Lecture № 2

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

NATIONAL SYMBOLS OF THE BRITISH

The Union Flag (the Union Jack). The national flag of the United Kingdom is
commonly known as the Union Jack and also as the Union Flag. It has been used as the
British flag since 1603, when Scotland and England were united.
First of all, the national flag of England has a red cross on white background. The
Red cross symbolizes Saint George ‒ the patron of England. History says that
Saint George killed the fire-breathed dragon in the sixth century. Secondly, the national
flag of Scotland has a white diagonal cross on blue background. The white diagonal
cross symbolizes the cross on which Saint Andrew ‒ the patron of Scotland was
crucified.
Thirdly, the national flag of Ireland has a red diagonal cross on white background.
The red diagonal flag symbolizes Saint Patrick ‒ the patron of Ireland.
That describes the Union part. The jack part is concerned with the sea. A jack is a
small-sized flag, used at sea us a signal, and usually flown at the bow or fore-part of the
vessel. The staff from which it is flown is called the jack-staff. Thus, properly speaking, the
Union Jack is only thus designated when flown in a size smaller than the Union, from the
jack-staff of a ship. Elsewhere it should be called the Union Flag.
The Union Flag has no Welsh representation. Technically Wales is represented by the
flag of England, as the Laws in Wales Act of 1535 annexed Wales to England, following the
13th-century conquest. The national flag of Wales with the red dragon of Cadwallader on a
green and white background has been recognized since the 1950s as the national flag of
Wales.
The Union Jack is most often seen flying from public buildings or at sports events.
Children may wave small Union Jacks when a member of the royal family visits their town.
During national celebrations strings of small flags are hung across the street as bunting. The
Union Jack is less important to British people than the Stars and Stripes is to Americans.
Many people feel a stronger loyalty to the national flags of England, Scotland, Wales or
Northern Ireland. The flag of the European Union, a circle of gold stars on a blue
background, is sometimes also seen in Britain, e.g. on car number plates.
The national coat of arms of the UK has depiction of the lion, the horse, two
ribbons. The lion symbolizes symbol of goods which have royal allowance. The horse
symbolizes the knighthood of England. The ribbon “Dieu et mon droit” symbolized that
the king Richard I wasn’t the vassal of France and thanked the God for the kingdom. The
ribbon “Honi soit qui mal y pense” symbolizes the Brotherhood of bandage. The king
Edward III took and wore this bandage under his knee when the Earless of Salisbury
dropped it during the dance.
The Rose. The red rose was the emblem of the Lancastrians, the white rose that of the
Yorkists, the two contending Houses for the English throne in the Wars of the Roses (1455-
85). All rivalry between the Roses ended by the marriage of Henry VII, the Lancastrian with
Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, the Yorkist. The red rose has since become the
national emblem of England.
St George the Martyr is the patron saint of England and his cross is the symbol of
England and the Church of England. In his name the most highest order of English
knighthood the Order of the Garter was instituted by Edward III about 1348.
 The Thistle. The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. This is how, according to
a curious legend, that homely plant came to be chosen as a badge, in preference to any other.
In very ancient times the Norsemen once landed somewhere on the east coast of
Scotland, with the intention of plundering and settling in the country. The Scots assembled
with their arms and took their stations behind the river Tay, the largest in Scotland, at the
only practicable ford. As they arrived late in the day, weary and tired after a long march,
they pitched their camp and rested, not expecting the enemy before the next day. The
Norsemen however were near; noticing that no guards or sentinels protected the camp, they
crossed the river Tay, intending to take the Scots by surprise and slaughter them in their
sleep. To this end, they took off their shoes so as to make the least noise possible. But one of
the Norsemen stepped on a thistle. The sudden and sharp pain he felt caused him to shriek.
The alarm was given in the Scots’ camp. The Norsemen were put to flight, and as an
acknowledgement for the timely and unexpected help from the thistle, the Scots took it as
their national emblem.
The Leek. Welshmen all over the world celebrate St David’s Day by wearing either
leeks or daffodils. The link between the leek and St David is the belief that he is supposed to
have lived for several years on bread and wild leeks.
The daffodil is also closely associated with St David’s Day, due to the belief that it
flowers on that day. It became an alternative to the Leek as a Welsh emblem in the present
century, because some thought the leek vulgar.
The Shamrock. What the red rose is to Englishmen and the leek and daffodil to the
Welsh, the little shamrock is to the Irish, and no Irishman fails to wear this national emblem
on St Patrick’s Day, March 17. It is worn in memory of Ireland’s patron saint, whose cross is
embodied in the Union Jack by the thin red one under the cross of St George.
A popular notion is that when preaching the doctrine of the Trinity to the pagan Irish
St Patrick used the shamrock, a small white clover bearing three leaves on one stem as an
illustration of the mystery.

