British Banter

People and Lifestyle

by Owen Williams

What can you talk about in Britain? There are some banter | żarciki, droczenie się,
gadka
topics that British people like to discuss, and some to avoid sth | unikać czegoś
that Brits avoid talking about. Here is our guide. guide | przewodnik

FAVOURITE TOPICS OF DISCUSSION

The weather Entertainment

It is not true that it rains in
Britain all the time. British
weather is very changeable,
though – it is possible to have
rain, sun, wind, snow, more
sun and even a storm all in one
day! For this reason, the Brits
oten talk about the weather and
it is a sae subject to discuss.
As a topic that should make people happy, entertain-
ment is something people like talking about. The
Brits will happily talk about TV shows, recent
holidays, ood and drink, shopping and going out.
You can start a conversation by telling someone
what you ate or dinner last night and whether you
liked it or not – the other person will probably tell
you about something they ate recently, or about
a ood they like (or dislike) a lot.

weather | pogoda entertainment | rozrywka

changeable ˈtʃeɪndʒəbl | zmienny to make people happy | uszczęśliwiać ludzi
though | jednak/że recent | ostatni
rain | deszcz shopping | zakupy
sun | słońce going out | wychodzenie np. na miasto
wind | wiatr to tell sth | powiedzieć coś
snow | śnieg to eat | jeść
storm | burza last night | zeszłej nocy
for this reason | z tego powodu whether | czy
safe | bezpieczny probably | prawdopodobnie
subject | temat to dislike sth | nie lubić
czegoś
a lot | bardzo

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ENGLISH MATTERS CONVERSATIONS FOR BEGINNERS

People and Lifestyle

TOPICS TO AVOID
topics to avoid | tematy, których należy unikać

Health Politics and religion

In Britain, “Hello” is ollowed by, “How are you?” This doesn’t This is true in most places, including Britain: politics and reli-
mean you should discuss your health in detail. It’s better to say, gion are subjects which people have strong eelings and belies
“Fine thanks, how are you?” and nothing more. Show sympathy about. They are oten private eelings and belies that people
i the other person says they’re unwell (“oh dear” “poor you” don’t want to change. Equally, the Brits won’t appreciate being
or example) but do not make any more enquiries into the other told how good or bad their government is!
person’s health – they might think it’s rude.
Whatever you talk about, we hope you enjoy yoursel. Learning including sth | włącznie z czymś
a language can be un, especially when talking to other people. belief | wierzenie, przekonanie
to change sth | zmieniać coś
health | zdrowie equally | tak samo
to follow sth | występować po to appreciate sth tu əˈpriːʃieɪt ˈsʌmθɪŋ | doceniać coś
czymś government | rząd
to mean sth | oznaczać,
znaczyć coś
should | powinno się
to discuss sth in
detail | opisywać
coś szczegółowo Discussing
sympathy ˈsɪmpəθi Coronavirus
| współczucie
unwell | niedobrze Talking about regulations, isolations
poor you | biedactwo and vaccinations is as unavoidable
to make enquiries as the disease itsel. It is not the best
into sth tə meɪk subject to start a conversation with,
ɪnˈkwaɪriz but it is likely that people will talk to
ˈɪntə ˈsʌmθɪŋ you about it in Britain. Some people
| dopytywać o coś hold very strong personal views on
rude | niegrzecznie the subject, so to avoid accidentally
to enjoy oneself oending anyone, it is best to just
| dobrze się bawić talk about acts: say what the rules
to talk to sb are regarding quarantine and ace
| rozmawiać z kimś coverings in Poland, and (i you like)
other | inny, inni mention whether or not you have had
the disease and how it aected you.

vaccination ˌvæksɪˈneɪʃn | szczepienie

unavoidable ˌʌnəˈvɔɪdəbl | nieunikniony
disease dɪˈziːz | choroba
it is likely that | jest prawdopodobne, że…
to hold very strong personal views on sth
| mieć bardzo zdecydowane poglądy na
temat czegoś
accidentally | przypadkowo
to offend sb | obrazić kogoś
rule | zasada, reguła
regarding sth | dotyczący czegoś
quarantine ˈkwɒrəntiːn / ˈkwɔːrəntiːn
| kwarantanna
face covering | maseczka
to mention sth | wspomnieć coś
to affect sb | wpłynąć na kogoś