wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

oops that was meant to read "not all of them ARE lovable" right off to get a cuppa

this woman clearly spent all her time with the upper-middle & upper class. I am a New York born franco-american who spent a decade in the UK and her generalities remind me of my first two years when I was stuck working for an old set of colonialists.
and by the way there are MANY accents in Britain -in fact their are many accents in London and not all of them are not lovable. I think you are referring to The Queen's English spoken again by those juvenile public school boys...

As a Londoner who's lived variously in the US for over 10 years, Sarah's interview on Saturday afternoon needled me to the point of blind fury.
How can a professed Anglophile refer to us "the British"? As someone who's declared a love for this nation, she should know better. Doesn't realize that anyone who lives on the other side of the pond refers to themselves as either English, Irish, Welsh or Scottish, and not ever as "British"? That terms is a complete Americanism, and one that drives me mad. We would never say that. I don't think she understands us at all. Patronizing and ill-considered yes. Accurate? Not at all.

Would some making such cliche-ridden generalizations about China, Israel, Mexico, etc., be given such serious attention?

The impecunious nobility and British pronunciation of place names got a send up in a short story I read many years ago (Wodehouse, I believe) The opening line set the locale as "Notacentinthem Towers, pronounced Nosham Taws."
And there is of course the Cornwall tourist destination of Mousehole, pronounced "Mozzle," which I extended to form "azzle," as in "What an azzle!" a useful, not immediately recognizable pejorative.

What about differences in libel and slander standards vs. US? I've heard that justification is just the opposite from here. In the US, if you can prove the statement is true, then it's probably not libel (or at least not as bad). But in England, if it's true, that makes the statement that much worse. The closing discussion of calling someone a drunk got near this, but didn't quite answer. Can anyone else?

Nothing's off limits in the British press? Isn't the Official Secrets Act still in effect? Maybe the lack of limits in sexual subjects keeps their minds off that....

On problems understanding accents, there's a story about an American who got into a London cab & asked to go to the Comedy Theatre. Now, London cabbies have to pass thorough tests of their knowledge of the city, but this driver had never heard of the Comedy Theatre...or hadn't heard of the "Carmody" Theatre, which is how the US pronunciation sounded to him.

how did she get a house like Norton to get behind her book?

I'm a Brit who has lived in America since 1981. Regarding the political process here versus in the U.K. - and perhaps relating to the style of discourse in the House of Commons - for all the in depth coverage of politics in the US, Brits can't understand how a Sarah Palin, herself so inexperienced, can get away with calling Barack Obama's experience into question in the full media spotlight, or how John Kerry's war record can be called into question by an opponent's campaign when his service record was so questionable. It's a function of the American public and the media here, but utterly baffling to anyone who doesn't live here.

I HATE that this woman can generalize a WHOLE country! How quaint!!! The Brits are JUST adorable! Have we not grown beyond this? If you want to point out language differences, it should have just been a humorous lexicon, and not delve into the cliches of the British personality! ANd you know what? Not everyone LOVES the British accent. Personally, it can really "get up my nose" as the British would say!

i know someone wealthy and middle class, a brit - with an upper class father in law (not well to do) and a Canadian wife. They were at some upper class gala in London - his Canadian wife had a great time while none of the uppper class guests would even talk to the successful middle class person

agreed, cliches and stereotypes....expat drivel...

The oddest language problem I had with a Brit was when I was asked to go get "the keys in the kitchen -- they're on the surface."

I went into the kitchen assuming the "surface" would be self-evident once I got there. But no. I was like, the surface? everything has a surface here. The floor has a surface! the ceiling has a surface!

He laughed his head off, and explained that the kitchen counter, as it's known here, is called the surface. Counters are for bars and banks, he told me.

Can you ask her about Iraq? What do the British generally think the War in Iraq is for?

I recall seeing a newspaper headline in the subway in NYC when travelling with a Scottish friend.

The headline read "Lux Hotel Heist Nets 10Gs" and he remarked that he understood only 1 word in that headline.

I lived in London for six months, and the thing I noticed about the English is that they may have the proverbial "stiff upper lip" for the public, but when they turn around and talk to their friends, they are the BIGGEST whiners! Whine, whine, whine! Or "whinge" as they would say. Jeezus!
For example, that lady who said she didn't "mind" about your guest's cat, probably turned around to her husband as soon as she hung up the phone and whinged her knickers into a twist. (As the British would say).

i wish you had like a sociologist on or something, who could counter the ridiculous things this woman is saying. 'i don't mind' isn't confusing to me at all. maybe it's because i'm culturally irish and scottish, but 'i don't mind' means i don't mind the cat visiting, if that's what you or the cat wants. not 'i'm afraid to say what i really think.' i work in a store and i ask people, do you need a bag? and they say 'sure.' i think this is weird, but i know what they mean.

Can you say 'generalization' or 'lazy stereotyping'?

Graduates of boy's only boarding schools have the same attitude and difficulty with women. I went to one in the Near East and I can say that my classmates behave very similar to what is describes at this show.

I recently asked a young professional English woman, while waiting on line to enter a museum, to please explain the "success" of Tony Blair's political career.

Her reply,

"He's meant to be intelligent."

Now my favorite citation. I didn't have to explain to her that George W. Bush, by contrast, _isn't_ intended to be intelligent.

their nanny! definitely only talking about rich brits. jesus.

what! is this woman insane? americans don't just say 'vulva' (and by the way, vagina is not 'what it is' when you're referring to a front bottom). and you both just used 'bottom' instead of ass! what the hell are you talking about?

maybe your problem is that you only hang out with rich brits.

CS Lewis talks about the "fagging system" in his experience - talk about this?

THE greatest difference is that their corrupt politicians say "Po-tah-toe" while "our" corrupt politicians say, "Po-tay-toe".

In France, where po-tay or tah- toes are prepared palatably, their pronounced "pomme de terre" by the corrupt politicians.

not for nothing, but american men treat women like strange creatures all the time, without that.

I have commented, tongue-in-cheek, to Britons that England is "my favorite (ok, favourite) backwards country".

A common response is something like "that's what we say about America".

haha, english men are all the same! this lady is already rubbing me the wrong way.

Britain:1200 years of history unhindered by progress.

As a 60+ Brit who has lived half a life in each country and retains homes in both I have had years to examine the differences.
The main difference is one of expectations.
Americans have life long optimism, this isn't always a good thing as it leads to refusal to accept reality. Brits are much more cynical and expect the worst and face it with humour.
Sarah Lyall's articles ( and presumably book) just skate over the surface and repeat all the cliches. I assume it is a marketing strategy of give the public what they want.I don't believe she is so naive.

I spent a few months living in London in 2001...A city I adore. I think more than anything else I noticed that Americans say what they think, this can be loud, abrasive and rude...the British tend to hold it in more. They are polite to a fault, and don't necessarily say what they are thinking. While this means there are less outbursts and fights on the subway and in the streets, there is this feeling of restraint all the time.