PEOPLE AND LANGUAGE

WHO ARE THE BRITISH?

Why British not English?
Many foreigners say “England” and “English” when they mean “Britain”, or the
“UK”, and “British”. This is very annoying for the 5 million people who live in
Scotland, the 2.8 million in Wales and 1.5 million in Northern Ireland who are
certainly not English, However, the people from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
and England are all British. So what is the.difference between the names 'Great
Britain’ and ‘the United Kingdom”- and what about the British Isles?
The United Kingdom is an abbreviation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland’ it often further abbreviated to ‘UK’, and is the political name of
the country which is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Several islands off the British coast are also part of the United Kingdom (for example,
the Isle of Wight, the Orkneys, Hebrides and Shètỉands, and the Isles of Scilly),
although the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not. However, all these islands
do recognize the Queen.
Great Britain is the name of the island which is made up of England, Scotland
and Wales.
The British Isles is the geographical name that refers to all the islands off the
north west coast of the European continent: Great Britain, the whole of Ireland, the
Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
How was the United Kingdom formed?
This took centuries, and a lot of armed struggle was involved. In the 15 th century,
a Welsh prince, Henry Tudor, became King Henry VII of England. Then his son, King
Henry VIII, united England and Wales under one Parliament in 1536. In Scotland a
similar thing happened. The King of Scotland inherited the crown of England and
Wales in 1603, so he became King James I.of England and Wales and King Janies VI
of Scotland. The Parliaments of England, Wales and Scotland were united a century
later in 1707.
The Scottish and Welsh are proud and independent people. In recent years there
have been attempts at devolution in the two countries, particularly in Scotland where
the Scottish Nationalist Party was very strong for a while. However, in a referendum in
19
1979 the Welsh rejected devolution and in 1979 the Scots did the same. So it seems
that most Welsh and Scottish people are happy to form part of the UK even though
they sometimes complain that they are dominated by England, and particularly by
London.
The whole Ireland was united with Great Britain from 1801 up until 1922. In that
year the independent Republic of Ireland was formed in the South, while Northern.
Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
* Write T for true and F for False. Correct the false information.
1. ………….. Many foreigners say “English” when they mean “British”.
2. ………….. People from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England are
English.
3………….. King Henry vilunited England and Wales.
4.………….. King James I ruled England and Wales in 1603
5. ………….. The Parliaments of England, Wales and Scotland were united in
1707
6. …………..The Scottish and Welsh people do not want to be part of the UK.
7. ………….. Northern Irelandand. Britain were united in 1801.
8. ………….. Northern Ireland became part ofthe UK in 1922.
Invasion
What makes the Scottish, Welsh, English and Northern Irish different from each
other? About 2,000 years ago the British Isles were inhabited by the Celts who
originally came from continental Europe. During the next 1,000 years there were many
invasions. The Romans came from Italy in AD 43 and; in calling the country
‘Britannia’, gave Britain its name. The Angles and Saxons came from Germany,
Denmark and the Netherlands in the 5th century, and England gets its name from this
invasion (Angle-landj. The Vikings arrived from Denmark and Norway throughout the
9th century, and in 1066 (the one date in history which every British school-child
knows) the Normans invaded from France. These invasions drove the Celts into what
is now Wales and Scotland, and they remained, of course, in Ireland. The English, on
the other hand, are the descendants of ail thẹ invaders, but are Anglo- Saxon than,
anything else. These various origins explain many of the differences to be found
between England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland - differences in education, religion and

