XIII Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2021

The weather is the favorite conversational topic in England. When two Englishmen meet, their first words will be "How are you?" And after the reply "Very well, thank you; how are you?" the next remark is almost certain to be about the weather. When they go abroad the English often surprise people of other nationalities by this tendency to talk about the weather, a topic of conversation that other people do not find so interesting.

Oscar Wilde said that conversation about it was the last refuge of the unimaginative, while Bill Bryson noted that its most striking characteristic is that there is not much of it. The weather – and the British obsession with talking about it – has been puzzling outsiders for decades.

According to recent research, 94% of British respondents admit to having conversed about the weather in the past six hours, while 38% say they have in the past 60 minutes. “This means at almost any moment in this country, at least a third of the population is either talking about the weather, has already done so or is about to do so,” says social anthropologist Kate Fox, who performed the studies in 2010 for an update of her book Watching the English.

The British discuss the weather on special Internet forums. On one of the oldest, created in the 1990s, enthusiasts are trying to find a scientific basis for British weather.

One of the most popular topics is whether there will be real winter at Christmas this year. It should be noted that over the past half century, snowy Christmas in the UK has been recorded only four times.

Another subject of extensive online discussion is the nostalgia for the weather, which, of course, was very different before.

British social anthropologist Kate Fox has done research and analyzed hundreds of conversations involving the weather. Kate Fox talks about the weather as a code to get over the awkwardness at the beginning of a conversation.

Sometimes it's a way to start a conversation, sometimes it's to fill an awkward pause or avoid an awkward topic. And sometimes it's just an excuse to grumble together. Is there a better way to unite people than general dissatisfaction with the weather?

But quite often a comment about the weather allows you to find out the mood of the interlocutor. Fox also says that your "weather" greeting will demonstrate what mood you are in and whether your interlocutor should keep up the conversation.

Talking about the weather is governed by the British rather rigid etiquette. For example, the discussion should start in the form of a question, even if it will be a slight change in intonation – "Is it raining again?" The interlocutor must agree.

"Disagreement in response is a rather serious violation of etiquette. Or if you are going to argue, you must indicate that this is only your subjective opinion," Fox warns."If someone starts a conversation with the words" It's cold, isn't it? "And you answer – no, really", it will cause confusion.

And now I would like to present cliché phrases that will help us, residents of Russia, keep up a conversation with the British about the weather.

Talking about the weather – conversation starters:

· “Lovely day, isn’t it!”

· “Bit nippy today.”

· “What strange weather we’re having!”

· “It doesn’t look like it’s going to stop raining today.”

Attitude to weather

Although British people like to complain about bad weather, they generally “put a brave face on it”. If someone complains about too much rain, you might hear: ‘’Never mind – it’s good for the garden.’’ If someone complains that it’s too hot, you could hear: ‘’At least my tomatoes will be happy.’’ If the conversation has been about general bad weather, perhaps someone will say: “Well, I’ve heard it’s worse in the west. They’ve had terrible flooding.”

Even the strangest English customs have their own explanations. when we know what is behind certain rules or traditions in the UK, it becomes easier for us to understand the English and properly maintain the conversation.