A lot of visitors to Britain are often struck by how polite the English are. If you go into a shop in Britain (particularly in a small town or village) you will often find that the shop assistant is almost excessively polite (or courteous). (It’s also possible, of course, that they will be quite brusque or even rude, especially if you are in a supermarket or large out-of-town retail park, but let’s stay with the cultural stereotype for the time being.) If you visit a small, independent shop (not part of a large chain) you will generally find that the person serving you – particularly if it’s the owner – is extremely courteous.
Making polite noises
When you are ready to pay for the goods you have chosen, the shopkeeper will probably ask you a question such as “Is that everything?” or “Have you got everything you need?” If your answer is in the affirmative (“Yes” or ideally, “Yes, thank you”) they will then tell you the total you have to pay – followed, naturally, by “Please” or “Thank you”:
“That’s £15.28 (“fifteen pounds, twenty-eight”), please / Thanks.”
You will then hand over the money. Let’s say you give the shopkeeper (or sales assistant) a twenty pound note. You could say “There you are” or “There you go” – and here most English people would add a “Thanks” or “Thank you”.
The shopkeeper takes the money: “Thank you. That’s twenty pounds.” They then calculate how much change to give you and count out the coins: “Right, that’s four (pounds) seventy-two change”. You, of course, say “Thank you” and the shopkeeper may say “Thank you” as well.
The shopkeeper may then ask you; “Would you like a bag?”. If you need one, you can say, “Yes, please”; if not, say “No thank you.” Of course, if you are not offered a bag you can ask, “Can I have a bag, please.” The shopkeeper will reply, “Certainly” or “Yes, of course.” Don’t forget to add another “thank you” when they hand you the bag or put your purchases in the bag and give it to you. They will then reply, “You're welcome” or perhaps “Thank YOU” stressing the “you”. As you leave the shop (or move away from the counter if you are in a large store) you should say “Bye” and add a “thank you” for good measure.
Does this seem excessively (and even ridiculously) polite to you? If your answer is “Yes” then the chances are that you are not British. Conversely, British people travelling abroad often find foreigners quite rude. Another problem facing native English speakers is that when they use what for them is the “normal” level of politeness the person they are speaking to may actually think they are being (mildly) sarcastic.
Expressions of politeness are undoubtedly influenced by the culture you belong to – but British English in particular seems to be in the “Champions League” of politeness, with only some other languages, such as Japanese, perhaps, demonstrating a higher level of deference. So, if you’re going to visit Britain my advice to you is to mind your “P’s and Q’s” (i.e. (that is) make sure you say “please” and “thank you”) and if you are not sure what to say, say something polite: it will always be appreciated.
Conversation: In a Bookshop
A tourist enters a small bookshop in London, ringing the bell as they open the door. The shopkeeper appears.
Shopkeeper: Hello. How can I help you?
Customer: Oh, hello. I was wondering if you’ve got a guide to places of interest in London (please).
Shopkeeper: Yes, of course. We’ve got a couple of tourist guides in our London section. Come this way, please.
(Customer follows the shopkeeper).
The shopkeeper shows the guides to the customer, who picks one and then they move back to the counter.
Shopkeeper: Right, so that’s “Visting London in A Day” and that’s £12.20 (twelve (pounds) twenty), please OR thank you very much.
Customer: (Giving the shopkeeper a twenty pound note): Thank you.
Shopkeeper: (Taking the banknote). That’s twenty pounds thank you. Would you happen to have the twenty (pence), please?
Customer: Oh, let me see. (Looks in purse). Yes, there you are. (Gives the shopkeeper the coin). Thank you
Shopkeeper: That’s lovely, Thank you. (Gives the customer their change). And that’s four pounds. Thank you.
Customer: Thank you.
Shopkeeper: Would you like a bag?
Customer: Oh, yes, please. (Thank you.)
Shopkeeper: (Puts the book in a bag and hands it to the customer.) There you go. Thank you very much.
Customer: Thank you.
Shopkeeper: Thank YOU.
Customer: (Leaving the shop) Thanks a lot. Bye.
Shopkeeper. You’re very welcome. See you again soon.
Customer: Bye.
Showing posts with label customs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customs. Show all posts
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Autumn: Hallowe'en
Tonight is the night when dead leaves fly...