20
the legal systems, but most obviously,in language.
Language
The Celts spoke Celtic which survives today in the form of Welsh, Scottish
Gaelic and Irish Gaelic. Less than a quarter of all Welsh people (000,000, out of
2,888,000) speak Welsh. Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic are still spoken, although
they have suffered more than Welsh from the spread of English. However, ail three
languages are now officially encouraged and taught in schools.
English developed from Anglo-Saxon and is a Germanic language. However all
the invading peoples, particularly the Norman French, influenced the English language
and you can find many words in English which are French in origin. Nowadays all
Welsh, Scottish and Irish people speak English (even if they speak their own language
as well), but all the countries have their own special accents and dialects, and their
people are easily recognizable as soon as they speak. Occasionally, people from the
four countries in the UK have difficulty in understanding one another because of these
different accents. A southern English accent is generally accepted to be the most easily
understood, and is the accent usually taught to foreigners.
Multiracial Britain
Recently, there have been many waves of immigration into Britain and
movement within the UK. For example, many people from Wales, Scotland and
Ireland have settled in England; Jews, Russians, Germans, and Poles have come to
Britain (particularly London) during political changes in the rest of Europe.
Commonwealth citizens were allowed free entry into Britain until 1962. Before
the Second World War these immigrants were mostly people from Canada, Australia,
New Zealand and South Africa. In the 1950s, people from the West Indies, India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong were encouraged to come and work in Britain.
Today, 2 million British people are of West Indìặii or Asian'origin and over 50 per
cent of them were bom in Britain.
The new immigrant communities are concentrated in the following towns and
cities: London, Slough, Leicester, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Luton, Bradford,
Coventry, Bedford, Reading and Sandwell. The main language of the Asian
immigrants are Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Cantonese (Chinese).
Nowadays the policy is to encourage these communities to continue speaking their

21
own languages as well as English. The children of immigrants are often taught their
own languages in school, and there are special newspapers, magazines, and radio and
television programmes for the Asian community. The West Indians, of course, arrive
speaking English, but they do have their own culture which they wish to keep alive.
They also have their own newspapers, and radio and television programmes. This
latest wave of immigration has of course caused problems. There is certainly racial
tension and racial prejudice in Britain today. In spite of laws passed to protect them,
there is still discrimination against Asian and black people, many of whom are
unemployed or in low-paid jobs-. However, the atmosphere is improving and the
different races are slowly learning to trust one another. In a wide educational
programme white school-children, teachers, policemen and social workers are learning
about the problems and customs of their new neighbours. There are many areas in
Britain now where racial harmony is a reality.
British culture is being enriched through its contact with other cultures. For
example, the British are becoming more adventurous in their cooking and eating
habits, and Chinese, Indian and Pakistani restaurants are very popular. Another
example can be found in the pop music scene where West Indian reggae music has
become very influential.
(from Spotlight on Britain, pp. 2-4)
* Who invaded Britain?
Complete the table below with information from the text
INVADER FROM DATE
the Romans

* Write T for true and F for False. Correct the false information.
1. ………….. Welsh and English developed from Celtic.
2. ………….. Invaders’ languages influenced the English language.
3. ………….. People from the 4 countries of Britain speak English.
4. ………….. Southern English accent is taught to foreigners.
22
 5. ………….. People from Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland
can understand one ánother easily.
6. ………….. TheBritish government encourages immigrant communities to
speak their own languages and English,
7. ………….. The immigrants’ languages are taught to children in school..
8. …………..The immigrants’ communities want to preserve their own .
culture.
9. ………….. There are not racial problems in the UK.
10. ………….. British culture is enriched through its contact with
immigrants’cultures.
* Answer the following questions
1. What is the government’s policy on immigrants’languages?
2. What problems do the immigrants have to confront?
3. What have been done to solve these problems?
* CLOZE
Use the words provided in the box below to fill in the blanks. There are more
words provided than the blanks, so you will not use them all.
Irish Britons Romans Scots
Ancient Brits English England
Welsh Scottish informally loyalty

