If You'rte From the UK and a "Senior"............................................

[JAW]

You may find this weird......

First, let me say that here in the US I am considered an Anglophile. I am also a history buff when it comes to Europe, with emphasis on the United Kingdom (or England, or Great Britain, or Britain.) Were it not for the pandemic I would at this moment be in Holmfirth visiting my Auntie Barbara---not really my aunt but my mother-in-law's pen pal of more than 75 years. Auntie Barbara visited my family three years ago and it was our turn to visit her. Enter the pandemic.......

But I digress.

My neighbor and his family are from Liverpool and he teaches at the University of North Carolina as a visiting professor. He's 39 years old. If you ask him where he's from he will say "the UK." If you ask Auntie Barbara the same question, she will say "England."

Let me add that I understand the geo-political differences as well as what constitutes Britain, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. But somewhere in the last 50 years or so, folks who were, for example, from Manchester stopped saying they from England and started saying they were from the UK.

As I said, I understand the UK, or United Kingdom, is made up of the separate countries of England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland. What I don't understand is why do (younger) folks say they are from the UK while older folks, like my Auntie Barbara, say they are from England? And to further muddy the waters, does the same hold true for Scotland, Wales, and N Ireland---if you're 75 years old do you say you're from Scotland or the UK?

When the question(s) were posed to my neighbor, he more or less said the same holds true if you're from the United States (or America, or the States, or the US, or the USA.) But it's not the same. Those references to being a citizen of the US have always been around. Not so if you're from the UK (or England)----the changeover has occurred during my lifetime, say between 1970 and today. People stopped saying they were from England and started saying they were from the UK.

Interestingly, my neighbor's wife said it may have to do with the emergence of the European Union

If you're from the UK, does your passport say UK or England?

In the scheme of things, does it really matter, anyway?

My wife thinks I have too much time on my hands and should be cleaning out the garage.

 

[old man mavic]

@JAW the passport name is British,passport ,though there are those in Wales ,where i now live, who think they should have a Welsh passport ,and the same for scotland a scottish passport ,one thing this virus has thrown up is the so called UK ,is in reality 4 nations all doing their own thing with regards to the rules and regs for lockdown,every day we get indevidual updates for England Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland and then a total of them all

 

[zocalo]

Yeah it can be confusing, but in brief for those not aware:

1. England - Literally just that; the nation of England; it has land borders with Scotland and Wales.
2. GB (Great Britain) = England + Scotland + Wales; the main landmass and associated islands
3. UK (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) = GB + Northern Ireland

There are additionally locations like the Gibralter and the Isle of Man which are autonomous to varying degrees as well, but the main ones are above. The entirety of the UK is the country that is officially recognised by the U.N.; the four component nations are not.

FWIW, my passport (issued last year) says "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" on the top of the cover, omits any mention of the EU, and has the country code "GBR".

As for which you "identify" as, that depends on both context and your politics as much as anything else. Those with a particularly strong nationalist bent will *always* go with their nation, and most will do so when it matters - e.g. at sporting events where each nation is competing separately, but otherwise default to "British". "British" and "English" generally work best with people from outside the UK, although only actual English are likely to say they are English to a foreigner, everyone else will either go with "British" or risk confusion with the more "geographically challenged".

I've seen a few instances of people identifying as "European" as well, but now that Brexit is a done deal I expect that to fade out somewhat.

 

[sar104]

Times change and people's horizons expand. In an international context the question "where are you from?" is now generally taken to mean which country, and the national entity in question is the UK. If someone asks for more detail I will likely say London, rather than England.

That may be less true for some of the barbarians over the borders who are increasingly agitating for independence¡

 

[Physopto]

Nope, Geordie, then British.

Actually I am part Scottish on my grandmothers side. I see this as far more important for some reason.

 

[Greekislandlover]

I'm knocking very, very hard on the door of 60 and come from the South of England.

Everybody in the four countries has a UK passport, and in official documentation there is no other option to select but UK. I'm afraid that if somebody asks where I'm from in a forum the answer varies. Mostly I would say I'm from the UK in forums. Don't have a reason, I just do.

If I'm talking to people on my travels (particularly the US / Canada) there is no need to say where I'm from. My accent is unmistakably home counties English. But if people ask exactly where, I say south coast, as I don't expect people to know what towns are on the coast.

How I identify within England is another story. I regard the "North south" Mason Dixon line as the M4. My home patch sort of equates to Hardy's Wessex. I regard London as some weird province of Belgium (apart from the useful airports) and the capital city is of course Winchester. Annoys the heck out of my family - that's why I do it

 

[zocalo]

Nope, Geordie, then British.

Actually I am part Scottish on my grandmothers side. I see this as far more important for some reason.

I wonder if there's a correlation between that kind of identification and getting some distance from the level of perceived incompetence in government? Those clowns are nothing to do with me! I'm from <provincial region>, mate!"

It's not limited to the non-English nations either - I have some friends who are adamant they are from Kernow ("Cornwall" to everyone else), and most definitely NOT England, let alone the UK, for instance. Then again, given how long it takes to reach Cornwall by road from almost everywhere else in the UK, maybe they have a point...

 

[SkyeHigh]

I would normally say ‘the UK’ if asked where I come from when outside of the the UK but England if in Europe or the USA - countries more familiar with the country’s political ‘arrangements’.

