日本から知るイギリス文化

毎日続けている義理父との英会話レッスンですが、1時間のレッスンに加え400単語程度のエッセーを書いて提出しています。

昨日のタイトルは「日本から知るイギリス文化」でした。

歴史的に考えると、そもそも遠い国同士の情報は伝達までにたくさんの人や距離を通すため途中で情報が変わってしまうものでしたが、現在は便利なインターネットがあり距離に関係なく情報を手に入れることができます。

しかし、その情報は正確なものなのか。とりあえず調べてエッセーに書いてみました。

私の浅い英語力を晒すのはどうだろうか、、、と思いましたが、まぁいいかと。

義理父添削済みです。[　]部分はまぁ間違いじゃないけど、こっちのほうが自然かな～という義理父の文です。

British Culture from Japan.

It is same for any country, but the cultures and habits of a country are often told to other countries in error. Especially, if there is a long distance between the countries, there is a big difference in information [the greater the distance between countries, the bigger the difference]. The internet has made our lives more convenient, and now it has become easier to get the information about the distant countries. However, we're not sure if the information is truly right or not. So, I researched the information about the UK on some Japanese sites.   

Regarding the British national characteristics, they respect manners. They think “value privacy and don’t cause trouble for someone” as important manners. When they speak to a person whom they meet for the first time, they try to find a reason or opportunity to speak as a first step. Then they try to build a closer relationship. They are very polite, they speak while watching the listener’s eyes, and give way to others. In addition, they are very considerate towards elder people, pregnant, and disabled people. They don’t knock each other even while crowded at a main station in London, and they give the seat immediately for elder people at a train or a bus. Furthermore, if a person is in trouble, they offer to help the person naturally. Like this, they have a good approach to communicating with someone they don’t know. This culture is the reason that the UK is called a “Gentleman’s country”. Also, there are many people who proud of their sense of humour in the UK. The British prefer black humour like sarcasm and social satire.

Next, about lifestyle. Even the British say, “British food isn’t good” as a black joke. This is because they don’t care about eating. Other reasons are, there isn’t enough kind of stuff, some foods aren’t seasoned, and often over cooked. The biggest culture is tea. They enjoy teatime and some schools or companies set the teatime at 10 and 3. Normally, they use a teabag and they enjoy it when they get up, before going to bed, after finishing domestic chores, and after eating dinner. 

About arts and sports in the UK, there are lots of museums because the British prefer arts. Most museums are managed by donations or charity, so the fee is mostly free. They can manage by donations because the British like the arts. The sports which are popular in the UK are football and tennis. There are very famous football teams in England: Manchester United, Chelsea Football Club and many others. About tennis, The Wimbledon Championships are held in London and local people really enjoy it. Furthermore, cricket is popular too since long ago [cricket has been popular for a long time]; the UK is a birthplace of cricket and it is a traditional sport in the UK. There is a teatime during the game, so it called “Gentleman’s sport”.   

どうでしょうか。

参考にしたサイトは５年以内に書かれたものばかりです。

イギリス文化と一言でいっても、その傾向があるだけで全員がこのような国民性を持っているわけではないので興味深いなと思います。

イギリスで他人となんだかなぁと思わされた経験ももちろんありますが、良い経験に出会えるとすごく元気をもらえます。

ロックダウン前にあまり調べずに床屋さん（旦那の）に行ったとき、あてにしていたお店が予約でいっぱいで入れなかったため、道端で別のお店を携帯で検索していると可愛らしい雰囲気のご婦人が「道に迷ったの？なにかお手伝いできるかしら？」と声をかけてくださいました。（一瞬で好きになりました）

その日は一日幸せでした。

イギリスで暮らしてみて、この国の良い面も悪い面も知ることができて楽しいなと思えるようになってきました。