The people of the United Kingdom

The people of the United Kingdom are British and have British nationality. As a
group they are usually referred to as the British, rather than as (1) ………….. though
this name is used in the media. (2) ………….. Britons were the people who lived in
Britain before the (3) ………….. came. Only people who come from (4) …………..
can be called English. People from Ireland are (5) ………….. people from Wales, (6)
………….. and people from Scotland (7) ………….. or Scottish, and they do not
like being called (8) ………….. The term the Brits is only used (9) ………….., often
humorously. Many people from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have stronger
feelings of (10) ………….. towards their own country than they do to the United
Kingdom. British people who have come originally from Asia, Africa or the West
23
Indies may also feel two sets of loyalties.
Anglo Saxon Religion
The Anglo-Saxons were pagans when they came to Britain, but, as time passed, they
gradually converted to Christianity. Many of the customs we have in England today
come from pagan festivals.
The Anglo Saxons believed that they were controlled by superhuman people - gods
and goddesses. They also believed they were directly descended from their gods.
Religion was a means of ensuring success in material things. For example, you
might pray to a particular goddess for a successful harvest, or for victory in battle.
The Saxon gods were similar 10 the gods of Vikings.
Examples of Saxon Gods
Woden - god of war
Frigg - goddess of love
Thunor - god of thunder
Tiw-god of battle
Days of the Week
Certain days of the week are named after early Saxon Goods;
Monandceg (the đay of the moon),
Tiwesdceg (the day of the Germanic sky god Tiw. Tiu or Tig),
Wodnesdceg (the day of the god Woden (Othin)),
Đunresdceg (the day of the god Đunor or Thunor),
Frigedceg (the day of the goddess Friga, wife to Woden),
Scetemesdceg (the day of the Roman god Saturn, whose festival "Saturnalia," with
its exchange of gifts, has been incorporated into our celebration of Christmas.).
Sunnandceg (the day of the sun).
From Pagan to Christianity
In AD 597 the Pope in Rome sent a missionary, St Augustine, to England to convert
the Anglo Saxons to Christianity, the pope gave orders that pagan temples should be
converted into Christian ones and that pagan celebrations should also be made into
Christian ones.
(from Woodlands Junior School Kent Website)

24
 • What religion did the Anglo-Saxons follow?
• Where do the names of the days of the week originate from?

INFLUENCES
The Celts
Between the sixth and the third century BC, the British Isles were inVadcd by
Celtic tribes, who settled in southern England. They originally came from central
Europe. Their culture goes back to about 1200 BC. Between 500 and 250 BC,
they.were the most powerful people north of the Alps. They were pagan, with priests
known as Druids, but later converted to Christianity, it was Celtic missionaries who
spread the Christian religion through Scotland and northern England.
The Romans
In AD 43, the Romans invaded southern Britain. It became a Roman colony
called Britannia. The Romans set up their capital in London and built major cities in
Bath, Chester and York. The cities contained beautiful buildings, squares and public
baths. Fine villas were built for Celtic aristocrats who accepted Roman rule.
The Roman, invasion was not completely peaceful. In AD 60, the Iceni, a tribe
led by Queen. Boudicca, destroyed three cities, including London. The Romans
stopped the rebellion brutally aiid Boudieca killed herself.
The tribes of Scotland never completely surrendered to die Romans. As a result,
in AD 122, Emperor Hadrian built a long wall to defend the border'between England
and Scotland. Hadrian’s Wall was overrun several times by Scottish ừibes and was
finally abandoned in AD 383. By then, the Roman Empire was collapsing and the
Roman legions had left Britain to fight the tribes on the continent.
The Saxons, Jutes and Angies
From about AD 350, Germanic tribes began invading south-east England, The
tribes came from what is now northern Germany, Holland and Denmark. The first to
come were the Saxons, joined later by the Jutes and Angies. The Angles gave England
its name. Britain had the protection of only a few Roman legions. The native people
could not stop the new enemy, known as the Anglo-Saxons. The Celts fled north and.
west taking their ancient arts and languages with them. Celtic languages have
disappeared from most of Europe, but are still spoken in parts of Wales, Ireland and
25
Scotland. Celtic Christians later returned to England from Scotland and Ireland as
missionaries. The Anglo-Saxons in southern England were converted to Christianity.
following the arrival of Saint Augustine of Rome in AD 597. As Christianity spread,
churches and monasteries were built all over England.
The Vikings
About AD 790, the Vikings started to invade England. The Norsemen, who^ame
from Norway, mainly settled in Scotland and Ireland. The north and east of England
were settled by the Danes. The Vikings were excellent traders and navigators. They
traded in silk and furs as far as Russia, in 1016, England became part of the
Scandinavian empire under King Cnut By 1066, England was again facing invasion
from the north and the south. In. September, King Harold II marched north to defeat
his half-brother, the king of Norway, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Just three
weeks later, he himself was defeated and killed at Hastings by another invader of
Viking origin, William, Duke of Normandy, from northern France.
The Normans
The Dukẹ of Normandy, known as William the Conqueror, now became King of
England, establishing a new Anglo-Norman state. England became a strong,
centralised country under military rule. The Normans built castles ail over Engiand to
control England better! William was a harsh ruler: he destroyed many villages to make
sure the English people did not rebel. Norman power was absolute, and the language
of the new rulers, Norman French, had a lasting effect on English. Since 1066,
England has never been invaded.
(from In Britain - 21 Century Edition, pp. 10-11)
• Answer the following questions:
1. What invasions did Britain suffer in early times?
2. Where did the invaders come from?
3. How did each invasion change Britain?

