Ethnic identity: the four nations
National (‘ethnic’) loyalties can be strong among the people in Britain whose ancestors were not English. For many people living in England who call themselves Scottish, Welsh or Irish, this loyalty is little more than a matter of emotional attachment. But for others, it goes a bit further and they may even join one of the sporting and social clubs for ‘exiles’ from one of these nations. These clubs promote national folk music, organize parties on special national days and foster a consciousness of doing things differently from the English. For people living in Scotland, there are constant reminders of their distinctiveness. First, several important aspects of public life, such as education and the legal and welfare systems, are organized separately, and differently, from the rest of Britain. Scotland even prints its own banknotes (although these are the same currency as the rest of Britain). Second, the Scottish way of speaking English is very distinctive. A modern form of the dialect known as Scots is spoken in everyday life by most of the working classes in the lowlands. It has many features which are different from other forms of English and cannot usually be understood by English or Welsh people.
| Surnames The prefix ‘Mac’ or ‘Mc’ (such as McCall, McCarthy, MacDonald) is Scottish or Irish. The prefix ‘O’ (as in O’Brien, O’Connor) is Irish. A large number of surnames (e.g., Evans, Jones, Morgan, Price, Williams) suggest Welsh origin. The most common surname in both England and Scotland is ‘Smith’. |
Third, there are many symbols of Scottishness which are well-known throughout Britain. However, the feeling of being Scottish is not that simple. This is partly because of the historical cultural split between highland and lowland Scotland. A specifically Scottish Gaelic sense of cultural identity is, in modern times, felt only by a few tens of thousands of people in some of the Western Isles of Scotland and the adjoining mainland. These people speak Scottish Gaelic (which they call ‘Gallic’) as a first language. The people of Wales do not have as many reminders of their Welshness in everyday life. The organization of public life is similar to that of England and there are not so many well-known symbols of Welshness. In addition, a large minority of the people in Wales probably do not consider themselves to be especially Welsh at all. In the nineteenth century, large numbers of Scottish, Irish and English people went to find work there, and today many English people still make their homes in Wales or have holiday houses there. As a result, a feeling of loyalty to Wales is often similar in nature to the fairly weak loyalties to particular geographical areas found throughout England - it is regional rather than nationalistic. However, there is one single highly important symbol of Welsh identity - the Welsh language. Everybody in Wales can speak English, but it is not everybody's first language. For about 20% of the population, the mother tongue is Welsh. For these people, Welsh identity obviously means more than just living in the region known as Wales. Moreover, in comparison to the other small minority languages of Europe, Welsh is in a strong position. Thanks to successive campaigns, the language receives a lot of public support. All children in Wales learn it at school, there are many local newspapers in Welsh and a Welsh television channel, and all public notices and signs are written in both Welsh and English.
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And what about English identity? For the last 200 years, most people who describe themselves as English have made little distinction in their minds between ‘English’ and ‘British’. This confusion can still be found in the press and in public life. For example, at international football or rugby matches when the players stand to attention to hear the anthems of the two teams, the Scottish, Irish, and Welsh have their own songs, while the English one is just God Save the Oueen - the same as the British national anthem. However, as part of the growing profile of ethnic identity generally (The rise in ethnic and national profiles), the English part, distinct from British, is becoming clearer. Not so long ago, English supporters at those football and rugby matches used to wave the Union Jack flag; now they wave the cross of St. George. And at the Commonwealth Games, where England and the other parts of Britain compete separately, England has even found its own anthem (Land of Hope and Glory). In 2004, a poll asked teenagers in England and their teachers whether they thought of themselves first and foremost as English, British or European. A clear majority chose ‘British’, but there was a sharp difference between the teachers and the pupils. Only 12% of the teachers chose ‘English’, but 25% of the pupils did so. Nevertheless, exactly what makes ‘English’ and ‘British’ distinct from each other is not at all clear.
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In Northern Ireland the pattern of identity outlined above does not apply. Here, ethnicity, family, politics, and religion are all inter-related, and social class has a comparatively minor role in establishing identity. Northern Ireland is a polarized society where most people are born into, and stay in, one or other of the two communities for the whole of their lives. On one side of the divide are people whose ancestors came from lowland Scotland or England. They are self-consciously Protestant and want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK. On the other side are people whose ancestors were native Irish. They are self-consciously Catholic and would like Northern Ireland to become part of the Irish Republic. Although the two communities live side by side, their lives are segregated. They live in different housing estates, listen to different radio and television programmes, register with different doctors, take prescriptions to different chemists, march to commemorate different anniversaries and read different newspapers. Their children go to different schools, so that those who go on to university often find themselves mixing with people from the ‘other’ community for the first time in their lives. For the majority who do not go to university, merely talking to somebody from the other community is a rare event. The extremes of these hard-line attitudes are gradually softening. It should also be noted that they apply to a lesser extent among the middle-classes. It is indicative that while in football, a mainly working-class sport, Northern Ireland and the Republic have separate teams, in rugby union, a more middle-class sport, there is only one team for the whole of Ireland, in which Protestants from the north play alongside Catholics from the south with no sign of disharmony whatsoever.
