Comme mon père est français et ma mère anglaise, et que j’ai grandi avec deux langues et deux cultures, on me demande souvent si je me sens française ou anglaise. Le problème, c’est que la réponse à cette question n’a rien d’évident. J’imagine que toute personne qui est le produit de deux cultures ou de deux nationalités a le sentiment qu’elle n’appartient jamais complètement à l’une ou à l’autre.

Pour ma part, j’ai grandi en France, donc je devrais probablement me sentir française. Mais ce n’est pas si simple! Quand j’étais petite, ma mère me chantait des chansons en anglais, je regardais des dessins animés anglais et on parlait anglais à la maison. C’est pourquoi maintenant, arrivée à l’âge adulte, quand mes amis évoquent leurs souvenirs d’enfance, ce qu’ils regardaient à la télévision ou les chansons dont ils se souviennent, nous n’avons pas beaucoup de références en commun.

Inversement, comme j’ai passé les sept dernières années en France, je ne sais pas vraiment ce qui se passe en Angleterre. Je lis la presse international et connais les grandes lignes de l’actualité, mais je serais incapable de dire quels sont les sujet de conversation des Anglais quand ils sortent boire un verre – je n’ai pas vu les dernières émissions de télé, je ne connais pas leurs stars du moment (à part celles dont on entend parler en France)…

Cela dit, l’identité est quelque chose de bien plus large que la télévision. Mais vous pensez sûrement comme moi que l’on a besoin d’être en empathie avec les gens pour sentir que l’on appartient à leur culture. C’est pour cela que je trouve compliquée la question de savoir si je me sens plus anglaise ou française. Ma façon d’y répondre est de m’adapter aux personnes avec qui je suis – naturellement, je me sentirai plus anglaise si je suis avec des Anglais, et plus française si je suis en France.

Pour les langues, c’est la même chose – je pense et je rêve en français quand je suis en France, mais mon cerveau passé à l’anglais quand je suis en Angleterre ou avec des Anglais. En général, cela se passe naturellement, sans effort de ma part. Mais il y a des moments où je ne sais plus si j’ai lu un livre en français ou en anglais, et il m’arrive de confondre des expressions idiomatiques françaises et anglaises.

Honnêtement, j’apprécie d’avoir la double nationalité. Le fait de parler anglais m’a aidée à avoir de bonnes notes à l’école. Mais au-delà de ça, je pense que c’est pour cela que je suis si intéressée par les cultures en général – j’aime beaucoup découvrir comment les gens vivent, comment ils s’habillent, ce qu’ils mangent, comment ils font la fête… dans différents pays. Je pense que cela vient du fait que l’on fait les choses différemment de chaque côté de ma famille.

Par conséquent, je ne sais pas si j’ai vraiment envie de savoir répondre quand on me demande si je me sens plus française ou anglaise. J’aime bien ne pas savoir où se situe la limite entre mon côté français et mon côté anglais. Par contre, je suis sûre d’une chose, c’est que j’ai besoin des deux.

[English]

Having a French dad and a British mum and having been brought up with both languages and cultures, I am often asked if I feel French or British. The thing is, that question is tough to answer. I guess that when you are a mix of two cultures or nationalities, you never feel like you belong completely to one or the other.

I grew up in France, so I guess I should feel French. But it’s not that easy! When I was a kid, my mum used to sing English songs to me, I watched cartoons in English and we spoke English at home. So now, as an adult, when my friends talk about their childhood memories, what they used to watch on TV or the songs they remember, I can’t be a part of the conversation.

On the other hand, as I’ve lived in France for the last seven years, I’m not really aware of what is happening in England. Of course I read international newspapers and know the big picture, but I wouldn’t be able to say what the British talk about when they go out for a drink – I haven’t seen the latest TV shows, I don’t know which celebrities they are interested in (apart from those we hear of in France)…

That said, identity is about much more than watching TV. But don’t you think you need to empathize with people to feel you belong to their culture? That is why I find the British / French question difficult. The way I deal with it is by adapting to the people around me – I naturally feel more British if I’m hanging out with British people, and I feel more French when I’m in France.

It’s the same with languages – I mostly think and dream in French when I’m in France, but my mind switches to English when I’m in England or with British people. This usually happens naturally and requires no effort. But there are moments when I cannot remember if I read a book in French or in English, and I do sometimes get confused between French and English idioms.