The main calendar event of autumn, crouching at the end of October like a black cat peering into November and the beginning of winter is Hallowe’en (a term which derives from “All Hallows Eve”).
Originally a Celtic festival, Hallowe’en is now particularly associated with America, and elements of the US version have become globalised, mainly through our familiarity with films and TV shows. The key elements of Hallowe’en are now quite familiar, although some of their significance has been lost (or mangled) in cultural translation:
(S)mashing Pumpkins
Look in the window of any shop at this time of year and the chances are you will see a sinister grinning face cut out of an enormous pumpkin – perhaps with a light inside producing a supernatural glow from the eyes and serrated teeth. (This is known in North America as a Jack-o'-lantern.)
Although pumpkins are fairly common throughout Europe and North America throughout the year they seem to come into their own at Hallowe’en. Part of the botanical family that includes zucchini, courgettes and marrows, pumpkins make excellent autumn/ winter dishes and can be sliced, diced, mashed, boiled and baked. As well as making great comfort food (something hot and filling which is quite simple and unsophisticated), pumpkins feature in the traditional Thanksgiving dinner in North America.
In Italy, pumpkins seem significant merely for their seeds - and as the source material for self-consciously foreign Jack-o'-lanterns, visible mainly in shops and bars. Zucca (Italian for pumpkin) happens to be the name of the iconic café in the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele in Milan’s Piazza Duomo, where Gaspare Campari launched his eponymous drink.)
Trick or treat?
Trick or treat (often used in the phrase "to go trick or treating") is the main activity associated with Hallowe'en. Let's have a quick look at the what the words trick and treat mean first:
Conversely, trick or treat is a well-established and accepted part of North American culture (where it originates from in its modern form). People prepare for the arrival of the trick or treaters by baking little cakes and making sweets which they hand out to their ghoulish visitors. In Britain the tradition has never really been integrated into the cultural life of the nation, so people are uncertain how to react to having a gang of vampires and ghouls turn up (arrive) on their doorstep. A lot of children simply take the occasion as an opportunity to demand some loose change, while those in more deprived areas might actually use the situation as a chance to settle scores on unpopular neighbours or to terrorise older residents, many of whom don’t really understand what the whole thing is about.
(On the topic of socially-accepted forms of manic but non-threatening behaviour, I have to say that I found the celebrations in Milan for Carnevale in February something of a revelation. The soft-centred - and largely alcohol-free - daytime festivities in Piazza Duomo (intended mainly for children) are a riot with thousands of people "attacking" each other with confetti (coriandoli) and silly string – but without any of the associated tensions or public order problems that usually marr similar events in the UK (in particular the Notting Hill Carnival). I think this will be a future (seasonal) blog post.)
Monster Munch
Hallowe’en parties seem to be mainly either the preserve of either children or an excuse for clubbers to dress up as ghouls and vampires at a themed event. As with 5th November, there isn’t an associated holiday, widely-observed religious festival like Christmas (but see All Saints Day below) or critical secular moment, such as New Year’s Eve (particularly on the following day) so the prospect of a wild celebration followed by what could be a working day has little appeal to people who have already left school or have only just heard of Facebook.
However, a few traditions survive, notably traditional Hallowe’en games, such as “bobbing for apples”, which involves biting an apple floating around in a bowl of water – try it: it’s harder than it sounds.
Incidentally, All Saints Day on the 1st November and All Souls Day on the 2nd are purely religious occasions for churchgoers in the UK – very much a minority of the population. All Souls Day, which is hugely significant here in Italy, seems to be a particularly Catholic occasion. There is no UK equivalent of the streams of Italian families tidying up relatives' graves and placing bunches of fresh flowers on them in preparation for the main All Souls Day - or the all-night graveside vigils held throughout the (particularly Spanish-speaking) Catholic world.)
Is there anyone there?
