Well, since you're not English (Welsh, I take it?), and since Britain is more than just England, I don't find your reaction to those to be unwarranted. I know I get peeved about similar things. I seethe when people pronounce my beloved Mackinac Island as "Mack-ih-nack." (The ending C is silent!! Agh!!) But, well, aren't you using English spelling...? Oh wait a minute. I think I know what you mean..."color" vs. "colour" and such, okay. I thought you meant just the English language and I was going to say, what else should we call it?? But anyway, regarding the spelling difference, I guess a name like "British spelling" would be more accurate, and in fact I think that's what I would use because of the very thing I just did here, assuming that "English spelling" means all words in English, *LOL.* But I think you might overreact a little to that one. In any case, I've seen similar posts around here where people start frothing at the mouth regarding "British" vs. "English" and I could never understand why because while people get upset, they don't usually bother to explain WHY such assumptions are incorrect. Most people who make these mistakes really mean no harm. In fact I was getting more confused than I had to be. I have a character who is from ENGLAND for example. I looked at your map and he is literally from the part called ENGLAND. I sometimes call him English, I sometimes call him British, because technically isn't he both? A Canadian is both Canadian and North American, aren't they? "British" is just a more general term and could also refer to people from Wales and such, right? So all English and Welsh (etc.) people are British, but not all British are English or Welsh or whatever? (I do hope I'm not getting this wrong. *winces and dodges blows*) So I thought people were getting upset over THAT when in fact, based on your post here, it's more a matter of people just getting something wrong entirely, rather than just being too general. For the record, I might call my English character British but I'd never call a Welsh character English. That would be like me calling myself Canadian (I'm from the US, which like Canada is in North America, so if I called myself North American I would be right!). I'm getting confused now so maybe that proves my point. I fully understand getting angry about such things, but maybe just trying to explain the differences would work better than punching things. It was quite a while before the map was posted so I could see what I might be getting wrong! *bows out*
Folks, thje topic of this thread is not racism. Lets stay with the original topic, or the thread will have to be closed. I think we can sum up the racism issue by declaring that racism is bad, and racism is stupid. Other than that, it's an emotionally loaded topic just waiting for someone to phrase something the wrong way, and we don't need that.
Lucy is Welsh. That means she is also British. She is not, however, English. I am English. I am also British. I am not Scottish, Welsh, Irish, or any combination of the three. I hope that clears it up a bit for you.
I doudt a lot of people outside of Britain even know that Wales is a seperate part of the U.K. If your British, most people just assume that you're either English or Scottish. The only reason I know about Wales is because when I was checking out history, I heard a few stories about it. Otherwise, I would probably just assume its just a part of England. Like the others have said, just try to correct those that call you english.
I know the different parts of Britain and a lot of the history. one place I have a problem sorting is with the Isle of Whyte. is that a different place like Wales or is it considered England as opposed to Isle of Whyte. just curious.
The Isle of Wight is considered a part of England, and a county in its own right. It has a Parliamentary seat in Westminster, as well as a local council governing local issues (in the same way as all areas of the United Kingdom have local authorities).
What is English spelling? would it be like olde opposed to old....? I have to admit, I am pretty ignorant on the whole British, English, welsh, scotish type thing....I don't see why that would offend anyone though because really I am the one who is losing out on the knowledge. I don't even understand the Canadians not wanting to be called American.... I am Canadian, and would not feel mad if someone mmistaken me for American...I mean we all look the same. In some parts we even talk the same. The only way I could understand this is if there is a reason. As said before I am canadian, I probably would not be impressed if people assumed i lived in an igloo and rode a dogsled around town and ate seal blubber all day ...eh? lol but again.....I would not be mad because that is their ignorance they have to live with. (I do tend to say Eh a lot though....but it isn't at random like most think. It is like saying....right? or what do you think? or what? or hey?) I am not sure if this post makes any sense but explaining is hard eh?
"English" spelling in this context means British spelling (as opposed to American). For example, colour rather than colour, flavour rather than flavor.
English neighbour American neighbor. simple things like that. Americans leave out letters which English and Canadians keep in. When Al Gore spelled potatoe he was ridiculed because Americans spell it potato. We may look like Americans and have similar accents but calling many Canadians American is an insult. Not because it is bad to be American it is just not who we are. We are in a different country and we want to be treated as such. We may be neighbours and very close but the fence is there for a reason.
