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| England and the English
England and the English
England and the
English
Britain and the
British
Zimmermann Konrad 5HB/a
1996/97
Mag.
Schaludek-Paletschek
Table of Contents
England
or Britain
The different names of the several countries in the
United Kingdom are a little bit confusing. People often talk about England or
Great Britain, although they mean the United Kingdom. In fact, there is England,
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland and the islands north-west
of France.
Great Britain is the name of the island which includes
England, Scotland and Wales, but does not include Northern Ireland. When we talk
about the United Kingdom, we mean Great Britain and Northern Ireland. British
Isles is the name that refers to all the islands off the North-West coast of the
European continent: Great Britain, the whole of Ireland (Northern and Southern),
the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. But it is important to remember that
Southern Ireland, called the Republic of Ireland or Eire, is completely
independent.
England is already a huge topic to write about by
itself, but writing about the whole United Kingdom in a limited amount of pages
would definitely be impossible, so this report is just about England and the
English.
2 Geographical notes
The United Kingdom (UK) is a very small country
(244108km2), compared to others, but only 9 other countries have more
inhabitants (55,9mio). London is the world´s seventh biggest city. The
highest mountain is Ben Nevis, at 1342m, and you can find it in Scotland. The
longest rivers are the Severn (354km) and the River Thames (346km). In the whole
country the Greenwich Mean time (MET- 1 hour) is
used.
3 England and the different races
England is probably a country with one of the largest
mixtures of cultures and races in the world. For example, many people from
Wales, Scotland and Ireland have settled in England; and Jews, Russians,
Germans, and Poles have come to Britain during political changes in the rest of
Europe. Before World War II, people came mostly from Canada, Australia, New
Zealand and South Africa. In the 1950s, people from the West Indies, India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong were encouraged to come and work in Britain.
Today, 2 million British people are of West Indian or Asian origin and you
recognize that if you walk through London. Most of the small shops, like
newsagents or food shops, are operated by Indians. Nowadays the policy is to
encourage these communities to continue speaking their own languages as well as
English. The children of immigrants are often taught their own languages in
school, and there are special newspapers, magazines, and radio and television
programmes for the Asian community. This latest wave of migration has of course
caused problems. There is certainly racial tension and racial prejudice in
Britain today. Foreigners are unemployed or just get low-paid jobs, however
slowly, both sides are learning to accept their new neighbours and are starting
to take over customs of other cultures. For example, the British are becoming
more adventurous in their cooking and eating habits, and Chinese, Indian and
Pakistani restaurants are very popular. Another example can be found on the
music scene, where reggae music has become very
influential.
4 Religion
England was a Roman Catholic country until 1534, when
King Henry VIII decided to divorce his queen, Catherine of Aragon. The pope
refused to allow this. Henry was so angry with the pope that he ended all
contact between England and Rome, divorced Catherine of Aragon without the
pope´s permission and married Anne Boleyn. After that, the Parliament named
Henry head of the church of England. This was the beginning of the Anglican
Church. Today there are not only Protestants, but different churches
(denominations), such as the Roman Catholics (6 mio), Methodists (1,2 mio),
Baptists and other smaller groups. Methodists and Baptists are particularly
strong in Wales. Although there is complete religious freedom in Britain, there
have been tensions between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland
recently. Britain`s immigrants have also brought with them their own religions
which they continue to practise. There are Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs from the
Indian subcontinent, Rastafarians from the West Indies and the largest group of
Jews living in
Europe.
5 The educational
system
5.1 Nursery school (under 5 years)
Children do not have to go to school until they reach
the age of five, but there is some free nursery school education before that
age. However places in the public nursery schools are not available for all who
would like them, because the places are usually given to families under special
circumstances, for example, families with only one parent. Because of the small
number of nursery schools, parents in many areas have formed playgroups where
children under 5 years can go for a morning or afternoon a couple times a
week.
5.2 Primary education (5 to 11 years)
Primary education takes place in infant schools
(pupils aged from 5 to 7 years) and junior schools (from 8 to 11
years).
5.3 Private education (5 to 18 years)
Some parents choose to pay for private education, in
spite of the existence of free state education. These schools are very expensive
and they are attended by about 5 per cent of the school
population.
5.4 Secondary education (11 to 16/18 years)
Secondary education was introduced in 1944. Indeed,
children must go to school until they are 16 years old, and pupils may stay on
for one or two more years if they wish. Secondary schools are usually much
larger than primary schools and most children (80 per cent) go to a
comprehensive school at the age of 11. These schools are not selective, which
means pupils don´t have to pass an entrance exam there.