ATTITUDES AND VALUES

The dominance of English culture. There is, perhaps, an excuse for the people who
use the word ‘England’ when they mean ‘Britain’. It cannot be denied, that the dominant
culture of Britain today is specifically English. The system of politics that is used in all four
nations today is of English origin, and English is the main language of all four nations.
Many aspects of everyday life are organized according to English custom and practice.
Sense of history. The English have a strong sense of history. Because their past was
so infinitely more glamorous than their present, they cling to it tenaciously. Mix this love of
bygone ages with an unrivalled sentimentality and you have a heady mixture which can be
sensed in every aspect of the English life.
The English generally distrust the new-fangled or modern. Shininess is vulgar and the
patina of age lends respectability. Thus they cling on to old furniture, old carpets, old
chipped china, old kitchen gadgets and garden implements long after common sense dictates
that they should be replaced. "If it was good enough for my grandfather/grandmother, it's
good enough for me!".
 Tea. The British like tea so much that they fought wars in China over it. They built
special ships to race back from China with new crops of tea. They taxed tea sales in
America, causing the colonists to declare independence in 1997. Today the average Briton
drinks 3.77 cups of tea a day.
In the UK if someone offers you a “cuppa” (cup of tea) the only questions are liable to
be: “weak or strong?” and “how many sugars?” (the number indicating how many spoons).
You won’t be asked if you want milk in your tea – that’s added automatically! If you don’t
drink tea with milk, you need to specifically tell the person who’s making you a cuppa
before it’s too late!
Most English households have a “biscuit tin” which can contain a wide variety of
biscuits; from digestives and rich tea to custard creams and fig rolls. Dunking biscuits in tea
is another good tradition.
The Class System. Belonging is important to the English. Individuality is all very
well, in some cases it can be commendable, but, on the whole, being part of a team is their
preferred situation and they are never happier than when they are surrounded by a group of
people with whom they either have, or affect to have, everything in common.
This urge for togetherness manifests itself in many ways. Historically its most
obvious symptom is found in the English devotion to the class system which is central to the
whole English way of life. Hundreds of books have been written analyzing and satirizing the
British class system. Here is a short guide to it:
The aristocracy: There are over 1,000 people with the hereditary title “Lord”. They
have the right to sit in the House of Lords. Today, when people are given a title by the
Queen they only keep it for their lifetime.
The upper classes: They are usually rich; they are landowners, business people and
professionals. They usually send their children to private schools. They speak with a
particular accent and theit connections make sure their children get good jobs.
The middle classes: They are mostly professional people and often work in offices.
They own their own houses and take holidays abroad.
The working classes: They work in factories and construction business. There is a
high rate of unemployment. People often live in rented flats and speak with regional accents.
Countryside. The English countryside is many things to many people. Every
Englishman is a countryman at heart. Many years he may have lived in the city, but he does
not believe he really belongs there. As he looks out of the window of his flat over the vast
desert of brick and stone, he has in his mind a vivid picture of the day when he will live in a
thatched cottage with roses round the porch and a garden with beds of flowers.
The country house is, perhaps, Britain's greatest contribution to European civilization.
Perhaps this is because it is in the country that the British are, or like to think that they are,
most at home. The village with its church, pub, fishing, cricket, animals, everywhere,
especially dogs and horses - all this creates an ideal image of Britain. The village is an
essential and much admired part of the rural heritage of England. To many people it is a
symbol of "roots" and stability.
Gardening. When they cannot get into the countryside, many British people still
spend a lot of their time with 'nature'. They grow plants. Gardening is one the most
popular hobbies in the country, and gardening programmes on radio and TV are also very
popular. Even those people who do not have a garden can participate. Each local authority
 owns several areas of land which it rents very cheaply to these people in small parcels.
On these 'allotments', people grow mainly vegetables.
Gardening is a national sport and "green fingers" (natural ability in growing plants)
are a proudly-born English deformity.
Animals. The British love animals so much that there is a Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), but only a National Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)! And most supermarkets have more shelves of petfood than
of babyfood!
Rossendale Memorial Gardens in Lancashire is just one of more than a hundred
animal cemeteries in Britain. It was started by a local farmer who ran over his dog with a
tractor. He was so upset that he put up a headstone in its memory. Now, Rossendale has
thousands of graves and plots for caskets of ashes, with facilities for every kind of animal,
from a budgie to a lioness. As in America, many people are prepared to pay quite large sums
of money to give their pets a decent burial.
Half of the households in Britain keep at least one domestic pet. Moreover, the
status of pets is taken seriously. It is, for example, illegal to run over a dog in your car and
then keep on driving. You have to stop and inform the owner.
But the love of animals goes beyond sentimental attachment to domestic pets.
Wildlife programmes are by far the most popular kind of television documentary. Millions
of families have 'bird tables' in their gardens. These are raised platforms on which birds
can feed, safe from local cats, during the winter months. There is even a special teaching
hospital (called Tiggywmkles) which treats injured wild animals.
Football. The English call football “the beautiful game”. This says a lot. For them,
football is like a religion and forms the basis of many people’s social life (especially men’s).
Football matches are one of the only opportunities English people have to express their
feelings and emotions without limitations or social restrictions. Sport, in general, is
extremely important to the English and there are home-grown games, like cricket, which are
understood by few outside England and the Commonwealth.

