Language and culture

Language and Culture part 1

Chapter 1 : the shape of Britain

Britain: island in the north-west coast of Europe. It is the largest of a group of islands (known as the British Isles). The second largest is the island of Ireland (these two = 95% of the surface area of the archipelago). The rest = lots of smaller islands.

The seas that surround the British Isles :

· The Atlantic Ocean

· The English Channel

· The North Sea.

o The North Sea and the English Channel are linked through the Straits of Dover.

· The Irish Sea (= the most important sea because it links with the Atlantic by St George’s Channel to the south (Ireland and Wales) and the North Channel to the north (Northern Ireland and Scotland).

o Bristol Channel = the sea between South Wales and south-western England

Ø Those seas are divided for for shipping purposes

· Nobody in Britain lives far from the sea. The furthest point inland, near the city of Derby, is almost exactly the same distance from the sea as Brussels is from Ostend.

Political

The British Isles = 3 states:

· The United Kingdom (Monarchy, King Charles III)

· The Republic of Ireland (Republic, Michael Higgins is president)

· The Isle of Man (island in the Irish Sea that is a crown dependency: associated with the United Kingdom but not really a part of it, financially interesting places for the rich because you don’t pay taxes there.

· The United Kingdom takes up the whole of the island of Britain, + small islands off its coasts, and a corner of the island of Ireland.

· The Republic of Ireland has the larger part of the island of Ireland, + many small islands off its coasts.

There are 4 nations in the United Kingdom:

· England (most populated)

· Wales

· Scotland

· Northern Ireland

The flag = Union Flag/Union Jack is a combination of English, Scottish and Irish flags:

Linguistic

5 Celtic languages :

· Irish (Gaelic Celtic roots)

· Scots (Gaelic Celtic roots)

· Gaelic (Gaelic Celtic roots)

· Manx (Gaelic Celtic roots)

· Welsh + Cornish Irish (Breton roots)

· (Breton)

2 Germanic languages :

· English

· Scots (type of English developed in Scotland different from the one spoken in England. Sometimes called Lowland Scots/ Lallands in Scots or in Scots to distinguish it from the Scots Gaelic spoken mostly in the Highlands and the Western Isles).

Other

· About 2% of the population of Britain speaks a language from India

· In the 2021 census over half a million people living in England/Wales said Polish was their main language and almost another percent (0.8%) said Romanian.

· + About quarter of a million people, roughly half of one per cent, speak British Sign Language (BSL), as a 2nd language.

Symbolic

England’s symbols :

· Rose

· Lion (usually walking or resting),

· Oak tree

· Cross of St George (St George’s Day = April 23rd)

· Roast beef

Scotland’s symbols

· Thistle

· Bagpipes

· Cross of St Andrew (St Andrew’s Day = November 30th)

· Kilt,

· Tartan

· Haggis

Burns Night (January 25th) : Scots celebrate Burns Night, for Robert Burns (18th century) their national poet.

Symbols of Wales :

· Welsh dragon

· Leek,

· Daffodil,

· Harp,

· Most importantly the Welsh language.

St David’s Day (March 1st) : competition of Welsh poetry + songs

(No real ‘national dish’ but but they love toasted cheese, also called rabbit)

Northern Ireland’s symbols :

· Cross of St Patrick

· Shamrock

· Flax flower

· Red hand

· Colours orange and green.

St Patrick’s Day (March 17th) : public holiday, as

Anniversary of the Battle of Boyne (July 12th) : lots of Parades are organised by Orangemen, who wear orange to mark their attachment to William of Orange.

Regions

1) South-East England and London

· Characteristic landscape of the south-east of Britain : hills that break off as cliffs at the edge of the sea (the most famous = White Cliffs of Dover)

· In the 21st century Britain has become very largely dependent on the Dover, in Kent–Calais link (whether by boat or by tunnel) as a gateway for trucking and travel.

o Kent =Garden of England because it hasmany horticultural establish-ments + producies fruit and others. It’s also a transport hub servicing London and Dover. The main city in the county is Canterbury. Canterbury Cathedral = 1 of the oldest and most important churches in England.

Economy and institutions

· The economy of the south-east is dominated by London : city with +- 9 million inhabitants + lots of people that commute from the south-east to London for work.

