looks of other customers. It is a good thing when you can complain without histrionics as you often see in the societies not given to the same diffidence.

This understanding of their psyche is important if you are never to feel at odds among British people. Nor should you take offence when they make jokes about you for it is meant to be taken in this light. If anyone were to be deliberately vicious, racist or otherwise rude, he wouldn’t bother to make a joke of it. Indeed, one of the best compliments you could be paid is to be regarded as a mate.

Notes *

public abrasiveness - cуспільна адаптація, пристосування

to be construed - розбирати, тлумачити (про текст)

query - питання, to query - питати, довідуватися, брати під сумнів to be deeply entrenched - глибоко вкорінитися vagrant, n. - бродяга vagrancy, n. - бродяжництво wary, adj. - обережний, обачливий to be augmented by - бути збільшеним за рахунок indomitable spirit - неприборканий, невгамовний, впертий характер, дух to be vociferous - бути крикливим, горластим diffidence, n. - невпевненість в собі, сором’язливість, боязкість, несміливість, недовіра

by and large - взагалі, в цілому tedium, n. - нудьга, утомливість cursory, adj. - поверховий to endorse, v. - підтверджувати to perpetuate, v. - увіковічувати reticence to complain - стриманість до скарг histrionic, adj. - драматичний, театральний to feel at odds - не гармоніювати, бути в протиріччі, перебувати в несприятливих умовах bemusement, n. - здивування, зачудування psyche, n. - душа, дух, psyche, v. - піддавати психоаналізу priesthood, n. - ['pri:sthud] – священнослужителі; духівництво

Talking Points *

Is there any difference between politeness of rural folks and city inhabitants?

What’s the best and the safest topic for conversation to begin with?

Are Britons tight lipped during commuting?

How do Britons react when meeting drunk or vagrants?

What makes the British tick?

What’s the laughter medicine?

It is interesting to remember that...

· The Scots are not all dour and are in fact very warm, extremely cultured and philosophical. As for being tight-fisted, it an undeserved reputation. Who can generalise about such a personal trait? It is a sweeping statement at best and deeply offensive at worst, though the Scots are the first to make jokes about this national reputation even on television. While self-deprecating, they are at the same time fiercely proud of their Scottish heritage.

· The Welsh will take umbrage if you should mistake them for English. A friendly, poetic and musical people, they join forces with the Scots to poke fun at the English. But then much of the basis of national humour takes a leaf from this free-for-all when someone takes a pot shot at another with tired old jokes by simply changing the nationality.

· The English have the reputation of hard-headed practical men - the “nation of shopkeepers” as Napoleon once described them -and as men of poetry - the countrymen of Shakespeare and Shelley. The apparent coldness of Englishmen and their reserve has been almost universally noted by the foreigners; but foreigners also confess that they find English reserve not unpleasant, and that once one gets to know an Englishman he turns out to be a very companionable fellow.

· Again these are generalisations as it is impossible to pigeonhole any particularly nationality. Every new resident in Britain must hone his instinct for human relationship and apply common sense, tact and maturity in forging a harmonious working rapport with the different nationalities. If you constantly cross swords with everyone you meet or work with, it would seem you need to look within yourself. Do you perhaps harbour incipient bigotry? Are you oversensitive perhaps? Could you yourself be prejudiced if you seem to be the target of the same? Many bad vibes will dissipate when you clean up your act first. Go along!

Unit 3

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