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What the British Think of Americans
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Text A
One often hears of the Englishman’s ‘reserve’; how he likes to ‘keep himself’; and how on a long railway journey, with four Englishmen in the carriage, often there won’t be a word spoken during the whole journey. I’m sure that wouldn’t be the case in America. The Englishman thinks it is ill-mannered to ask personal questions. The American doesn’t feel that at all. In the short ride between the boat on which you arrived in New York and the hotel to which you are being driven, the taxi driver will have told you all about himself, his wife and family and probably the towns in England that he was in during the war. He will inquire where you have come from, what your job is, how you like America and how long you are staying in New York. The Englishman prizes privacy, the American prefers sociability. I think this same feeling shows itself in the houses in the two countries. The Englishman’s suburban house has its little garden with a hedge or fence all round it to shut off from his neighbours. ‘The Englishman’s home is his castle’.
The American houses have no hedges or fences separating them from the pavement or from each other. There are none of those little shut-off gardens; generally just a strip of grass with trees in it. The American in his home doesn’t object to being seen by everyone – he actually likes it. And inside the house, instead of the separate hall, living-room so typical of the English house, the American has the ‘open plan’ house, just one large room where all the family activities (usually noisy) go on with.
With this sociability goes overwhelming hospitality. I don’t think any door in the world is more open to the stranger than is the American’s. You are taken to parties at the houses of your friends and your friends’ friends; you are invited to theatres, dinners, sports meetings, motor trips; from the first minute you are on ‘first name’ terms with the people you meet; they all show the keenest interest in your affairs.
The Americans like new things, a new car every year, the latest thing in television this year’s, or, if possible, next year’s washing-machine. In England and in France I knew people who had lived in the same house and had been in the same job for twenty, thirty, forty years, and who would hate to pull up their roots and change to something new. That’s not the American way of life. They love change, they call it ‘the spirit of adventure’, a spirit that they think is more characteristic of America than of Europe. There may be something in this. There was a very interesting remark in a book by an English writer giving what he thought was a reason for this American characteristic. He wrote:
“We in England, and the French, the Germans, the Italians, even the Russians, have all got one thing in common – we are descended from the men who stayed behind. In the States they are descended from the folk who moved away. ”
And so they still like to ‘move away’, to change homes and jobs. They seem to be constantly pulling down old and often quite beautiful houses or throwing away things merely because they are old. They have none of the Englishman’s sentimental love for things because they are old.
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Text B
Many American customs will surprise you; the same thing happens to us when we visit another country. People living in varied cultures handle many small daily things differently. What a dull world it would be if this were not true!
The constant restless motion of Americans may be startling at first. People in the flat Middle West think nothing of driving 75 to 100 miles just to have dinner with a friend; they go to a far-off city for an evening of theater or music or even a movie. Countless young people select a college thousands miles away from their families ‘just to see another part of the country”.
You may come upon Americans who lack knowledge about your country. If so, be patient with them. Unfortunately, we do not teach enough about other cultures, customs, or even geography in our schools; we have always been so insulated by oceans that we are not readily exposed to different cultures and other ways of doing things. If Americans crudely try to help you with something that has long been totally familiar to you, if they confuse your country with another thousand of miles away, be patient. This huge continent has been developed from virgin land into the modern dynamo that it is now in a remarkably short time – about 300 years. We have been absorbed with our own growth, with road building, city building, free education for millions of children, the assimilation of countless strangers; with the inventions, discoveries, and developments that our science and technology have contributed to the world. Our attention has been inward, not global, through most of these 300 years. A ‘world’ sense has come to the United States only since the end of World War II. Regrettably, most of us are still quite unfamiliar and uniformed in regard to other lands.
Because our people have come from so many nationalities, there is a far wider range of what is ‘acceptable’ than in some countries where the inhabitants have grown up with a common heritage. As a result, no one needs to feel uncomfortable in following his or her own customs. Although Americans are noticeably informal, if you prefer somewhat greater formality, feel free to act in your own way. This will be acceptable to those around you. As the young say, each person can ‘do his own thing’ and be respected here to a very large extent.
Conversational questions may seem to you both too personal and too numerous – especially when you first arrive. ‘Where do you work? ’, ‘How many children do you have? ’, ‘Have you taken your vacation yet? ’ are not personal questions by Americans standards. They are a search for common ground on which to build a relationship or base a conversation. Such questions are meant to be friendly; the questioner is interested in you; he or she is not being impertinent.
(V. M. Ivanova, G. V. Nesterchuck. Read and Speak about the USA and the Americans)
5 Read the opinions shared by people who visited Britain and decide what surprised / amazed / shocked you.
– Although the British share the Protestant work ethic, I mean the belief that hard work is good for people, but have always believed that it is also good for people to have activities outside work. A traditional saying warns that ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’. And many British people care more about their leisure time than their work which is, for some, simply a means of getting money to live on.
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– The British value hand-made bears, even if they are not of high quality. And the best gift is a hand made one. They also love crystal.
– Looking at a photo with a grey-coloured taxi in it an old Londoner exclaimed: ‘It’s a wrong taxi! ’
– London is dirty! I hadn’t seen pictures of the uglier parts of London. To my surprise it’s a grey, rather dirty city.
