Are the British out of touch with their mainland European neighbours?

Ricochet J

Ricochet J

Ricochet J

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Take this thread with a pinch of humor.

Are the British out of touch with their mainland European neighbours? "What an absurd thing to say" - not really.

Consider this:
- Friends, family (and from what I've seen work colleagues too) in mainland Europe often greet each other by way of cheek kissing.
- Most Europeans I know have the courtesy to learn a foreign language (be it English or what ever). Generally I don't think Brits are susceptible to learn a foreign language for the sake of it, despite it being compulsory in the national curriculum.
- A controversial one: a lot of Europeans I have spoken to cite their origins from Europe, and not France/Spain/Italy/Germany etc.


Do you think we're out of touch? Sometimes I believe we have more in common with the United States of America than we do with our closest neighbours. Naturally there's nothing wrong with that.

What say you?
 
I think it's because the Anglosphere was and is the dominant force in general for the last 300+ years throughout the British Empire and now onto the American cultural empire.
 
Cheek kissing I don't like.
English is la lingua franca, I don't believe many more Europeans than British learn a language for the sake of it, once you discount the people learning a language for the clear benefits.

We aren't as integrated as the rest of Europe is. We don't have a common currency and we can't drive across borders.
 
I love European cultures, but it's three very odd examples you've chosen there. Kissing cheeks? I don't even like shaking hands. Learning English isn't really a "courtesy" it's often a useful or even necessary skill for people holding professional or managerial positions - it's the same in practically every country.
 
I think the cheek kissing is more specific to the person or people than to their nationality - I know quite a few people from the UK who will greet each other like that or with a hug. It might be more common on the continent but it's not exceptional here - that said I'm much more likely to greet my male mates with a casual handshake than a kiss on either cheek. If I know the person well enough to know what their preference is with greetings then I'll usually just adopt that as it doesn't bother me much either way.

As a whole the UK definitely isn't great with learning languages, there are of course exceptions but I think part of the problem is simply deciding which other language to choose. English is the lingua franca at present and culture is quite heavily anglofied so that could be viewed as being less of an imperative to learn another language. I'd quite like to put a bit of time into learning French to a better level when I've completed my current studies but that's as much for my own benefit as anything else.

As for the question of naming your origins - we're geographically separate being an island so that has always encouraged a feeling of being distinct from the rest. We've also got the added complication of being a union with 4 countries in it and a number of people will identify with their home nation more than the whole - if they're going to do that on a limited scale then why would they identify with a unified Europe more?
 
It's not our fault they all decided to speak gibberish, with hindsight they would have realised that the Internet is easier done in one language and they happened to be speaking the wrong one (like Welsh).

I'm not insured to kiss French people, sorry.

If I was French or Italian then I'd say I came from Europe too, have you seen their politicians?
 
I would say Britain as a whole is very different to how the rest of Europe act. I believe this to be a good thing.
 
What are you basing this on? I lived in Germany for five years - I never really saw people kiss on the cheeks and never heard anyone describe themselves as 'European'. In fact everyone would be at pains to say they were Bavarian rather than German in Munich.

Most people have English as a second language as most business is done in English, it's simple economics.
 
No country in Europe is like Europe.

Kissing is not common in northern Europe.

People commonly learn languages out of necessity not out of enjoyment.

We have less in common with most of America than you think and they certainly don't have much in common with us.
 
Ricochet J said:
Take this thread with a pinch of humor.

Are the British out of touch with their mainland European neighbours? "What an absurd thing to say" - not really.

Consider this:
- Friends, family (and from what I've seen work colleagues too) in mainland Europe often greet each other by way of cheek kissing.
- Most Europeans I know have the courtesy to learn a foreign language (be it English or what ever). Generally I don't think Brits are susceptible to learn a foreign language for the sake of it, despite it being compulsory in the national curriculum.
- A controversial one: a lot of Europeans I have spoken to cite their origins from Europe, and not France/Spain/Italy/Germany etc.

Yes the UK is out of touch with a lot of things.

Take for instance the average Brit in Spain who lives there and can't speak Spainish or integrate


Do you think we're out of touch? Sometimes I believe we have more in common with the United States of America than we do with our closest neighbours. Naturally there's nothing wrong with that.

What say you?
Click to expand...
 
Disco Boy said:
If any of my friends ever introduced themselves as European rather than British, I'd disown them.
Click to expand...

Bang on.

Couldn't give a **** how old fashioned/jingoistic a view it is, but I've always said I was born British and I'll die British. I couldn't care less how out of touch with her neighbours this country is considered to be.

I have no desire whatsoever for this country to be swallowed up by some European superstate and I suspect a majority of my countrymen feel the same way, which is why, despite promising them in their election manifestos, our spineless political 'leaders' refuse to hold a referendum on the matter.
 
It's not old fashioned or jingoistic. You're whatever nationality you feel you are. The EU is spending a chunk of taxpayer money on Eurofying the population, but I don't think saying you're British or English or Scottish etc is a bad thing.
 
I don't feel European and I think it's the same with many of us.
Our cultures are too different to say that we can be the same, we can't and it's never going to happen.
 
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