Т.В. Артеменко, Е.В. Кривощекова, Е.В. Кравченко, Н.Е. Николаева - Reader in Language and Culture - Part II, страница 3

This doesn't prevent them from12brooding every now and then, usually after a major sporting defeat orseveral weeks of continual rain. But what they do have is a strong puritanstreak which runs so deep that few are aware of it. The restrictive licensinglaws are a case in point. Though these have now been relaxed, the Englishstill fundamentally believe that it is wrong to indulge yourself for 24 hoursa day.Booty is another example. Having debated for decades whether or not tohave a national lottery, they now natter about whether or not the prizesshould be quite so gargantuan.

They feel there is something faintly indecentabout people being able to win such huge amounts of money all at once.And that it would be only fair and decent if the person who has won a hugesum would spread it about a bit.They also worry about moral standards on television and have a 9 p.m.watershed after which the children ought not to be around to be corruptedby explicit sex, bad language and violence - all the things, in fact, that their13-year-olds get up to in the playground.English puritanism is best expressed in the belief that if something isunpleasant, it must be good for you. There can be no other explanation forthe existence of tapioca pudding.Inventiveness and InitiativeThe bounds of English inventiveness and resourcefulness have yet to bediscovered. The garden sheds of England are abuzz with creativity as chapscalled Ron dream up useful and much-needed devices, such as the perfectegg boiler, the self-creasing trouser or a little ladder to let the spider out ofthe bath.

Of course few of these ever reach the market place, but perhapsone day they will. Just recall an eccentric cove called Babbage, whotinkered endlessly with his 'mechanical calculating engines' while hisfriends indulged him. Computers, to which his inventiveness gave rise, nowrule the world.13In a tight spot the English will demonstrate remarkable initiative. Forexample, on a lonely road in a rainstorm at dead of night, a Germanmotorist being brought to a half| by a detached windscreen wiper, a brokenfan belt, or leaky radiator, will call for help and then wait till dawn for therepair truck. His English equivalent suffering the same mishaps will find atemporary solution with respectively a paper clip, his wife's pantyhose and ablob of used chewing gum, then blithely continue on his way.ClubbabilityBelonging is important to the English.

Individuality is all very well, andin some cases commendable, but on the whole being part of a team is theirpreferred situation and they are never happier than when they are:surrounded by a group of people with whom they either have, or affect tohave, everything in common.For this reason English life is enriched with clubs and societies, many ofwhich appear to have no sensible or productive purpose (mostly becausethey don't). The; archetypal English club is the fictional Pickwick Club inCharles Dickens's book, a group who were devoted to dining, telling stories,and going on little journeys. Or the Anti-Caravan Club which was formedas a joke to enable those who hated caravans to feel they were not alone,and which at one time had more members than its allegedly useful, procaravanning counterpart.If you long to dress up in Civil War gear and biff other, similarly-attiredmen and women, join the Sealed Knot.

If you hanker to impose free-marketpolicies on the nation, knock on the door of the Carlton Club. Lovers ofbuttons have the British Button Society, fans of junk (well, why not?) headfor the Ephemera Society. If you want to protect the English language, trythe Society for the Prevention of Inadvertent Transatlanticisms (SPIT).Whatever their avowed purpose, all English clubs are primarily socialgroupings whose members take comfort in being able to relate to each other14without actually having to.

A train full of people will turn into the SignalFailure Club at a moment's notice given the right circumstances.Membership guarantees human warmth, support, bonding, comradeship andgroup identity - all with the copper-bottomed guarantee that, away from theclub gatherings, none of its members need get involved in the others' lives,or even acknowledge the others' existence should they happen to meet.ClassThe English urge for togetherness manifests itself in a devotion to theclass system which, though constantly under threat, remains stubbornlycentral to the way of life of vast numbers of the English.

