British social

British social and regional characteristics including dialects
British social and
regional characteristics
including dialects
The weather is their favourite topic of conversation, they are obsessed
with cricket and football, they drive on the left, and they spend their
spare time in the pub where they drink warm, dark beer. These are
typical British characteristics. But, otherwise, it is difficult to give a
general idea of what the more than 60 million Brits are really like.
This is because Great Britain is made up of three countries – England,
Scotland and Wales - and with a society that is considered to be
divided into different prestigious social groups that influence their
behaviour, attitudes, accents and lifestyle in general. Let’s now take a
closer look at what British people are like as well as what makes them
different from each other.
©DuncanWalker

Defining Great Britain, the United
Kingdom and the British Isles
Great Britain (often just called Britain) consists
of England, Scotland and Wales.
The United Kingdom (the UK) consists of Great
Britain as well as Northern Ireland.
The British Isles is a collective name for all the
islands of Great Britain and Ireland.
When talking about the people of Great Britain,
they are called British or Brits. English refers
only to the people of England, and not to the
rest of Great Britain.
Social class in Britain
In order to be able to understand the behaviour and characteristics
of British people as well as their society, it is important to know
something about the British class system which still exists. Although
this may sound archaic, it is still present mainly in England but even
to a lesser extent in both Scotland and Wales. This predominantly
English prestigious class system is still deeply rooted in their lives,
such as in the way they speak, the type of work they have, their
homes, their interests and even the type of food they eat.
There are three distinct social classes in England:
• The Upper Class (often also called the Establishment): This is
the social class that occupies the highest position in the social
scale, usually industrialists and business leaders, members
of the aristocracy such as the royal family with their wealth
and exclusivity as well as the senior clergy of the Church of
England.
• The Middle Class: This is the social class that consists of a
wide range of business and professional people. This class
also includes an upper middle class consisting of senior
professional people such as politicians, professors, company
directors, surgeons, etc., and a lower middle class consisting
of people working mainly in middle-management positions
such as shopkeepers as well as civil servants (employed by the
© Brian Pamphilon

government). White-collar worker is also a name to describe
a person in this social class who does clerical or professional
work as it used to be common for people to wear white shirts
for this type of profession.
• The Working Class (sometimes also called the Lower Class):
This is the section of society that has the lowest position in the
social scale, consisting mainly of manual workers. It should
be particularly stressed that many people in this class are
proud to be regarded as “working class” as they see this as
the productive base on which all other social classes depend.
A blue-collar worker is a name also often used to describe a
person belonging to this class. This is because a manual worker
often wears blue overalls.
Conveying information about
social class
Different kinds of food, social activities
and aspects of lifestyle such as education,
work and politics are closely associated
with the particular social class that mainly
English people belong to. Here are some
examples that convey information about
social class:
Work/jobs
Upper class Middle class Working class
Senior executive Professional Manual jobs
(white collar worker) (blue collar worker)
Company director teacher, doctor factory worker
“The idle rich” bank manager shop assistant
(no job because rich)
Education
Eton, Harrow Private, grammar school Comprehensive school
Finishing school Sixth form college Technical college
Oxford, Cambridge Oxford, Cambridge, -----
“red-brick” university,
polytechnic college
© Izabela Habur

Politics
Conservative Conservative Labour
Liberal Democrats
Green Party
Labour
Sports
Any sports involving cricket, tennis cricket, tennis
horses rugby, football football
hunting, golf, sailing golf, sailing, betting on horse racing
horse racing, horse racing
rugby
Food
caviar health foods fish and chips
smoked salmon foreign (e.g. Italian) Chinese takeaways
restaurants junk food
Newspapers
Upper class Middle Class Working class
The Times The Daily Telegraph The Sun
The Daily Telegraph The Daily Mail The Daily Mirror
The Daily Express
The Observer The Observer The Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Times The Sunday Telegraph The News of the World
The News of the World
Types of home
Own several homes Own their own homes Rent council houses
Large landowners Detached or semi- Rent council flats
detached homes
Live in rich areas of Live in the suburbs Council flats in outer
London (e.g. Mayfair) or commute from towns suburbs of main cities
with postal codes with or villages outside main
low numbers such as cities such as London
London W.1, SW1, etc.