· The economy of London is dominated by financial services (banking, insurance, investment), for which the city is of global importance (alongside New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, and increasingly Frankfurt).

o The financial institutions (also called (‘the City’) are mostly London (‘the same as ‘Wall Street’ = to the financial institutions in New York)

o London has a lot national/cultural institutions : Houses of Parliament in Westminster, the government offices in Whitehall, law courts and museums, libraries, art galleries.

Greenery in London

· Lots of parks, grassy squares

· Creation of a Green Belt after WW2 to stop the city from spreading into the countryside. New expensive houses were built for the rich only so normal people have to live outside of it (even outside of London)

South Coast

· Famous towns : Brighton, Portsmouth

o Brighton: known for its sea and the gay + alternative lifestyle subculture

o Portsmouth: home of the Royal Navy – it was central to British power from the 18th to 20th century

o Isle of Whight: famous for its landscape (UNESCO) and festivals

2) South-West England (= West Country)

· More agricultural than the South-East

· Best known for its ancient remains (Stonehenge, Roman baths in Bath) and its links to the legends of King Arthur.

o Interesting natural place: Cheddar Gorge —> the first place where they made cheddar cheese was in the caves of these gorges (vallées), hence the name. It’s a good place if you have botanical, geological and archeological interests or if you like rock climbing/caving. The gorges also preserved prehistoric human remains and the oldest human skeleton found in Britain called Cheddar man.

· County :

o Cornwall : famous for its tin and lead mines that were important for the industry until the 1860s (when miners left the continent for the gold rush)

· City :

o Bristol : old city with a big commercial centre and an important commercial medieval harbor built on a river (Avon)

3) West Midlands

· Important region during the industrial revolution that’s now industrialized (especially for engineering, tools and devices making and the automotive industry)

· Cotswolds : region with lots of hills and honey-colored building made with Cotswold stones

· Valley of upper Thames

· Cities :

o Oxford (the city + the University): there are a lot of old building from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

o Birmingham : UK’s 2nd biggest city and the birthplace of British industry : Where the steam engine was invented in 1770 (James Watts). There are a lot of buildings, squares and art galleries there but the city has a dark past : during WW2, the authorities destroyed everything that the Germans bomb had missed and rebuilt a city made for cars and not pedestrians (they’ve been reversing this for the past few years). There is a local accent (Brum/Brummie, from Brumagen —> the name of the city.

4) North of England

· Rocky region with lots of farming lands to graze sheep

· County : Lancashire (divided in 3 areas – Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester)

· Cities :

o Manchester: important city of the 19th century and one of the centre of the Industrial Revolution. Used to be famous for its cotton mills (factories) but now for its music scene, dance clubs, art galleries and shopping malls

o Liverpool: had an important port during the 18-19th centuries. During the Atlantic slave trade in the 18th century, it was important so now there the International Slavery Museum. People have a distinct accent and dialect (Scouse, spoken by Scousers) and are sometimes stigmatized as cheerful, lively, unemployed and commit small crimes.

o Blackpool (sea side resort) : famous for its kitschy entertainment, pier, Blackpool Tower and illuminations from summer to November

· The Northest part of England

· County : Cumbria

o 1st area designated as a National Park -. There you can find the tallest hills and largest lakes of England and it’s a popular holiday destination.

o A lot of poets from the Romantic period spent their time in nature there to find inspiration (now, a lake is named Lake Poet because of this). A century later, Beatrix Potter lived there and she was one of the 1st to trto preserve the landscapes from ecological destruction early on

o The Pennies : chain of hills that runs in the North and that separates the east from the west.

· Cities :

o Newcastle-upon-Tyne: combined shipbuilding + colmining (there were a lot of coal in the area). It has beautiful buildings and art collections from 19th century industrialists (like Birmingham). People from this area are known as Geordies and speak a dialect (Geordie).

o Durham : has UNESCO World Heritage castles and cathedrals from the Norman times (+- 1100)

· County: Yorkshire

o Largest in England, its capital is York

· Cities:

o York: you can find a beautiful + one of the European best preserved medieval cathedral (York Minster). The Medieval feel of the city attracts tourists.

o Leeds & Bradford: industrial cites famous for their textiles factories (wool)

§ Leeds : the city rebuilt itself with the decline of the textile industry and became a successful city (4th richest city in Britain)

§ Bradford : city with lots of tensions and segregation towards Muslims

o Sheffield: famous for its steel industry

· Peak District: At the end of the Pennine chain, beautiful, another of Britain 1st National Park

5) Eastern England

· Cities :

o Leicester: one of the biggest cities of the region. The only region (with London) where there are more post-war immigrants (Indians) than natives English. The celebration of Diwali is the largest one after the one done in India.