Its importance tothem can hardly be overrated and it should never be dismissed. For Englishmen and women, their class is the largest club to which they belong.The English class system is highly visible, with officially, carefullydefined structures that go from Dukes, Marquesses, and Earls, to putting allthose letters the English like to have after their names in precisely the rightorder: KG, OBE, BO, RIP, ETC.The system actually has less real influence than might be supposed.Those at the top end of the scale are usually reluctant to make a big deal ofit, because that would be showing off, while those nearer the bottom areusually at pains to show how unimpressed they are by the whole thing, asbefits good individualists.Among the upper classes, respect is reserved for old-established familiesirrespective of titles, or the lack of them.

At the other end of the scale, thereis a sort of reverse snobbery about being working class. It used to be theproletarian dream to become middle class and drop all working classconnections. This has gone into reverse and to be middle class is now seenas effete and conformist - despite the fact that almost everyone now is.Karl Marx spent years in England writing about 'class war', but nevergrasped that the real struggle is no between the English upper, middle, and15working Classes but within them.

The struggle is at its fiercest within thebiggest section which is the middle class, which has in turn divided itselfinto an upper, middle and lower class: However, with every year thatpasses, the divisions get more blurry around the edges.Englishsocietyisnowrecognisedbymarket researchers asconsisting of five alphabetical groups.

The upper echelons are ABs and themiddle are BCs. The lower stratum divides again into Ds and Es. The Dsconsider themselves to be underprivileged and hold everyone else incontempt. The Es are the underclass and thus usually left out of the picture.The overwhelming majority of the indigenous English are, in fact, BCs. Inthis group, the Cs constantly aspire to be Bs, and the nightmare for Bs is tobecome Cs.Because of this, the BCs can never relax. They are conscious that inevery aspect of life they should projec| the 'right' image, one based on theirperception of what others think of them. This involves what they wear, whatthey say, what they eat and drink, where they live and-with whom they areseen.Although they firmly assert that greater social mobility is desirable, theEnglish generally believe that one should marry within one's own peergroup.

It saves arguments over whether or not you are going to relax in your'sitting room' or your 'lounge', and whether or not that room is going tohouse a life-size ceramic leopard.Placing Each OtherNothing upsets an English person so much as not being able to 'place'another - or worse, making a mistake about someone's social position. Ifthey are not totally sure, they will resort to a fiendish series of social tests.Accents can instantly place an individual. A regional drawl is no longerconsidered the fatal flaw it once was, but what used to be called an 'Oxford'accent or 'BBC pronunciation can still give advantage to someone with it.16Probably even more telling than vowel sounds is vocabulary. People willdistinguish one another by whether they say 'lunch' or 'dinner' at lunchtime,have a 'pudding' or a 'sweet' or 'afters', sit on a 'sofa' or a 'settee', or go to the'loo' or the 'toilet'. There are a myriad such distinctions which allow onegroup to assess another.Manners at mealtimes provide yet another opportunity for categorising.The big divide comes in the method of holding one's knife and fork.

Somehold both firmly with the handles covered by the palm. Others hold themloosely like drumsticks with the handles sticking up. Eating peas in eitherpose is something that needs watching.Even the consumption of soup can define the diner, some following anancient maritime tradition and tipping the bowl away to avoid the soupspilling on to their laps in the event of a swell.The PubEnglish town pubs used to be divided into a public bar, where you mightplay darts or bar billiards, and a relatively posh lounge bar, where the seatsfittings were slightly more plush.

Nowadays, more often than not, the wholething has been transformed into a wine bar, or an Irish theme pub.By contrast, the village pub is a classless institution dating back severalcenturies. It usually has one bar plus a 'snug' or small restaurant. In manyplaces it is the focal point of the community, a cross between a social club,a citizens' advice bureau and a parliament. Class and social distinctions areleft outside.

It has been observed that you could go to any village pub inEngland, and ask "Is the Major in?" and the answer would be either, "He'sin the snug," or "You've just missed him."The traditional English pint which once seemed on the brink ofextinction has undergone a renaissance. Thanks to the efforts of theCampaigners for Real Ale (a quintessentially English organisation devoted17to the preservation, encouragement and consumption of traditional brews), abrimming glass of unfizzy, unchilled, hop-scented beer, hand pumped froma wooden barrel in the cellar is increasingly available in all its gloriousregional and local variations.The habit of drinking 'rounds' is responsible for perhaps two-thirds ofpub sales.