Final_2023 CLC_INTRO TO CULTURE.

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◦ GEOGRAPHY:
• lies off the north-west coast of European
• Have two islands: Great Britain (largest) and Ireland
• Edinburgh in Scotland
• Belfast in northern Ireland
• Cardiff in Wales
⁃ Political:
2 states:
The Repuplic of Ireland (Eire) (Informal: "Ireland" or "The Repuplic")
The united kingdom of great britain and northen Ireland (include The great
Britain+north-eastern area of Ireland) (Shorten forms: The United Kingdom
(formal) / The UK(informal)/ Great Britain/ Britain (neutral)
• 20 century: called British Isles
• Other names used:
North east atlantic archipelago
North west European archipelago
IONA: islands of north atlantic (onna đi đảo vs em hong)
The isles
Most common term: Great Britain and Ireland
• Two small parts not parts of the UK with own sef government and are
"crown dependencies" : the Isle of Man and Channel Islands

◦ CULTURE
⁃ CULTURE for Ireland, Wales, and Highland Scotland: Celtic
⁃ CULTURE for England and Lowland Scotland: Germanic
• Albion means Great Britain (a Celtic name by poets and songwriters)
• Britannia: the Romans use to refer to southern British province
• Briton: a citizen of the UK -> "Ancient Britons" pp who live in
Southern Britain during Roman occupation
• Calendonia->Scotland
Surname: Mac/ Mc -> Scottish/ Irish
Nickname for Scottish men: Jock
• Hibernia-> Ireland (ice ->hibernation)
Surname: O as in O'Brien -> Irish
Nickname for Irish men: Paddy/ Mick
• Cambria-> Wales (cambrr qua lę)
Surname "Smith" -> England and Scotland
Nickname for Welsh men-> Dai / Taffy
• Erin/ Emerald Isle: poetic name for Ireland
• John Bull: (Englishness) fictional Character 18th century country
gentleman

◦ The doninace of England:

• Dominant culture of Britain: English
• English dominance can be seen in varous aspects:
+ The supply of money in Britain is controlled by the Bank of England
+ The name of the preseny monarch is "Elizabeth II" (scotland and ireland never
have "Elizabeth I" (Elizabeth I of England and and Wales ruled)
+ When newspaper and television news talk about "Anglo-American relations" -> they
are talking about relations between governments of Britain and the USA
+ Publications and organizations portray England as the norm and other parts of
Britain as special cases
+ Many English ppl don't bother to distinguish between "Britain" and "England"

◦ MUSIC
• The harp: Wales and Ireland
• Bagpipe: Scottish
 ◦ THE PEOPLE OF BRITAIN
• The largest ethnic grouping : Indian subcontinent
• Black Caribbeans

◦ GEOGRAPHY REAL
⁃ The land and climate in British have a notable lack of extremes
• None of their mountains are very high
• Land is not all flat since there are also hills
• Has no really big river
• It doesn't get really hot in summer or really cold in winter
• Has no active volcanoes
• Earth tremor does no more than rattle teacups in q few house

⁃ CLIMATE:
• The image of a wet, foggy land was created two thousand years ago by
invading Romans and perpeptuated in the twentieth century by Hollywood
• The further west -> the more rain
• Only high areas have snow
• Winters are colder in the east than they are in the West
• Summers are warmer and sunnier in the south compared to the north
• The British are always talking about the weather becuz:
+ the weather's changeability
+ it may not rain much, but can never be sure of a dry day
+ There can be cool days in July and warm days in January
+ The lack of extremes
+ The lack of extremes cause pp to be unprepared for a few occasions when it gets
really hot/ freezing cold
• In Britain, there are three trends:
+ Temperatures are rising
+The difference between the cooler wetter north west and the warmer drier south
east is becoming more pronounced
+ Extreme weather xo ditions are becoming more frequent

⁃ LAND:
• The south and east areas of mare low-lying
• The north and west areas are mountainous
• The English and Welsh don't like living in blocks of flars in city
centres (becuz of concern for privacy and love of the countryside)
-> cities in England and Wales have been built outward rather than upwards