STEREOTYPES OF THE BRITISH

Many things which are often regarded as typically British derive from books, songs or
plays which were written a long time ago and which are no longer representative of modern
life. For example, the stereotyped image of the London 'city gent' includes the wearing of a
bowler hat. In fact, this type of hat has not been commonly worn for a long time.
There are many other examples of supposedly typical British habits which are simply
not typical any more.
The English have 5 o’clock tea. This old-fashioned tradition no longer exists for
99% of English people. The tradition of afternoon tea with biscuits, scones, sandwiches, or
cake has always been a minority activity, confined to retired people and the leisured upper-
middle class (although preserved in tea shops in tourist resorts).
The foggy Albion and London smog. The stereotype that it’s always foggy in
London is false and probably comes from Sherlock Holmes films. In the 1940s and 1950s,
when most homes were heated with open fires, smoke from coal fires and industrial smoke
mixed with natural fog to form smog. Smog is dangerous for the lungs. The worst year for
smog in London was 1952 when many people died. In 1956, smokeless zones were
 created. People have to burn smokeless fuel in their fireplaces. The amount of
industrial smoke from factories is limited by law. The air in cities is now much cleaner.
The English are always talking about the weather. Unlike many others, this
stereotype is actually true to life. On the one hand, the weather in the British Isles is
unpredictable and changes constantly. However, this says more about their style of
communication than their undying love of meteorology! Weather talk is used as a signal to
indicate one’s desire to start or continue a conversation. It is a popular topic because it is
hard to disagree about the state of the weather and the English do everything in their
power to avoid conflict and differences of opinion. But constant remarks about the weather
at chance meetings are not the result of polite conventions. They are not obligatory.
Rather, they are the result of the fact that, on the one hand, personal questions would be rude
while, at the same time, silence would also be rude. The weather is a very convenient topic
with which to ‘fill the gap'. Foreigners seldom understand this and simply think the English
are boring because they talk about the weather instead of more interesting subjects.
The English eat porridge for breakfast. This is an outdated stereotype which is no
longer true for the vast majority of people in the UK. The traditional 'British' (or 'English')
breakfast is a large 'fry-up' plus cereal with milk and also toast, butter and marmalade, all
washed down with tea. In fact, very few people in Britain actually have this sort of
breakfast. Most just have the cereal, tea and toast, or even less. What the vast majority of
British people have in the mornings is therefore much closer to what they call a 'continental'
(i.e. mainland European) breakfast than it is to a British one.
Everyone rides around on red double-decker buses. We used to have red double-
deckers in all towns and cities but now we only have them in London (mainly for tourists).
The same is true for red phone booths. We still have normal single- and double-decker buses
across the UK but they aren’t red anymore. Perhaps they were making our bulls too angry!
The English are reserved and unemotional. The idea of the “stiff upper lip” comes
from the fact that a trembling upper lip betrays a lack of control over one’s emotions, and
maintaining a stiff upper lip – not showing any emotion – is something that many people
think characterizes the Brits. This misconception stems from the Victorian period, when
