Discussion Post: Being British
Apr. 28th, 2012 09:19 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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hd_writersWhen writing British characters I have found, as an American, that it can be rather hard to capture the language, the attitude, and most of all the traditions. Thanks to some of my amazing British friends here I have gleaned more understanding about these subtle differences between two cultures. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
winterstorrm suggested “Watching the English” to me and I suggest it to any author of the Harry Potter fandom who wishes to learn a bit more about English culture, whatever nationality you are.
Britspeak:
This is just a small selection as an example. Please refer to Kubrick Potter's Brit-pick guide for an almost definitive list.
Gotten—Since my first Britpick I have been constantly vigilant with this one, I went so far as to spank a Brit I know for it in a fic (funnily I didn’t KNOW she was British so this is me being embarrassed) So here is what I say to people when I see gotten in a fic! NO NO NO! I was told by the great and powerfultari_sue that this not to be used ever! Always go with got! :D
Forgotten- Forgot
Bangs –No, Fringe is appropriate. Bangs equates loud noises.
Braids—Plaits (on that note Braiding—Plaiting)
Pants—Trousers
Underwear—Pants
Panties—Knickers
Zipper-Zip
Vest—Waistcoat
Undershirt—Vest
Purse—Handbag
Sneakers—trainers
Jello—Jelly
Jelly—Jam
Pancakes—For HP specific CAULDRON CAKES
Candy—Sweets
Soda—Coke, Sprite, Pepsi (the name of the soda)
Take out—TAKEAWAY (I like this word, hence all caps XD)
Egg plant—Aubergine
Garbage or trash—RUBBISH (I like this word >.> so it must be in all caps)
Apartment—Flat
Drugstore—Chemists
Co-worker—Colleague
Elevator—Lift (The Ministry has the lifts)
Check—Cheque
Check at a restaurant—Bill
Check as in the check pattern on clothing—exactly the same, Check :D
Nightstand—bedside table
Store—Shop
Wager—Bet
Curse/Cuss—Swear
Closet—Wardrobe (Like an armoire, it is a piece of furniture.)
A walk in (built into the house) closet—A walk in wardrobe/Dressing room
Let’s talk UK Fries!
Chips=Thick cut potato wedges that are deep fried.
Fries= Julienne fries, like shoe string fries.
Crisps= THINK POTATO CHIPS (also any packaged “chips” would classify as crisps)
Chavs= Trashy uncouth people who live on benefits, have no job, lots of kids, and smoke lots
BritSlang dictionary: Here
Brit Daily Life:
No running tabs in a pub. You pay when you order, every time you order. (There are exceptions to this but as a general rule, go with this rule.)
No sitting down and waiting to be served in a pub. You would go in and find a table and get the number then go to the bar to order the food if you are not getting food you can go to the bar and then sit down wherever. Some pubs have restaurant areas and they are waiter service for drinks and food.
No sitting on the front porch, things like sitting on the porch only chavs sit in front of their house in England.
100 pence to the pound, just as American’s have 100 pennies to the dollar (I thought that was kinda handy and neat so I added it, not that it’s really all that useful when writing HP.)
BritAttitude:
Walking up to a person, thrusting out your hand, and saying, “Hi, my name is _____” is something that is a No-No.
Brits do not cheer at the end of a film (movie).
Brits do not sing often the national anthem before sport games unless it's an international and they do sing it is just as likely to be Land of Hope and Glory or Jerusalem as God Save the Queen.
Brits find patriotism embarrassing and think American's are way over the top with theirs.
BritTraditions:
MOST BRITISH MALES ARE NOT CUT! And if I have to explain what I mean by “cut” then you are FAR TOO YOUNG TO BE READING THIS BLOG. Anyways, if they are cut it is usually for religious reasons.
Brits do not 'date'. They 'go out with someone'. Usually exclusively. It is unlikely that someone would be 'dating' more than one person as this would be cheating as it doesn't work how it does in the US.