◦ THE ENVIRONMENT AND POLLUTION

⁃ pea-soupers: thick fogs

◦ 4. IDENTITY
⁃ Scotish:
• Education and the legal and welfare systems are organized separately
from the rest of Britain
• Print their own banknotes ( although have the same currency)
• The Scottish way of speaking English is distinctive and cannot be
understood by English or Welsh ppl (a modern form of the dialect known as "Scots"
is spoken in everyday life)
 • The best known island "Skye" now renamed using its Gaelic name "Eilean
a' Cheò" (the misty island) (alien à chú)

⁃ Welsh
• Welsh language
• English is not the Welsh's first language
• For 20% of the population, Welsh is the mother tongue
• All children learn Welsh at school
• Newspaper in Welsh and Welsh television
• Public notices and signs are written in both Welsh and English
• National hero for the Welsh: Owain Glyndwr (2 chu w giong chu W trong
Welsh)
• The Cornish language is a relative of welsh
• Cornwall=Kernow (cornal)

⁃ The confusion between Englush and British:

• 'The bulldog spirit': courage and refusal to surrender -> It is brought
to life as "the British bulldog" (although this calls to mind an Englishman)
• The Scottish, Irish, and Welsh have their own anthems, while the
English one is just "God sace the Queen" - the same as the British national anthem
HOWEVER
• Now they already have their own anthem "Land of hope and glory"
• They wave the cross of St. George at football and rugby matches

⁃ Other ethnicities:
• The longest-established ethnic group is black Caribbeans
+ they are Christian, and non-religious people
+ their language is creole/ parwa
+ nothing hill carnival: The most popular well attended annual street festival in
the whole of Europe was started by Caribean immigrants
+ music: reggae, ska, calypso

• The other major ethnic grouping consists of those who is whose cultural
roots lie in the Indian subcontinent
• Are known collectively as 'Asians'
• They now marry among themselves
• To retain their languages: hindi urdu, bengali, Punjabi, gujarati
• Islam: religious of Pakistani and Bangladeshi
• Indian origin (who are largely Hindus and Sikhs) and many of Pakistani
and Bangladeshi origin, have forge a hybrid identity as British Asians and in the
musical form of bhangra

⁃ Icons online: a website in which the public were asked to get their
ideas for English symbols

⁃ FAMILY LIFE:
• Family identity is rather weak
• The notion of family has a generally low profile
• Significant family events like weddings, births and funerals, are not
automatically accompanied by large gatherings of people
• These events are of sentimental significance only and do not imply
lifelong responsibility
• Family gatherings beyond the household unit are rare
• They are confined to the Christmas period
• The main family unit is the nuclear family
• there is little sense of extended family identity
• It is unusual for adults of different generations within the family to
live together
• The average of number of people living in each household in Britain is
lower than the European average
• The proportion of people living alone is higher
• The proportion of children born outside marriage has risen dramatically
• People have less respect for the formalities of marriage
• People usually refer to their sexual partners as their partner rather
than husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend
• Avoid any indication of whether they are married or not

⁃ GEOGRAPHICAL IDENTITY:
• A sense of identity based on place of birth is not strong in most parts
of Britain
• The people of a locality dont feel strongly that they belong to that
place.
• Crap towns: bestseller in the bookshops
• However, there is a strong sense of identification with a city
Ex:
+ Liverpudlians/ Scousers (ppl live in Liverpool) are conscious of the distinct
identity of their city as an international port and consequent cultural and ethnic
mix
+ Geordies (ppl live in Newcastle). Becuz their city is in the far north of
England, far away from most other centers of population
+ Mancunians (Manchester), Glaswegians (Glasgow), Londoners are proud to be
identified in this way

• Identity is also associated with County

+ County: The most ancient division of England (Yorshire and Cornwall)

• There is also a well-known sense of regional identity

+ people in the north of England are conscious that they are 'northerner' and see
themselves as tougher, more honest and warmer hearted than the soft, hypocritical
and unfriendly 'southerners'
+ Northerners see their original Southerners as living off the sweat of their labor

