Life & Culture
April 21, 2005 - 16h23 GMT
Is there something about British life and culture that you've always wanted to ask? I work with the BBC Vietnamese section in London and as you can see, have spent time in Vietnam where lots of people had questions about Britain.
So we've set up this page as a place where you get the answers to things about Britain that you can't find in textbooks. You might also want to share your own experiences of British culture.
Perhaps you want to know what family life is like in Britain, or how university students spend their time. Do you want to find out how you should address your English teacher or know how much it costs to post a letter in the UK?
From time to time I'll let you know what's happening in Britain at the moment and fill you in on things that might interest you - music, culture, fashion, events or new slang words. But it's up to you where this page goes -what do you want to know? I'm looking forward to helping you and perhaps you can teach me a little more about Vietnamese culture too.
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Phương Linh, Hà Nội
Dear Anna, thank you very much for all these pleasant and easy to understand answers. I haven't got any questions but will make sure I browse through this page every now and then, I find it very useful. This is a fantastic idea. Many thanks and have a nice weekend.
Thanks very much! Don't forget that this is a page for all of you so if there's something you want to talk about just let me know.
Le Anh, Vietnam
Anna, does British often study foreign languages? do you think English is the most used as international language, so they don't need to learn other languages?
Every child has to study at least one language at school up to the age of sixteen, usually starting when they are about 11 years old. This is usually either French, Spanish or German. It has to be said, however, that British people are not great at learning languages. It's not that we can't do it, we're just lazy. Many people assume either that they won't travel so don't need a foreign language or that everyone else speaks English so they don't have to bother. This is causing real problems in the employment market as it becomes more and more important to communicate effectively with business contacts around the world. And of course it doesn't give a very good impression of our country if we don't take the time to learn. It has been suggested that instead of European languages, schools should start to teach the main languages of global business, such as Chinese or Japanese.
Ngoc Nguyen Thi, Hai Phong, Vietnam
Dear Anna, Could you, please explain me what is "explicit objectives" (in the sentence: explicit objectives are ecological sustainability)and "implicit objectives" (in the sentence: Impliciit objectives are justice/equity). Your sincerely, Ngoc
This is to do with what the company is actually setting out to do and what will also happen as a result of their action. 'Explicit' means something that is directly stated or refered to, without any room for doubt. 'Implicit' means something that is implied or refered to in a less obvious fashion. In this example, 'ecological sustainability' is what this company says it wants to achieve, but justice/equity are also being aimed for, without the company saying this directly. I think the author means that if you try to achieve ecologial stability, you will also bring about greater justice and equality without working towards that alone.
Apu, Hanoi, Vietnam
Hi Anna,can I ask you this: Are Brits now saying "Good day" as a fashioned way in greeting? When and with Who is it suitable? Thanks.
Hi Apu, you'll very rarely hear Brits using this phrase as it sounds very old fashioned. If you do hear it now, it is more likely to be as a way of saying good bye, not as a greeting. You might hear Australian people using an abbreviated form, 'G'day!' It's a bit of a joke that Australians say this all the time, although they might tell you that this is just a stereotype.
Hanh Nguyen, Hanoi, Vietnam
Hi Anna, it's a pleasure to meet you and read your answers here. Have you got any language tricks to use instead of 'um' or 'ah' when speaking English? Thanks and Happy Saint George's Day! What do you normally do?!
If anything, using 'um' and 'ah' makes your spoken English sound better because it's so natural. I 'um and ah' all the time. All languages use these 'fillers' as they give you time to think about what you want to say and make sure you chose the right words. One very popular 'filler' at the moment is 'like.' For example, 'I went to France in, like, 1975.' 'Like' here has no real meaning but serves to give the speaker more time to get their thoughts together. It also seems to lessen the impact of what someone is saying, for example, 'I was, like, really annoyed by what he said,' sounds less forceful that 'I was really annoyed with what he said.' It would sound strange for a non-native speaker to use this in conversation, but it's something you should be aware of as it's very fashionable at the moment.
Surprisingly, most people do absolutely nothing to celebrate St George's Day in England. It is not a national holiday and there are rarely special events to mark the occasion. In fact, I think a lot of English people wouldn't even be able to tell you when St George's Day is! A lot of people say that we should do something to celebrate, or at least have a public holiday. There are parades and festivities for St Patricks Day, the Irish National Day, but rarely for St George's. Perhaps it has something to do the English character, that we don't want to make a fuss about it and also that few people know who St George was or why he is the patron saint of England - after all, he wasn't even English but probably from the Middle East. Personally, I like to celebrate the fact that April 23rd is also Shakespeare's birthday, and everyone here knows who he was!
