Sorry if this is posted in the wrong sub-forum, but I wasn't sure where to put it. I've been spending a lot of time in the UK for work recently (I'm from India) and I've become quite fascinated with pop social history and anthropology on English society.
I just read 'Watching the English' by Katie Fox and I was amused by the presence of strict class segregations in common vocabulary (sofa vs. couch, napkin vs. serviette etc). An American colleague and I recently discussed how bewildering the English class system is to us since it based on social rather than economic capital and often what would be considered glamorous in other cultures is looked down upon as gauche here.
I've generally found English people to be quite inscrutable, self-deprecating and reticent (compared to the Arabs and Americans whom I lived amongst earlier). So I was wondering if you could tell me what some other unwritten social codes in the UK are? If you've ever lived overseas, what were the important cultural differences you spotted? What are the unsaid rules/ customs/ morals that you think are specific to England? Thanks and sorry for such a frivolous thread!