Both Hallowe’en and All Souls Day are characterised by radically different ways of thinking about death, the after-life and the “other side” in general. Whereas Hallowe’en is treated as a bit of a laugh – with kids dressing up as characters from the Adams Family – All Souls Day is a serious, sombre occasion in countries where the Church is still highly influential. However, in a largely secular country like Britain – and in the non-religious sections of North American society – the “big questions” still need to be addressed: life, the universe and everything. Perhaps the folk culture of the past, pagan traditions and modern horror films that draw on ancient superstitions and legends seem more palatable to those who have little or no connection with conventional organised religion. Just as Dan Brown tapped into a vast subterranean reservoir of secular interest in things spiritual and religious by means of the best-selling mystery thriller “The Da Vinci Code” – so the appearance of miniature mummies, ghosts and Freddie Krugers at Hallowe’en could represent one aspect of a nagging secular suspicion that there might be something more to life than PSPs, Nikes and Chicken McNuggets®.
The main calendar event of autumn, crouching at the end of October like a black cat peering into November and the beginning of winter is Hallowe’en (a term which derives from “All Hallows Eve”).
Originally a Celtic festival, Hallowe’en is now particularly associated with America, and elements of the US version have become globalised, mainly through our familiarity with films and TV shows. The key elements of Hallowe’en are now quite familiar, although some of their significance has been lost (or mangled) in cultural translation:
(S)mashing Pumpkins
Look in the window of any shop at this time of year and the chances are you will see a sinister grinning face cut out of an enormous pumpkin – perhaps with a light inside producing a supernatural glow from the eyes and serrated teeth. (This is known in North America as a Jack-o'-lantern.)
Although pumpkins are fairly common throughout Europe and North America throughout the year they seem to come into their own at Hallowe’en. Part of the botanical family that includes zucchini, courgettes and marrows, pumpkins make excellent autumn/ winter dishes and can be sliced, diced, mashed, boiled and baked. As well as making great comfort food (something hot and filling which is quite simple and unsophisticated), pumpkins feature in the traditional Thanksgiving dinner in North America.
In Italy, pumpkins seem significant merely for their seeds - and as the source material for self-consciously foreign Jack-o'-lanterns, visible mainly in shops and bars. Zucca (Italian for pumpkin) happens to be the name of the iconic café in the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele in Milan’s Piazza Duomo, where Gaspare Campari launched his eponymous drink.)
Trick or treat?
Trick or treat (often used in the phrase "to go trick or treating") is the main activity associated with Hallowe'en. Let's have a quick look at the what the words trick and treat mean first:
- A treat is something very nice (and usually unexpected). For example, if a child at school gets excellent grades in the end of year tests, their parents may take them to a theme park or the cinema as a treat. You can also treat someone to something, such as a free meal in a restaurant – or, indeed, you can treat yourself, or give yourself a treat.
(Note that treat also has the completely different meaning of “give medical attention / care to”, e.g. a doctor can treat a patient for a disease or other condition, such as chronic (long-term) backache.)
- A trick is the complete opposite. If you trick someone (or play a trick on them) it means you do something horrible to upset that person.
Conversely, trick or treat is a well-established and accepted part of North American culture (where it originates from in its modern form). People prepare for the arrival of the trick or treaters by baking little cakes and making sweets which they hand out to their ghoulish visitors. In Britain the tradition has never really been integrated into the cultural life of the nation, so people are uncertain how to react to having a gang of vampires and ghouls turn up (arrive) on their doorstep. A lot of children simply take the occasion as an opportunity to demand some loose change, while those in more deprived areas might actually use the situation as a chance to settle scores on unpopular neighbours or to terrorise older residents, many of whom don’t really understand what the whole thing is about.
(On the topic of socially-accepted forms of manic but non-threatening behaviour, I have to say that I found the celebrations in Milan for Carnevale in February something of a revelation. The soft-centred - and largely alcohol-free - daytime festivities in Piazza Duomo (intended mainly for children) are a riot with thousands of people "attacking" each other with confetti (coriandoli) and silly string – but without any of the associated tensions or public order problems that usually marr similar events in the UK (in particular the Notting Hill Carnival). I think this will be a future (seasonal) blog post.)
Monster Munch
Hallowe’en parties seem to be mainly either the preserve of either children or an excuse for clubbers to dress up as ghouls and vampires at a themed event. As with 5th November, there isn’t an associated holiday, widely-observed religious festival like Christmas (but see All Saints Day below) or critical secular moment, such as New Year’s Eve (particularly on the following day) so the prospect of a wild celebration followed by what could be a working day has little appeal to people who have already left school or have only just heard of Facebook.
