Hello kids..

Reading “WATCHING THE ENGLISH” again, I am discovering a lot of things about English people that I haven’t imagined before….
I didn’t know that social classes are so important for English people. Here, in Spain , almost in the circle of people that I am, social classes are not very important, I hope.
I have discovered that for English people exist a big range of social classes and levels: upper class, middle class, middle-middle class, higher class, modest-middle class, working class, low class. And it is very difficult to pass from one class to another, so, to climb from the middle class to the upper class
The middle classes are particulary uncomfortable about class to the upper class, and well-meaning upper middles are the most squeamish of all. Upper class English people are also often rather blunt and no-nonsense about class.
Following the book, English people generally do not have problem to recognize at the most three classes: working, middle and upper. They have a sort of class radar, but for us, the foreing people things are more difficult, but I want to tell you a key that is a kind of class indicator to discover at what class belong your English friends….

“THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS”
they are seven words that the English uppers and uppers middles regards as infallible shibboleths

PARDON
This word is the most notorius pet hate of the upper and upper middle classes, so, all of them know that “pardon” is as much worse than “fuck” . Some even refer to lower-middle-class suburbs as “Pardonia”
A lower middle or middle-middle person will say “pardon” and an upper-middle will say “sorry”

TOILET
Toilet is another word that makes the higher class flinch. The correct upper-middle/upper term is “loo” or “lavatory”.
The working classes say “toilet” and may also sometimes say “bog”

SERVIETTE
A serviette is what the inhabitants of Pardonia call a napkin
Upper middle and upper-class mothers get very upset when their children learn to say “serviette” from their lower-class nannies and have to be painstakingly retrained to say “napkin”

DINNER
There is nothing wrong with the word “dinner” itself, it is only used by the working class to refer the midday meal, with should be called “lunch”
Calling your evening meal “tea” is also a working-class indicator, the higher echelons call this meal “dinner” or “supper”
A supper is an informal family meal eaten in the kitchen, and the uppers and upper-middles use the term “supper” more than middles and lower-middles.
“tea” for the higher classes is taken at around four o’clock, and consists of tea and cakes and perhaps little sandwiches, the lower classes call this meal “afternoon tea”

SETTLEE
If people called a seat for two or more people “settle” or “couch” , they are no higher than middle-middle class. If they called it “sofa”
They are upper-middle class.

LOUNGE
And what do they call the room in witch the settle/sofa is to be found?? Settles are found in “lounges” or “living rooms” , sofas in “sitting rooms” or “drawing rooms” . You may occasionally hear an upper middle-class person say “living room” but only middle-middles and below say “lounge”

SWEET
Like dinner, this word is not in itself a class indicator, but the upper middle and upper classes insist that the sweet course at the end of a meal is called “pudding” , never “sweet” on “afters” on “desert”
Sweet can be used as an adjective, but as a noun it is a piece of confectionery.
The course at the end of a meal is always “pudding” whatever it consists of a slice of cake or a lemon sorbet, But nowadays thanks to the American influence some young upper middles ate starting to say “desert” but it can also cause confusion, because for the upperclasses “desert” traditionally means a selection of fresh fruits to eat after the pudding.

So, now you have a good class test you can try when talking to a English people.. Ask them some questions and hear their answers with attention. If they say sorry or pardon,
If they used sweet or pudding, serviette or napkin…. But attention, because this is a particulary useful work for spotting middle-middle social climbers trying to pass an upper middle, they may have learn not to say pardon as toilet but they are often not aware that lounge is also a deadly sin.

MY GOD!!!! This is so complicated for me… I fell so happy when I can follow and understand English people talking that I can realized hearing their accent or the words than they used to recognized at what kind of social class they belong…
But may be you can try!!!

See you soon
Montserrat.-