⁃ CLASS
• People in prison we got it is difficult to become friends with somebody
from a different 'background'
• They do not approve of clear class differences becuz different classes
have different sets of attitudes and daily habits:
+ different food at different times of day
+ talk about different topics using different styles and accents of English
+ enjoy different pastimes and sports
+ have different values about things in life are most important
+ have different ideas about the correct way to behave
• It is impossible to guess a person's class just by looking at his or
her clothes, car, or bank balance
• To guess, the most obvious sign comes where the person opens his or her
mouth giving the listeners clues about the speakers attitude and interest (what
they say and the way they say it)
• The most working class people use all the words and grammatical forms,
regarded as 'non-standard'
• HOWEVER, everybody in the country can use standard English if they
demanded to -> The clearest indication of a person classes is his or her accent
• The most prestigious accent in Britain is known as 'Received
Pronunciation' (RP): A combination of standard English spoken with an RP accent
('BBC English'/ 'the Queen's English')
• In England and Wales, anyone speaks a strong regional accent is
automatically assumed to be working class
• Anyone with a 'pure' RP accent is assumed to be upper and upper-middle
class
 • 'inverted snobbery': a phenomenon where middle class people try to
adopt working class values and habits since nobody wants to be thought of as
snobbish
• 'Posh': used by people from one closest to mean "of a class higher than
the speakers belong to"
• A person with a working class accent is no longer prohibited from most
high status jobs
• nobody takes elocution lessons in order to soundmore upper class
• It is acceptable for radio and television presenters to speak with 'an
accent'
• The different classes makes more easily with each other that they used
to:
+ there is an increase in the number of people from work and class origins, who are
homeowners and who do traditionally middle class jobs

⁃ MEN AND WOMEN:

• It is illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex
• HOWEVER, there are still a lot of number of differences:
+ It is still far more acceptable for a man to look untidy and scruffy
+ it is still far more acceptable for a woman to display emotions and everyday
affection
+ people would still normally compliment the woman, not the man, on beautifully
decorated or well-kept house

HOWEVER, there are improvements:

+ It is no longer considered effeminate for men to get professional grooming
services such as manicures
+ large numbers of British women now regard getting drunk occasionally just as much
a part of every day life as British men
+ Most people assume that the financial situation is not just the responsibility of
the man
+ Men should play their full part in chores

⁃ SOCIAL AND EVERYDAY CONTACTS

• British people give a high importance to personal contacts
• They desire to 'belong'
• numerous clubs devoted to various sports and pastimes Play an important
part in peoples' lives
• Forging contacts with other people who share the same interests and
attitudes is an important part of their social identity
• Some people's profession or skill is also an important aspect of their
sense of identity

⁃ RELIGIONS AND POLITICS: IDENTITY IN NORTHERN IRELAND:

• Ethnicity, family, politics, and religion are all interrelated
• Northern Ireland is a polarized society where ppl born into one of two
communities: Catholic vs Protestant
+ people are subconsciously protestant want Northern Ireland to remain part of the
UK
+ people who are self-consciously Catholic would like northern Ireland to become
part of the Irish republic
+ The two communities live in different housing estates, listen to different radio
and television programs, register with different doctors, take prescriptions to
different chemists, march to commemorate different anniversaries, and read
different newspapers, their children go to different schools.
• However, these attitudes apply to a lesser extent among the middle
classes, especially football, a working class sport, the northern Ireland and the
Republic have separate teams while in rugby union, a more middle class sport there
is only one team for the whole of Ireland in which protesters from the north play
alongside Catholics from the south with no sign of disharmony at all

⁃ BEING BRITISH:
• British people are not normally actively patriotic
• They often feel uncomfortable if somebody from another country refers
to 'you' where 'you' means Britain or the British government
• They don't like to feel they are personally representing their country

⁃ The 'peace wall' separates the Catholic falls road and protestant
shankill Road - vivid sign of segregation in Belfast
⁃ this wall is a favorite of visitors who want 'troubles tourism'