No baby showers (although this seems to have taken off a little in trendy circles).
BritGeography:
Whilst England could fit into Texas eight times this doesn't mean if someone lives twenty miles from a certain other town they are going to know the person you are asking about in that town. Yes we can drive to the sea in as little as two hours from most places.
Therefore, a two hour drive for a Brit is considered a long one (whereas a two hour drive for a Texan is a daily, one way, work commute, ah I remember those years living in Dallas XD).
Now we are trying to keep the post short because we would love to have questions. On anything! British culture, slang, pastimes, married life, not-so-married life, raising children, schooling, working, etc. If you can think it you can ask it! Also if you are British and want to contribute to whatwinterstorrm and I have here then I encourage you to do so! We can always use more knowledge while we journey to write better. :D So come one, come all!
winterstorrm suggested “Watching the English” to me and I suggest it to any author of the Harry Potter fandom who wishes to learn a bit more about English culture, whatever nationality you are. Britspeak:
This is just a small selection as an example. Please refer to Kubrick Potter's Brit-pick guide for an almost definitive list.
Gotten—Since my first Britpick I have been constantly vigilant with this one, I went so far as to spank a Brit I know for it in a fic (funnily I didn’t KNOW she was British so this is me being embarrassed) So here is what I say to people when I see gotten in a fic! NO NO NO! I was told by the great and powerful
tari_sue that this not to be used ever! Always go with got! :D Forgotten- Forgot
Bangs –No, Fringe is appropriate. Bangs equates loud noises.
Braids—Plaits (on that note Braiding—Plaiting)
Pants—Trousers
Underwear—Pants
Panties—Knickers
Zipper-Zip
Vest—Waistcoat
Undershirt—Vest
Purse—Handbag
Sneakers—trainers
Jello—Jelly
Jelly—Jam
Pancakes—For HP specific CAULDRON CAKES
Candy—Sweets
Soda—Coke, Sprite, Pepsi (the name of the soda)
Take out—TAKEAWAY (I like this word, hence all caps XD)
Egg plant—Aubergine
Garbage or trash—RUBBISH (I like this word >.> so it must be in all caps)
Apartment—Flat
Drugstore—Chemists
Co-worker—Colleague
Elevator—Lift (The Ministry has the lifts)
Check—Cheque
Check at a restaurant—Bill
Check as in the check pattern on clothing—exactly the same, Check :D
Nightstand—bedside table
Store—Shop
Wager—Bet
Curse/Cuss—Swear
Closet—Wardrobe (Like an armoire, it is a piece of furniture.)
A walk in (built into the house) closet—A walk in wardrobe/Dressing room
Let’s talk UK Fries!
Chips=Thick cut potato wedges that are deep fried.
Fries= Julienne fries, like shoe string fries.
Crisps= THINK POTATO CHIPS (also any packaged “chips” would classify as crisps)
Chavs= Trashy uncouth people who live on benefits, have no job, lots of kids, and smoke lots
BritSlang dictionary: Here
Brit Daily Life:
No running tabs in a pub. You pay when you order, every time you order. (There are exceptions to this but as a general rule, go with this rule.)
No sitting down and waiting to be served in a pub. You would go in and find a table and get the number then go to the bar to order the food if you are not getting food you can go to the bar and then sit down wherever. Some pubs have restaurant areas and they are waiter service for drinks and food.
No sitting on the front porch, things like sitting on the porch only chavs sit in front of their house in England.
100 pence to the pound, just as American’s have 100 pennies to the dollar (I thought that was kinda handy and neat so I added it, not that it’s really all that useful when writing HP.)
BritAttitude:
Walking up to a person, thrusting out your hand, and saying, “Hi, my name is _____” is something that is a No-No.
Brits do not cheer at the end of a film (movie).
Brits do not sing often the national anthem before sport games unless it's an international and they do sing it is just as likely to be Land of Hope and Glory or Jerusalem as God Save the Queen.
Brits find patriotism embarrassing and think American's are way over the top with theirs.