Being British
The largest possible sense of identity that a British person could feel is that they are British. How important is this to British people? Do they feel they ‘belong’ to Britain? The short answers to these questions seem to be ‘not very’ and ‘not really’. The 2001 census asked a ‘national identity’ question, in which people could tick as many boxes as they liked out of British, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh or ‘other’. Only 46% altogether ticked the ‘British’ box (fewer than the 51% who ticked the ‘English’ box) and only a third ticked it as their only choice (as compared to the half who ticked one of the four nation boxes as their only choice). Likewise, a poll of English teenagers in 2002 found that less than half felt the national flag was important to them. Half of the respondents to an opinion poll in 2007 even said they would emigrate if they could. On the other hand, 75% of those same respondents agreed that they felt ‘proud to be British’. How can we make sense of this apparent contradiction? The answer is that British people are not normally actively patriotic. They often feel uncomfortable if, in conversation with somebody from another country, that person refers to ‘you’ where ‘you’ means Britain or the British government. They do not like to feel that they are personally representing their country.
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4. b Fill in the gaps using the material from the previous exercise.
How do British people identify themselves? Who do they feel they are? Everybody has an image of themself, but the things that make up this image can vary. For people living in Scotland, there are constant reminders of their distinctiveness. First, several important aspects of public life, such as _______________ and ________________________________, are organized separately, and differently, from the rest of Britain. Second, ___________________________________is very distinctive. A modern form of the dialect known as Scots is spoken in everyday life. Third, there are many ______________________________ which are well-known throughout Britain.
The people of Wales do not have as many reminders of their __________________ in everyday life. The _______________________ is similar to that of England and there are not so many well-known symbols of Welshness. In addition, a large ___________________ in Wales probably do not consider themselves to be especially Welsh at all. However, there is one single highly important symbol of Welsh identity - _______________________. Everybody in Wales can speak English, but it is not everybody's first language. For about 20% of the population, _______________________ is Welsh. For these people, Welsh identity obviously means more than just living in the region known as Wales.
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For the last 200 years, most people who describe themselves as English have made _____________________________between ‘English’ and ‘British’, as they have the same anthem, symbols and so on.
In Northern Ireland the ___________________ outlined above does not apply. Here, ethnicity, family, politics, and religion are ______________________, and social class has a comparatively minor role in establishing identity. Northern Ireland is _______________________ where most people are born into, and stay in, one or other of the two communities for the whole of their lives.
The largest possible sense of identity that a British person could feel is that they are British. How important is this to British people? Do they feel they ____________ to Britain? The short answers to these questions seem to be ______________________. According to the 2001 census no so many people ticked the British box and little people preferred to be only British. They do not like to feel that they are ____________________ their country.
5. Make up PowerPoint presentations on the following topics:
· Famous British people
· Popular/typical and unusual/strange names for boys and girls
· Welsh language/Gaelic language
· British vs American English
6. Put the following clauses and phrases into the correct order to complete a paragraph summarizing approaches to identity in Britain. (Hint: look carefully at the punctuation.)
In Britain, just like anywhere else in the world, people find it easier to mix with other people whom they consider to be in some way ‘the same’ as them. But how do they decide who is like them and who is not? In some parts of the world, they feel closest to people who are ...
1 language,
2 social class,
3 Neither is it
4 especially accent.
5 geography or wealth.
6 occupation, level of education,
7 or who come from the same locality
8 everyday habits, and general attitudes.
9 Of course, these aspects play a role.
10 in the same ethnic group as themselves
11 But the major criteria in Britain seem to be
12 or who are in the same economic circumstances.
13 and the major clue that people use to deduce a person’s class is
14 But for most people in Britain, the main criterion is not ethnicity.
15 It is the combination of these things which in Britain can be described as
7. Be ready to explain the meaning of the following countrystuding realia:
Cockney
Gaelic
Scottishness
Welshness
Ethnic minorities
Yuppie
Sloanes
8. Give the summary of the chapter.
ДОПОЛНИТЕЛЬНЫЕ ТЕМЫ ДЛЯ ПРЕЗЕНТАЦИЙ!!! (ВМЕСТО ЛЮБОЙ ИЗ ПРЕДЛОЖЕННЫХ ТЕМ В КАЖДОМ СЕМИНАРЕ – THESE TOPICS ARE OBVIOUSLY MORE INTERESTING)
· Strange professions for the queen.
· Royal weddings: don’t forget Diana & Charles, Kate & William
· Changing the guard in the Buckingham Palace
· The Buckingham Palace
· Queen Elizabeth’s II attitude to pets
Queen Elizabeth’s II stylist
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