chiara pennacchini       English II, LM        18.03.2009

ENTIRE SENTENCES TO EVOKE THE CULTURAL VALUES OF THE BRITISH ENGLISH

Chiara: You are NOT simply British, you are ENGLISH! There's a big difference and you should be proud of it!
I put my other comments IN CAPITAL LETTERS between square brackets like this: [ XXX ].



  1. DIPLOMACY FIRST! [I DON'T LIKE THE WORD “DIPLOMACY,” IT SOUNDS TOO ITALIAN, IT GIVES THE IDEA YOU MAY HIDE INFORMATION OR SAY THINGS YOU DON'T REALLY FEEL. I WOULD PREFER THE MAXIM: “SAY WHAT YOU MEAN BUT NON ASSERTIVELY.”]

For THE eEnglish, A tendency to be indirect and moderate.


  1. MELTING POT IS GOOD, BUT NOT TOO MUCH! [THE GENERAL IDEA IS OK BUT “MELTING POT” IS AN AMERICAN CONCEPT SO DON'T USE IT. THE BRITISH DO NOT WANT TO AMALGAMATE, THEY WANT TO CO-EXIST ALONGSIDE OTHER CULTURES WHICH REMAIN WHAT THEY ARE. IN AMERICA, ON THE OTHER HAND, THE IDEAL IS THE AMALGAMATE EVERYONE INTO ONE KIND OF GENERAL AMERICAN. I WOULD PREFER THE MAXIM: “CULTURAL DIVERSITY IS GOOD, BUT NOT TOO MUCH” ]

Because we the eEnglish people feel a sense of ambivalence about immigration; we welcome the difference, but this contrasts with our spirit of adaptATION that is not so strong.


  1. BRITAIN BUILT AN EMPIRE THAT STILL EXISTS! [OK]

We don’t forget our COLONIAL past in colonialism and the presence of THE Commonwealth reinforces this pride; the sense of superiority emerges all the time. [DON'T SAY “SENSE OF SUPERIORITY”, THAT IS A BAD THING EVEN FOR AN UPPER CLASS BRIT. MODESTY IS THE SIGN OF A GENTLEMAN, NOT SNOBBISHNESS. SO YOU SHOULD SAY: “THE SENSE OF BEING A WORLD POWER, OR THE SENSE OF OUR PRESENCE ALL OVER THE GLOBE, EMERGES ALL THE TIME.”]


  1. YOU CANNOT DO THAT, IT’S NOT ENGLISH! [OR “ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE, ABOVE ALL, ENGLISH” -- THIS MEANS THAT YOU SHOULDN'T DO THINGS THAT A GENTLEMAN OR THAT A GENTLEWOMAN WOULD NOT DO.]

This marks a strong dualism in British identity because English people right now feel both pride and shame in being “English”, so their sense of measure forces them to look for a balance in their identity. But… [“SHAME”? FOR WHAT? WHY?]


  1. OK, YOU CAN DO THAT! [OR: “DO WHAT YOU MUST, JUST SO YOU DO IT PROPERLY”]

Because this dilemma is solved with the typical English tolerance! [ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE ODD THINGS THAT ENGLISH PERMIT THEMSELVES (AND OTHERS) TO DO? OK, THIS IS A GOOD POINT. ECCENTRICITY IS A PREROGATIVE OF THE GENTLEMAN AND GENTLEWOMAN. BUT, NONETHELESS, THEY HAVE TO DO THE ODD THING WITH CLASS!]


  1. GOD “SAVE” THE QUEEN

that’ s to say British people, like me, are very traditionalists and the presence of the qQueen is meaningful. Maybe today, with the problem of the crisis that in England is very strong, some problems emerge and they feel that the qQueen represents not only an English “monument” but also a CONSIDERABLE strong cost. [TRUE, BUT, AS YOU SAID, SHE REPRESENTS THEIR IDENTITY AND SENSE OF HISTORICAL CONTINUITY. SO SHE IS WORTH THE COST. SHE ALSO GUARANTEES THAT YOU AND THE OTHER UPPER CLASS PEOPLE WILL REMAIN IN POWER FOREVER, SINCE THERE WILL NEVER BE A REVOLUTION IN ENGLAND AS LONG AS THE QUEEN IS LOVED. ]


  1. HOW POSH WE ARE! [“HOW ELEGANT WE ARE!” -- THE WORD “POSH” IS PERFECT BUT IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT AN UPPER CLASS BRIT LIKE YOU WOULD ATTRIBUTE TO HERSELF; IT IS A WORD THAT THE PLEBEIAN ENGLISH USE TO INDICATE YOUR ELEGANCE.]

British elegance is known and it appears both in the language and in the customs. South-east English people, just like me, feel different from people of the other parts of Britain, we feel a certain kind of superiority.


  1. PEOPLE, LEARN TO SMILE LIKE US! [“LAUGH” MORE THAN “SMILE,” NO? OR PERHAPS YOU SHOULD LINK TO THE IDEA OF EMPIRE THAT YOU MENTIONED BEFORE: “OUR BRITISH SENSE OF HUMOUR HAS BECOME A WORLD STANDARD.”]

British sense of humor is very particular and it can be frequently misunderstood.

[PERHAPS. BUT BRITISH COMEDY FILMS ARE ACCLAIMED WORLD WIDE: MR. BEAN, MOUNTY PYTHON, ETC. THE BRITISH THINK THEIR HUMOUR IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD]

[OK, A GOOD JOB! EXCEPT FOR ONE THING: I SEE THE MAXIMS AND I SEE THE ENTIRE SENTENCES EXPRESSING THE CULTURAL VALUE. BUT WHERE IS THE ANALYSIS OF THAT VALUE USING “CULTURAL DIMENSIONS”? ]