Book of the Month
British as a Second Language

Publisher: Petersen
Author: David Bennun
£7.99

ISBN 009190035-2

Advanced


It's time to start planning your holidays again. If language learning is more important than staying warm and dry, many of you might be planning a trip to the United Kingdom to improve your language skills by spending time among the native speakers. Reading David Bennun's book is good practice, not only because it contains a lot of challenging English, but it also tells you a lot about the British people themselves. The writer came to England when he was 18 and spent many of his first years in the country discovering that the British were nothing like his expectations.

Here, in 309 pages, he shares his experience of 'Travels among the English'. (Like many people in England, the author is not good at distinguishing between the English and the British - something that really annoys Scots and Welshmen). In thirteen chapters, the author describes what the British think about sex, clothes, cookery, animals, and of course social class. He does not talk about the English language much, except to say that it is such a good language for swearing that the Welsh often use English bad language even when they are talking in Welsh. Many of his opinions are shared by visitors - for example that British public transport is a joke throughout the civilized world. Other comments are unexpected, but generally accurate. For example 'British men who buy their own clothes are easy to identify - they are either arrogant, single, or gay.'

Who is this book for? This is not a guide book to Britain - its more of a guide to its people. You will not find any descriptions of British landmarks, but you will find out why it's dangerous to discuss children or animals with the British, and get some insights into the British mind. ('Britain is not very cold, but try spending even a mild winter in a country where they try to pretend it is not happening'.) Overall, if your language skills are good, and you do not mind occasional crudeness or bad language, this book will tell you more about the people who gave their language to the world.

Verdict: It's about the people, not the language.
Assessment 6/10


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