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Q for Englanders: English or British?

Poll

Which one do you prefer to be known as?

Do you see yourself as English or British? I saw myself as British for a long time but after continually hearing Scottish and Welsh people badmouth the English for this and that and whatever. Now I'm like, why buddy up with people who badmouth you? So I guess I say I'm English more often now, plus it rolls of the tongue better.

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Reply 1

bikerx23

I am primarily English, but this does not mean I am not proud of being British.

This, I believe, is best represented with my sporting affiliations:
I will primarily support England before any other British team, but then Wales (I lived there) then Scotland (because I love climbing there) then Ireland.

This is at loggerheads to what a lot of the welsh I know feel, i.e., they support wales and whoever is playing England, which is a bad way to look I believe.

Reply 2

El Scotto

Being british is a creation of the English, in the past everywhere that England conquered became British... Being British is being more proud of being english in my opinion.

Reply 3

Agent Smith

How about European?

*Ducks hail of Europhobic abuse*

Reply 4

ArthurOliver

I'm English! I really don't like the British that much tbh. :biggrin:

Reply 5

naivesincerity

I feel English. The differences between the component countries of Britain are significant IMO

Reply 6

Bluelight

Half English , but i prefer English to British, i dunno theres just a big difference and everyone knows England is the greatest and most renowned place in the uk!

Reply 7

an Siarach

As a Scot living in England ive never heard any Englishman describe or define themselves as anything other than English. Not only that but they also ( being the only British people arrogant enough to do so ) refer to Britain as a whole by the name of their part - 'England'.

plus it rolls of the tongue better.

I agree absolutely with this one. Theres something about 'British' which just isnt very...poetic or whatnot.

Reply 8

L i b

El Scotto

Being british is a creation of the English, in the past everywhere that England conquered became British... Being British is being more proud of being english in my opinion.

It doesn't worry you that the concept of Britishness was here long before the English came to these islands?

Out of the nations in the UK, the only one England conquered was Wales. Scotland and Ireland entered into the United Kingdom by treaty with England and then Great Britain.

England never made anywhere 'British' - the English Empire (which included such wonderful places as France and early America) is almost all lost now. The places that were labelled British were colonised by... um... the British! Which notably used a disproportionately low number of English people in its military.

Reply 9

Agent Smith

It is predominantly Americans that refer to Britain as "England", not English people.

Reply 10

naivesincerity

an Siarach

Not only that but they also ( being the only British people arrogant enough to do so ) refer to Britain as a whole by the name of their part - 'England'.
.

I've never heard anybody do that :confused:

Reply 11

cappucino07

I feel English 1st, European 2nd and British 3rd.....if that makes sense.

Reply 12

John82

I'm British.

It was the British Empire and all the nations of the union contributed to Britain being the most powerful country of the modern world.

My allegiance is to the Queen and the Union Jack/Flag - I'm a patriot!

I'm English second and never, ever European.

Reply 13

Bismarck

Agent Smith

How about European?

*Ducks hail of Europhobic abuse*

Historically people who have claimed supranational identities were those that were minorities in their own lands. It's certainly much better to be a miniority in Europe, where no nation dominates, to being a minority in Britain, where a vast majority of people are Brits. Believe it or not, this is a form of nationalism.

Reply 14

Nightowl

Although I lived in England my whole life, I consider myself British because I am half English, am am 3/8ths Welsh and 1/8th Irish

Reply 15

digitalparadox

I prefer to be known as English, most likely because its my mother-tongue and also British sounds more nationalistic.

Reply 16

OppressedMass

John82

I'm British. I'm English second and never, ever European.

Hurrah. I'm the same.

I don't look at a Scot and see a foreigner, I think that culturally we're all so alike that clinging to our (minimal and outdated) differences is pointless.

Reply 17

Nightowl

I agree about not being European - I'm not really anti-EU but I think it would be stupid to be the United States of Europe.

Reply 18

Howard

English by the grace of God.

Reply 19

naivesincerity

I feel more European than like the Kiwis, Aussies , Yanks or Canucks. But that raises an interesting question-which of those do the English feel most similar to?