Culture anglais

positive face

The desire to be approved of

Negative face

The desire to be unimpeded in one’s actions

Positive politeness strategies

The expression of solidarity

Negative Politeness strategies

The expression of restraint

Off-record politeness strategies

The avoidance of unequivocal impositions

British English (BE) tends to be presented as

essentially an avoidance based, negatively-oriented culture

Hedge

A word or phrase that makes what you say less strong.

politeness strategies

Hedge, use of positive evaluative adjective, use of the past tense, use of understatement

Britain is famed anywhere for

‘unrelenting politeness’

The stiff upper lip

Someone who has a stiff upper lip does not show his feelings when he’s upset

euphemisms

a word or phrase used to avoid saying an unpleasant or offensive word: euphemism for "Senior citizen" is a euphemism for "old person".

Understatement

a statement that describes something in a way that makes it seem less important, serious, bad, etc. than it really is, or the act of making such statements (When asked about the circus, Tommy replied, “Yeah, there were animals and stuff. It was OK.”)

litotes

the use of a negative statement in order to emphasize a positive meaning, for example "a not inconsiderable amount of money (= a considerable amount of money)"

Irony

the use of words that are the opposite of what you mean, as a way of being funny (Her voice heavy with irony, Simone said, "We're so pleased you were able to stay so long." (= Her voice made it obvious they were not pleased.)

sarcasm

the use of remarks that clearly mean the opposite of what they say, made in order to hurt someone's feelings or to criticize something in a humorous way:

"You have been working hard," he said with heavy sarcasm, as he looked at the empty page.

Deadpan/dry humor

looking or seeming serious when you are telling a joke

wit

the ability to use words in a clever and humorous way

Self-deprecation

the quality of trying to make yourself, your abilities, or your achievements seem less important

innuendo/double entendre

An innuendo is an indirect remark that suggests something inappropriate, critical, or sexual, while appearing innocent on the surface. For example, saying, “That’s quite an interesting outfit,” might sound neutral but subtly hints at disapproval.

banter

conversation that is funny and not serious

pun

a humorous use of a word or phrase that has several meanings or that sounds like another word

play on words

a humorous use of a word with more than one meaning or that sounds like another word

cheekiness

behaviour that is slightly rude or shows a lack of respect, but may be funny:

satire

a way of criticizing people or ideas in a humorous way, especially in order to make a political point, or a piece of writing that uses this style

punching down

To attack or criticize someone who is in a worse or less powerful position than you

punching up

To attack or criticize someone who is in a better or more powerful position than you.

Fleet Street

the road in London where most of Britain's national newspapers were produced in the past, often used to refer to British national newspapers in general

Binology

(journalism, UK) the ethically questionable practice of searching through the dustbins of celebrities and other public figures to obtain information for use in tabloid newspapers

Red tops

UK, Ireland, journalism) A tabloid newspaper, particularly one of those considered to have lower journalistic standards than the broadsheets

hacks

to get into someone else's computer system without permission in order to find out information or do something illegal:

rags

a newspaper or magazine that is considered to be of bad quality

pantomimes

(in Britain) a funny musical play based on traditional children's stories, performed especially at Christmas

limericks

a humorous poem with five lines, the first two lines having the same final sound as the last line

Permissiveness

in British humour extends not only to crude language, but also to taboo or unpleasant subjects (i.e. gallows humour).

chav

an insulting word for someone, usually a young person, whose way of dressing, speaking, and behaving is thought to show their lack of education and low social class

posh

(of people and their voices) from a high social class

Fairness

the quality of treating people equally or in a way that is right or reasonable

Streaming

Children are put in a class based on a view of their ability.

Setting

Children are placed in groups for particular subjects, usually literacy and maths, and move from their normal mixed-ability class for this subject

Within-class ability grouping

Ability groups are used within a class - usually sitting at different tables with different tasks and levels of support. This may occur in a mixed-ability class, or within a set.

Interventions

Specific children are targeted and removed from the class for additional support or extension activities. This is often for a fixed period of time and a specific purpose, for example booster groups.

Magna Carta (“The Great Charter”)

written in 1215 after barons led a successful rebellion against King John, who had tried to raise taxes in order to fund wars abroad

ackowledged that no-one is above the law, not even the king

set out medieval rights and customs, incl. the right to justice and to a fair trial

only applied to freemen; mainly beneficial to noble men (=/= human rights, which are universal)

three clauses of the Magna Carta are still in force

Habeas corpus (“You may have the body”)

gives anyone who is being detained by the authorities the right to be brought before a court of law, which rules on whether or not that person is being detained lawfully

does not determine whether that person is guilty or not

passed by Parliament in 1679, but similar legal texts existed even before the Magna Carta came into effect

suspended a few times, in times of social unrest, e.g. WW II and the Troubles

1968

Europe’s first liver transplant

1971

world’s first CT scan on a patient

1978

world’s first IVF test-tube baby born

1987

world’s first liver, heart and lung transplant

core principles of the NHS

Universality, free access, equity

Universality

it covers the whole population (including undocumented immigrants

Free access

free at the point of delivery (the system is funded from taxations

equity

based on clinical need, not ability to pay

BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation

How is the BBC funded?

The BBC is funded by the taxpayer through a licence fee (which means that there are no ads) which cost £159 in 2022.

Yet the licence fee is very unpopular. A poll carried out in January 2022 showed that:

71% think the fee is very bad value or not enough value

38% think £0 is a fair price, the average is £63

63% think the fee should be abolished

most common crime in the country

apart from driving offences, In recent years, more than 40,000 people (over 70% of them women) have been convicted of licence fee evasion a year.

The negative attitude towards the licence fee may be related to the scandal that surrounds it: licence fee evasion can indirectly lead to a prison sentence. Anyone who fails to pay the fee may be taken to court and given a fine. Failure to pay this fine may result in imprisonment.

The greatest contributors to English identity

the natural landscape and the nation's history

Wales’ local government

Senedd Cymru

Wales’ significant event

Miners’ strike (1984-1985)

Scotland’s local gov

Holyrood

Scotland’s significant event

Independence Ref. (2014)

NI’s local gov

Stormont

NI’s significant event

The Troubles (late 1960s- 1998)

political correctness

In its general usage, ‘political correctness’ is characterised as an excessive attention to the sensibilities of those who are seen as different from the norm (women, lesbians, gays, disabled people, black people).

Fairness

the quality of treating people equally or in a way that is right or reasonable

Equality

The right of different groups of people to receive the same treatment

Equality of opportunity

The situation in which everyone is provided the same opportunities based on merit, without arbitrariness or prejudices

Equality of outcomes

an attempt to set right inequities and bring balance in the representation of outcomes in a society, where all social groups are equally represented without giving much weight to merit

Equity

the situation in which everyone is treated fairly according to their needs

Meritocracy

social system, society, or organization in which people get success or power because of their abilities, not because of their money or social position

Sportsmanship

the quality of showing fairness, respect, and generosity toward an opposing team