.............
http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/forum/story/2005/04/050413_ask_anna130405.shtml
April 21, 2005 - 16h23 GMT
Anna in Vietnam
Is there something about British life and culture that you've always wanted to ask? I work with the BBC Vietnamese section in London and as you can see, have spent time in Vietnam where lots of people had questions about Britain.
So we've set up this page as a place where you get the answers to things about Britain that you can't find in textbooks. You might also want to share your own experiences of British culture.
Perhaps you want to know what family life is like in Britain, or how university students spend their time. Do you want to find out how you should address your English teacher or know how much it costs to post a letter in the UK?
Anna in Halong Bay
From time to time I'll let you know what's happening in Britain at the moment and fill you in on things that might interest you - music, culture, fashion, events or new slang words. But it's up to you where this page goes -what do you want to know? I'm looking forward to helping you and perhaps you can teach me a little more about Vietnamese culture too.
........................................................................................
Phương Linh, Hà Nội
Dear Anna, thank you very much for all these pleasant and easy to understand answers. I haven't got any questions but will make sure I browse through this page every now and then, I find it very useful. This is a fantastic idea. Many thanks and have a nice weekend.
Thanks very much! Don't forget that this is a page for all of you so if there's something you want to talk about just let me know.
Le Anh, Vietnam
Anna, does British often study foreign languages? do you think English is the most used as international language, so they don't need to learn other languages?
Every child has to study at least one language at school up to the age of sixteen, usually starting when they are about 11 years old. This is usually either French, Spanish or German. It has to be said, however, that British people are not great at learning languages. It's not that we can't do it, we're just lazy. Many people assume either that they won't travel so don't need a foreign language or that everyone else speaks English so they don't have to bother. This is causing real problems in the employment market as it becomes more and more important to communicate effectively with business contacts around the world. And of course it doesn't give a very good impression of our country if we don't take the time to learn. It has been suggested that instead of European languages, schools should start to teach the main languages of global business, such as Chinese or Japanese.
Ngoc Nguyen Thi, Hai Phong, Vietnam
Dear Anna, Could you, please explain me what is "explicit objectives" (in the sentence: explicit objectives are ecological sustainability)and "implicit objectives" (in the sentence: Impliciit objectives are justice/equity). Your sincerely, Ngoc
This is to do with what the company is actually setting out to do and what will also happen as a result of their action. 'Explicit' means something that is directly stated or refered to, without any room for doubt. 'Implicit' means something that is implied or refered to in a less obvious fashion. In this example, 'ecological sustainability' is what this company says it wants to achieve, but justice/equity are also being aimed for, without the company saying this directly. I think the author means that if you try to achieve ecologial stability, you will also bring about greater justice and equality without working towards that alone.
Apu, Hanoi, Vietnam
Hi Anna,can I ask you this: Are Brits now saying "Good day" as a fashioned way in greeting? When and with Who is it suitable? Thanks.
Hi Apu, you'll very rarely hear Brits using this phrase as it sounds very old fashioned. If you do hear it now, it is more likely to be as a way of saying good bye, not as a greeting. You might hear Australian people using an abbreviated form, 'G'day!' It's a bit of a joke that Australians say this all the time, although they might tell you that this is just a stereotype.
Hanh Nguyen, Hanoi, Vietnam
Hi Anna, it's a pleasure to meet you and read your answers here. Have you got any language tricks to use instead of 'um' or 'ah' when speaking English? Thanks and Happy Saint George's Day! What do you normally do?!
If anything, using 'um' and 'ah' makes your spoken English sound better because it's so natural. I 'um and ah' all the time. All languages use these 'fillers' as they give you time to think about what you want to say and make sure you chose the right words. One very popular 'filler' at the moment is 'like.' For example, 'I went to France in, like, 1975.' 'Like' here has no real meaning but serves to give the speaker more time to get their thoughts together. It also seems to lessen the impact of what someone is saying, for example, 'I was, like, really annoyed by what he said,' sounds less forceful that 'I was really annoyed with what he said.' It would sound strange for a non-native speaker to use this in conversation, but it's something you should be aware of as it's very fashionable at the moment.
Surprisingly, most people do absolutely nothing to celebrate St George's Day in England. It is not a national holiday and there are rarely special events to mark the occasion. In fact, I think a lot of English people wouldn't even be able to tell you when St George's Day is! A lot of people say that we should do something to celebrate, or at least have a public holiday. There are parades and festivities for St Patricks Day, the Irish National Day, but rarely for St George's. Perhaps it has something to do the English character, that we don't want to make a fuss about it and also that few people know who St George was or why he is the patron saint of England - after all, he wasn't even English but probably from the Middle East. Personally, I like to celebrate the fact that April 23rd is also Shakespeare's birthday, and everyone here knows who he was!
.............
http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/forum/story/2005/04/050413_ask_anna130405.shtml