英國(guó)dissertation范文：英國(guó)酒吧文化dissertationBritish Pub Talk and Pub Culture

在英國(guó)酒吧是很好的交流平臺(tái)，這里談話被稱作 bar conversation或pub talk，這其實(shí)是英國(guó)一種文化現(xiàn)象。這篇文章就介紹分析pub talk現(xiàn)象及pub culture.

Abstract:
   
In a British pub, there often occur conversations, which is called bar conversation or pub talk. And pub talk has its own charm and culture. This paper mainly focuses on pub talk and pub culture.

Key words:Pub, Pub Talk, Pub Culture

Introduction:

Pub-talk, the most popular activity in all pubs, is a native dialect with its own distinctive grammar. There are very few restrictions on what you can talk about in pubs: pub etiquette is concerned mainly with the form of your conversation, not the content.

I. The Definition of Pub
The house ---- known as the pub or the local ---- is a center of social life for a large number of people (especially men) in Britain. The short name pub is for the full name public house. Pubs, besides offering a wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and providing (in increasing numbers) hot and cold food, serve as places for meeting friends and for entertainment. Many have, for instance, television sets, amusement machines and joke-boxes and provide facilities for playing cards, darts, pool or billiards, dominoes, skittles, Shove-ha’penny and similar games. Some also employ musicians for evening entertainment, such as piano playing, folk singing and modern jazz.
Pubs in Britain often have beautiful names, such as “The Mermaid”, “The Red House”, “Castle in Forest”, “The Jolly Sailor”, and “Charming Port”, etc.
Traditionally, there are two kinds of bars in a pub, namely public bar and saloon bar or lounge bar. Bars usually offer alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Alcoholic drinks such as beer, sherry, champagne, wine, cocktail, martini, vermouth and liquor or spirit, concluding whisky, gin and brandy. Non-alcoholic drinks consist of fruit juice, e.g. orange juice, lemon juice, tomato juice, pub-ling wine, Sweet or Rose, loke and mineral water.

II. Some Features of Pub talk

i) The greeting ritual
When a regular enters the pub, you will often hear a chorus of friendly greetings from other regulars, the publican and bar staff. The regular responds to each greeting, usually addressing the greeter by name or nickname. No one is conscious of obeying a rule or following a formula, yet you will hear the same greeting ritual in every pub in the country.

Pub etiquette does not dictate the actual words to be used in this exchange—and you may hear some inventive and idiosyncratic variations. The words may not even be particularly polite: a regular may be greeted with "Back again, Joe? —Haven’t you got a home to go to?" or "Ah, just in time to buy your round, Joe!"#p#分頁(yè)標(biāo)題#e#

When you first enter a pub, don't just order a drink — start by saying "Good evening", with a friendly nod and a smile, to the bar staff and the regulars at the bar counter. For most natives, this will trigger an automatic, reflex greeting-response, even if it is only a nod. Don't worry if the initial response is somewhat reserved. By greeting before ordering, you have communicated friendly intentions. Although this does not make you an “instant regular”, it will be noticed, and your subsequent attempts to initiate contact will be received more favorably.

ii) The Pub-argument
You may well hear a lot of arguments in pubs — arguing is the most popular pastime of regular pub goers — and some may seem to be quite heated. But pub-arguments are not like arguments in the real world. They are conducted in accordance with a strict code of etiquette. This code is based on the First Commandment of Pub Law: "Thou shall not take things too seriously".

The etiquette of pub-arguments reflects the principles enshrined in the unwritten 'constitution' governing all social interaction in the pub: the constitution prescribes equality, reciprocity, the pursuit of intimacy and a tacit non-aggression pact. Any student of human relations will recognize these principles as the essential foundation of all social bonding, and social bonding is what pub-arguments are all about.

Rule number one: The pub-argument is an enjoyable game—no strong views or deeply held convictions are necessary to engage in a lively dispute. Pub regulars will often start an argument about anything, just for the fun of it.

Rule number two: Be prepared to laugh at yourself, as you will almost certainly be teased.By the end, everyone may have forgotten what the argument was supposed to be about. No one ever wins, no one ever surrenders. When participants become bored or tired, the accepted formula for terminating the argument is to finish a sentence with " — and anyway, it's your round". Opponents remain the best of mates, and all has had a good time.

iii) Free-association
Listen carefully, and you will realize that most pub-talk is also a form of free-association —which may help to explain its socially therapeutic effects. In the pub, the naturally reserved and cautious natives shed their inhibitions, and give voice to whatever passing thought happens to occur to them. You will notice that pub-conversations rarely progress in any kind of logical manner; they do not stick to the point, nor do they reach a conclusion.