To be completely honest, I enjoy my dual nationality. Being able to speak English helped me get good grades at school and at university. But beyond that, it makes me deeply interested in cultures generally speaking – I love discovering the way people live, dress, eat and relax together in various countries. I think this comes from the fact that things are done differently on each side of my family.

Consequently, I’m not sure whether I want to be able to answer the question about me feeling more French or English. I quite like not knowing where the line is between my “French side” and my “British side”. The one thing I know though, is that I need both.

[Français]

As anyone who has been to the UK will know, we like to do things differently from the rest of Europe and, come to think of it, the rest of the world. We are the odd ones out and definitely the black sheep of Europe. While most countries drive on the right side, we drive on the left, otherwise known as the ‘wrong side’ by most other people in the world. Not only do we drive on a different side of the road we have different plugs to those in Europe, we measure ourselves in feet and inches not metres and weigh ourselves in stone rather than kilograms. On top of this we measure distance in miles rather than kilometers, our clothes and shoe sizes are also different to European sizes and we even have our own form of swearing, not to mention the fact we have our own time zone – GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) – making us one hour behind the rest of Europe (except Portugal, who also have GMT). And then there is the Euro…..

In short, we’re an awkward bunch and considered ‘strange’ by the rest of the world; but why is it that we are so ‘different’ from everyone else? Read on to find out about the history of some of our quirks…

Driving

The fact we drive on the ‘wrong side of the road’ (we consider it, of course, to be the ‘right side of the road’) is a cause of aggravation for many foreigners. Crossing the road is particularly hazardous when you are used to looking left then right and have to start looking right then left; but we also have the same problem when we go abroad, believe me. The question on everybody’s lips is ‘why can’t you just drive on the right like everyone else.’ Well, that would be too simple. It all goes back to the days of jousting knights when they had to pass each other on the right as their lance was placed under their right arm. In fact, it was Napoleon who introduced driving on the left to France during the revolution (we also have the French to thank for introducing the kilogram to the world)and the practice quickly spread through Europe with Sweden being the last European country to change over as late as 1967. When America too started driving on the right, several other countries followed suit. But in fact, it’s not just the Brits and Irish that drive on the left. Many former British colonies still drive on the left including Australia, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong and Malta, however there are other countries such as Japan and Thailand who also drive on the left and were never British colonies. In fact one quarter of the world still drive on the left, so it seems we are not the odd ones out after all.

Swearing

The universal hand gesture to tell someone to go away in a rather more direct fashion is to stick your middle finger up at them, but in the UK if you stick 2 fingers up at somebody (the reverse of the V for Victory and peace sign) that will give them the same message. Legend has it, during the Battle of Agincourt (1415) between England and France the French were jealous of the English long bowmen’s skills and to try and scupper their success they would capture the English bowmen and chop off their first and middle fingers. As a way to taunt the French, the bowmen that still had their fingers would stick those 2 fingers up at them and this sign has stuck. Just remember which way round the peace and V for victory signs are when you are in the UK!

Taps

Another favourite bugbear of our foreign friends is the UK 2 tap situation. Tap-Gate if you like. If you have ever been to the UK you will probably have recoiled in horror the first time you saw and indeed used our really rather frustrating two tap sinks. So strong is the loathing of our separate hot and cold taps, Facebook groups have been set up and blogs written on the subject. I for one, having lived abroad many times, now realise having a 2 separate taps is just downright impractical; if only the rest of the UK would cotton on…As it is, to get warm water when washing your hands, you either have to turn on both taps and manually mix the water in your hands, put them plug in and mix the water in the sink, scold your hands by using just the hot tap, or just use the cold tap, freeze your hands and not kill any bacteria at all. It is amazing to think that people still buy separate taps when mixer taps are now available in the UK, thanks to the continental influence. Well, old habits do die hard, as they say. There is, as ever, method in this 2 tap madness though, and in fact it comes down to bacteria. For a long time only 2 taps were available in the UK as hot water and cold water had to be kept in separate tanks so bacteria could not get into the cold water supply, therefore 2 taps were needed to keep the water separate. Even now in the UK if you have a mixer tap the water is not mixed until it comes out of the tap.

