British Phrasebook

My wife and I love to browse in bookstores. All kinds of bookstores, from small independents to the chains, and we can spend many hours in them. We sometimes buy books online, but not too often — usually when a book we're looking for happens not to be available at the local store.

The sections that interest me especially in a large bookstore (or in a library for that matter) are the language, linguistics, history and travel sections. If the bookstore has comfortable armchairs or sofas, as many of the chains now have, then the time just whizzes by while I check out what there is of interest.

A couple of nights ago we were at our neighborhood Borders. While my wife was looking for her knitting and crocheting books in the crafts section, I found in the language section a tiny book that is truly a gem of scholarship.

It's the "British Phrasebook" published by the the Australian company Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. The title is, in my view, something of a misnomer, as it is not simply a phrasebook in the usual sense of such travel accessories (of which I have quite a selection already, incorporating many different languages).

No, the British Phrasebook is much more than that. Its 304 pages contain a wealth of information, from the very first line of its Introduction ("The English — in England — are among the most tolerant bigots on Earth") to the very comprehensive list of Suggested Reading (three sections General, By Region, and Academic) at the end. In between are an extended capsule history of the development of the English language; chapters on pronunciation, usage, and slang; Cockney and other accents and dialects; Scots Gaelic and Welsh; British Society; American vs British English; Government and Politics; the Educational System; People and Placenames; in addition to the usual pocket phrasebook material (food, drink, entertainment, shopping, around town, in the country, sports, going out, and so on).

I did not know, for example, that Durex, a brand of condom, is now the name for condoms in general, or the origin and meaning of "mews" as an address, or the dotty British practice of "letterboxing", a massive treasure hunt in Dartmoor that attracts people from all over, including America. Tips abound ("Never ask for just a 'beer', always specify the quantity, such as 'a half of lager' or 'a pint of Guinness'.")

When a football crowd wants to tease someone about being overweight, it will chant:

Who ate all the pies
Who ate all the pies
You fat bastard
You fat bastard
You ate all the pies

The authors of this small Phrasebook, scholars all, are to be commended for putting together a remarkably comprehensive and articulate (not to say hugely amusing) booklet that sums up the British character while providing insights into a society that Americans may think we know much about, yet often find quite baffling.