– Children didn’t go out alone. Mother took them to and from school. They spend time indoors watching TV or playing with toys.
– There are so many thieves in London. And they call the airport ‘Thief-row’ instead of ‘Heathrow’.
– I’ve never thought that many people in Britain form Neigbourhood watch groups to prevent crime.
– Everything written about hitchhiking in Britain is true, I tried it myself and I did it from Trago Mills to Plymouth (45 miles). All the three drivers were bright talkers, nice people and excellent drivers. The British do live on sports and pubs – you should have seen the rugby match in ‘Pennycome quick pub’ – between England and New Zealand teams on TV – what emotions, what humour and laughter! The British do love cats and dogs – for two weeks I’ve never seen a homeless dog or cat in the streets.
– English people are surprisingly friendly, breaking existing stereotypes about them as being cool and reserved.
– It was shocking enough to see a family with a baby living on the pavement of the Strand compared to the touching attitude of Britishers to wild life.
– Some people start buying presents for Christmas as early as in June!
(The British Studies Now)
6 Read the text and make the list of characteristics ascribed to the British people and decide whether they are positive or negative.
A survey was conducted from London in Eastern and Western Europe, America, India, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. Those questions were asked about their views of British life, customs and characteristics.
The unprompted observations make depressing reading. One respondent in France thought the British were ‘good at courtesy and phlegm’, while another described them as ‘a nation of ugly people with bad taste’. Britain’s so-called special relationship with America seems to have done little to sugar American perceptions, either. ‘Antiquated and living in the past, ’ said one. ‘Britain is narrow, constrained, conventional, stuffy – but I guess quite picturesque, ’ volunteered another. One respondent in India said: “The British always look down their noses at you. ”
Confronted with a list of adjectives, respondents summed up the British as proud, civilized, cultured, arrogant and cold. The five words which were thought to describe them least accurately were: emotional, temperamental, aggressive, adventurous and fun-loving.
When the responses were broken down by continent, subtle differences emerged, which said as much about the countries questioned as they did about Britain. Australia and New Zealand, for example, still don’t know whether to love or hate their Commonwealth alma mater. They admire Britain’s institutions and democracy, but see the people as intolerant, stuck in their ways and lacking progressive zeal. If they had any affection for Blighty at all, it was a sentimental attachment to food brands of the 1950s, such as HP Sauce, Callard & Bowser and Bisto.
The view from Asia has been equally coloured by Britain’s past colonial links. India’s association tended to be the most generous, with a common respect for culture, class, tradition and history dating back to the relationship before independence. The Far East, on the other hand, showed little such sentiment. As a thriving commercial centre itself, it easily cast Britain as a ‘has-been’ nation, bad at business and lacking entrepreneurial zeal.
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The most unrelentingly stereotyped view of Britishness came from America. Americans love the accents, countryside and pageantry, but the American view of British industry seemed to have been formed while browsing around a gift shop. Products such as bone china, crystal, knitwear and even scones were singled out as among our biggest assets. Once again, Britain stood accused of lacking vitality, excitement and can-do attitude.
(The British Studies Now)
7 Read the articles and discuss whether people have negative or positive stereotypes about each other. Be specific.
What the British Think of Americans
British people have mixed opinions about the Americans, reflecting the close but sometimes troubled relationship between the two nations. When people get to know Americans as individuals they have a lot more respect and affection for them than the popular, rather negative, stereotypes based on a casual meeting or on television programmes might suggest.
For many British people the US is associated with power in international politics, Hollywood, money and violence. The British are a little jealous of America’s power. But although Americans believe they rule the world, few of them know much about anything outside the US. The British think that money matters more than anything else to Americans, and they do not really approve of this and do not like brash (=too public) displays of wealth. They also believe that the US is a dangerous place where you cannot walk in the street or subways without fear of being attacked. Despite this, many want to go there for their holidays. Young people generally have a much more positive attitude and love everything that comes out of America.
Many people see and hear American tourists in Britain and this influences their opinion of Americans in general. The average American man visiting Britain appears to be middle-aged or old, wealthy, and wearing a colourful shirt or check ‘pants’. He is fat, because of the unhealthy foods that Americans eat, and friendly, but can easily become excited and rude. His wife has permed hair and wears little white socks, trainers and ‘pants’, and has a Burberry in case it rains. She finds everything British ‘cute’ or ‘quaint’ especially anything to do with the royal family. They both talk loudly with strong accents. British people make fun of Americanisms like ‘Gee, homey! ’ and ‘Have a nice day! ’ They think names ending with numbers, like William D Hancock III, are rather silly and pretentious (=suggesting importance without good reason).
British people believe that Americans have no culture, and that except for a few intellectuals Americans are not very interested in culture. Americans spend their free time watching baseball and football, often on television. If they want culture they get television programmes from the BBC.
Seriously, however, there are many more positive aspects of American character. British people who visit Americans in their home country find them friendly and welcoming to visitors. They have no worries about class, they work hard, they enjoy the best living standards and the most advanced technology in the world, and they have an open attitude to life that is refreshing. The popular stereotype of white Americans is created by white Americans Britons, but these people know that the US, like Britain, is a multiracial, multicultural society and are aware of the great variety of attitudes and lifestyles, as well as the problems, which that brings.
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