What is culture? Culture can be defined as the language spoken, customs, and routines in a group or society. It is also simply considered as a whole part of what people prefer and do not or what they like and dislike either negative or positive things. What people share in their social practice which involves ideologies, values, beliefs, traditions as well as perspectives is known as culture (Schein, 1985). Additionally, culture is also can be an alternative solution to dealing with both internal and external issues within a social group or community. This paper will discuss aspects of British culture such as ethnicity in British, social etiquette, and family life as well.
British have long been known with a dense and diverse population. British culture includes different races and ethnicities. The predominant race is white or known as Anglo-Saxon. Based on the data from ‘Office National Statistic’, in mid-2014, about 64,6 million or 87,2% is white British. In 2011, there were 80 percent population of the British lived in England and Wales. Additionally, there were 6,8 percent population of made up by Asian groups (Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, and others); 3,4 percent were black groups; 0,7 percent population of Chinese groups; 0,4 percent population of Arab groups; and there were 0,6 percent population of other groups. While, in terms of religion, it was presented in many forms and beliefs. Most of Britain's society are Christianity. And some of them are Muslim, Hindu other, and unidentified or none. Approximately, Christianity are 71.6 %, Muslims are 2.7%, Hindus are 1%, other are 1.6, and 23.1 % are identified as unspecified or none.
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Not only does British diverse with its ethnicity, but it also has a set of social etiquette which is considered as a big deal when it comes to British culture. They deem polite manners are imperative as the British, the English in particular, is famous for its historical story regarding the way people speak, gesture, timeliness as well as politeness. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, etiquette is the usual sign or code of good manners in a group or among people of a certain profession or society. British people are very concerned to some extent as it rules how they act or communicate with one another in daily life. British people highly appreciate the ones who arrive as the appointment. Punctuality is part of their culture which means that coming late in British culture is impoliteness. Someone will be considered rude when they arrive late to a business project meeting or another formal agenda such as a wedding party. Yet arriving earlier is also bad idea as it shows impolite behavior to the host and it is highly suggested to attend 10-15 minutes before the occasion. Moreover, it is a common thing to see people in line at a place such as shops or other places. Queuing in British culture is a must to those who are new there because people patiently waiting in order for their turn and they consider people who break the queue. Apart from queuing, another common thing in the UK is apologizing. British people are more likely to over-apologize. Take for example when you tell your friends about an unlucky that you has experienced, they will apologize by saying “ I am so sorry to hear that”. Also, one thing that British people are interested to is talking about the weather. This could be the best way to talk with British people and it is such an ice breaker in conversation. Furthermore, the British have a strict sense when asking about money or salary as it is considered rude to question someone's salary or anything in relation to money. Such a question may be impolite due to personal identity or privacy. In addition, unlike most countries in the world that prefer coffee, British people are more likely to have a cup of tea rather than coffee as it has a long story in Britain. It becomes part of daily routine in the UK. When traveling the UK, it is easy to find myriad tea shops or cafes. Afternoon tea is a well-known tradition in the UK that must be tried for foreigners. Overall, understanding social etiquette is imperative for foreigners, new foreigners in particular, when visiting the United Kingdom (UK) so that they will find it easier to adapt and interact with British people.
Generally, the British people usually are more likely to live independently. When they grow up, they will choose to live alone and separate from their family. They are used to living apart from their family. They sometimes gather around with their family at least once in a week. Additionally, some of them live together before getting married. They are in a relationship without marriage. In British, these are something can be accepted. That is something natural. Of these, some of the women live as single mothers. In case, it happened because of unstable marital relationships or marital disorder. Nevertheless, family relationships are well-established. While television reports and newspapers claimed that the nuclear family is disapproved. It happened caused by the increasing rates of unmarried cohabitation and divorce, there is no change in personal commitment in terms of kinship ties. Furthermore, about 70 percent of adults argued that people should have close relationships with family members, 55 percent argued that they should have close relationships with relatives which include uncles, aunts, and cousins; 60 percent argued that they would rather lay out the time with relatives than with friends; and roughly 80 percent say that relatives more substantial than friends. These various attitudes depend on the age and gender of people. Some people over the age of 40 tend to pay more attention to family relationships than younger people.
In summary, British people have diverse cultural aspects which are very engaging to discuss. Apart from its diverse ethnicity and how the family life rules, they also have strong social etiquette to rule the way someone will speak and act and to understand where and to whom they speak and act in order to accomplish welfare for humanity.
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