UNIT 3

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Vocabulary
Find the "odd one out". There may be more than one answer. Give your
reasons.

A B C
1. similar diferent dissimilar
2. a multi-racial
society
a multi-lingual
society
a
monoculture
3. immigrants emigrants migrants
4. the ormans the !omans the "a#ons
$. to intermarry to inter%ere to integrate
&. asylum re%uge shelter
'. (re)udice bias criticism

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
*ost +uro,ean countries ha-e multi-racial societies o.ing both to historical and
geogra,hical %actors. *ilitary con/uests0 ,ersecution and economic hardshi,
ha-e all contributed to .a-es o% immigration.
+arly British history highlights the in1uence o% the Romans0 the Vikings0 the
Saxons and the Normans. *ore recently0 .e ha-e o,ened our doors to ,eo,le
%rom our former colonies see2ing )obs0 refugees see2ing political asylum and
other members o% the uropean !ommunity.
Racial integration has been success%ul in many areas o% Britain. "ntermarriage
bet.een ,eo,le o% similar cultures is no. -ery common. 3he ,o,ularity o%
Chinese and "n#ian foo# and su,,ort %or e-ents such as the Notting $ill
!arnival sho. a %urther acce,tance o% cultural #i%erences.
4o.e-er0 good race relations ha-e ,ro-ed more di5cult .here there has been
large-scale immigration in-ol-ing #issimilar cultures0 es,ecially in areas o%
social de,ri-ation - %or e#am,le0 .here there is ,oor housing and high
unem,loyment. ot only do immigrants become scapegoats %or the ,roblems
o% these areas0 but they0 themsel-es0 may be reluctant to integrate %or reasons
o% religion or cultural identity.

Dialogue
A: &hat #o you think is the problem between the +nglish and the Americans6

B: That's a very interesting (uestion0 because both nationalities share a
common language and are usually on the same side in .ar-time0 yet they
rarely s,ea2 .ell o% one another on a ,ersonal le-el.

A: )re we talking about a struggle %or su,eriority6

B: *es+ but .e measure our su,eriority in diferent .ays. 7urs is cultural and
historical. 8e belie-e .e9re more ci-ili:ed. 8e9re the country o% "ha2es,eare
and the industrial re-olution. Americans -isit +ngland in search o% culture and
history.

A: So in what ways are they su,erior6

B: &ell+ obviously in si:e. +-erything9s bigger - their country0 their salaries0
their roads0 their com,anies. 3heirs is the land o% *ac;onald9s0 Coca Cola0
*icroso%t and <B*. 3hey en)oy telling us that they9re the best.

A: )n# are they right,

B: =es0 i% you measure success ,urely in dollars0 but there're two points here.
-irstly0 many +nglish ,eo,le actually belie-e that ""mall is Beauti%ul". 3hey
,re%er countries .here you don9t get mugged in ,ar2s and sub.ays.

A: &hat's the other point,

B: " was coming to that. <t9s the diference in character. .aybe you think you're
the best in the .orld0 but you don9t go shouting about it %rom the roo%to,s.
Americans lac2 our modesty and reser-e. They're probably .armer and more
%riendly0 but they9re o%ten -ery loud and e#tro-ert to go with it.

A: So you prefer the British character6

B: Not entirely. &e ten# to be rather obli/ue in our con-ersation. 8hen
Americans s,ea20 you can ta2e them literally0 but .hen +nglish ,eo,le s,ea2
you have to rea# between the lines.

A: &e say one thing an# mean another6

B: xactly.
Discussion Questions
1. "Cultural diferences cause ,roblems. <t is better %or ,eo,le to stay in their
o.n countries rather than to migrate to other ones." ;o you agree6
2. 8ould you ,re%er to li-e in a monoculture or a multi-racial society6 8hy6
3. "<t is better to study ma)or international languages li2e +nglish rather than
to s,end time on minority languages %or the sa2e o% regional identity." ;o you
agree6
4. ">o-ernments should gi-e regions in their countries more autonomy so that
they can ,rotect and en)oy their o.n cultures rather than ser-ing the
centrali:ed ,olicies o% the ca,ital city." ;o you agree6
$. <s it better to marry someone o% the same cultural bac2ground6
&. "!eligion as a school sub)ect should include all the ma)or .orld religions -
not only the ma)ority religion in the country concerned." ;o you agree6
'. 4o. do you thin2 "British Culture" difers %rom ". American Culture"6 4o.
do these cultures difer %rom the culture o% your o.n country6
?. @oo2 at the %ollo.ing ,ictures0 describe and com,are them. Comment on any
rele-ant as,ect connected .ith the current to,ic.
Cultural Differences...
Cultural Differences... and how they affect our perceptions of each other