SIGNS OF NATIONAL IDENTITYWe’ll speak about the following Signs of national identity: names, clothes, musical instruments and some characteristics.
NAMES
- The prefix Mac or Mc in surnames (such as Mc Call, Mac Carthy, MacDonald) is often either ( Welsh/ Scottish) or ( Irish/ English).
- The prefix O (as in O'Brian, O'Hara) is distinctly Irish.
- A very large numbers of surnames (for ex. Davis, Evans, Jones, Morgan, Price, Williams) suggest ( Welsh/ Irish) origin.
- The most common surname in both England and Scotland is actually "Smith".
- There are also nicknames for Scottish or Irish and Welsh men. Welsh or Irish person might refer and address a Scottish friend as ( “Jock”/ ”Nick”) whatever his first name is.
- Irish men are called "Paddy" or "Mick"
- and Welsh men are known as "Taffy".
If the person is not a friend the nickname may sound rather insulting.
CLOTHES
The kilt, a skirt with tartan pattern worn by men is a very well-known symbol of
( Scottishness/ Welshness) (though it is hardly ever worn in everyday life).
INSTRUMENTS
The harps is an emblem of both ( Wales and Ireland/ England and Scotland). The bagpipes are regarded as distinctively ( Scottish/ English) though a smaller type is also used in traditional Irish music.
Date: 2014-12-29; view: 2186
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