British? English? Scottish? Irish?

[Starfall]

If I was in a room full of English people I'd be a Londoner.

If I was in a room full of British people I'd be English.

A room full of Europeans, British.


Though I'm now am Australian citizen, so I get to pick and choose depending on which nation is being less mortifying at the time.

[ashes]

Thank you palaisdejouets for the graphics!  The second one especially helps to navigate exactly what all the various names refer to.

My eldest SIL lives in England - has for the past 20 years or so. 

I just refer to myself as "American."  Even though on my fathers side I'm a 6th-generation Californian (and probably even more if you consider Alta California), I don't refer to myself as a "Californian."  I do say I'm from California, but to me "Californian" just sounds weird.

But I guess if I wanted to get technical, I am adopted, and my birth father was Native American of the Osage tribe.  Therefore, I truly am American!

[Princess Lala]

I actually have a lot of anchestors from those countries, they migrated from norway and germany!  however im born and raised in the United States.

[Whippycorn]

I am technically English (both my parents are) but I don't call myself that. In fact I don't tend to use British either.

I live in Scotland and if I'm pressed on 'where I'm from' I say Sheffield (or Malaysia too if they point out that I don't sound Yorkshire). 

[shelvesofwhimsy]

Though I'm now am Australian citizen, so I get to pick and choose depending on which nation is being less mortifying at the time.

^ This...story of my life. I have so many heritages I can identify with whichever one is less embarrassing at the time 

[Aflame]

i call myself welsh  then british  as i am  welsh x english  but born and bred in wales
so im north walian cross brummy !!!!

[DaffyDilly]

I'm just British.

Born and raised in England but as far as I'm concerned, I live in the UK

I do speak English though :p

[Taffeta]

So-  I've noticed that people from England generally call themselves British - but British refers to peeps in the UK right?

I guess it may be a matter of personal preference, but I'm pretty sure that I've never had a Scottish or Irish friend call themselves British-  while people from England do not seem to ever call themselves English...

 

I'm English, and I call myself English. I'm British on my passport, but I think often online people use British to refer to the fact they come from the UK because people get confused and think Britain = England anyway, which is a long way from true but really hard to explain sometimes...

In any case, I'm like Chrissytree. I live close enough to Wales and I have Welsh and Scottish ancestry, so in a way I am "British", because I have ancestry from all over this island (my mother always says that English means Engl-ISH , not 100% from England, but a mix, and that's generally the truth for all of us, for there's Viking and Saxon and all kinds of other things floating around in our history).

I was born in England, though, which makes me English. And I have no real issue with that, but I do get irked when people think England = Britain and Britain = England.

There is a lot of strong feeling in Scotland and Wales about being identified as English, and Northern Ireland is so much more complicated I don't even think I'm going to try explaining it xD.

One of the big issues that has come up since the Scottish vote, though, is the fact that people in England have realised that they don't have as much political say as the people in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland do, because those places have devolved parliaments which can make decisions on much of what happens in their territories.

Take student fees. Government decided, in their infinite wisdom (hah) that £9000 a year was a fair amount for university tuition. There was a lot of protest, but the Government passed the law anyhow.

In England, we have no devolved parliament. We only have Westminster's decisions, so for us, that £9000 became standard. No appeals.

In Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the devolved parliaments had the opportunity to mitigate or reject that law within their territory if they so chose. I don't actually know what NI did, but Wales reduced the fees and Scotland rejected the amount completely, so in Scotland, Scottish students do not pay fees.

A lot of people in England now want a devolved parliament, because we have a situation where Scottish and Welsh and Northern Irish MPs vote on English laws, but English MPs don't vote on what is done in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The English population far outweighs the other nations' populations, so I think it's been assumed that we might as well just follow Westminster, but I dunno, there has been talk of devolution here too. I'm not sure if it will happen or if it will work.

It is a very complicated situation, and I guess it always has been.

But as an English person, I'm English. The sad thing is that, these days, saying you are English and talking about English culture (which I just experienced beautifully at Lincoln Castle yesterday with the morris dancers and such like!) is interpreted as being racist or colonialist because of England's history conquering the world. English people nowadays have nothing to do with that, and, me personally, I like to get on with everyone else xD. So I get a bit upset when some people mistake being proud to be English as being disrespectful to other countries. It's not about that, it's just about having a love for and pride in the nation of your birth, and it's no different from Scots or Welsh pride, or, for that matter, American or Canadian pride

Sadly England's own culture has been largely trampled because of this fear and political correctness. It's one of the reasons, I think, why the world gets so confused about where England is vs where Britain is. I still don't like that, for the World Cup and football and stuff, England has to use what I consider the British National Anthem, rather than Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory (the English anthems used at the Commonwealth Games), when Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland have their own proper anthems at such events.

[Galactica]

So-  I've noticed that people from England generally call themselves British - but British refers to peeps in the UK right?

I guess it may be a matter of personal preference, but I'm pretty sure that I've never had a Scottish or Irish friend call themselves British-  while people from England do not seem to ever call themselves English...

 

I'm English, and I call myself English. I'm British on my passport, but I think often online people use British to refer to the fact they come from the UK because people get confused and think Britain = England anyway, which is a long way from true but really hard to explain sometimes...

