An interesting question The more I think about an answer the harder it
gets!
I suppose the one characteristic that SEEMS to indicate Britishness is
the speaker's accent, especially if regional but generally received
English seems to be very British although I am well aware that the
accent is an unreliable label. I don't think this has changed much
since I was young.
I think the second thing would be tastes in food: by this I mean a
basic knowledge of traditional "British" food, e.g. Xmas pudding,
Marmite (not together of course) and many others. Of course British
foods now include many new items but the basics of 50 years ago are
probably still much the same.
I'm not sure if I can name anything else but possibly it would be some
indication of at least a superficial knowledge of recent British
history - by which I mean a vague knowledge of the mid to late 19th
century and the world wars of the 20th century. On the other hand I
know that many younger British people are extremely vague about any
history or perhaps I don't meet the right sort of young people.
Incidentally David Gatley is not correct in grouping the Channel
Islands as part of Great Britain. The islands are independent, and not
even in the EU. In earlier times they were mainly French-speaking - in
fact Norman-French was widely spoken even by 1940 and there are still
at least hundreds there who still communicate in Norman-French amongst
themselves. But these islands have long been loyal to the British crown
so most of the indigenous people consider themselves British. In fact a
book published in 1993 by a local farmer, David Le Feuvre has the title
JERSEY: Not quite British and is sub-titled: The Rural History of a
Singular People.
Perhaps I should add that I spent my childhood in Jersey where I had a
meagre education which ended with the Occupation by the Germans in
1940. I've spent almost all of my adult life in England.
This discussion of Britishness reminds me that during the late 1940s
when I lived in London I happened to meet a boy I had been at school
with in Jersey - now aged 22. Although in some lowly clerical job I was
astonished to find him with a fairly large moustache, rather formally
dressed in a pin-stripe suit, wearing a black trilby and speaking with
a pseudo public school accent instead of his usual local accent.
When I mentioned these changes he explained that he had adopted them
because he "wanted to appear as British as possible".
Brian Read
On 29 Jan 2007, at 11:26, Frank Clement-Lorford wrote:
> Hi, I know some will accuse me of misuse of this group and to those I
> apologise. I always thought this group was an ideal mix of academic to
> businessperson and ideal to gather opinions from.
>
> I have to present a paper titled: ‘'The Future of the Nation State'. I
> thought I would look into Britishness and plot any change in the
> thinking
> of major political parties. I do understand that essentially
> Britishness
> is an individual opinion. Therefore I wonder if I could ask (save me
> standing outside of Tesco's). Can you name two things that you feel is
> Britishness, has that changed in the last 20 years. Also is there one
> image that instantly promotes Britishness to you
>
> I do appreciate any help you can offer on this matter and if you feel,
> you
> have anything to add to the question, I would be grateful, If you want
> to
> mail me direct please do so, all your answers will be very helpful.
> Again
> apologies to those that feel this is not the right question for this
> group.
>
> Regards
>
> Frank
>
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