TW - British/Welsh Culture

[Spimman]

I thought it might be good to have a forum to discuss British/Welsh culture, for those of us who don't really understand the differences or how accurate everything on TW is. I'm new to TW, but have watched them all and really enjoy that it shows (as far as I know) more of the British/Welsh culture than DW, who is always in different places. I'll put out a few questions for discussion and please expand or take it away from there. I'm in no way trying to make fun of the culture, I enjoy it, I just like to understand things!


Do British/Welsh people really drink that much tea?
Is Ianto a traditional Welsh or British name?
Are certain characters more Welsh/English and/or British?
How do British identify themselves? British or Welsh/English/Scottish/Irish?
Does British TV allow all the language on public broadcast?
Are Bloody and B***cks (spelling?) considered cuss words equal to the F or S word?

This should be a good start?

[Madwelshboy]

Do British/Welsh people really drink that much tea?

Some do, not all.

Is Ianto a traditional Welsh or British name?

Its a Welsh name. Its the pet form of the name Ifan which in itself is one of the Welsh forms of John.

Are certain characters more Welsh/English and/or British?

Gwen is very much your typical South Wales girl, born and breed.

How do British identify themselves? British or Welsh/English/Scottish/Irish?

Personally i tend to find (based on where i grew up, and where i now work) that people identify themselves more with their home nation rather than British.

Does British TV allow all the language on public broadcast?

Depends on the channel and what time it airs.

Are Bloody and Bolux (spelling?) considered cuss words equal to the F or S word?

No, their more mild.

[pbellosom]

Do British/Welsh people really drink that much tea?

We never had a revolution over the price of it

[Spimman]

Personally i tend to find (based on where i grew up, and where i know work) that people identify themselves more with their home nation rather than British.

So Great Britain is the country and Wales, England, Scotland, N. Ireland are countries too? How does that actually work? I always thought each "Country" was much more independent than our US states. Very few US States take a ton of state pride, although most take some (Texas being the most since it was once an independent country).

We never had a revolution over the price of it

Yeah, hot tea for some reason kinda died out in the States From the show it seems like Hot Tea may be more popular than coffee over here, although it seems like Ianto can make a good cup of both! I personally enjoy a cup of Earl Grey from time to time, but I doubt I've ever really had a quality cup nor do I know how to make one!

They really never mention the type of Tea, is it assumed to be a certain type unless otherwise stated?

[Madwelshboy]

So Great Britain is the country and Wales, England, Scotland, N. Ireland are countries too? How does that actually work? I always thought each "Country" was much more independent than our US states. Very few US States take a ton of state pride, although most take some (Texas being the most since it was once an independent country).

Great Britain is the largest island of the UK, made up of the countries England, Scotland and Wales. The UK is a sovereign state governed by a parliamentary system in London but with three devolved national administrations of varying powers in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively.

Hope that makes sence, though i dont know if it really answers your question, lol

[Flyboy]

So Great Britain is the country and Wales, England, Scotland, N. Ireland are countries too? How does that actually work? I always thought each "Country" was much more independent than our US states. Very few US States take a ton of state pride, although most take some (Texas being the most since it was once an independent country).

Not quite. The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland is what we call a 'union state'. Wales is actually a principality, not technically a country (which is no insult, I live in Wales, and love the place to bits). Scotland and England are countries, though not what I would call nation states, because they are part of the overall union state, unlike say, France, which is in itself a Nation State (or Ankh-Morpork, a fictional city that resembles the power systems of centuries gone by, as a city-state).

Ultimatly, the United Kingdom is governed from London, but that does not MEAN England rules the UK. Parliament is totally representative of all the four territories in the UK.

I indentify as British, as Britain (there is, funnily enough, no UK national identity) is the international actor, and whilst Wales, Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland may at times vary in terms of domestic policy, such as education in particular, it is Britain, the combined might of four great states that interacts within the global community.

[Skydiver]

hot tea pretty much died over here in the 1700's when England taxed the crud out of it in the colonies. anti british sentiments were such that it was often seen as an insult to drink it, coffee was a 'partriotic american drink'.

tea, however, is gaining a bit of popularity with green tea, etc, and seen as a 'kinder,gentler' drink than coffee, yet not as 'childish' as hot cocoa

here in the US, bloody and ********, well bloody is beyond tame. and ******** isn't commonly used.

ETA: hehehe, but the second B word IS apparently in the language filter

[Skydiver]

tea is, well basically a late afternoon snack in the UK. When i've been over there, you have tea around 5pm or so, then dinner at 7pm or so. And it's just tea and maybe cookies or a simple light snack. Milk in tea is a taste sensation that isn't well known at all in the US. I like it, it makes the tea much milder and kinda a warm, soothing drink.

[Spimman]

Do I need to edit the worl B****cks out of my original post? Seeing as it isn't used in the US I really didn't know if it was an off-limits word or not.