However, a few traditions survive, notably traditional Hallowe’en games, such as “bobbing for apples”, which involves biting an apple floating around in a bowl of water – try it: it’s harder than it sounds.
Incidentally, All Saints Day on the 1st November and All Souls Day on the 2nd are purely religious occasions for churchgoers in the UK – very much a minority of the population. All Souls Day, which is hugely significant here in Italy, seems to be a particularly Catholic occasion. There is no UK equivalent of the streams of Italian families tidying up relatives' graves and placing bunches of fresh flowers on them in preparation for the main All Souls Day - or the all-night graveside vigils held throughout the (particularly Spanish-speaking) Catholic world.)
Is there anyone there?
Both Hallowe’en and All Souls Day are characterised by radically different ways of thinking about death, the after-life and the “other side” in general. Whereas Hallowe’en is treated as a bit of a laugh – with kids dressing up as characters from the Adams Family – All Souls Day is a serious, sombre occasion in countries where the Church is still highly influential. However, in a largely secular country like Britain – and in the non-religious sections of North American society – the “big questions” still need to be addressed: life, the universe and everything. Perhaps the folk culture of the past, pagan traditions and modern horror films that draw on ancient superstitions and legends seem more palatable to those who have little or no connection with conventional organised religion. Just as Dan Brown tapped into a vast subterranean reservoir of secular interest in things spiritual and religious by means of the best-selling mystery thriller “The Da Vinci Code” – so the appearance of miniature mummies, ghosts and Freddie Krugers at Hallowe’en could represent one aspect of a nagging secular suspicion that there might be something more to life than PSPs, Nikes and Chicken McNuggets®.
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Autumn: Harvest Festival and Thanksgiving
Bringing in the sheaves
Living in a city you have a hugely distorted sense of the traditional significance of the seasons. The end of the summer and the beginning of autumn is when crops are harvested and all sorts of vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, leeks, turnips, marrows and pumpkins reach maturity. Since most types of food are available all year round (such as strawberries flown in at Christmas time) we city-dwellers have little appreciation of how the seasons shape life in the country.
The custom of the harvest festival still survives in churches (and some schools). Produce from the fields and from gardens is brought into the church and the congregation offer thanks for the natural bounty supplied by the Lord (or whoever you think supplies it – perhaps for most people in Britain it is now Tesco’s, the UK’s largest supermarket chain).
While many schools and schoolteachers are reluctant to promote religion when they lack religious convictions themselves, the harvest festival is still a feature of British school life (with or without religious overtones). It seems like a good idea to not take the food we eat for granted and to at least consider that while food may be abundant in the rich countries of the west and the northern hemisphere its scarcity is a fact of life in many other parts of the less developed (or poor) world.
I remember when I was at school that everyone would bring something from home – perhaps a tin of baked beans or a packet of biscuits and it would all be stacked on the stage for a full-school assembly (which, looking back now, must have made the headmaster and the senior teachers look slightly like delegates at a trade fair promoting a range of household brands). After the service the food would be donated to a local old people’s home or children’s home. I actually still think that’s a good thing to do – whether or not there’s an accompanying religious service.
In a similar vein, the American festival of Thanksgiving, held in November, marks the first harvest produced by the Pilgrim Fathers – the Puritan settlers who left Europe and landed in New England. Thanksgiving is only celebrated in the US (and Canada) and is a bit of a mystery to most Brits who only really know about it from films and TV programmes or the fact that Wall Street is closed for a public holiday. Thanksgiving dinner features a turkey (which is what the British have for Christmas dinner) with cranberry sauce (ditto) and pumpkin pie (which doesn’t really exist in the UK).
With a significant North American expatriate population in (west) London (due mainly, but not entirely to the phenomenal success of the romantic comedy “Notting Hill”*), some shops now cater for customers in search of typical Thanksgiving fare. A posh (high-class) butcher near Holland Park tube station (close to the London School of English, where I used to teach) has a sign in the window at this time of year advising its well-heeled stateside clientele that they can now order their Thanksgiving turkeys. I’m sure a similar offer must be made to the Americans and Canadians in Milan by at least one enterprising butcher, but I haven’t seen any firsthand evidence of this. (If you’re an American or Canadian in Milan, or a butcher, I’d love to hear.)
