England's Conversational Social Norms

1.

England's
Conversational
Social Norms
How to talk properly with an English person

2.

Table of contents
01.
British social norms
02.
Popular idioms
03. What you shouldn’t say

3.

British culture
British culture is a beautiful and unique
mix of four countries: England, Wales,
Scotland, and Northern Ireland. All of
these countries’ traditions are what
makes the British culture very rich and
diverse and what they like to call the
“cultural capital.”

4.

01.
Basic social norms

5.

GREETINGS
Although British people have a
reputation for acting cold towards
others, surprisingly, they like kisses
on the cheek as a form of greeting.
When greeting a good friend or family
member in the UK, you do not simply
shake their hand. If you are not a
close friend or family member, the
physical touch is perceived as odd,
and a handshake or a smile can go a
long way.

6.

Respect the Queue
British people love to follow the rules,
especially when it comes to waiting in
a queue, whether at the supermarket
or the cinema. Those who dare and
jump the queue will most likely be
called out. If you do jump the queue
for whatever reason, be prepared to
get yelled at or even kick you out of
the queue altogether.

7.

Love Drinking
The British are known to spend most
of their pastimes in pubs and drinking
with friends or colleagues. It is hard
for them to say no to a drink or two
(or ten), and they take turns buying a
round of drinks. You cannot leave the
pub without buying drinks for people
you go out with. However, if you are
one to cry when drunk, avoid binge
drinking since they do not like
emotional drinkers.

8.

Sarcasm Dominates
British Humor
British humor is full of irony and
sarcasm, so if you are sensitive and
easily offended, be prepared when
you hang out with a British person.
Their sarcasm is of high quality, so
foreigners and visitors are usually
confused about whether they are
joking or not. British humor also
involves making fun of celebrities or
public figures.

9.

Gracious Losers
British people can be a controversy
when it comes to everyday life
behavior. They love to complain, yet
they are good losers, meaning they
choose to lose with dignity. When
losing a competition or a game in the
UK, they usually choose to
congratulate the winner and do not
argue since it’s considered rude and
poor manners.

10.

02.
British Expressions

11.

Here are some of the most popular English expressions
and their meaning:
Saying/Idiom
Meaning
A penny for your thoughts
Asking someone to share their thoughts.
An arm and a leg
Describe an expensive purchase.
The ball is in your court
Telling someone is their turn to make a decision.
Beat around the bush
Avoiding a certain topic of conversation.
It takes two to tango
It takes two people to make something happen.
Chuffed to bits
When someone is feeling pleased.
Brass monkeys
Cold weather.
Knackered
Describes someone who is exhausted.
Describing a tantrum or actions of an angry
person.
Tantrum брит. |ˈtæntrəm |
Throw a wobbly
вспышка раздражения, вспышка гнева

12.

03
Things You Should Never
Say to a British Person

13.

Generalizing the UK Accents
There are plenty of accents spoken across
the UK. Each region has a distinctive
accent, and the British find it offensive
and disrespectful to assume that the
“British accent” is the only accent in the
UK.
Another foreign habit the British find
annoying is saying you can do a great
British accent. As previously mentioned,
according to the British people, there is no
British accent. Secondly, those who claim
that they do a great British accent are
usually the ones who are not as good as
they believe.

14.

Saying, “Cheers, mate!”
British people hate it when tourists or
foreigners greet them with the saying,
“cheers, mate!”. The reason it is
considered disrespectful is that they do it
too often, and it is no longer welcomed as
a pleasantry.

15.

Telling them you think British people
live in Europe
People from the UK take every chance
they get to explain that they do not
consider themselves as part of Europe.
British people like to establish that the UK
is an island separate from Europe and
wish to be called British instead of
European.

16.

Assuming every British
person lives in a castle
If you are planning on visiting the UK
anytime in the near future, please restrict
yourself from asking British people if they
live in a castle. Brits are not part of an old
kingdom movie, so the answer to this
question will be “no,” at least 99% of the
time.

17.

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION
Oy, girl, wanna
chat up
in me
room innit?