I wish I knew how to make fresh tea from something other than a little bag, never added milk or anything but I do in my coffee...I'll have to try it

[Flyboy]

tea is, well basically a late afternoon snack in the UK. When i've been over there, you have tea around 5pm or so, then dinner at 7pm or so. And it's just tea and maybe cookies or a simple light snack. Milk in tea is a taste sensation that isn't well known at all in the US. I like it, it makes the tea much milder and kinda a warm, soothing drink.

Tea as a late afternoon snack?

Well.......... yes. Maybe.

But generally speaking, it's ALWAYS time for a cup of tea. And I mean ALWAYS. First thing in the morning, last thing before bed, 10 minute work break, WHILST working, when you get back from work, etc etc etc.

I honestly couldn't live without it. Yes - I AM a cliche.

[Draygon]

Tea as a late afternoon snack?

Well I know that in northern England and Scotland, tea is a term used to mean you dinner while dinner is your lunch There was a huge debate about it before one of my lectures once. Bit of North/south riverly (To me they're all southerners though )

As to describing nationality, I have always said that I'm scottish before I say I'm brittish, and from personal experiance people do tend to say that thyy're English, or Welsh or Scottish or Irish ratehr than British.

[Skydiver]

And the people that I stayed with in Nottingham treated tea as a snack, something to drink and maybe a cookie or two, then we had dinner at 7ish. so we had breakfast, a light lunch wherever we were touring (bowl of soup, sandwich, etc) then tea then dinner.

I know I have a collection of tea bags in my desk drawer for those 'dude, it's chilly in here, i need something warm to drink' moments.

as to the 'b' word, if you want to edit it out, you can. it's that one spelling that I used that's in the filter, but I also haven't been deluged with complaints about the word being in the post, so the offense level seems to be pretty low

[Flyboy]

And the people that I stayed with in Nottingham treated tea as a snack, something to drink and maybe a cookie or two, then we had dinner at 7ish. so we had breakfast, a light lunch wherever we were touring (bowl of soup, sandwich, etc) then tea then dinner.

I know I have a collection of tea bags in my desk drawer for those 'dude, it's chilly in here, i need something warm to drink' moments.

as to the 'b' word, if you want to edit it out, you can. it's that one spelling that I used that's in the filter, but I also haven't been deluged with complaints about the word being in the post, so the offense level seems to be pretty low

The fact that Aunty Beeb (the BBC) seemed happy to have Cpt. E Blackadder use the phrase boll*cks in one of the episodes as part of a punch line indicates the inoffensive nature of the term. Ok, you don't want kiddywinks going round using it, but it's the least-offensive offensive word we have. In fact, I think sh*t is deemed more offensive in the UK.

[Spimman]

Interesting indeed. By watching British TV, I would say US TV audiences have much higher offense levels when it comes to language, I didn't even know until recently Bloody or Bo***cks were curse words at all. TW would be rated R in the US without a doubt, for language and no other reason at all.

I would say in US the F*** word is hands down the most offensive (almost automatic R rating) and then the A**, S*** and B**** are considered offensive as well. Dam* and Hel* are considered cuss words, but I would say are the least offensive. There are other offensive words of a sexual nature but I'm not sure if they're considered "Cuss" words or not.

I find it quite interesting that we all "basically" speak the same language but at the same time there are so many differences, I guess we're kind of the mutts (term for mixed bread dog, you guys use that?) of the English speaking world


**Side Note** Is Ianto pronounced Yanto?

[Skydiver]

Ianto is pronounced Yanto

and there's a worse word than the F one...the C word.

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

tea is, well basically a late afternoon snack in the UK. When i've been over there, you have tea around 5pm or so, then dinner at 7pm or so. And it's just tea and maybe cookies or a simple light snack. Milk in tea is a taste sensation that isn't well known at all in the US. I like it, it makes the tea much milder and kinda a warm, soothing drink.

Not where I live Dinner is around midday.. what some would call lunch and tea is the evening meal

I was on the phone to someone in London yesterday and he had trouble understanding me

[Flyboy]

But in that case, Tea does not refer to a 'cup of tea', the word is being used synonymously with most people's 'dinner' or evening meal. Actual tea is not a factor

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

But what if I have a cup of tea at the same time?

Sometimes have four or five cups a day ... if you replace tea with coffee since I don't drink tea

[Flyboy]

But what if I have a cup of tea at the same time?

Sometimes have four or five cups a day ... if you replace tea with coffee since I don't drink tea :weiranime42:

I hereby cast you out of British society and deem you to be an undesirable! Be gone foul creature of the underworld!

[Ukko]

Tea as a late afternoon snack?

Well.......... yes. Maybe.

But generally speaking, it's ALWAYS time for a cup of tea. And I mean ALWAYS. First thing in the morning, last thing before bed, 10 minute work break, WHILST working, when you get back from work, etc etc etc.

I honestly couldn't live without it. Yes - I AM a cliche.

My breakfast is sometimes just a cup of tea I also drink tea when i get hungry during the day. It tends to satisfy me untill its actually time to eat food.

Ianto is pronounced Yanto

and there's a worse word than the F one...the C word.

Coffee?