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Unit 22

English Manners

British people are quite reserved when greeting one another. Greeting can be a "Hello" "Hi" or "Good morning", when yu arrive at work or at school. You may also be called many different affectionate names, according to which part of the Britain you are in. Do not be offended, this is quite normal. For example, you may be called dear, dearie, flower, love, chick, chuck, duckie, guv, son, ma'am, madam, miss, or sir, according to your sex and age.

The standard greeting "How do you do" and the reply "How do you do" signal the end of the ritual. Foreigners who assume that "How do you do" comes with a built-in question mark and respond accordingly become socially isolated. The English do shake hands with each other, but as little as possible. With acquaintances once in a lifetime is often considered enough. The preferred English handshake is a brief, vigorous affair with no hint of lingering.

Most Englishmen never hug or kiss other men. They leave that to football players and foreigners. Women may kiss on one or both cheeks; if they do, the kisser makes a kissing gesture with appropriate sound effects. Men may also kiss women in greeting, but only on the cheek.

In public places, the English make great efforts not to touch strangers even by accident. If such an accident should occur, apologies are fulsome but should never be used as an excuse for further conversation. On crowded public transport where it is sometimes unavoidable, physical contact with a stranger is permitted, but in such circumstances, eye contact should be avoided at all costs.

The English like to form orderly queues (standing in line) and wait patiently for their turn. "Queue jumping" is frowned upon. The queue is one of the few places where the English are allowed to talk to each other without having been formally introduced. The others are when taking the dog for a walk.

In Britain if you accidentally bump into someone, say "sorry". They probably will too, even if it was your fault! This is a habit and can be seen as very amusing by an "outsider".

Women in Britain are entitled to equal respect and status with men in all areas of life and tend to have more independence and responsibility than in some other cultures. It is usual for women to go out and about on their own and to travel widely. It is ok for women to eat alone in a restaurant. It is ok for women to drink beer.

When being entertained at someone's home it is nice to take a gift for the host and hostess. A bottle of wine, bunch of flowers or chocolates are all acceptable.