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Musical instrumentsContents Introduction 6 1 Country and people 8 Geographically speaking Politically speaking The four nations The dominance of England National loyalties 2 History 15 Prehistory The Roman period (43-410) The Germanic invasions (410-1066) The medieval period (1066-148^) The sixteenth century The seventeenth century The eighteenth century The nineteenth century The twentieth century 3 Geography 31 Climate Land and settlement The environment and pollution London Southern England The Midlands Northern England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland 4 Identity 42 Ethnic identity: the native British Ethnic identity: the non-native British The family Geographical identity Class Men and women Religious and political identity Social and everyday contacts Identity in Northern Ireland Being British 5 Attitudes 56 Stereotypes and change English versus British Multiculturalism Conservatism Being different The love of nature The love of animals Formality and informality Public spiritedness and amateurism Privacy and sex
6 Political life 67 The public attitude to politics The style of democracy The constitution The style of politics The party system The modem situation 7 The monarchy 77 The appearance The reality The role of the monarch The value of the monarchy The future of the monarchy 8 The government 82 The cabinet The Prime Minister The civil service Central and local government Local government services 9 Parliament 90 The atmosphere of Parliament An MP's life Parliamentary business The party systemin Parliament The House of Lords 10 Elections 98 The system Formal arrangements The campaign Polling day Election night Recent results and the future 11 The law 106 The police and the public Crime and criminal procedure The system of justice The legal profession Contents
12 International relations 113 The end of empire The armed forces Transadantic relations The sovereignty of the union: Europe ' The sovereignty of the union: Scotland and Wales The sovereignty of the union: Northern Ireland 13 Religion 121 Religion and politics Anglicanism Catholicism Other conventional Christian churches. Other religions, churches and religious movements 14 Education 130 Historical background Organization Style Recent developments School life Public exams Education beyond sixteen 15 The economy and 141 everyday life Earning money Work organizations The structure of trade and industry The distribution of wealth Finance and investment. Spending money: shopping Shop opening hours 16 The media 151 The importance of the national press The two types of national newspaper The characteristics of the national press: politics The characteristics of the national press: sex and scandal. The BBC Television: organization Television: style 17 Transport 162 On the road Public transport in towns and cities Public transport between towns and cities The story of the channel Air and water
18 Welfare 168 The benefits system Social services and charities The national health service The medical profession 19 Housing 174 Houses, not flats Private property and public property The importance of home' Individuality and conformity Interiors: the importance of cosiness Owning and renting Homelessness 20 Food and drink 184 Attitudes to food . Eating out Alcohol Pubs 21 Sport and competition 191 A national passion The social importance of sport Cricket Football' Rugby Animals in sport Other sports Gambling 22 The arts 201 The arts in society. The characteristics of British arts and letters Theatre and cinema Music Literature The fine arts 23 Holidays and special 208 occasions Traditional seaside holidays Modern holidays Christmas and New Year Other notable annual occasions Introduction Who this book is for This book is for learners of English as a foreign language, at any level of proficiency from intermediate upwards, who need to know more about Britain. It will be invaluable to students on British Studies courses and to those who are studying British culture as part of a general English course. It is for all people who recognize that a knowledge of British life is necessary to improve their understanding and use of the English language as it is spoken in Britain. How many times have you not fully understood a phrase in a British text and found that the dictionary did not help? How many times have you understood every word that a British person has said but not understood what he or she meant? In any society, writers and speakers leave some things unsaid or unexplained because they assume that their readers and listeners are equipped with the basic knowledge which comes from sharing the same cultural background. You may have reached a high level of proficiency in English, but find British people hard to understand because you lack this background knowledge. This book aims to fill in the gaps so that, when you encounter British writers and speakers, you are closer to being in the same position as an averagely educated British person would be. Of course, it is impossible for you to put yourself in exactly the same position as natives of Britain. They have been sharing many, distinctly British, experiences and influences ever since they were born. Therefore, this book also looks behind the facts and figures, so that you can begin to understand the British approach to life in general. What this book is about This book contains all the basic information you need about the structure of the British political system and other aspects of public life. But it has more than that. Throughout the book, particular attention is paid to the attitudes of British people. Knowledge of these is very important because they are what 'colour' the language used by British people. For example, to understand the word 'Catholic' as used in Britain, it is not enough to know the legal position of Catholicism and how many Catholics there are; you also have to know something about the general place of religion in British people's minds and how different religious groups in the country feel about each other (see chapter 13). Because attitudes are so important, there