In every school in England it is tradition to wear a
school uniform, which is usually a suit and tie for the boys and a skirt and
blouse for girls. By the way, boys and girls often go to separated schools,
which means there are separate schools divided by
sex.
6 The political system
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. That
means it´s a monarchy which has very little power and can only reign with
support of the Parliament. Parliament consists of two chambers, known as the
House of Commons and the House of Lords. Parliament and the monarch have
different roles in the government of the country, and they only meet together on
symbolic occasions such as the coronation of a new monarch or the opening of
Parliament. In reality, the House of Commons is the only one of the three which
has true power. It is here that new bills are introduced and discussed. If the
majority of the members are in favour of a bill, it goes to the House of Lords
to be debated and finally to the monarch to be signed. Only then does it become
law. Although a bill must be supported by all three bodies, the House of Lords
only has limited power, and the monarchy has not refused to sign one since the
modern political system began over 200 years ago.
7 Sports
The English play some different sports. For example,
they like rugby. It´s one of the national sports, although they can only
compete with New Zealand and Australia. Then there is cricket, a game similar
to baseball. There is a patter, a thrower and some field players. The thrower
tries to hit one of three poles behind the patter, who has to play defensively.
Training matches for this sport last up to 5 (!) days. Polo is a sport of the
richer, where the player sits on a horse and has to hit a ball with a
"polo-stick" and score goals. We all know croquet, the nice game for the garden,
but real fanatics are the English if the sport is soccer. The English soccer is
one of the best and most exciting, and a lot of people go to the soccer
grounds.
8 Festivals
The English have festivals which are different than
those we are used to For example, there is St. Valentine´s Day on
the 14th of February. On this day people send cards to the ones they love or
someone whom they have fallen in love with. People usually do not sign these
cards and a lot of time is spent trying to guess who has sent
them.
On the day before Ash Wednesday, called Pancake
Day, the English traditionally eat a lot of pancakes.
On the 1st of May they have a maypole and they
dance like we do.
On the 31st of October there is Halloween, which
means "holy evening". Although it is a much more important festival in the
United States than in Britain, it is celebrated by many people in the UK. It is
particularly connected with witches and ghosts. At parties people dress up in
strange costumes and cut horrible faces in potatoes and other vegetables and put
a candle inside, which shines through the eyes. People may play difficult games,
such as trying to eat an apple from a bucket of water without using their hands.
In recent years children dressed in white sheets, knocked on doors and asked
whether you would like a "trick" or a "treat". If you give them something nice,
a "treat", they go away. However, if you don´t, they play a trick, such as
spilling flour on your front doorstep.
The most important festival of the year is
Christmas. The customs on this day are very similar to Christmas in
Austria. The English have a Christmas tree and there are presents. Children
leave a long sock or stocking at the end of their beds on Christmas Eve, hoping
that Father Christmas will come through the chimney and bring some presents.
Traditional food on this day is turkey, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake or a
hot mince pie.
9 Food
Food, both eating it and cooking it, is a favourite
topic of conversation in Britain these days. Most people, men as well as women,
are much more interested in food and cooking than they used to be. They see
cooking as an art which makes life more enjoyable. Fundamentally there is
breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner/ supper.
9.1 Breakfast
The traditional breakfast is cereal with milk and sugar,
then fried bacon and eggs, or scrambled eggs on toast, or boiled eggs and toast,
and finally toast and butter with marmalade or jam. Usually the English drink
tea or
coffee.
9.2 Lunch
This may be a big meal with 2,3 or 4 courses: a starter,
e.g., soup: then the main course,e.g., meat or fish and chips; then a pudding or
dessert, e.g., apple pie and custard sauce; then perhaps cheese and biscuits.
Lunch may also be a snack, e.g. some soup, a salad or some
sandwiches.
9.3 Tea
The traditional tea is usually bread with butter and
jam, scones, cakes and biscuits. Tea is drunk with milk or lemon and sometimes
sugar.
9.4 Dinner/ Supper
Dinner is the big meal in the evening and it´s like
a large lunch with 2,3 or 4 courses. People who eat a big meal at midday often
have only a small meal in the evening. This is called supper, and there may be
only one course, e.g. cauliflower
cheese.
10 The character of the English
England is far away, but not only in distance. The
English are completely different compared to continental Europeans. That the
cars drive on the "wrong" side is just the begining and it is quite normal if
you eat a pizza with chips on it and pour loads of vinegar all over this. Yes,
it is true, the British have other, sometimes mysterious,
customs.
In France you are impolite if you let a conversation
drop, in England it is rash to keep it up. No one blames you for silence. Being
modest is another huge difference between the English and the continental
Europeans. An Englishman will say, "I have a little house"; when he invites you
to stay with him you´ll discover that the little house is a place with
three hundred bedrooms.
