British Culture

Humour and understatement

Humour is the cornerstone of the British society. It is used in numerous ways: to establish a positive atmosphere, to create a sense of togetherness, to bridge differences, to introduce risky ideas, to criticise, to show appreciation or contempt of a person. British people joke about everything including the queen, politicians, religion, and even themselves. Humour is often combined with understatement. Depending on the tone "Not bad" can actually mean "very good" and "not bad at all" might be the highest praise you ever get from a Brit. However, British people tend to find humour in dark or bad situations. Sarcasm is common, as is the occasional joke at someone else’s expense. British people have also been known to enjoy ‘close to the knuckle’ humour that could interpreted as very offensive elsewhere in the world.


Indirect communication

In contrast to for instance Americans, Germans and Dutch, British people have a quite indirect communication style. They will not usually "tell you just the way it is to get things in the open." You will have to read between the lines to understand what they really mean. This can be very frustrating if you come from a culture, which has the motto "if you don't like it/me, why don't you just say so". Like the Japanese and the Chinese culture, the British culture is a high context culture. Words are not enough, you have to know the background and context to understand the message and interpret tone, expression and non-verbal behaviour.



Informality

In spite of the fact that Britain is still well known for its class society, relationships in the workplace and in an educational setting are very informal. Most people call their boss and other colleagues by their first names and tutors usually expect students to address them by their first names as well. In general, tutors, are very approachable and will often join you for a coffee in the break. Style of dress depends more on personal preference than on position or rank to break down the awkwardness between them so they could be closer. 


No complaints & patient

Unlike the Dutch, who are professional naggers, British people are not very likely to complain. They will swallow and take in any bad service or bad food at a restaurant, because they don't want to make a scene. They might therefore become very nervous if you try to voice your dissatisfaction. Criticism should also preferably be voiced in an indirect way. They are all very welled manned. Otherwise it will only make your British counterpart very hostile and defensive and your criticism is unlikely to have any effect. The Brits are usually very patient and will queue for everything. It is best to imitate this behaviour. If you try to rush in or hurry someone, you will have to wait even longer.


Friendly

Although the British are generally seen as being reserved, you will find that in the North of England, people are usually quite friendly. They will appreciate it if you make a chat about the weather or take an interest in local affairs. Especially as a man, one might have to get used to the fact that many (older) people address them as "Love".
One of the most common stereotypes of British people is that they are unfriendly and unwelcoming to foreigners. In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Britain is a multicultural society and British people are welcoming of every culture and creed. The idea that British people are unfriendly comes from their reserved manner. Unlike some European countries, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll find British people kissing and hugging each other in public, even married couples are cautious of making public displays of affection. Similarly, it’s unlikely that two strangers will talk to each other as they pass each other on the street. This doesn’t mean that British people are unfriendly, it’s just the way they are.


Polite & quiet

Even the rudest of British people has some semblance of manners; from a young age, British people are taught the importance of saying please, thank you and sorry. As a result, manners are extremely important to British people and failing to observe them is seen as incredibly rude.
The level of politeness among British people may surprise you at first as it’s certainly more prevalent than in some other countries. British are very polite. In a restaurant, you will have to say thank you when you get the menu, thank you when you place the order,they often use "thank you" when get your dishes, thank you when the waiter takes away the plates and even thank you when you pay. You'll have to say "excuse me" if you want to pass someone and "I'm sorry" if you accidentally touch or bumped into someone. British people even say sorry if you stand on their toes! They are also very "quiet" and keep to themselves. This can be hard if you want to make friends with them. It is a boon, however, if you are out with your own group or don't like noisy people.


Do British People Really Love Tea? 

This particularly stereotype is 100% true! A good ‘brew’ is a staple of any home or workplace and if you are invited to someone’s house, the chances are they will offer you a ‘cuppa’.
Britain’s tea-drinking habits may not be as widespread as you think, however. Many Brits prefer a cup of coffee and other teas, such as mint, green and redbush tea, are also popular.
Similarly, it’s unlikely that you’ll experience many tea breaks. In fact, if someone invites you to their house for tea, the chances are you’ll be eating rather than drinking as the word tea is commonly used to describe dinner.

We're doing more research about the british culture because in the original Duffy advertisement, it does not relate to the british culture. There was not any british elements in the advertisement. So by doing more research about the British culture and elements, we are able to use this elements to put into the re-making of the diet coke advertisement. This will help the British people to relate more.

References

A. Harzing, 2011. UK Culture [ONLINE]

New College Manchester -What Are British People Really Like, 2012. [ONLINE] 

-Bryan -Ryan