Vauxhall not Opel

Why, asked a colleague of mine, are Opels (the car), called Vauxhalls in the UK? ‘You do like to be awkward, don’t you,’ she said. A little research later and it appears Vauxhall and Opel were 2 separate car companies, Vauxhall being British (the name originates from the area in London where they were originally manufactured), and Opel was a German company. The American car company General Motors took over the companies in 1925 and 1930 respectively and it wasn’t until the 1980 that the separate brands started making the same cars. Of course, the British wanted to keep their own brand name as it was very strong in the UK, but the Opel brand was bigger in the rest of the world, so the two separate names were kept. Ireland, however, switched over to Opel in the early 80’s, but then again they do also have the Euro…

The Euro

Ahh, the Euro, a topic of much debate in the UK and the rest of Europe. Another one of those ‘why don’t you just do the same as everyone else’ situations. The crux of the matter is, we Brits are proud of our currency and feel it would detract from the British identity if we didn't have the British pound, rather like if we didn’t have the Royal family, but that is a whole other kettle of fish...

Find out more about the Euro debate here.

If you have any experiences of strange British quirks you would like to share with us, feel free to leave a comment below – just nothing offensive please!

One of the most popular stereotypes of the British is that they love to drink tea, and at 5 o’clock. It is certainly true that we love our tea. The Brits are renowned worldwide for their love of tea and no wonder with the average Brit drinking over 2 kg of the stuff a year. Tea is in England, is what vodka is to the Russians, beer to the Germans and coffee to the Italians – a staple. One of the things most Brits miss while abroad is ‘a good cup of tea’ as ‘it’s just not the same’. So why is it that we love tea so much, how can you make the perfect cup of tea and when is tea time? Find out here...

So when exactly is tea time?

Well, the simple answer is any time! The day will start with a cup of tea (affectionately known as a cuppa) at breakfast, then again at around 11am, probably with a biscuit or two (some call this elevenses), then again at lunch, then throughout the afternoon, at dinner and sometimes even before bed (though probably decaffeinated). The joy of tea is that it can be drunk in any situation – it’s always appropriate. If you’re having a bad day you can have a cup of tea, a biscuit and a sit down to make you feel better. If you have a problem, you will normally ‘put the kettle on’ and discuss it over a lot of tea. If there is a family crisis, there will be tea. If a friend pops round to your house, you will, of course, offer them a cup of tea (also known as a brew). If there is good news, you’ll probably have a cup of tea. It’s no wonder we’re not very productive with all that tea drinking going on! Though a few people do have ‘afternoon tea,’ the traditional cup of tea and array of sandwiches and cakes at 5 o’clock, it is not something most people do on a regular basis. It is however possible to go for afternoon tea in a cafe or even at The Ritz...

Afternoon tea and Cream tea

A cream tea usually consists of a pot of tea and a scone, jam and cream - delicious! The best cream teas can be found in country tea rooms.

Afternoon Tea on the other hand involves far more food - cucumber sandwiches, various types of cakes, scones, and of course lots of tea. Much is made of this tradition in English literature, so that is probably where the stereotype that we all sit down at 5 o’clock every day for afternoon tea comes from. Well, it would be nice! For the princely sum of £39 you can enjoy a traditional afternoon tea at The Ritz (in London. It’s a highlight for many tourists visiting London, so popular in fact that there are 5 sittings a day and the website advises you to book in advance to avoid disappointment.

Other than scones and cucumber sandwiches there are several tea specific foods you can eat to accompany your tea – toasted tea cakes, tea loaf, crumpets, English muffins, and of course biscuits which can be dunked in your tea.

How to make a cup of tea

This is a hot topic for debate in the UK. Many theories abound regarding how much milk you should use, what kind of tea (tea purists maintain a proper cup of tea can only be made with leaf tea, not tea bags), how long you should leave the tea to brew for and so on. It’s a complicated business. Adding sugar is also a subject for debate - some say it ruins the taste and personally it’s not my cup of tea, but many people do add sugar as tea has quite a bitter taste. Then there is the matter of putting the milk in before pouring or putting it in after you’ve poured the tea. Nowadays people generally use teabags and so they put the milk in afterwards, but historically speaking the milk was always poured into the cup before the tea was poured. Apparently this was so that if you had poor quality china it wouldn’t crack...

So how do we go about making the perfect cup of tea?

Well, watch this video to find out from the expert

Now you can make the perfect cuppa!

I am starting to feel like somewhat of a celebrity here in Hamburg. It seems no-one has ever met a Brit before, let alone someone that speaks the Queen’s English. I am, therefore, somewhat of a novelty over here. ‘Wow, you sound so British’ and ‘I love your accent’ are things I hear on a daily basis. I am also frequently asked to repeat things I have said as they sound so ‘quaint’ or ‘British.’ Well, I must say I am enjoying the flattery, though I am also starting to feel somewhat like a parrot. The astonishment at my accent is not only amongst my fellow interns who mainly come from further afield than Germany, let alone Europe, but also my German flatmates.

