But behind every language there is a culture, a civilization; and despite the increasing role of English as the lingua franca world - even in part because of the growing role of the English language - understand society, attitudes and institutions of the country that gave the world this language is increasingly important. Every society has its landmarks, its institutions, its traditions, which are different from one country to another, and partly condition the mentality of its people. An Englishman thinks differently, prioritizes differently, argues differently a French or Belgian or Switzerland; and he does it because his way of thinking was conditioned in a British style, different from other national frameworks.
For example, when we begin to realize that the values attached to the words "state", "freedom" and "equality" in England are very different from those they are given in France, we made a step toward understanding what it is that intercultural. Understanding British civilization, it is much more than knowing that in England drive on the left (true) and that the preferred drink of all English is tea (false), or that the English are cold (usually wrong ) ;dropoff window is to understand the structures and institutions of the country, the way the country is organized, its social, its collective memory, the expectations of its people.
It is said that British civilization is a civilization that is largely "bottom up": the people and institutions who hold power do so only because the people give them this role. Parliament is supreme so, because the people grant him this right. The Prime Minister has all the powers; it must rely in parliament, which may not approve the project, as it happened in late August 2013, when Parliament has not authorized military involvement in Syria, strongly demanded by David Cameron. The Queen is sovereign; it has all authority, but no individual power because it rules on behalf of the people. Despite some major differences, a constant evolution, and periods, or the system has been violated, the system continues since the Middle Ages, for it was the Norman William the Conqueror, there are nearly a millennium, which gave the countries the basic architecture of governance, adapting the feudal system to the local power system of the Anglo-Saxons. All that is history, but a country is what it is today, that because of its history.
The British civilization pages on Angleterre.org.uk (see index above) address or discuss the essential aspects of British civilization nowadays, often with a historical wink to understand how we have arrived there. They will cover the country's governance, institutions, social systems, education, and other aspects of British life today. They are supplemented by other pages in chapters Tourism and Travel, on practical or anecdotal aspects of life in England.
Post a Comment