Dialects indicate the social class people belong to
The sort of dialects British people use will often indicate the social
class they belong to. For example, those in the upper class and upper
middle class tend to use a non-regional dialect of standard British
English (or Received Pronunciation). The Oxford dialect is also a
form of this Received Pronunciation, and used by people in university
and other prestige situations.
Until quite recently, those British people who used a strong local dialect
were usually considered to represent the lower middle or working
class. However, this is now changing rapidly, partly influenced by
the media – such as radio and television – which more and more
frequently uses broadcasters and actors who have regional dialects
instead of speaking Received Pronunciation. Thus, this present-day
positive attitude toward regional accents is also being taken advantage
of, especially by celebrities and actors such as Michael Caine who is
particularly well-known for his London East End or Cockney-style
English.
Apart from the non-regional Received Pronunciation, there are the
following more common British dialects which are spoken not only
by the working class but also by many in the middle class:
• Estuary English, which is widely spoken in and around London
and in the south east of England. (Estuary comes from the area
around the river Thames where it flows out into the North
Sea.) This dialect is a combination of “received pronunciation”
and the old East End and Cockney-style English spoken in
London.
• Yorkshire English, a down-to-earth and often slow-talking
northern English dialect spoken throughout the county of
Yorkshire.
• Scouse or Liverpudlian English, a dialect spoken in Liverpool
and north-western England, made particularly famous by the
Beatles. This dialect combines varieties of English from the
Liverpool area as well as from Ireland and even Wales. Earlier,
it was considered very much as a working-class dialect.
• Lancashire English, a dialect also spoken in north-western
England but mainly in the industrial country of Lancashire and
the city of Manchester.
• Brummie English, a dialect spoken in Birmingham and the west
Midlands of England.

• Geordie English, a dialect spoken in the industrial city of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the north east of England.
• West Country English, a dialect spoken in the south-western
part of England.
• Welsh English, a dialect spoken throughout Wales. But in
Wales they also have their own Welsh language (an old Celtic
language), spoken mainly in the northern parts. Most of the
names of places throughout Wales are in their Welsh language,
and today there is also a Welsh-speaking television channel.
• Scottish English, a dialect spoken throughout Scotland,
although Gaelic is spoken in the northern and western parts.
The style of English spoken in Scotland differs from other
regional dialects in that the Scots use a number of special words
of their own. Here are a few examples:
aye: yes ben: mountain brae: bank (of a river)
dram: drink (whisky) glen: valley kirk: church
loch: lake bairn: child bonny: beautiful
d��reich: dull lassie: girl wee: small
National and regional ��differences
England with its just under 50 million inhabitants is the most densely
populated of the three countries that make up Great Britain. There are
also many regional differences, the most notable being the so-called
North-South divide. Traditionally, heavy industry such as coal mining
and shipbuilding were located to the north of England while the south
of England was better known as a centre for finance and banking.
Politically, this is why the North has always been a stronghold for the
Labour Party with its practical and down-to-earth population, while
the South has been a stronghold for the Conservative Party with
its urban professionals. The people of the south will often say that
Northerners are old-fashioned and stubborn while those in the North
will say that Southerners are materialistic, unfriendly and snobbish.
Particular national characteristics for England include their archaic
class system, cricket matches that can go on for up to five days, and
afternoon tea which is usually a meal more than just a drink
The people of Scotland tend to be extremely patriotic and prefer to
regard themselves as Scottish rather than British (and definitely not
English!). A lot of this rivalry and anti-English feeling that still exists

to a certain extent as a result of historic events. This is mainly because
Scotland earlier was predominantly a Catholic country while England
was in the most part Protestant. The people of Scotland by tradition
also belong to clans which are basically extended family groups.
But there is also rivalry within Scotland. For example, although
the two largest cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, are very near each
other, the people of Edinburgh often consider people in Glasgow
to be uncultured while people in Glasgow consider those living in
Edinburgh to be snobbish.
Today, Scotland has its own legal system as well as for education and
banking. Special characteristics of Scotland include the wearing of
kilts by men, the home of whisky and the national dish called Haggis,
and their national poet called Robert Burns.
Wales is the smallest of the three countries that make up Great Britain
but nevertheless the people are extremely proud and patriotic. Like
in Scotland, Welsh people tend to be anti-English for historic reasons.
The South is heavily populated and urbanised where the English
language completely dominates while the North is more sparsely
populated and where about 75 percent of the population also speaks
Welsh. The country has a rich tradition in song and poetry.
The name of Wales comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for “foreign”.
Being the next male heir to become the next British king, Prince
Charles is called the Prince of Wales. This is the title that each male
heir to the throne has had ever since 1301. Rugby is their national
sport while on both England and Scotland this is football.

Check your words
obsessed preoccupied to an extreme
degree, completely filling the
mind so that no attention is given
to other matters
prestigious causing admiration or respect for
someone or something because of
social influence or success
archaic belonging to the past, no longer
used
the Establish- the people who control public life
ment
clergy the people who are members of
the priesthood
manual using the hands
convey make ideas, feeling or thoughts
known to others
“red-brick” a modern university that lacks
university academic traditions
polytechnic a college that offers a wide range
college of practical and academic subjects
Labour Social Democratic or left-wing
political party
Conservative right-wing political party
Liberal liberal political party
Democrats
betting an agreement to risk money on
the result of a future event (such
as a horse race), by which the
person who guesses wrong gives
the money to the other person
junk food poor quality and unhealthy food,
often chemically treated and
containing a lot of sugar, fat and
carbohydrates (such as in bread,
pasta, potatoes, etc.)
council house a home owned and rented out
mainly to working class people by
the local authorities
semi-detached one of a pair of houses that are
joined together
suburb an outer area of a town or city
Received the form of British English
Pronunciation pronunciation which is used by
many educated people in every
part of Britain, especially in the
south of England.
celebrity well-known person
estuary the wide lower part or mouth of a
river flowing into the sea
the East End the eastern part of London,
north of the River Thames and
containing much of the area
called the Docklands
densely concentrated
notable giving attention, important
stronghold a place where a particular activity
or way of life is common or
general
down-to-earth practical and honest
heir the person who has the legal right
to receive the title of another
person
the Throne the rank or office of a king or
queen