In any case, I'm like Chrissytree. I live close enough to Wales and I have Welsh and Scottish ancestry, so in a way I am "British", because I have ancestry from all over this island (my mother always says that English means Engl-ISH , not 100% from England, but a mix, and that's generally the truth for all of us, for there's Viking and Saxon and all kinds of other things floating around in our history).

I was born in England, though, which makes me English. And I have no real issue with that, but I do get irked when people think England = Britain and Britain = England.

There is a lot of strong feeling in Scotland and Wales about being identified as English, and Northern Ireland is so much more complicated I don't even think I'm going to try explaining it xD.

One of the big issues that has come up since the Scottish vote, though, is the fact that people in England have realised that they don't have as much political say as the people in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland do, because those places have devolved parliaments which can make decisions on much of what happens in their territories.

Take student fees. Government decided, in their infinite wisdom (hah) that £9000 a year was a fair amount for university tuition. There was a lot of protest, but the Government passed the law anyhow.

In England, we have no devolved parliament. We only have Westminster's decisions, so for us, that £9000 became standard. No appeals.

In Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the devolved parliaments had the opportunity to mitigate or reject that law within their territory if they so chose. I don't actually know what NI did, but Wales reduced the fees and Scotland rejected the amount completely, so in Scotland, Scottish students do not pay fees.

A lot of people in England now want a devolved parliament, because we have a situation where Scottish and Welsh and Northern Irish MPs vote on English laws, but English MPs don't vote on what is done in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The English population far outweighs the other nations' populations, so I think it's been assumed that we might as well just follow Westminster, but I dunno, there has been talk of devolution here too. I'm not sure if it will happen or if it will work.

It is a very complicated situation, and I guess it always has been.

But as an English person, I'm English. The sad thing is that, these days, saying you are English and talking about English culture (which I just experienced beautifully at Lincoln Castle yesterday with the morris dancers and such like!) is interpreted as being racist or colonialist because of England's history conquering the world. English people nowadays have nothing to do with that, and, me personally, I like to get on with everyone else xD. So I get a bit upset when some people mistake being proud to be English as being disrespectful to other countries. It's not about that, it's just about having a love for and pride in the nation of your birth, and it's no different from Scots or Welsh pride, or, for that matter, American or Canadian pride

Sadly England's own culture has been largely trampled because of this fear and political correctness. It's one of the reasons, I think, why the world gets so confused about where England is vs where Britain is. I still don't like that, for the World Cup and football and stuff, England has to use what I consider the British National Anthem, rather than Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory (the English anthems used at the Commonwealth Games), when Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland have their own proper anthems at such events.

That is a really great answer-

[mlp4me]

Can I just say I'm Central European? What looks will I get? LOL.

[Galactica]

Can I just say I'm Central European? What looks will I get? LOL.

You know- this is actually an interesting point.  People in the US often say things like "I'm Scottish" or "German" or whathaveyou. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they actually are FROM those places or have citizenship there.

My Scottish friend in law school was really confused by this- she has a rather awesome Scottish brogue - so people  would ask her where she was from, she'd say Scottland, and then they'd say things like "Oh I'm Scottish too!"  She would be excited and ask which city-  they'd explain that they meant that they have like 50% Scottish heritage...    (I will confess that I might have done this too, hehe)

I guess culturally- in the states discussing what you "are" often means the same thing as where your people are from.  It is rather a favorite subject I think.  I suspect this kind of conversation just doesn't happen as much (if at all) in places where the same people have been for many generations.

[Taffeta]

I think the difference is that America is a country most people's ancestors actively came to from somewhere, whereas it isn't quite the same in Europe. I admit, though, it seems a bit odd to me, since to my simple brain,  if you're from America, you're surely American .

By that reckoning, I guess that'd make me half Viking, a quarter Saxon and a quarter Celt, or something like that...

[brightberry]

I think the difference is that America is a country most people's ancestors actively came to from somewhere, whereas it isn't quite the same in Europe. I admit, though, it seems a bit odd to me, since to my simple brain,  if you're from America, you're surely American .

By that reckoning, I guess that'd make me half Viking, a quarter Saxon and a quarter Celt, or something like that...

Haha!  Yep.  That's exactly how it happens here. 

I think it's also because parents/grandparents/great-grandparents push for their kids to remember where they came from.   My husband is half Irish and English, born in the US but grew up in England.  His Irish dad made him learn Gaelic.  So... he has a long answer if someone is silly enough to ask where he's from.

[vintage pups]

Taffeta, couldn't have explained it better myself!

Also, it irks me when people say "British accent" because there is no such thing.
If asked I always say I'm English, because that's the country I was born and grew up in.

[shelvesofwhimsy]

Yes I am American and we love telling people what countries we originated from!
For me at least I know where in Scotland my family lived (what clan we were) so I feel like I can at least lay claim to that. I know my family was in Northern Italy, and who knows where in France, Poland, and England. But it feels good to identify with a culture besides American, especially when I don't always love my country. I never say I'm an American unless I'm outside the US. Everyone had to come from somewhere besides here (unless you're a native American) and it makes for an interesting conversation.