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The roots of English
English began as a west Germanic language which was brought to England by
the Saxons around 400 AD. Old English was the spoken and written language of
26
England between 400 and 1100 AD. Many words used today come from Old English,
including man, woman, king, mother, give and wash, as do many slang expressions and
swear words. But Old English was very different from modem English and only a few
words can be easily recognized. In the 9th and 10th centuries, when Vikings invaded
England, Old Norse words, e.g. sky, take and get and many place names, entered the
language.
From the Norman Conquest (1066) until the late 12th century English was
replaced as the official language by Norman French, though English was still used by
the lower classes. English from about 1300 to 1500 is known as Middle English. It was
influenced by French and also Latin in vocabulary and pronunciation. French brought
many words connected with government, e.g. sovereign, royal, court, legal, and
government itself. Latin was the language of religion and learning and gave to English
"words such as minister, angel, master, school and grammar. Literature began again to
be written in English. One of the most famous Middle English works is Chaucer’s The
Canterbury Tales.
The development of Modern English
Modem English developed from the Middle English dialect of the East Midlands
and was influenced by the English used in London, where a printing press was set up
by William Caxton in 1476. English changed a great deal from this time until the end
of th.e 18th century. During the Renaissance, many words were introduced from Greek
and Latin to express new ideas, especially in science, medicine and philosophy. They
included physics, species, architecture, encyclopedia and hypothesis. In. the 16th
century several versions of the Bible helped bring written English to ordinary people.
The Elizabethan period is. also famous for its drama, and the plays of Marlowe and
Shakespeare were seen by many people.
The development of printing helped establish standards of spelling and grammar,
but there remained a lot of variation. Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English
Language (1755) was the first authoritative treatment of English. It defined about
40,000 words and gave examples of their use. Soon afterwards, people tried to
establish grammatical rules, like the use of me, not I, after a preposition, and that
different should be followed by from, not to or than. The idea of having an English
academy to protect agreed standards has been suggested several times, including most

