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Caledonia, Cambria and Hibemia 4 pageQuestions and suggestions 41
QUESTIONS 1 Bearing in mind its climate and general character, which part of Britain would you choose to live in? Why? Is this the same part that you would like to visit for a holiday? Why (not)? 2 How is the pattern of human settlement in your country different from that in Britain? 3 Does the capital city of your country stand in the same relation to the rest of the country as I London does to Britain? 4 The two big television news organizations in Britain, the BBC and ITN, both have 'North of England' correspondents. But neither has a 'South of England' correspondent. Why do you i think this is? What is it an example of?
5 In the short 'tour' of the regions of Britain in this chapter, some sections are longer than others. This is partly because some regions have 'higher profiles' than others - that is, more is known or imagined about them than others. Which are the regions in Britain that seem to have the higher profiles? What do their reputations consist of?
SUGGESTIONS Spotlight on Britain by Sheerin, Seath and White (Oxford University Press) is a book written for the non-native student of Britain using a geographical approach. If you enjoy travel writing, there are several books which offer accounts of journeys through or around Britain. The Kingdom by the Sea 'by the respected novelist Paul Theroux (Penguin) is an example. There are many nineteenth-century English novels which invoke a sense of place. The action in Thomas Hardy's novels, such as Return of the Native and Tess of the D'Urbervilles, usually takes place in the south west of England (mainly the county of Dorset), in an area which Hardy called Wessex. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte has the Yorkshire moors as its setting. More recently, Graham Swift's novel Waterland (Picador), as its title suggests, takes account of the effect of the landscape of the fens in East Anglia on the actions of the people who live there.
How do British people identify themselves? Who do they feel they are? Everybody has an image of themselves, but the things that make up this image can vary. For example, in some parts of the world, it is very important that you are a member of a particular family; in other parts of the world, it might be more important that you come from a particular place; in others, that you belong to a certain social class. This chapter explores the loyalties and senses of identity most typically felt by British people. Ethnic identity: the native British National ('ethnic') loyalties can be strong among the people in Britain whose ancestors were not English (see chapter i). For some 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 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, Wales and Northern Ireland, the way that ethnic identity commonly expresses itself varies. People in Scotland have constant reminders of their distinctiveness. First, several important aspects of public life are organized separately, and differently, from the rest of Britain - notably, education, law and religion. Second, the Scottish way of speaking English is very distinctive. A modern form of the dialect known as Scots (see chapter 2) 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 people who are not Scottish. Third, there are many symbols of Scottishness which are well-known throughout Britain (see chapter i). However, the feeling of being Scottish is not that simple (> What does it mean to be Scottish?). This is partly because of the historical cultural split between highland and lowland Scotland (see chapter 2). A genuinely 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 native British 43
Fhe ceremonial cutting of the haggis at a Bums' supper The sentimental nationalist That national pride that ties knots in your stomach when you see your coun- 1 try's flag somewhere unexpected is particularly strong among the Scots. On Burns' Night, people all over the world fight their way through haggis and Tarn o'Shanter1, not really liking either. They do it because they feel allegiance to a small, wet, under-populated, bullied country stuck on the edge of Europe. Many Scottish Scots hate theromantic, sentimental view of their country; the kilts, the pipes, the haggis, Bonnie Prince Charlie. The sight of a man in a skirt, or a Dundee cake2, makes them furious. To them, this is a tourist view of Scotland invented by the English. But I adore the fierce romantic, tartan, sentimental Scotland. The dour McStalin- ists are missing the point - and the fun. In the eighteenth century, the English practically destroyed Highland Scotland. The normalizing of relations between the two countries was accomplished by a novelist. Sir Walter Scott, whose stories and legends intrigued and excited the English. Under his direction, the whole country "reinvented itself. Everyone who could get hold of a bit of tartan wore a kilt, ancient ceremonies were invented. In a few months, a wasteland of dangerous beggerly savages became a nation of noble, brave, exotic warriors. Scott did the best public relations job in history.