Country and people
This is a book about Britain. But what exactly is Britain? And who are the British? The table below illustrates the problem. You might think that, when it comes to international sport, the situation would be simple - one country, one team. But you can see that this is definitely not the case with Britain. For each of the four sports or sporting events listed in the table, there are a different number of national teams which might be called British*. This chapter describes how this situation has come about and explains the different names which are used when people talk about Britain. Geographically speaking Lying off the north-west coast of Europe, there are two large islands and several much smaller ones. Collectively, they are known as The British Isles. The largest island is called Great Britain. The other large one is called Ireland ( The British Isles). Politically speaking In the British Isles there are two states. One of these governs most of the island of Ireland. This state is usually called The Republic of Ireland. It is also called 'Eire' (its Irish language name). Informally it is referred to as just 'Ireland' or 'the Republic'. The other state has authority over the rest of the British Isles (the whole of Great Britain, the northeastern area of Ireland and most of the smaller islands). This is the country that is the main subject of this book. Its official name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Politically speaking 9
Flag St George's Dragon of St Andrew's St Patrick's Cross Cadwallader Cross Cross
Lion rampant RepublicofIreland
Britannia Plant Rose Leek/Daffodil' Thistle Shamrock
Patron saint St George St David St Andrew St Patrick Saint's day 23 April I March 30 November 17 March 1 There is some disagreement among Welsh people as to which is the real national plant, but the leek is the most well-known. 2 As typically worn by sports teams of the different nations. The four nations 11
> Other signs of national identity The following are also associated by British people with one or more of the four nations. Names The prefix 'Mac' or 'Me' in surnames (such as McCall, MacCarthy, MacDonald) is always either Scottish or Irish. The prefix 'O' (as in: O'Brien, O'Hara) is distinctly Irish. A very large number of surnames (for example, Davis, Evans, Jones, Lloyd, Morgan, Price, Rees, Williams) suggest Welsh origin (although many of these are found throughout England). The most common surname in both England and Scotland is actually 'Smith'. First names can also be indicative. L The Scottish form of'John'is'lan' and its Irish form is 'Sean' (although all three names are common throughout Britain). There are also nicknames for Scottish, Irish and Welsh men. For example, an English, Welsh or Irish person might refer to and address a Scottish friend as 'Jock', whatever his first name is. Irishmen are called 'Paddy' or 'Mick' and Welshmen are known as 'Dai' or 'Taffy'. If the person is not a friend the nickname can sound rather insulting.
Clothes The kilt, a skirt with a tartan pattern worn by men, is a very well-known symbol of Scottishness (though it is hardly ever worn in everyday life). Musical instruments The harp is an emblem of both Wales and Ireland. The bagpipes are regarded as distinctively Scottish (though a smaller type is also used in traditional Irish music). Characteristics There are certain stereotypes of national character which are well-known in Britain. For instance, the Irish are supposed to be great talkers, the Scots have a reputation for being careful with money, and the Welsh are renowned for their singing ability. These characteristics are, of course, only caricatures and are not reliable descriptions of individual people from these countries. Nevertheless, they indicate some slight differences in the value attached to certain kinds of behaviour in the countries concerned.
John Bull is a fictional character who is supposed to personify Englishness and certain English virtues. (He can be compared to Uncle Sam in the USA.) He features in hundreds of nineteenth century cartoons. His appearance is typical of an eighteenth century country gentleman, evoking an idyllic rural past (see chapter 5).
John Bull Briton is a word used in official contexts and in formal writing to describe a citizen of the United Kingdom. 'Ancient Britons' is the name given to the race of people who lived in England before and during the Roman occupation (ad 43410). These are the ancestors of the present-day Welsh people. Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1235
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