24 Values and assumptions of English speaking countries
.doc15. Values and assumptions of English speaking countries
Societies change over time while their reputations lag behind. A vivid example adhering to the belief that Great Britain is a land of tradition. The claim is based on what can be seen in public life and on centuries of political continuity. However in their private everyday life the British as individuals are less inclined to follow traditions than are the people of other countries.
The image of the GB as a nation of tea-drinkers is a stereotype which is somewhat out of date as well as the tradition of the afternoon tea is largely confined to retired people and to the upper class. Even when a British habit conforms to the stereotype, the wrong conclusions can be sometimes drawn from it.
In general the British value continuity over modernity. They have a general sentimental attachment to older, supposedly safer, times. They can be particularly and stubbornly conservative about anything perceived as a token of British-ness. Developments at the European level which might cause a change in some everyday aspect of the British life are usually greeted with hostility and suspicion.
Another aspect of the British conservatism is an idealist vision of the countryside, which represents stability (perhaps overall concern for animals is a part of the British love of nature).
The British are deemed by other nations to be perfectly polite and proper famous for their reserve and “stiff upper lip” which makes them seem very formal and distant. There is an easy account for it.
Being friendly in Britain often involves showing that you are not bothering with the formalities, moreover they find it comparatively difficult to indicate friendship by open displays of affection.
Respect for privacy underlies many aspects of British life. The habit of keeping things private is deeply ingrained. Revelations about extra marital affairs as breach of privacy.
The idea of British-ness overlaps with that of insularity. Moulded by traditions they are firmly anchored to their native isle and wary of entering the age of modernity as soon as it’s a question of being linked to Europe.
Though today there’s a clear tendency of England’s reconsidering and redefining its image of the land of contrast and ingrained traditions.
15. Values and assumptions of English speaking countries
Societies change over time while their reputations lag behind. A vivid example adhering to the belief that Great Britain is a land of tradition. The claim is based on what can be seen in public life and on centuries of political continuity. However in their private everyday life the British as individuals are less inclined to follow traditions than are the people of other countries.
The image of the GB as a nation of tea-drinkers is a stereotype which is somewhat out of date as well as the tradition of the afternoon tea is largely confined to retired people and to the upper class. Even when a British habit conforms to the stereotype, the wrong conclusions can be sometimes drawn from it.
In general the British value continuity over modernity. They have a general sentimental attachment to older, supposedly safer, times. They can be particularly and stubbornly conservative about anything perceived as a token of British-ness. Developments at the European level which might cause a change in some everyday aspect of the British life are usually greeted with hostility and suspicion.
Another aspect of the British conservatism is an idealist vision of the countryside, which represents stability (perhaps overall concern for animals is a part of the British love of nature).
The British are deemed by other nations to be perfectly polite and proper famous for their reserve and “stiff upper lip” which makes them seem very formal and distant. There is an easy account for it.
Being friendly in Britain often involves showing that you are not bothering with the formalities, moreover they find it comparatively difficult to indicate friendship by open displays of affection.
Respect for privacy underlies many aspects of British life. The habit of keeping things private is deeply ingrained. Revelations about extra marital affairs as breach of privacy.
The idea of British-ness overlaps with that of insularity. Moulded by traditions they are firmly anchored to their native isle and wary of entering the age of modernity as soon as it’s a question of being linked to Europe.
Though today there’s a clear tendency of England’s reconsidering and redefining its image of the land of contrast and ingrained traditions.