The realpolitik3 Scot doesn't see it like that. He only relates to heavy industry, 1966 trade unionism and a supposed class system that puts Englishmen at the top of the heap and Scottish workers at the bottom. His heart is in the Gorbals, not the Highlands. But I feel moved by the pipes, the old songs, the poems, the romantic stories, and the tearful, sentimental nationalism of it all. A A Gill, The Sunday Times, 23 January 1994 (adapted) the title of a poem by Burns, and also the name for the traditional cap of highland dress a rich fruit cake, supposedly originating from the town of Dundee an approach to politics based on realities and material needs The realist When I assure English acquaintances that I would rather sing a chorus of Land of Hope and Glory' than attend a Bums' supper, their eyebrows rise. Who could possibly object to such a fun night out? In fact, only a few Scots are prepared to suffer the boredom of these occasions. The people who are really keen on them aren't Scottish at all. They think they are, especially on 2 5 January or Saint Andrew's Day or at international
matches at Murrayfield2, when they all make a great business of wearing kilts, dancing reels, reciting their Tarn o'Shanters and trying to say 'loch'3 properly without coughing up phlegm. But these pseudo-Scots have English accents because they went to posh public schools. They are Scottish only in the sense that their families have, for generations, owned large parts of Scotland - while living in London. This use of Scottish symbols by pseudo-Scots makes it very awkward for the rest of us Scots. It means that we can't be sure which bits of our heritage are pure. Tartan? Dunno4. Gay Gordons?5 Don't care. Whisky? No way, that's ours. Kilts worn with frilly shirts? Pseudo-Scottish. Lions rampant? Ours, as any Hampden6 crowd will prove. And Burns' suppers? The Far-quhar-Seaton-Bethune-Buccleuchs7 can keep them. And I hope they all choke on their haggis. Harry Ritchie, The Sunday Times, 23 January 1994 (adapted) ' a patriotic British song which refers to the 'rebellious Scots' 2 the Scottish national rugby stadium 3 'loch'is Gaelic for'lake' 4 i.e.'I don't know' 5 the name of a particular reel 6 the Scottish national football stadium 7 >What's in a name? 44 4 Identity
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 in England. Nor are there as 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 (see below) - 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 (that's more than half a million people), 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 shows signs of continued vitality. 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, there is a Welsh television channel and nearly all public notices and signs are written in both Welsh and English.
The question of identity in Northern Ireland is a much more complex issue and is dealt with at the end of this chapter. As for English identity, most people "who describe themselves as English usually make no distinction in their minds between 'English' and 'British'. There is plenty of evidence of this. For example, at international football or rugby matches, when the players stand to attention to hear their national anthems, the Scottish, Irish and Welsh have their own songs, while the English one is just 'God Save the Queen' - the same as the British national anthem. Ethnic identity: the non-native British The long centuries of contact between the peoples of the four nations of the British Isles means that there is a limit to their significant differences. With minor variations, they look the same, speak the same language, eat the same food, have the same religious heritage (Christianity) and have the same attitudes to the roles of men and women. The situation for the several million people in Britain whose family roots lie in the Caribbean or in south Asia or elsewhere in the world is different. For them, ethnic identity is more than a question of deciding which sports team to support. Non-whites (about 6% of the total British population) cannot, as white non-English groups can, choose when to advertise their ethnic identity and when not to. Most non-whites, although themselves born in Britain, have parents who were born outside it. The great wave of immigration from the Caribbean and south Asia took place between 1950 and 1960. These immigrants, especially those from south Asia, brought with them different languages, different religions (Hindu and Muslim) and everyday habits and attitudes that were sometimes radically different from traditional British ones. As they usually married among themselves, these habits and customs have, to some extent, been preserved. For some young people brought up in Britain, this mixed cultural background can create problems. For example, many young Asians resent the fact that their parents expect to have more control over them than most black or white parents expect to have over their children. Nevertheless, they cannot avoid these experiences, which therefore make up part of their identity. As well as this 'given' identity, non-white people in Britain often take pride in their cultural roots. This pride seems to be increasing as their cultural practices, their everyday habits and attitudes, gradually become less distinctive. Most of the country's non-whites are British citizens. Partly because of this, they are on the way to developing the same kind of division of loyalties and identity that exists for many Irish, Scottish and Welsh people. Pride can increase as a defensive reaction to racial discrimination. There is quite a lot of this in Britain. There are tens of thousands of racially motivated attacks on people every year, including one or two murders. All in all, however, overt racism is not as common as it is in many other parts of Europe. 46 4 Identity
The family In comparison with most other places in the world, family identity is rather weak in Britain, especially in England. Of course, the family unit is still the basic living arrangement for most people. But in Britain this definitely means the nuclear family. There is little sense of extended family identity, except among some racial minorities. This is reflected in the size and composition of households. It is unusual for adults of different generations within the family to live together. * The average number of people living in each household in Britain is lower than in most other European countries. The proportion of elderly people living alone is similarly high (> Family size). Significant family events such as weddings, births and funerals are not automatically accompanied by large gatherings of people. It is still common to appoint people to certain roles on such occasions, such as 'best man' at a wedding, or godmother and godfather when a child is born. But for most people these appointments are of sentimental significance only. They do not imply lifelong responsibility. In fact, family gatherings of any kind beyond the household unit are rare. For most people, they are confined to the Christmas period. Even the stereotyped nuclear family of father, mother and children is becoming less common. Britain has a higher rate of divorce than anywhere else in Europe except Denmark and the proportion of children born outside marriage has risen dramatically and is also one of the highest (about a third of all births) (> Children born outside marriage in Britain). However, these trends do not necessarily mean that the nuclear family is disappearing. Divorces have increased, but the majority of marriages in Britain (about 55%) do not break down. In addition, it is notable that about three-quarters of all births outside marriage are officially registered by both parents and more than half of the children concerned are born to parents who are living together at the time.
Geographical identity 47
Regional identity is often felt strongly at sporting events such as football matches 48 4 Identity
Date: 2015-12-18; view: 2100
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