showing your emotions was indeed considered a big no-no. These days it’s considered
healthy to show grief if you feel it; just look at the public outpouring of emotion at the death
of Diana, Princess of Wales. A number of newspaper articles in recent years have argued
that the British stiff upper lip is no more, and you only have to observe the number of tears
shed on reality TV shows like The X Factor to see why this outdated stereotype now fails to
hold true.
The English have a strange sense of humour. Perhaps the English sense of humour
is hard to grasp for anyone who is not English themselves or doesn’t understand the
language perfectly. A lot of English jokes are based on wordplay and involve extensive
knowledge of local culture, history and famous figures or celebrities. Some English humour
is definitely eccentric, for example, Monty python. The best English jokes are likely to
challenge political correctness. If you want to understand English humour you should watch
stand-up comedians like Bill Bailey, Ricky Gervais, Billy Connolly, etc.
The English appear to be a deeply serious people, which, by and large, they are.
This gives an added piquancy to the English sense of humour. For it comes as a surprise to
foreigners to find that it exists at all.
 The wry smile that greets the well-judged understatement is a characteristic
English expression. They love irony and expect others to appreciate it too.
The English are arrogant snobs. It is generally believed that the English are
more formal than they really are. Perhaps part of this stereotype comes from
associations with aristocracy. In fact, in day-to-day contact with each other they are
less inclined to formality than the French or the Germans. The English are definitely
proud and perhaps have a tendency to be judgemental towards other nations’ ways of
doing things. Even if they secretly thought they were better than other nations, they
wouldn’t be allowed to say so due to the rules of politeness!
English people love their historical traditions and refuse to let them die.
Britain is a 'land of tradition'. This is what most tourist brochures claim. It is a
reputation based on what can be seen in public life, on centuries of political continuity
and on its attendant ceremonies. And at this level - the level of public life - it is true.
The annual ceremony of the state opening of Parliament, for instance, carefully
follows customs which are centuries old. So does the military ceremony of 'trooping
the colour'. Likewise, the changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace never
changes.
However, this isn’t really true about most English people, especially the
younger generation. The reason this stereotype exists is that all foreigners see of
England is the occasional bit of news on the TV or internet about the Queen knighting
someone! Most of these old traditions are connected with the royal family or
parliament. They are as strange and alien to most English people as they are to
foreigners. Another reason foreigners have this stereotype is that they are fed all this
English history when they visit the country as tourists. English history is worth a lot
of money to the tourist industry in and around London.
Regional stereotypes. There are certain stereotypes of national character which
are well known in Britain. For instance, the Irish are supposed to be great talkers, the
Scots have a reputation for being careful with money and the Welsh are renowned for
their singing ability. These are, of course, only caricatures and not reliable
descriptions of individual people from these countries. Nevertheless, they indicate
some slight difference in the value attached to certain kinds of behaviour in these
countries.