Free-association is the easiest form of choreographed pub-talk to join in. Having established that the conversation is 'public', you just say whatever happens to come into your head in connection with the current topic of conversation.

iv) Pub humor
Jokes, puns, teasing, wit, banter and backchat are all essential ingredients of pub-talk. In fact, you will notice that most pub-talk has an undercurrent of humor, never far below the surface.#p#分頁(yè)標(biāo)題#e#
Pub humor can sometimes be bold and bawdy, but the stereotype of loud, beer-bellied males exchanging dirty jokes is inaccurate and unfair. Most pub humor is quite subtle—occasionally to the point of obscurity —and some participants have a command of irony that would impress Jane Austen.

III. British Pub-goer's Manner

So now you have a drink, but what about meeting the locals? Pub-goers will indicate in unspoken ways if they are interested in chatting. Concentrate on those who have bought drinks and are still loitering at the bar. Those who have moved to sit at tables are probably not seeking company. Look for people with "open" body language, facing outwards into the room. Don' t ever introduce yourself with an outstretched hand and a big smile. Natives will cringe and squirm with embarrassment at such brashness. The British, quite frankly, do not want to know your name and shake your hand--or at least not until a proper degree of mutual interest has been well established (like maybe when you marry their daughter).

Talk generally about the weather, the beer or the pub and at an appropriate moment, offer to your newfound companion a drink. This exchange is key to feeling part of the pub crowd and thereby getting to know more about Britain than its tourists spots. The ritual of sharing--buying rounds of drinks in turn--is of great significance. This is because the British male is frightened of intimacy, finds it difficult to express friendly interest in other males and can be somewhat aggressive in his manner.
   
If you are having British friends or business contracts, one of your hosts will probably buy the first round, but you should be quick to offer the next. The right time to offer to buy a drink is when their glasses are still a quarter full. The line of "It's my round--What are you having?" may not be in your phrase book, but it is one of the most useful sentences in the English language.

IV. British Pub Culture

Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub. But these friendly hostelries can be minefields of potential gaffes for the uninitiated.
An anthropologist and a team of researchers have unveiled some of the arcane rituals of British pubs--starting with the difficulty of getting a drink. Most pubs have no waiters--you have to go to the bar to buy drinks. A group of Italian youths waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own. This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose.
Pub culture is designed to promote sociability in a society known for its reserve. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served. The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely appropriate and rea1ly quite normal behavior. "If you haven’t been to a pub, you haven’t been to Britain." This tip can be found in a booklet, Passport to the Pub: The Tourists’ Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers’ code of conduct for those wanting to sample "a central part of British life and culture".#p#分頁(yè)標(biāo)題#e#

The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat. For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks. Nothing irritates the regular customers and bar staff more than a gang of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and dither about what to order. 　

Amazingly for the British, who love queues, there is no formal line-up--the bar staffs are skilled at knowing whose turn it is.You are permitted to try to attract attention, but there are rules about how to do this. Do not call out, tap coins on the counter, and snap your fingers or wave like a drowning swimmer. Do not scowl or sigh or roll your eyes. And whatever you do, do not ring the bell hanging behind to counter--the landlord to signal closing time uses this. The key thing is to catch the bar worker's eyes. You could also hold an empty glass or some money, but do not wave them about. Do adopt an expectant, hopeful, even slightly anxious facial expression. If you look too contented and complacent, the bar staff may assume you are already being served.
   
Always say "please" and try to remember some of the British bar staffs pet hates. They do not like people to keep others waiting while they make up their minds. They don't like people standing idly against the bar when there are a lot of customers wanting for service. And they do not like people who wait until the end of the order before asking for such drink as Guinness stout which take considerably longer to pour than other drinks.
   
One Dutch tourist who spent six months visiting 800 of Britain's 61, 000 pubs and interviewing 50 publicans and bar workers and more than 1,000 customers said: “I cannot understand how the British ever manage to buy themselves a drink.” But they do, and if you follow these tips you should be able to do so, too.
   
Speaking of tips, you should never offer the bar staff a cash gratuity. The correct behavior is to offer them a drink. Pubs pride themselves on their egalitarian atmosphere. A tip in cash would be a reminder of their service role, whereas the offer of a drink is a friendly gesture.

V. Conclusion

In a word, pubs in Britain have its own culture, but friends who you made in a pub are companions, not intimates. They are friends but not intimate enough to be curious about each other’s private life and thoughts.The contents of pub talk are random and the culture of pub became so popular and familiar with people.

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