The British People

The origin of the British people is rather more genetically mixed. They are descendants of the ancient Norman, Celtic, Saxon, and Nordic tribes which settled here from 2000 BC until 11^th century. Even before the Celts came, swarthy Mediterranean peoples had lived in Britain and founded cities like Canterbury and London. The Celts actually came 1000 years later – from Brittany in France and the Alps. Many moved north to Scotland and across the seas to Ireland, laying the foundation for the Irish and Scottish national parties which promote the revival of old Celtic languages.

The Cornish people still speak affectionately of their Breton cousins. Around 55 BC, the beady eyes of the Romans were cast on Britain and they conquest the Celts. However, the Roman Empire collapsed during the 4^th century falling prey to the newcomers - the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes hailing from Germany. They in turn were conquered by the fierce Vikings who ruled by their blood-stained swords till the 11^th century. William the Duke of Normandy, with the help of Norman soldiers descended from Scandinavians, ascended the throne after the fateful Battle of Hastings in 1066. Norman castles still dot the countryside. The Romans left their road systems, and ancient tongues pepper the spoken English today. Modern English emerged from a mix of Celtic, Norse dialects, Anglo-Saxon, Latin and Norman French.

What makes the Scottish, Welsh, English and Northern Irish different from each other? The first known settlers of Britain were Celts who came to the island from northern Europe in the 5^th or the 6^th century BC. In 55 BC Julius Caesar invaded the island for a short time but in the first century a long Roman occupation began which lasted till the early 5^th century. After the withdrawal of the Roman army Britain was invaded be Anglo-Saxons and Jutes who forced the Celts to retreat westward. As we can see now 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 5^th century, and England gets its name from this invasion (Angle-land). The Vikings arrived from Denmark and Norway throughout the 9^th 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, we may admit now, are the descendants of the invaders, but are more Anglo-Saxon than anything else.

The oldest colony of Britain is Ireland and its conquest started a long time ago. Though Northern Ireland has officially become part of the United Kingdom only in the 20^th century the English started their attempts at conquering it as early as the 12^th century. The Irish stubbornly resisted the English, fiercely defending their territory and fought to protect their independence. Their resistance was broken by the English and they were forced to accept the rule of the English.

In the same way as Ireland both Wales and Scotland failed to capitulate voluntarily to the English rule and had to be attacked in force. They fell under the onslaught of England and were annexed. The union with England with Wales dates from 1301 when Edward I’s son was created Prince of Wales. The name Great Britain started to be used at the turn of the 17^th century after James VI of Scotland had succeeded to the English throne. In 1707 it was formally adopted after the union of the parliaments of England and Scotland.

By the early 19^th century, Jews fleeing the pogroms of Eastern Europe flooded into Britain settling in the East London area of Spitafield. They prospered through the fur and clothing trade, and by the middle of the 20^th century, another wave of immigrants moved in. Bangladeshis fleeing the poverty and strife of crowded homeland stepped into the trades left by the departing Jews.

In the 19^th century Britain had reached its height as a world colonial power. But World Wars I and II have brought to an end the period of Britain’s primacy as such. Great Britain emerged from World War II gravely weakened. Almost all the territories that Great Britain had previously held overseas were lost. The years following World War II saw the virtual end of the British colonial empire. Now the United Kingdom together with most of its former colonies are members of the Commonwealth, the Monarch being the head of the Commonwealth.

From the 1950s West Indians came here in large numbers to take on jobs the British did not want – mostly manual and lowly paid. As Commonwealth subjects and regarding Britain as their mother country, they were not prepared for the shock of social rejection and often overt racial discrimination. They settle in the cities of London, Manchester and Birmingham, working on railroads and other service industries. Citizens of Indian descent have become businessmen and professionals and some, together with those of Caribbean descent, now hold influential positions in the government. Britain today has a racial mix that reflects a global melting pot. The red hair description that Orientals are wont to give all British, indeed all Europeans, could not be further off the mark. There is now such things as the averageBritish national in terms of hair and skin colouring. One language is the common denominator.

Thus, these various origins explain many of the differences to be found between England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland - differences in education, religion, and the legal systems, but most obviously, in language.