Now living in Australia we have the addition of individual states, which non-Aussie’s are a little less familiar with so I would say from Sydney rather than New South Wales. And unlike the border built to keep the Barbarians in their place, we have the sea for our neighbours!

Once in Utah myself and my Australian wife we’re asked where we were from, ‘England’, in my case and ‘Australia’, for my wife... pointing to my wife with a look of surprise , our enquirer stated, ‘Gee, your English is good!’.

And the next question, ‘as it’s hot in Australia, when do you celebrate Christmas?’

Don’t you just love international travel.

 

[THE CYBORG]

English

 

[rehkram]

When people ask me about my accent I say I was brought up in the British Isles. Feels more real to me than all that political slicing & dicing.

 

[BikerBuster]

I am and have always viewed myself as British (except when I was in school and the 60' and 70's we were only ever referred to as English).
I moved to Scotland in 1980 and have stayed ever since. Most folk up here refer to themselves as Scottish but there was a groundswell of British identity during the ridiculous independance attempt.
It's an odd thing this identity question. For example you ask a channel islander or a Gibraltarian and they are fiercely British.

What it boils down to for me is I am more proud to be British than English.

 

[JAW]

Thank you everyone for your input!

To those of you across the pond, when someone from another country asks you where you're from, what is your reply?

 

[JAW]

If someone asks for more detail I will likely say London, rather than England.

So then would it be correct to say you originally hail from across the pond?

 

[sar104]

So then would it be correct to say you originally hail from across the pond?

That's right. I was at the University of Cambridge Department of Physics, and was offered a position at Los Alamos National Lab that was too good to refuse. Been here ever since.

 

[SkyeHigh]

And between Australia and our friends in New Zealand we have ‘The Ditch’, or if you’re a kiwi, ‘The Dutch’.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Now living in Australia we have the addition of individual states, which non-Aussie’s are a little less familiar with so I would say from Sydney rather than New South Wales.

Then decide if to abbreviate
NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, NT, TAS, ACT.

That's right. I was at the University of Cambridge Department of Physics, and was offered a position at Los Alamos National Lab that was too good to refuse. Been here ever since.

Ha ha, I was a little confused when I read your post #4, thought you'd quoted someone else from another but couldn't see whose.

 

[BikerBuster]

When asked i reply British from Scotland as i only lived in England for sixteen years i tend to discount that.
As I like to say English blood, Scottish heart and British through and through.

 

[Johnmcl7]

When the question(s) were posed to my neighbor, he more or less said the same holds true if you're from the United States (or America, or the States, or the US, or the USA.) But it's not the same. Those references to being a citizen of the US have always been around. Not so if you're from the UK (or England)----the changeover has occurred during my lifetime, say between 1970 and today. People stopped saying they were from England and started saying they were from the UK.

Particularly with lockdown I've been spending a fair bit of time playing online and it's often with a mix of players from England, Wales and the US. I certainly don't find it's the case at all that people refer to themselves as being from England rather than the UK if they're younger* in fact, I find it's the complete opposite and many of the younger people I play with when introducing themselves to US people will say they're from England not the UK. In turn I find that means with more players from England that the US players often think I'm from England even though they've correctly identified my Scottish accent but have misunderstood the difference between England and the UK. When playing with British players then it is normal to say you're from England, Wales, Scotland etc. simply because it's likely everyone is in the UK so it makes sense to be more specific.

I'm asked where I'm from I'll almost always reply I'm from Scotland rather than the UK because inevitably there will be another question asking specifically if I'm Scottish or where my accent is from. However I do answer differently on the context so on a forum like this I'll say I'm from the UK as no-one is going to be hearing my accent and the relevance of where I live is likely to be most relevant to the local flying rules. Since Scotland currently doesn't have separate drone rules then there's no reason to mention it specifically,

The independence talk has calmed down at the moment but when it was at its peak a couple of years before Brexit I wonder if that had any effect on people referring to themselves differently.

* I thought only being in my 30's I was still a reasonably young gamer but during a recent session I was told how great it was that someone my age still played games

 

[gnirtS]

I dont really recognise the initial statement from what ive seen.

Im from Wales and everyone you ask from 12 to 100 years old will say they're Welsh. Most would actively remove a union flag if one appeared. Everyone i know will write Welsh not British on any official form about nationality. I do the same.


Ultimately most people wont get upset if you call them Scottish/Irish/Welsh but WILL get upset if you call them English.

GB is a mix of different cultures and people, always has been, always will be. Each little area is more proud of its own heritage than a neighbours which in my view is how it should be. If you're Welsh then say it, English then say it. Its better than some artificial "british" construct (and a hell of a lot better than some european bo**ocks!).

The only people that say "british" tend to be the extreme left wing people around. These people also say "european" as well. They dont like the concept of countries or history.

That said when people abroad ask where im from, most have never heard of "britain" and "united kingdom" sounds like Ukraine so they say "oh russia!". Then i just say "next to england but not england".
Most people abroad have heard of England but not Wales/Scotland/Ireland/Britain or UK.

 

[Pablo]

I'm Scouse, not English (ask your neighbour, if he's from Liverpool he'll get it).