Check your knowledge
I. True or false?
True False
1. The United Kingdom consists of England,
Scotland and Wales.
2. The British social class system exists mainly
in Scotland and Wales.
3. The middle class covers both those people
working in professional positions and those
in middle management positions.
4. A blue-colour worker usually works in a
clerical position and wears a blue shirt.
5. Many manual workers are proud of the fact
that they belong to the working class as the
whole of society is dependent on them.
6. “The idle rich” are people with so much
money that they do not have to work at all.
7. The Labour Party is popular among people
in the middle and working classes.
8. Football is particularly popular among people
in the upper class.
9. Many middle class families live in detached
or semi-detached homes.
10. Received Pronunciation is the dialect used by
people in academic and leading circles.
11. The use of strong local dialects is becoming
more and more acceptable, especially in the
media.
12. Estuary English is a dialect you will most
likely hear in the London area.
13. Brummie English was a dialect spoken by
the Beatles.

10
14. The Welsh language is commonly spoken
throughout the whole of Wales.
15. In Scotland they have many special dialect
words of their own.
16. The north of England is particularly known
for its industrial traditions.
17. A cricket match in England can go on for as
long as five days.
18. There has continually been anti-English feeling
in Scotland as it has always been predominantly
Protestant while England has been Catholic.
19. The Scottish educational system is different to
the system used in England and Wales.
20. Rugby is a sport played mainly by the upper
classes in Wales.
II. What are the missing words?
1. A collective name for all the islands of Great Britain and
Ireland is
2. The British class system may sound very but it
still exists, especially in England.
3. The rich are those people who have so much
money that they do not have to work at all.
4. A is a home owned by the
local authorities and rented out mainly to working class
families.
5. Another name for the non-regional Oxford dialect is

6. The dialect used by many people in the London area today is
called English.
7. In Scotland, the word they use instead of mountain is

11
8. By tradition, northern England has always been a
for the Labour Party.
9. The national dish in Scotland is
10. Prince Charles is called the Prince of Wales, a title that each
male to the British throne has had ever
since 1301.
III. Test your use of special Scottish words
Here you have some statements made by a Scotsman. Answer the
questions about them using words people would normally use in
England or Wales.
1. Many historians say that Mary Queen of Scots (sister of Queen
Elisabeth I) was a bonnie wee lassie as a bairn. -According to
many historians, what was Mary Queen of Scots like when she
was young?
2. I don’t recommend a tour of the bens and lochs today because
it’s a bit dreich. –What doesn’t the Scotsman recommend, and
why?
3. We’ll need a wee dram before we walk over the brae and along
the loch to the kirk. –According to the Scotsman, what will we
need, and what will we do after that?
IV. Controversial topics for panel discussions
1. You may have been rather surprised to learn that there is still a
rather archaic social class system that still exists particularly in
England but, to a certain extent, even in Scotland and Wales.
The text you have just read gives examples of how people’s
lifestyles differ depending on the social class they belong to.
Be prepared to discuss this with others. To what extent do you
consider that there is a social class structure in your country
that influences people’s lifestyle?
2. If you have stayed with an English family or have had contact
with British people, try to determine the social class they belong
to by writing down and discussing with others those aspects
that convey information about their lifestyle.

12
3. Choose a British celebrity and determine which social class
he or she comes from when considering style of language,
interests, general appearance, etc. Compare your results with
others.
4. The text gives examples of different areas that convey
information about social class (work, education, politics,
sports, etc). There are also many other areas that can convey
the social class of a person. Try to add new areas that can
convey such information.
5. Which social class do you belong to? Motivate why you belong
to this social class.
6. Why do you think that the rather archaic social class system
of the type they have in Britain still exists? Give examples of
countries you know of where there is still a social class system
or clearly defined hierarchy.
7. We have learnt from the text that there are many different
dialects spoken in Britain. Again, choose a British celebrity and
try to define the dialect he or she uses. How does this dialect
differ from Received Pronunciation? Which dialect of English
have you had most contact with? Which dialect of English do
you prefer? Why?
IV. Find out more
1. If you are interested in finding out more about the
characteristics of British people as well as their customs, you
can study a project that a school in Kent has completed on this
subject. You can read all about their project at the following
web address:
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs
2. If you are interested in finding out more about the many
different dialects used in Britain, you can - with the help of the
following web address - click on various parts of the map of
the UK and listen to the local dialects used there.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/index.shtml

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