Now, according to some, there is an overwhelming stereotype as to what a typical English person is. It is a cultural phenomenon that never seems to go away. We are reserved, rather posh, polite, overdressed and are obsessed with saying "thank you" more than is probably necessary. We also drink too much tea.
Benedict Cumberbatch here, trying to be inexplicably more British than he already is.
Don't get me wrong though. This particular stereotype has SOME basis in fact. We do put a lot of importance on manners, and we definitely say "thank you" a bit too much, in fear of being rude without meaning to.
We definitely drink too much tea as well (you can see our last post for information on that!). We like our queues too (never get between a Brit and his queue!).
However, it is safe to say that Britain is for the most part absolutely nothing like Downton Abbey. If you don't know what Downton Abbey is, I would suggest you add it to your list of TV shows to watch soon. It is a great example of what I am talking about here.
An example of how not to ask for a cup of tea...
We are such a diverse and modern population, it still amazes me to this day that this stereotype exists in its purest form. So what would I say is the image of a typical Brit?
We are tolerant, polite, we have a good sense of humour (dry wit is the best), we love sport (football, cricket, rugby are our favourites) and we love our terms of endearment.
You may be called by many different affectionate names, according to what part of England you are visiting. Don't be offended of course, this is very normal. For example, you may be called dear, dearie, flower, love, chick, chuck, me duck, me duckie, mate, guv, son, lad, ma'am, madam, miss, sir, or even treacle, according to your gender, age and location.
That's a lot right? I told you.
We touched on slang that people from Liverpool use. But what about elsewhere? There are so many different words used by everyone. Here is just a small taster!
Bloke- Man
"John is a great bloke"
Bottle- Courage
"He doesn't have the bottle to ask her out!"
Chuck it down- to rain heavily
"It's going to chuck it down tomorrow"
Chuffed- Very happy
"I was chuffed to get such a good mark on my exam"
Jammy- Used in place of lucky when describing someone else
"He was very jammy finding that money he lost"
Skint- Broke (having no money)
"I'm skint, so I won't be going out tonight"
And this is only a tiny sample! You can find slang for people across the country which may not exist anywhere else!
There is literally so much I could talk about, but I will leave that for another time. See the link below for more information.
What do you like about life in the UK? Was Britain much different from how you imagined? Let us know in the comments!
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