*Click here to see a picture of Notting Hill Underground station and other picture postcard views of London.
Living in a city you have a hugely distorted sense of the traditional significance of the seasons. The end of the summer and the beginning of autumn is when crops are harvested and all sorts of vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, leeks, turnips, marrows and pumpkins reach maturity. Since most types of food are available all year round (such as strawberries flown in at Christmas time) we city-dwellers have little appreciation of how the seasons shape life in the country.
The custom of the harvest festival still survives in churches (and some schools). Produce from the fields and from gardens is brought into the church and the congregation offer thanks for the natural bounty supplied by the Lord (or whoever you think supplies it – perhaps for most people in Britain it is now Tesco’s, the UK’s largest supermarket chain).
While many schools and schoolteachers are reluctant to promote religion when they lack religious convictions themselves, the harvest festival is still a feature of British school life (with or without religious overtones). It seems like a good idea to not take the food we eat for granted and to at least consider that while food may be abundant in the rich countries of the west and the northern hemisphere its scarcity is a fact of life in many other parts of the less developed (or poor) world.
I remember when I was at school that everyone would bring something from home – perhaps a tin of baked beans or a packet of biscuits and it would all be stacked on the stage for a full-school assembly (which, looking back now, must have made the headmaster and the senior teachers look slightly like delegates at a trade fair promoting a range of household brands). After the service the food would be donated to a local old people’s home or children’s home. I actually still think that’s a good thing to do – whether or not there’s an accompanying religious service.
In a similar vein, the American festival of Thanksgiving, held in November, marks the first harvest produced by the Pilgrim Fathers – the Puritan settlers who left Europe and landed in New England. Thanksgiving is only celebrated in the US (and Canada) and is a bit of a mystery to most Brits who only really know about it from films and TV programmes or the fact that Wall Street is closed for a public holiday. Thanksgiving dinner features a turkey (which is what the British have for Christmas dinner) with cranberry sauce (ditto) and pumpkin pie (which doesn’t really exist in the UK).
With a significant North American expatriate population in (west) London (due mainly, but not entirely to the phenomenal success of the romantic comedy “Notting Hill”*), some shops now cater for customers in search of typical Thanksgiving fare. A posh (high-class) butcher near Holland Park tube station (close to the London School of English, where I used to teach) has a sign in the window at this time of year advising its well-heeled stateside clientele that they can now order their Thanksgiving turkeys. I’m sure a similar offer must be made to the Americans and Canadians in Milan by at least one enterprising butcher, but I haven’t seen any firsthand evidence of this. (If you’re an American or Canadian in Milan, or a butcher, I’d love to hear.)
*Click here to see a picture of Notting Hill Underground station and other picture postcard views of London.
Autumn
The days are getting shorter and the nights are drawing in; the leaves on the trees are turning yellow, red and brown; and nearly everyone has gone back to work or to school: it’s autumn. In the first of a series of articles English teacher Robert Dennis looks at some of the customs and festivals associated with the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”.
Click here to see the vocabulary notes for this article. There are also some comprehension questions on this page at the end of the article (and you can see the answers here).
Autumn or fall?
In British English we call this season autumn; in the United States it’s generally known as fall. If you’re a keen “fashionista” (and here in Milan that covers most people) you will notice that some brands have an autumn/ winter collection, while others opt for a fall/winter one. (The collections, of course, have been presented long before autumn - or fall - arrives). Luckily, spring and summer have the same names on both sides of the Atlantic.
When does autumn actually begin?
There are, in fact, “official” dates for when the seasons start: technically, autumn starts at around the time of the autumnal equinox (21st September). However, most people will probably trust their own senses rather than a bureaucratic calendar to tell them when the seasons change.
The end of summer always seems to come quite quickly. As Shakespeare noted in Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”) "summer’s lease hath all too short a date”. Perhaps because it signals the end of the holidays and the return to normality, we all psychologically will the summer to continue; but it never does. For me, seeing shop windows full of new school uniforms, pencil cases and geometry sets is the sign that summer is about to end and the autumn set to begin.
