# Know The British **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 29, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066 "2011-09-29T21:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/1 "2011-09-29T21:24:04Z")
[Here](http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=74948)’s a great, entertaining film explaining the UK to a presumably North American business audience, from 1974. Some fantastic lines in it. The narrator sounds kinda Canadian to me, am I correct? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/2 "2011-09-29T23:50:37Z")
For its length, it doesn’t really give very much information. It seems odd that the need for punctuality in keeping appointments is stressed. Surely similar etiquette applied in North America? ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/3 "2011-09-30T02:16:45Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > It seems odd that the need for punctuality in keeping appointments is stressed. Surely similar etiquette applied in North America? Certainly in the major cities. It’s perhaps not such a big deal in small towns. But then I’d expect that to be the same in Britain too. Adorable film. Thanks, An Gadaí. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/4 "2011-09-30T04:14:25Z")
I had no idea that it is well & proper to refer to a Scot or a native of Wales (or Northern Ireland) as “British”. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/5 "2011-09-30T04:34:25Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I had no idea that it is well & proper to refer to a Scot or a native of Wales (or Northern Ireland) as “British”. That’s much better than calling a Scottish, Irish or Welsh person “English”. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/6 "2011-09-30T05:13:39Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > The narrator sounds kinda Canadian to me, am I correct? He sounds to me more like Ed Byrne trying to pull off an American accent. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/7 "2011-09-30T09:41:22Z")
I have to say, even being 40 years old and with a weird accent it is a pretty fair summary. The importance of the financial sector is true, as is the importance of punctuality and a degree of formality (though absolutely less than in say Germany, France or Switzerland). Our manufacturing is not so strong any more (but then who’s is in comparison to China?) However, could they have tried to make it slightly less gloomy? I know it was the seventies but even so, The sun did shine then as well. The British/English thing is just trying to avoid maximum offence. If you absolutely don’t know someone’s nationality then British is as neutral as you can get. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/8 "2011-09-30T13:00:25Z")
Is the video 7 or 70 minutes long? It says ‘time in’ and ‘time out’ and not sure what that means. Granted I haven’t watched the clip yet… ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/9 "2011-09-30T13:17:52Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > He sounds to me more like Ed Byrne trying to pull off an American accent. Yeah, I couldn’t place the accent at all. In places it sounded genero-British, a couple of parts sounded Canadian, and then some parts sounded vaguely American. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/10 "2011-09-30T14:05:04Z")
I’m a fan of [Telly Savalas Looks at Birmingham](http://www.birminghamitsnotshit.co.uk/videos/kojak). It’s a pretty good look at the place at the time, but Kojak?!? “Birmingham’s road systems are revolutionary: the Inner Ring Road, Queensway…” ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/know-the-british/598066/11 "2011-09-30T14:05:51Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Yeah, I couldn’t place the accent at all. In places it sounded genero-British, a couple of parts sounded Canadian, and then some parts sounded vaguely American. From a UK POV, it never sounded British to my ears, always Canadian/US. Plus something else…but Christ knows what.