⁃ PERSONAL IDENTITY: A SENSE OF HUMOUR

• Don't have to tell the best jokes to be humorous
• A mildly funny remark is appreciate it and all but the most horrible
situation. It doesn't have to be especially clever.
• Raising a smile or getting a laugh is a good enough reason we're saying
anything even if it is something you don't mean
• And the ability to laugh at yourself ( the joke is at ur own expense),
and to take a joke is highly prized
• Two other personal qualities highly prized in Britain: bravery in the
face of misfortune (known as the 'stiff upper lip') and modesty
• The quality which connects these two is the sense of humour
• Friends Reunited: a website to find old friends
• Genes reunited: trace family roots

◦ ATTITUDE
⁃ The popular belief that Britain is 'a land of tradition' is only true
at the level of public life
• The annual ceremony of the state opening of parliament and the military
ceremony 'the trooping of color' follow customs which are centuries-old
• Changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace, never changes
HOWEVER
⁃ in private everyday lives, the British are probably less inclined to
follow tradition
⁃ They are very few age old customs that are followed by families on
certain special occasions
⁃ Britain has fewer local parades or processions with genuine folk roots
than most other countries
⁃ The English language has few sayings or proverb in everyday use
⁃ The stereotype image of the London city gent wearing a bowler hat
⁃ Very few British ppl have Breakfast with a large fry up plus cereal
with milk and toast, butter and marmalade with tea
⁃ The image of the British, as a nation of tea drinkers is somewhat
outdated
⁃ The traditional afternoon, tea with biscuits, scones, sandwiches or
cake confined to retirepeople and the leisure upper middle class
⁃ British people do form queues but this does not mean that they enjoy it

⁃ ENGLISH VS BRITISH:
• Anti-intellectual:
+ teachers and academic staff do not receive as high a status in the UK as in other
countries
+ parents are not interested in their children getting to university
+ Among the upper class, too much intelligence or academic prowess can be viewed
with suspicion and not considered a team player
+ Among the working class, a man with such attributes can be perceived as
effeminate
+
 ⁃ LOVE OF NATURE
• The Ramblers' Association: an organization where enthusiastic country
walkers belong
• The Youth Hostels Association: help young ppl love and care the
countryside
• The National Trust: preserve Britain's countryside and historic
buildings (it is the third largest landowner in Britain, just after the Crown and
the Forestry Commission)

⁃ LOVE OF ANIMALS
• Rossendale memorial gardens in Lancashire: an animal cemetery
• Tiggywinkles: A hospital which treats injured wild animals
• The RSPCA: Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
• NSPCC: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

◦ POLITICAL LIFE
⁃ Yes, Prime Minister: popular radio and television comedy from the 1980s
⁃ Freeloader: somebody who get food, drink and benefits without having to
pay a work for them
⁃ People expect politicians to be frequently dishonest, and we regard
them with suspicion
⁃ People are not shocked when the government is caught lying. However,
they would be shocked if the government was doing anything illegal
⁃ The first rule of politics is never believe anything until it's been
officially denied
⁃ The lack of enthusiasm for politicians:
• People usually ignore who politicians are
• Ppl are not generous with politicians' expenses
• Stability of the political system is taken for granted so people
usually we got it as a boring topic of conversation
HOWEVER
• A general feeling of confidence in the stability and workability of the
system remains
• People regard politics as a dirty business, a necessary evil

⁃ THE STYLE OF DEMOCRACY:

• British have a deep respect for the principle of law -> where is Little
systematic lawbreaking by large sections of the population.
EX: tax evasion is not a national pastime
• British people are enthusiastic about making new laws -> The country
has comparatively few rules and regulations
EX:
+ Britain's citizens do not have the cards
+ British people are not obliged to carry identification with them
+ they do not even have to have their driving licenses with them in their cars (if
the police asked you to see it, you have 24 hours to take it to them)

• Freedom of information act: a law which entitles people to demand

information held by public bodies
• '30-year rule': restricts access to Government papers for 30 years
• Both your own identity and the information the government has about
your identity are private matters
• The individual and the state should leave each other alone as much as
possible
• The duties of the individual are confined to not breaking the law and
paying taxes
• People are not obliged to vote at elections
• Do not have to drive register or change of address for the government
authority