Notes*

legal system – юридична система	service industries – сфери обслуговування
in fact – насправді, фактично	despite (in spite of) – незважаючи на
overseas – за морем, oversea, adj. – заморський	a virtual end – фактичний кінець
to fall under the onslaught – впасти від штурму (атаки)	to flee the poverty and strife – тікати від бідності та сутичок
to resist, v. – чинити опір, протистояти	Oriental World – країни сходу Occidental World – країни заходу
to conquer, v. – завойовувати	to settle, v. – поселятися, settlement, n. – поселення
to invade, v. – поневолювати; invadors, n., pl. – поневолювачі	to emerge gravely weakened – з’явитися сильно ослабленним
descendants, n., pl. – нащадки, descent, n. – походження	to hail from – бути родом з… Where do you hail from? Звідки ви родом?
swarthy, adj. – смуглий to withdraw, v. - відводити війська, відходити	to rule by a blood-stained sword – керувати за допомогою сили (дослівно – керувати закривавленим мечем)
	to protect one’s independence –захищати свою незалежність

Тalking Points*

What invasions has your country suffered in the past 2, 000 years?

What effects have these invasions had?

Are there any immigrants in your country?

Have there been any problems associated with immigrants? If so, what should be done to solve these problems?

What have citizens of Indian descent become in the UK?

Do many people from your country go to live and work in other countries?

Are they treated well?

It is important to remember:

· Most names of countries are used without ‘the’, but some countries and other names have ‘the’ before them, e.g. The USA, The United Kingdom/ UK, The Commonwealth. Some countries may be referred to with or without ‘the’ (the) Lebanon, (the) Gambia, and (the) Sudan.

· Adjectives referring to countries and languages –

with – ish: British, Irish, Flemish, Danish, Turkish Spanish

with – (i)an: Canadian, Brazilian, American, Ukrainian, Australian

with – ese: Japanese, Chinese, Guyanese, Burmese, Maltese, Taiwanese

with – і: Iraqi, Kuwaiti, Pakistani, Yemeni, Bangladeshi

with – ic: Icelandic, Arabic

Some adjectives are worth learning separately e.g. Swiss, Thai, Greek, Dutch, and Cypriot

· Some nationalities have nouns for referring to people, e.g. a Finn, a Swede, a Turk, a Spaniard, a Dane, a Briton, and an Arab. For most nationalities we can use the adjective as a noun, e.g. a German, an Italian, a Belgian, a Catalan, a Greek, and an African. Some need woman/man/ person added to them (you can’t say ‘a Dutch’), so if in doubt, use them, e.g. a Dutch man, a French woman, an Irish person, an Icelandic man.

· People belong to ethnic groups and regional groups such as Afro-Caribbeans, Asians, Orientals, Latin Americans, Occidentals.

· What are you? What are you by origin? What is your nationality? What ethnic group do you belong to?

· They speak dialects as well as languages. Everyone has a mother tongue or first language; many have second and third languages. Some people are perfect in more than one language and are bilingual or multilingual.

· Follow-up: Can you speak about the regional variants of the English language? Is there a difference between the dialect, accent and variant?

· Follow-up: Make sure you can describe your nationality, country, region, ethnic group, language(s), etc. in English.

Do you know that...

· The Church of England – its members are called Anglicans – has kept certain marks of its previous Catholic identity. The Church has bishops headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and his deputy, the Archbishop of York, who under them have 40 assistant bishops. There are 69 dioceses ['daɪəsɪs - єпархія], each with 200 parishes ['pæriʃ], and every parish is under the religious leadership of a priest. He may be called a rector or a vicar, all of which mean the same thing. Bishops are appointed by the Monarch from nominations presented by the prime Minister. The bishop lives from the donations of his congregation and a stipend from the central church. Financial matters are handled by church commissioners. The Church of England is one of Britain’s major land owners and all church expenditure comes from this revenue. It also has 18,700 church buildings to maintain, which take a big chunk of the income for many of them are hundreds of years old and require not only constant care but also delicate refurbishing. The Church of England is not funded by the state, though it is ultimately answerable to Parliament and cannot legislate without Parliament’s sanction.

Unit 2

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