S t e r e o t y p e s,   M y t h   or  T r u t h?

 

 

THE BRITS

 

by Hazel Watson-Hazejager

 

Continuing on the theme of stereotypes, I would like to highlight Great Britain a.k.a. UK in this issue.

 

How are the British regarded by their European counterparts?  What is the stereotypical definition of Britishness?  How much of these observations ring true?

 

Well, before we can actually address the stereotypical definition, I must first clear up the confusion that often occurs when foreigners assume that being British actually means being English.  This is not actually the case and may cause offence to some of the other residents on the Island.  So let’s look at The actual definition of being British:

A British person is someone who is born in one of the countries which form Great Britain, namely England, Scotland and Wales.  Aha, so what is the UK?  Well, the UK or United Kingdom is made up of the 3 countries of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland. But instead of being called United Kingdomers, it’s a given that people from the UK are British… still confused?  Ehmmmmm …


So how do the Brits actually perceive themselves?

 

Well, nationality and citizenship does not always mean the same thing in Great Britain or the UK!  The majority of people born in Great Britain, although technically British citizens, do not regard themselves as British and prefer to state their nationality as either English, Scottish or Welsh.

 

So, people born in England can call themselves English or British and can say that they live in England, Britain or the UK. 

 

People born in Scotland are called Scottish or British and can say that they live in Scotland, Britain or the UK.  A point to note, most people in Scotland will say they are Scottish rather than British though, and they will take offence at being called English. 

People born in Wales can choose to call themselves Welsh or British and can say that they live in Wales, Britain or the UK.  Most people in Wales will say they are Welsh rather than British too…

 

AAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!

 

Okay, now that we’ve got that bit cleared up, what are typically “British” traits?  When you think of the British what do you immediately think of?  Well here is the usual stereotypical definition:

 

The men wear bowler hats and pin-striped suits; they normally have a newspaper under their arm and carry a long unopened umbrella.  The Brits love drinking tea and their national food is fish and chips.  They are extremely polite, often reserved, but have a great sense of humour. 

 

So is it time to quash the misconceptions?  How much of this do you think is actually true?  Being British myself, well Scottish anyway, I’d have to say … make up your own mind …

 

On clothing

It is true that you will see men in pin-striped suits wearing bowler hats, and a lot of them will be carrying a newspaper under their arm – probably the Financial Times - but this occurrence will probably just be limited to London.  For the most part, people do tend to dress smartly for work in the UK; office wear is normally a suit or shirt, tie and dress trousers for men and a suit or smart skirt with top for women.  In their own time, casual clothing is the usual attire.

 

On Tea

I think it is safe to say that the British are a tea nation.  The UK imports and consumes 140,000 tones of tea every year.  There are approximately 1,500 different varieties of tea available for purchase in the UK and the UK tea market is worth around £700 million a year. 

The British drink their way through 165 million cups per day – that’s a whopping 62 billion cups per year!  And how does that compare with our coffee consumption?  Each day only an estimated 70 million cups of coffee are drunk in the UK – that’s more than 2 cups of tea to each cup of coffee. 

On Food

Traditional British foods known to foreigners include full cooked breakfast, Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding, Afternoon Tea and Fish & Chips.  Would you be surprised to know that Britain’s “National Dish” is now often described as Curry?  The sales of Curry have long since overtaken the traditional Fish & Chips. 

There are roughly 10,000 Indian restaurants in UK, and the UK Indian food industry has an annual turnover of Pounds Sterling1.8 billion

 

On Manners

In a country where one of the National sports is queuing and the people are far too polite to complain, I’ve managed to find a “Guide to Good Manners” to help all visitors going to the UK to blend in more easily.  Just follow these simple rules and you cannot go wrong!

 

DO

·         Do stand in line - in the UK we like to form orderly queues and wait patiently for our turn.  It is usual to queue when required, and expected that you will wait your turn and not push in front!

 

·         Do remove your hat when you go indoors.

 

·         Do say "Excuse Me" if someone is blocking your way and you would like them to move.

 

·         Do say "Please" and "Thank you" -it is very good manners to say "please" and "thank you". It is considered rude if you don't. You will notice in the UK that we like to say 'thank you' a lot.

 

·         Do cover your mouth - when yawning or coughing always cover your mouth with your hand.

 

·         Do shake hands - when you are first introduced to someone, shake their right hand with your own right hand.

 

·         Do say sorry if you accidentally bump into someone.  They will probably say sorry too, even if it was your fault!

 

·         Do smile - a smiling face is a welcoming face.

 

·         Do open and hold doors for other people

 

·         Do drive on the left side of the road – that’s how we do it over here

 

DO NOT

·         Do not greet people with a kiss - we only kiss people who are close friends and relatives.

 

·         Do not stare at anyone in public – it is considered impolite

 

·         Do not pick your nose in public - we are disgusted by this.  If you really have to do this, use a handkerchief.

 

·         Do not spit! - spitting in the street is considered to be very bad mannered.

 

·         Do not burp in public - you may feel better by burping loudly after eating or drinking, but other people will not! If you cannot stop a burp from bursting out, then cover your mouth with your hand and say 'excuse me' afterwards.

 

 

Great British Sense of Humour?

Well, if the “Guide to Good Manners” didn’t convince you that the British have a good sense of humour, you just need to take a look at one of the many British comedy series like Mr Bean, Monty Python, Fawlty Towers or Little Britain to see if it’s true.  These programmes have been entertaining people for years both at home and abroad.  So why are they so popular?  Why are they a good example of that we have a good sense of humour?  

These programmes definitely can’t be taken too seriously, and in reality they over exaggerate how the British behave, but that’s exactly what makes them so funny!  You see, as children we are brought up to believe that we should not take things too seriously.  Add this to the fact we are pretty cynical as a nation, that we are guilty of mocking others and most of us have a darker, slightly negative streak; this gives you the basic ingredients for a good sense of humour. Now combine all of this together with the fact that we have that great ability to laugh at ourselves and our own failures and you end up with the recipe for the Great British Sense of humour.

 

Rule Britannia!!!!!