Although the white cliffs of Dover are a mere 800 km away, and it will only take you 90 minutes by plane to get to London, very few people have actually crossed the channel and have had little or no exposure to ‘British’ English . Many of the Europeans I have spoken to blame it on the fact that most of the films, music and television series they watch are American and they don’t have ready access to British television channels. In Europe, the only places you can watch the BBC are Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands. Admittedly, these countries are all close to the UK, but then again so are France and Germany where MTV and other American channels are widely available on satellite television. It seems the only ‘British’ accent anyone seems to have heard is that of the foppish Hugh Grant in films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill. Don’t get me wrong, I love nothing more than a Hugh Grant romcom, but it seems a terrible shame that this is the only type of English that foreigners are exposed to. While I must admit, my own Oxford English accent is doing nothing to quash the image of the plummy English accent, I am doing my best attempts of Geordie, Brummie, Welsh, Scottish and Scouse, amongst others as there are so many regional accents in the UK.

While I am flying the flag for British English, I cannot help but feel somewhat distressed that children in Europe are growing up learning American rather than British English. Of course, as a Brit I am disparaging of the American drawl and consider American English to be ‘improper,’ but I realise that American English is bound to be more widespread in the world as America is much bigger than dear old Blighty. I do, however, find it astonishing that children in Europe are learning American rather than British English in school, not least because the UK is on the same continent as mainland Europe. One reason why American English is more popular and more readily taught in schools than British English could be that it is much easier to ‘sound’ American, and therefore fluent. American spelling is also simplified (eg color for colour and program for programme), therefore easier to learn. By watching Hollywood films and listening to American music you can easily copy the accents, parrot fashion and develop a convincing accent. On the other hand, it is much harder to get English accent accurate. Even if you were to watch all of the British films ever made and copied the accents it would be hard to get it spot on - it can easily sound very fake.

If you would like to improve your British English here are some tips -

A cell phone is a mobile phone
We walk on the pavement, rather than the sidewalk
In the UK you hang your clothes in a wardrobe, rather than a closet
We wear trousers rather than pants
Chips are called crisps and fries are called chips

This article was not written to cause offence to our American friends. The article is discussing the teaching of English in Europe and informally broaching the subject of American and British English.

Your opinions are welcome and we encourage discussion on the topic, however any insulting comments will be removed.

Humour is a phenomenon which is influenced by culture. It can be difficult to determine what aspects define a certain sense of humour. A nation’s wit is linked to the historical development of the country. How funny somebody finds a certain incident depends on many factors including age, personal experience, level of education and geographical location. Therefore humour is something which is not always transferrable in another country. What somebody from one area may find hilarious may not be amusing at all to somebody from another location. Whether or not someone gets a joke is determined by their interpretation, filtered by the cultural context.

What about when both countries speak the same mother tongue? Does that mean that they will then share the same sense of humour, or can differences still occur? Let’s take the example of Britain and America. Time and time again, people say that Brits and Americans don’t ‘get’ each other’s sense of humour. To what extent is this true, if at all?

It is often argued that one of the most common differences between the British and American sense of humour is that Americans don’t understand irony. Simon Pegg explores this topic in depth in his article What are you laughing at? He concludes that this statement isn’t true and I am inclined to agree with him.

One of the major differences seems to be how often both nations use irony. Brits use irony on a daily basis, whereas it is not the foundation of American humour. I think Americans understand British irony (most of the time anyway!), what they don’t understand is the need to use it so frequently. When Americans use irony they tend to state that they were “only kidding”. They feel the need to make a joke more obvious than Brits do, maybe this stems from a fear of offending people.

The American sense of humour is generally more slapstick than that in Britain. I think this arises from a cultural difference between the two. Their jokes are more obvious and forward, a bit like Americans themselves. British jokes, on the other hand, tend to be more subtle but with a dark or sarcastic undertone. There is usually a hidden meaning. This may stem from the fact that British culture is more reserved than American culture.
Certain American comedies have gained huge success in Britain and vice versa. Therefore, although there are differences between both comic styles, there is still an appreciation and understanding of the other sense of humour. Both the British and America versions of the comedy The Office are hugely successful on both sides of the Atlantic. Both shows have their own cultural differences, yet they portray a lifestyle which both Americans and Brits alike can relate to.

Although both nations have subtle differences in their wit, they can both appreciate the other’s sense of humour. For some great insight into differences between American and British English check out separated by a common language, which served as inspiration for this article.