Week 2

Identity

IDENTITY
Ethnic Identity Being British The Family Geographical Identity Class Men and women Religious and political Identity Social and everyday contacts
Pham Thi Thanh Thuy B

Ethnic Identity

The native British

The non-native British

Scotland

Northern Ireland Wales England

Ethnic Identity
t iv e a tish Bri

eN Th

National loyalities (Ethnic identity) can be strong among the people in Britain whose ancestors were not English

Scottish Identity
Important aspects of public life (education, law and religion) are organized separately from the rest of Britain Scottish way of speaking English is very distinctive (e.g. dialects spoken by working class in the lowland cannot be understood by those not Scottish)

Scottish Identity
Many symbols of Scottishness are well known

Th
Lio n

tle is

Ra mp ant

Wales Identity
Wales dont have many reminders of their Welshness in everyday life:

Their public life is similar to that in England A large minority of the people dont consider themselves to be especially Welsh (many Scottish, Irish and English went to find work there in the 19th century, and now many make their homes or have holiday houses there) The important symbol of Wales is Welsh language

Welsh Language
One single highly-important symbol of Welsh The mother tongue for 20% of the population For these people, Welsh identity is more than just living in the region known as Wales It shows signs of continued vitality. It receives a lot of public support (used at school, mass media, etc) A school sign in both
Wales and English

Identity in Northern Ireland

Ethnicity, family, politics and religion are all inter-related Social class has a comparatively minor role in establishing identity Northern Ireland is a polarized society: born and stay in one community for their whole life

The divided community

Ancestors came from Lowland Scotland or England

Ancestors were native Irish

They are Protestant

They are Catholic

They want Northern Ireland to remain in the UK

They would like Northern Ireland to become part of Irish Republic

The divided community

Although the 2 communities live side by side, their lives are almost entirely segregated Register with different live in different doctors housing estates Go to different schools Listen to different radio and TV Commemorate different anniversaries Read different newspapers
They rarely have contacts (probably 1st time at university) and find it horrifying to marry those from the other community (= deaths of Romeos and Juliets) It is more severe in working class and lesser in middle class

English Identity
It makes no distinction between English and British Identity

Example: The national anthem

God Save the QueenBritish national anthem

Ethnic Identity
eB tiv na tish ri

The

o nn

Family roots lie in the Caribbean or in South Asia or elsewhere (immigrated 1950-1965)

Non-native British
Accounts for 6% of the population Cant choose when to advertise their ethnic identity and when not to Have different languages, religions (Hindu and Muslim), different everyday habits and attitudes (e.g. parents control). Yet, they are becoming less distinctive as most of nonwhites are now British citizens Take pride in cultural roots and can defend against racial discrimination (quite a lot in Britain)

IDENTITY
Ethnic Identity Being British Family Geographical Identity Class Men and women Religious and political Identity Social and everyday contacts
Pham Thi Thanh Thuy B

Being British
They are too individualistic and dont like to feel that they are personally presenting their country Could think of nothing to be proud of

Know little about the EU, just smt to do with French

British are not normally actively patriotic

would emigrate if they could

Are now afraid of the loss of British identity in the EU However

Greater openness to foreign influences

Being British
Continue to be bad about learning other languages

Are now afraid of the loss of British identity in the EU

Obstinate to certain distinctively ways: driving on the left, red buses, use different systems of measurements However

IDENTITY
Ethnic Identity Being British Family Geographical Identity Class Men and women Religious and political Identity Social and everyday contacts
Pham Thi Thanh Thuy B

Nuclear family is less common (divorce and children born outside marriage)

family

Family identity is rather weak

Little sense of extended family

Significant family events and gatherings are rare

Small-size households

More elderly people live alone

Nuclear family is less common (divorce and children born outside marriage)

family

1971
All divorces 0-4 years 5-9 years 10-14 years 15-19 years 20+ years 79,200 10,296 24,552 15,048 10,296 19,800

1992
175,100 40,273 47,277 31,518 22,763 33,269

Divorces in the UK, 1971 and 1992 (by duration of marriage)

IDENTITY
Ethnic Identity Being British Family Geographical Identity Class Men and women Religious and political Identity Social and everyday contacts
Pham Thi Thanh Thuy B

Geographical identity
Not on the place of birth Not on the feeling of belonging to a place: too mobile

The pride lies in where they find it nice and happy to live in or when they fight to preserve it
id A s en e tit nse g e la y o g r g wi o f s t ar e r e th ro a a p r a on ng is h th er, a ica b l a c e s p ba i t ce o sin nt ke g n

Regional identity is often felt strongly at sporting events

IDENTITY
Ethnic Identity Being British Family Geographical Identity Class Men and women Religious and political Identity Social and everyday contacts
Pham Thi Thanh Thuy B

Class
Britain is a class-conscious society (though the people do not approve of class division)

Difficult to become friends with smb from a different class

Different class have different sets of attitudes and daily habits

Class identification
determined Class is not appearance its y wealth or b s ers attitude k but by spea w ay s and their t and interes of speaking

Working class people use lots of nonstandard grammar and vocabulary

Their accent cannot change like the ability to use standard English

England and Wales: strong regional accent= working class, RP = upper of middleupper

Scotland & N. Ireland: regional accent = RP

Class Division
Now, different classes mix more readily and easily with each other It is now acceptable for radio and TV presenters to speak with an accent

Workingclass are proud of their class membership

Nobody wants to be thought of as snobbish

IDENTITY
Ethnic Identity Being British Family Geographical Identity Class Men and women Religious and political Identity Social and everyday contacts
Pham Thi Thanh Thuy B

Men and Women

Gender discrimination does exist (esp. among lower and upper classes)

In daily habits and mannerism

A man can look untidy and scruffy and display emotions

In Roles
Financial responsibility: BOTH

House decoration & cleaning: WOMEN Child care: ONLY WOMEN

(Though men have been more active in domestic role than they were 40 years ago)

woman discrimination at public level

therefore One of the first EU country to have a woman P.M and a woman chairperson of debate in Parliament Now, nearly every institution in the country has opened its door to women

Slowly, women are entering professions that have traditionally been exclusively male

IDENTITY
Ethnic Identity Being British Family Geographical Identity Class Men and women Religious and political Identity Social and everyday contacts
Pham Thi Thanh Thuy B

Religious and Political identity

Neither pl ays an imp ortant part in pe oples soci al identity
They p lay lit part i tle n deter minin g their worki ng place , their trade union , their friend s, neigh b ou rs their , marri age

not o wo d er in t The geth o to nificant g ig ny s ay a w

IDENTITY
Ethnic Identity Being British Family Identity Geographical Identity Class Identity Men and women Religious and political Identity Social and everyday contacts
Pham Thi Thanh Thuy B

Social and everyday contacts

Place a relatively high value to the everyday social contacts
Go pu to b or s clu bs
e rg cts Fo ta n co with s r he ot

For various sports and pastimes

me sa d the a n ing ests es av er ud H nt i t it at

Make social contacts through work

Professions or skills are important

Reference
1. Chapter 4: Britain: The country and its people: An introduction for learners of English (page 42-55) 2. Chapter 7: Britain in Close-up (page 85-96) 3. Chapter 3 (page 114-119) Chapter 5 (page 179-190)

British Identity

Thank you for your great attention!

Suggestions for next presentation and further reading

1. The definition of different classes in Britain and further information about their beliefs, attitudes and habits 2. An investigation into British womens current social status and their thoughts/reactions to that 3. Lives and fates of British children in one-parent families 4. A study into how British people make and maintain social contacts