Even though it is closer to the end of the calendar year, autumn marks the beginning of the academic year for schools and universities. It is also the period when politicians return to Westminster after the party conference season for the pageantry of the State Opening of Parliament (when the Queen rides in a gold coach drawn by six white horses and reads a speech written for her by the Prime Minister). This is also when the Jewish New Year begins, the Hindu festival of Diwali is celebrated and the month-long fast of Ramadan occurs.
But maybe the most dramatic change that really marks the end of summer and the start of autumn proper is the end of British Summer Time (BST) when the clocks go back one hour, returning to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): the sudden, premature curtailing of the day earlier in the evening has the psychological effect of a curfew or blackout being imposed; in effect, the long summer nights have been cut in half and there is little attraction in braving the low temperatures and gloom of the night simply for the benefit of being outside. (Although if you’re in the centre of Milan at this time of year you can sit under a canopy outside one of the swanky bars in Corso Vittorio Emmanule II (a pedestrianised shopping street near the Duomo) and roast in the crimson glow of a patio heater while you sip your coffee – and breathe in other people's cigarette smoke, which (thankfully) is unnecessary if you are inside the bar itself.)
Read the vocabulary notes for this article.
Comprehension questions for Autumn:
How much of this article did you understand? See if you can answer these questions and then look at the answers:
Check out the vocabulary for this article or read the next article in the series: Autumn: Harvest Festival and Thanksgiving
Click here to see the vocabulary notes for this article. There are also some comprehension questions on this page at the end of the article (and you can see the answers here).
Autumn or fall?
In British English we call this season autumn; in the United States it’s generally known as fall. If you’re a keen “fashionista” (and here in Milan that covers most people) you will notice that some brands have an autumn/ winter collection, while others opt for a fall/winter one. (The collections, of course, have been presented long before autumn - or fall - arrives). Luckily, spring and summer have the same names on both sides of the Atlantic.
When does autumn actually begin?
There are, in fact, “official” dates for when the seasons start: technically, autumn starts at around the time of the autumnal equinox (21st September). However, most people will probably trust their own senses rather than a bureaucratic calendar to tell them when the seasons change.
The end of summer always seems to come quite quickly. As Shakespeare noted in Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”) "summer’s lease hath all too short a date”. Perhaps because it signals the end of the holidays and the return to normality, we all psychologically will the summer to continue; but it never does. For me, seeing shop windows full of new school uniforms, pencil cases and geometry sets is the sign that summer is about to end and the autumn set to begin.
Even though it is closer to the end of the calendar year, autumn marks the beginning of the academic year for schools and universities. It is also the period when politicians return to Westminster after the party conference season for the pageantry of the State Opening of Parliament (when the Queen rides in a gold coach drawn by six white horses and reads a speech written for her by the Prime Minister). This is also when the Jewish New Year begins, the Hindu festival of Diwali is celebrated and the month-long fast of Ramadan occurs.
But maybe the most dramatic change that really marks the end of summer and the start of autumn proper is the end of British Summer Time (BST) when the clocks go back one hour, returning to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): the sudden, premature curtailing of the day earlier in the evening has the psychological effect of a curfew or blackout being imposed; in effect, the long summer nights have been cut in half and there is little attraction in braving the low temperatures and gloom of the night simply for the benefit of being outside. (Although if you’re in the centre of Milan at this time of year you can sit under a canopy outside one of the swanky bars in Corso Vittorio Emmanule II (a pedestrianised shopping street near the Duomo) and roast in the crimson glow of a patio heater while you sip your coffee – and breathe in other people's cigarette smoke, which (thankfully) is unnecessary if you are inside the bar itself.)
Read the vocabulary notes for this article.
Comprehension questions for Autumn:
How much of this article did you understand? See if you can answer these questions and then look at the answers:
- What does it mean if you say the nights are drawing in?
- What are customs?
- What’s the difference between autumn and fall?
- When does autumn officially begin?
- Why (according to the article) does the summer seem to end too quickly?
- Which events traditionally take place (happen) in the autumn? (Some of these are covered in other areas of the Milan English blog).
Check out the vocabulary for this article or read the next article in the series: Autumn: Harvest Festival and Thanksgiving
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