Although Canada is part of the Noth America continent. I have hear people from Central America complain that when people talk about Americans, THEY are excluded! You can't win.
I always wondered why they separated North, Central and South America. It's a huge landmass with nothing between them. Kinda like Europe and Asia.
There are only two continents on the planet that are not connected to at least one other continent (i.e. no international waters separating them): Australia, and Antarctica.
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck, it's a duck! Welsh, English, Scottish . . . even the Irish . . . they all look, sound and act like ducks to me. LOL! (just kidding!) Actually, I can tell the difference between British, Irish, Scottish and Cockney speech patterns, but I will admit that I thought Welsh was just a breed of dog! (Nice doggies too - great temperament) http://www.greatdogsite.com/breeds/details/Welsh_Terrier/ Thank you for the distinction Lucy.
On behalf of English people everywhere, I'd like to take this oppertunity to point out that, contrary to popular belief, cockney is not the only English accent.
I have friends from England and the thing I find funny is their accents. apparently they grew up 25 miles apart but their accents are so different you would swear they were from different countries. They get a lot of comments on it since they are married so when they talk it is more obvious. Newfies (people from Newfoundland) have an accent very close to the cockney accent. Some are very hard to understand when they start drinking.
just a bit of Canadian Trivia. you can be Canadian but not truly Canadian until you have had sex in a canoe. just thought I would throw in a bit of comic relief.
I have to agree with you Lucy and also with you Banzai. I'm Irish and and from the Republic of Ireland. At times I have people ask me how I like being part of Great Britain and that annoys the hell out of me. Its the same when we are also called the Celtic Irish, people refer to us as being Scottish. Lucy I know in the past I commented on one of your posts, where you stated you were British. I said I thought you were welsh and British. At the time when I sent that post I got it mixed up in my own head, about the English/British thing. For that I can only say I am sincerely sorry. Banzai same goes for yourself. It's frustrating when people misrepresent what country you are from, or when they are ignorant of the fact that you can only be two out of the four.That is English/Welsh/Scottish and or British. If one parent was from England and the other was from Wales, you then could claim to be all three from parentage. Getting back to whether you are over reacting Lucy, I would have to say yes to a degree. This would only because I don't fully understand, the annoyance of being wrongfully labelled. On the other hand I would say no. Especially if like myself, you are proud of your heritage, you have every right to stand up for yourself. Banzai, I am sure you probably feel the same on this score. All in all, we also have to try and remember, that other nationalities may not be aware of these differences like ourselves. Keep your head up Lucy. Remember you have people in your corner rooting for you. This is one boxing match where you will raise the belt above your head. Assassins Creed
Yes, but it isn't just that. I'm conducting a personal war against ignorance, and in part am trying to use this thread to educate people about our little corner of the world. If I can illustrate the point coherently enough to the people who read this thread, then they might not make the same mistake again. Ergo, it's a small victory against human ignorance.
This is not meant to put down anyones opinion, but my humble opinion is that it all seems petty. I think there are way better issues to be outraged about lol. That being said I still think this thread is interesting to see what the stereo types are in each country.
Just to add a new tangle…. Here in Puerto Rico, Americans from the United States of America are referred to as Los Norte Americanos which means The North Americans. Obviously, Canadians are also North Americans, but I can assure you that Puerto Ricans are not refereing to Canadians when they say Los Norte Americanos. I have attempted to correct this particular error and have received, without fail, that strange pursing of lips and crinkling of face that indicates, “Hello, can you be more stupid?” The differences are clear to me. Canadians and Americans are as distinct as distinct can be, but the fact of the matter is, it doesn’t matter to Puerto Ricans. The error in logic in saying The North Americans, but only referring to people from the U.S.A. is of no importance to the local populace. So I guess the question is, how do you make it matter to those who are in error? It’s not a rhetorical question. I have no answer.
I'll be honest, it annoys me a bit too. I write in a quite old fashioned English way. I once had someone say to me 'You write in such a British voice, think about us American readers too!' No! Screw you! I write the way I want to write. Not an arrogant thing at all. I just think most people use American English in the UK and thats wrong. We should write our own way.
Trust me you're not overreacting. I'm from Scotland and I go absolutely mental whenever people do the same thing to me. I'm Scottish not English. I hardly ever say I'm British anymore because of it. Trust me, if you were from the UK you would understand. GB can't even have an olympic football team because it would pretty much be the English football team.