· The landscapes look like Holland : very flat and wet because in the 17th and 18th centuries, there were Dutch immigrant farmers.

· In East Anglia :

o City of Norfolk Broads: popular holiday destination that kind of looks like Holland for boating fans

· There you can find Cambridge & Oxford (cities + Universities)

o Cambridge : medieval city that isn’t really more interesting now that there is the modern industry. The University is the 2nd (after Harvard) for the number of its Nobel laureates

o Oxford : medieval city that has produced the best British Prime Ministers/politicians

· County :

o Essex : faces a stereotype – small traders/self-employed workers who make more £ than their parents and that like bling, leopard print and spray tans.

o Dagenham : where Essex merges into London, where there’s the Ford Motor Plant —> there was a big strike in 1968 where women asked to be paid the same as men. It resulted in the Equal Pay Act of 1970.

o Colchester: oldest town of Roman foundation

o Harwich : there’s the Harwich Harbour (UK busiest port)

6) Scotland

· Edinburgh: capital of the city and seat of Scottish Parliament since the devolution in the 1990s. The old city was built against an extinct volcano. Not only the centre of Scottish politics and administration but also of legal, banking and literary life. The North Sea oil changed the economy of the region for the best (oil capital = city of Aberdeen)

· Orkney + Shetlands Islands : smaller islands that are part of the British Isles, known for their small ponies and annual Viking-themed fire festival in February

· Highlands : mountainous part of the North of Scotland

o City : Glasgow : largest city of Scotland, industrial city of the 19th century. It’s famous for its big art collection and beautiful buildings but also for its high knife crimes rate, drunkenness, heart disease and deprivation.

7) Northern Ireland

· Belfast: capital, the only big industrial city in the 19th century (famous for its linen textiles and the Harland & Wolff shipyard)

· Legend :

o Saint Patrick : a 5th century missionary + had influence in Irish Christianity to Ireland who later served as a bishop there. We use the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). He is believed to have converted Irish people into christians (debated by historians since there were already christians there before him)

· Cities :

o Derry & Londonderry

· Characteristics of Northern Ireland :

o Ethnic religious divisions betweeen Irish Catholics & Scots Irish Protestants : today, some people still are victims of prejudice because of their religion. Serious problem, but not as violent as in the end of 20th century. Northern Ireland was created because the Scots Irish (majority) in 6 counties in the North of Ireland didn’t want to become a minority in an Irish Free State where there would me more Catholics. The Catholics Irish (minority) in those 6 counties did want to be part of the Irish Free State instead of the UK. The religious divide between Catholics and Protestants is also political (between ‘nationalists/republicans’ (Protestants) & ‘loyalists/unionists’ (Catholics). They all speak English but they emphasize on the importance of Irish/Scots.

8) The Republic of Ireland

· The only country the UK has a land border with

· Capital : Dublin – one of the most expensive cities to live in in all Europe, famous for its beautiful Georgian/Victorian architecture and old universities like Trinity College Dublin.

· Was part of the UK from 1801 to 1922

· Country of emigration during the 19th – 20th centuries especially to the US and parts of the English-speaking world

o In the 80s & 90s, the Irish economy was really good so Ireland suddenly became a country of immigration rather than emigration

· The Irish countryside is very green and wet

· Irish language (native Celtic/Gaelic language):

o Official national language of Ireland but most people are native English speakers and Irish is obligatory in schools + required for government services (but not spoken in daily life)

9) Wales

· North of Wales :

o Lots of mountains in the North of Wales, the UK’s only real mountains outside Scotland

o The place that remained independent for the longest, Welsh is still spoken

o Lots of remains of medieval military architecture, best place in Europe to study castles, that shows just how hard the kings of England had to work to bring the North Wales under their control

· South of Wales :

o More industrial with the Welsh Valleys famous for the ironworks + coalmining (both have declined). More famous for Rugby and loud men