Those in England do not work too hard. They work rather
slowly, with over-long strides. In the army they say, "Never refuse a job, never
volunteer for one".
The English punctuality is more than a habit; it´s
a vice. If you are invited for eight-thirty, that means eight-thirty in England
and not eight-twenty-nine or eight-thirty-one. In France you would have to come
around
nine-fifteen.
11 Sights of London
The easiest way to travel around London is by bus or
tube. These run from the center ot the city right into the countryside. If you
travel by London Transport, you will recognize a strange thing - the English
people queue up. They don´t push and just stay on their place in the queue.
Moreover, the British are very polite and modest. If an English person wants to
say that what he has done was excellent, he would say something like: "It was
nothing really amazing, I should have done much better."
The Buckingham Palace is the main residence of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. A famous ritual is the Changing of the
Guards which takes place every day. Basically, the Guards are not allowed to
move while they are on duty. The Horse Guards are stationed in Whitehall
near Buckingham Palace.
Piccadilly Circus is a large roundabout with a
spring in the middle. This is the place where the youngsters meet. At Piccadily
Circus, there is Rock Circus, a museum which shows all famous rock and
pop musicians of the past and present.
There are the Houses of Parliament (where Big
Ben is inside) and where the government has its seat.
Most of the royal members married in Westminster
Abbey, which is right next to the Houses of Parliament.
Everyone knows Madame Tussaud´s. It´s
one of the most famous sights London has to offer. Every star has his/her own
wax figure there.
There are amazing stories to tell about The Tower of
London. In earlier times, the Tower was a prison and the Beefeaters were the
warders.
There are many more sights to visit, like Covent Garden,
London Dungeon, Royal Albert Hall, St. Paul`s Cathedral, V&A Museum, the
Museums of Natural History, Science, and London Transport Museum, Tate Gallery,
Cabinet War Room , Tower Bridge, Victoria Station, Camden Market, Petticoat Lane
Market, HMS Bellfast, ...
12 Vocabulary
|
bill
|
Gesetzesvorlage
|
|
cauliflower
|
Karfiol (Blumenkohl)
|
|
cereals
|
Frühstücksflocken (z.B.
cornflakes)
|
|
to compete with
|
sich messen mit
|
|
confusing
|
verwirrend
|
|
coronation
|
Krönung
|
|
custard
|
Vanillesoße
|
|
divorce
|
Scheidung
|
|
encouraged
|
ermutigen
|
|
huge
|
riesig
|
|
independent
|
unabhängig
|
|
influential
|
beeinflussend
|
|
inhabitant
|
Einwohner
|
|
jam
|
Marmelade
|
|
marmalade
|
Orangenmarmelade
|
|
migration
|
Einwanderung
|
|
occasion
|
Anlaß
|
|
particular
|
besonders
|
|
pole
|
Stange
|
|
rash
|
tollkühn,
vorschnell
|
|
scones
|
Teegebäck
|
|
stride
|
langer Schritt,
Fortschritt
|
|
tension
|
Spannung
|
Map
Originaldokument enthält an dieser Stelle eine Grafik!
Original document contains a graphic at this position!
14 Handout
- ENGLAND OR BRITAIN
- GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES
- ENGLAND AND THE DIFFERENT RACES
- RELIGION
- THE EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM
Nursery
school
Primary education
Private education
Secondary education
- THE POLITICAL SYSTEM
- SPORTS
- FESTIVALS
- FOOD
Breakfast
Lunch
Tea
Dinner/Supper
- THE CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH
- SIGHTS OF LONDON
|
bill
|
Gesetzesvorlage
|
|
cauliflower
|
Karfiol (Blumenkohl)
|
|
cereals
|
Frühstücksflocken (z.B.
cornflakes)
|
|
confusing
|
verwirrend
|
|
coronation
|
Krönung
|
|
custard
|
Vanillesoße
|
|
divorce
|
Scheidung
|
|
encouraged
|
ermutigen
|
|
huge
|
riesig
|
|
independent
|
unabhängig
|
|
influential
|
beeinflussend
|
|
inhabitant
|
Einwohner
|
|
jam
|
Marmelade
|
|
marmalade
|
Orangenmarmelade
|
|
migration
|
Einwanderung
|
|
occasion
|
Anlaß
|
|
particular
|
besonders
|
|
pole
|
Stange
|
|
rash
|
tollkühn,
vorschnell
|
|
scones
|
Teegebäck
|
|
stride
|
langer Schritt,
Fortschritt
|
|
tension
|
Spannung
|
|
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