British Reserve

The British, especially the English, are more reserved than nationals of many other countries. There are established rules for everything and this gives a sense of stability to life. British life involves lots of ceremonies. “British reserve” could be considered one of the forms of privacy that underlines many aspects of British life (Fox 2005:401). Emotions are not to be shown in public. The British find it comparatively difficult to indicate friendship by open displays of affection. However, “being friendly in Britain often involves not bothering with formalities”, argues O’Driscoll (1995:63). “Friend” implies that all the rules can be ignored. Yet, “friendships are few and specific” (Morrison 1994:109). It is not the convention to kiss when meeting a friend. It is inappropriate to touch others in public; even backslapping or putting an arm around the shoulders of another can make the British uncomfortable. In business, a light handshake is standard while in informal situations, a handshake is proper; however, it is not always correct at social occasions. As Morrison notes, Britons maintain a wide physical space between conversation partners and avoid excessive hand gestures when speaking. They often do not look at the other person they are talking with (Morrison 1994:113). Individual’s right to keep information about himself or herself private is very important. The British usually have to know each other for a while before allowing exchanges about their backgrounds or lives. People newly introduced to one other could sometimes feel awkwardness while they prefer to discuss safe and impersonal subjects, but the well-known humor is a way to reduce tension. Conversational topics such as politics, religion and family are considered too personal (Morrison 1994:111). On the one hand, asking personal questions would be rude while at the same time, silence would also be rude. So, the stereotype about the British always talking about weather could be true to life, as it is a convenient topic to ‘fill the gap’.