BritTraditions:
MOST BRITISH MALES ARE NOT CUT! And if I have to explain what I mean by “cut” then you are FAR TOO YOUNG TO BE READING THIS BLOG. Anyways, if they are cut it is usually for religious reasons.
Brits do not 'date'. They 'go out with someone'. Usually exclusively. It is unlikely that someone would be 'dating' more than one person as this would be cheating as it doesn't work how it does in the US.
No baby showers (although this seems to have taken off a little in trendy circles).
BritGeography:
Whilst England could fit into Texas eight times this doesn't mean if someone lives twenty miles from a certain other town they are going to know the person you are asking about in that town. Yes we can drive to the sea in as little as two hours from most places.
Therefore, a two hour drive for a Brit is considered a long one (whereas a two hour drive for a Texan is a daily, one way, work commute, ah I remember those years living in Dallas XD).
Now we are trying to keep the post short because we would love to have questions. On anything! British culture, slang, pastimes, married life, not-so-married life, raising children, schooling, working, etc. If you can think it you can ask it! Also if you are British and want to contribute to what
winterstorrm and I have here then I encourage you to do so! We can always use more knowledge while we journey to write better. :D So come one, come all!
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no subject
Date: 2012-05-24 09:50 pm (UTC)I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but one thing that really annoys me whenever I see it written is: "I'll write Harry" or "Draco wrote me". It's always "I'll write to Harry" and "Draco wrote to me". Always remember the 'to'!
Our school systems definitely work differently. In England (I know Scotland's system is certainly different), to go to university you need to have A-Levels. Usually it doesn't matter what A-Levels as it's the grades that make up the UCAS (UCAS is our admission service into university) points. For example, an A* is worth 140 points, an A is 120 points, B is 100 points, C is 80 points, D is 60 points and an E is 40 points, so if you got BBC, you'd have 280 points, and could take any university course up to 280 points. Some courses and/or universities may want you to have taken certain subjects at A-Level though, but not all. Looking at one particular course in Molecular Biology at one university, you need to have received ABB for your A-Levels, but the subjects could have been anything - Art, Philosophy and History, say.
You can get A-Levels at sixth form (a lot of secondary schools have sixth forms attached to them and so the school just goes up to year 13) or college (colleges tend to do more vocational courses).
I was recently driven near mad where the Brits used dollars. I just... what?! Most mistakes I can understand, but not every country uses the same currency!
Apologies if the school thing got a tad complicated! ♥ As a side note, if anyone ever wants a Britpicker, I'm always available :) I absolutely love Britpicking and would be happy to help.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-24 09:59 pm (UTC)All comments are welcome round the clock because all the help we can get we will take. :D Yes I think I read in 'Watching the English' that the "to" is a rather big deal as we tend to cut the "to" out. There was another word, too. I can't remember what it was that we leave off at the beginning of sentences and it's not something the British do. (We being Americans, just to clarify. I am sure you know that but I like to dot my i's and cross my t's)
The school stuff is quite interesting! I am always so nervous about writing school/work situations because, and this may sound stupid, I feel that it's the smallest details which make stories believable/un-believable.
I know I will be hitting you up with some emails in the near future. I love all the British corrections so I know what to avoid in future. :D
no subject
Date: 2012-05-25 01:41 am (UTC)I know there's quite a bit of difference in the way we use "that"'s and "of"'s , but that's not really something you can explain! I'm also surprised nobody has brought up graduation -- we don't graduate secondary school. Another one is that a sidewalk is a pavement.
Oh and another one I see occasionally is not understanding the UK properly. England is not a catch all term for people in the UK ;) The Scottish are not English, but they, like us English, are British!
That's not stupid at all! That's really admirable, and I definitely agree with you :) It helps get you into the mindset, I think. I know I can get thrown out of a story if I see a really glaring mistake (graduation is one of those for me).
That sounds good to me! :) My email is marigold-moment_xo AT hotmail DOT co DOT uk :)