27
recently in the 1990s, but has never found enough support.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries many dictionaries and books about
language were published including, in Britain, the Oxford English Dictionary, which
was begun in 1858. In 1926 Fowler’s A Dictionary of Modem English Usage presented
a traditional view of grammar but rejectedthe more extreme rules, and was held in
great respect for a long time. The development of radio promoted standard English and
Received Pronunciation (RP), which became known as BBC English- Many older
British people still consider this to be ‘correct’ English, and complain about falling
standards in schools and the media.
At the end of the 20th century English tends to be much less formal. Few British
people know much about grammar, since it is not usually taught in schools, but a
person who cannot speak and write grammatically is likely to be at a disadvantage. An
RP accent is now associated mainly with the upper classes, and many younger
educated people have a modified regional accent.
New words are still being added to English from other languages, including
Italian (tiramisu); Chinese (feng shui) and Japanese (karaoke). Existing words gain
new senses, and many slang terras become part of the standard language. New
expressions spread quickly through television and the Internet. .
English is now an international language and is used as a means of
communication between people from.many countries. As a result the influences on the
English language are wider than ever and it is possible that World English will move
away from using a British or American standard and establish its own international
identity.
(from Oxford Guide to British and American Culture, p.178)
• Complete these sentences with information from the text above
1. The Saxons brought the English language to England in ………………..
2. When the Vikings invaded England ………………..
3. From 1066 until the 12th century Norman French was ………………..
4. The periods of the development of the English language are:
- ………………..
- ………………..
- ………………..
28
 5. Middle English was influenced by ………………..
6. Modern English developed from ………………..
7. In the 15th century printing press was ………………..
8. Many words from Greek and Latin were ………………..
9. The development of printing helped………………..
10. The development of radio promoted ..............................
11. English nowadays tends to be………………..
12. An RP accent is associated mainly with………………..
13. The English language is changing, new words are .........................
14. English is now ...... ………………..
* Define the following terms, using a dictionary if necessary
British: ………………..………………..………………..………………..
Britons: ………………..………………..………………..………………..
Ancient Britons: ………………..………………..………………..……………….
English: ………………..………………..………………..………………..
Irish: ………………..………………..………………..………………..
Welsh: ………………..………………..………………..………………..
Scottish: ………………..………………..………………..………………..
devolution: ………………..………………..………………..………………..
referendum: ………………..………………..………………..………………..

Did YOU NKOW?

Canute (also Cniỉt) (c.994-1035)
a king of England (1017-35) who was born in Denmark and was also king of
Denmark and Norway.
Boudicca (also Boadicea) (died AD 62)
the queen of the Iceni tribe of eastern Britain when it was part of the Roman
Empire. She led the Iceni against the Romans and destroyed several of their, camps.
When she was defeated she killed herself. She is often shown in pictures driving ạ
chariot (= an open carriage’pulled by a horse) with blades attached to the wheels,
Hadrian's Wall
a wall in northern England built between 122 and 127 AD by the Roman emperor

29
Hadrian, from Wallsend on the River Tyne to Bowness on the Solway Firth. It was the
northern border of the Roman Empire, from which the Romans could keep back the
Piets. It was a major achievement, 73 miles (120 kilometres) long and 16 feet (4.9
metres) high, with forts (= strong military buildings for defence) every mile along its
length. Long sections of the wall still remain, and thousands of tourists visit it every
year. It was made a World Heritage Site in 1987.
Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343-1400)
an English poet. He is often called ‘the father of English poetry’ because he was
the first major poet to write in English rather than Latin or French. His best-known
work is The Canterbury Tales.
Received Pronunciation, often called RP, is the accent that is widely accepted
as the standard accent for both native and foreign speakers of British English
William Caxton (c. 1422-91.)
the man who set up the first printing firm in Britain. He printed his first book in
1474. By printing books in English, Caxton had a strong influence on the spelling and
development of the language. Many of the books he published were French stories
which he translated himself.
Sources
Spotlight on Britain, Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White, OUP
Aspects, of Britain and the USA, Christopher Garwood, Guglielmo Gardani, Edda
Peris, OUP
Britain-21st Century Edition, Michael Vaughan-Rees; Geraldine Sweeney, Picot
Cassidy
Oxford Guide to British and American Culture; Jonathan Crowther, OƯP, 1999
Anglo Saxon Religion
http://woodlands-iunior.kent.sch.uk/homew.orjk/saxons/religion.htm
Further reading
Language spoken in Britain, Woodlands Junior School Kent Website
http://woodlands-iunior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/language.html

30