The Student Room Group

Do you feel more of an affiliation to the Anglosphere or to Europe?

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Original post by ByEeek
We are much more aligned with Europe than America. We don't share the same idea of an American dream - the idea that hard work will be rewarded. We are not conservative or religious. We do not uphold or pledge elegance to our flag. We support the idea of an interventionist state that supports us in things like healthcare and education.

I think the thing that sums up the difference between the UK and the US is a story of allied prisoners being returned after the 1st Gulf war. They were on a military transport plane. As soon as it flew over Syria (a then Allie) two US jets flanked it. The US prisoners started chanting U S A whilst the jet fighters gave a salute. Shortly afterwards, the US jets were replaced by UK fighters. The British POWs ran to the window where they saw the jet pilots make the w**k** sign. We don't share the same sense of humour as the US.


I'm not sure you'd all that many Europeans who share the British sense of humour. You're right that the Americans don't, I've been living in the US for about 8 months now, but the Australians and New Zealanders are similar enough.
Europe.

Some of my fellow Brits feel more foreign to me.
My family go back as far as the 1600's in one county . Almost everyone never leaving one area or county other than to fight wars in Europe when called upon...
Do I regard myself as EUROPEAN ....NO...NOT NOW ...NOT EVER .
I drink tea ...not coffee .....
I eat pies ..not croissant .
i drink beer ...not wine .
I keep ferrets and pigeons not poodles .#
I play football and cricket not boules and mandolin .
I dont wear designer clothes ....I wear stuff off the market and Primark .
I drive an old van ...not a pink cabriolet.

RULE BRITANNIA AND STICK TWO FINGERS UP TO ANYONE FROM ACROSS THE CHANNEL .

....And I am unanimous .

Johnny English
Absolutely Anglosphere +1👍😁
Brits who say they're not European are funny
Original post by hannah00
People may say europe, but when people actually go on holidays or study abroad they tend to be the english speaking countries.


:confused:

Brits go on holiday to Europe all the time.

The vast majority of Brits can only speak one language. If you're going abroad to study and you can only speak one language then you're obviously far more likely to pick a country where you can speak the language.
Original post by Johnny English
My family go back as far as the 1600's in one county . Almost everyone never leaving one area or county other than to fight wars in Europe when called upon...
Do I regard myself as EUROPEAN ....NO...NOT NOW ...NOT EVER .
I drink tea ...not coffee .....
I eat pies ..not croissant .
i drink beer ...not wine .
I keep ferrets and pigeons not poodles .#
I play football and cricket not boules and mandolin .
I dont wear designer clothes ....I wear stuff off the market and Primark .
I drive an old van ...not a pink cabriolet.

RULE BRITANNIA AND STICK TWO FINGERS UP TO ANYONE FROM ACROSS THE CHANNEL .

....And I am unanimous .

Johnny English


Negged.
Original post by Wilfred Little
:confused:

Brits go on holiday to Europe all the time.

The vast majority of Brits can only speak one language. If you're going abroad to study and you can only speak one language then you're obviously far more likely to pick a country where you can speak the language.


only because its cheaper.

Speaking same language as another country, means you have more in common with it, you cant use that as some sort of argument to say the figures are distorted.

If people really had an affinity for another country or culture, they would learn the language.
Original post by hannah00
only because its cheaper.


That's not what you said.

when people actually go on holidays they tend to be the english speaking countries.


Well they don't, they tend to go to European countries.

Speaking same language as another country, means you have more in common with it, you cant use that as some sort of argument to say the figures are distorted.


No it doesn't mean you have 'more' in common with it, it means you share a language.

Mexico and Argentina both speak Spanish but are very different from each other. Most Argentines (about 90%) are of European descent (and follow European traditions even more so than some Europeans, only Uruguay is comparable in SA) whereas Mexicans are mostly indigenous or Mestizos (about 90%). Argentina would have more in common with somewhere like Italy but according to you it would be Mexico just because they both happen to speak Spanish (even though their versions of Spanish are actually very different from each other).

If people really had an affinity for another country or culture, they would learn the language.


It has more to do with what will be easier for the student than any affinity you might have for the host country. If you are studying for a degree in another country you already have enough on your plate without having to learn a language on top.
Your post contains some faulty reasoning. I think most people here have always related more to America, Canada and Australia because the culture isn't that different. The common language is obviously a huge factor.
Original post by Wilfred Little
:confused:

Brits go on holiday to Europe all the time.

The vast majority of Brits can only speak one language. If you're going abroad to study and you can only speak one language then you're obviously far more likely to pick a country where you can speak the language.


We go to France and Spain because they are close and much cheaper than spending a day travelling to Australia. Obviously we share some things in common with Europe, but I think there's a much greater affinity with Australia and North America.
Original post by hannah00
only because its cheaper.

Speaking same language as another country, means you have more in common with it, you cant use that as some sort of argument to say the figures are distorted.

If people really had an affinity for another country or culture, they would learn the language.


I don't agree, though I appreciate the importance of the shared tongue with the Five Eyes. English is spoken extensively across Western Europe, especially in Scandinavia and the Netherlands. As for your point about studying, those countries tend to offer English-only courses and many Brits use Erasmus(!) (of all things) to study in Europe.
Original post by Wilfred Little
That's not what you said.


I said when you talk to people about where they want to go on holiday or live abroad, they pick countries from the anglosphere. a booze cruise to spain isnt really a holiday



Original post by Wilfred Little

No it doesn't mean you have 'more' in common with it, it means you share a language.


lmao, language is the a major component of shared identity and basis for culture. People have more affinity for countries that share history and culture

Original post by Wilfred Little

Mexico and Argentina both speak Spanish but are very different from each other. Most Argentines (about 90%) are of European descent (and follow European traditions even more so than some Europeans, only Uruguay is comparable in SA) whereas Mexicans are mostly indigenous or Mestizos (about 90%). Argentina would have more in common with somewhere like Italy but according to you it would be Mexico just because they both happen to speak Spanish (even though their versions of Spanish are actually very different from each other).


mexico and argentina have more in common, than taiwan and mexico or england and argentina. Do australians speak a very very different form of english to england ?


Original post by Wilfred Little

It has more to do with what will be easier for the student than any affinity you might have for the host country. If you are studying for a degree in another country you already have enough on your plate without having to learn a language on top.


as I said if you liked a country enough, you would learn the language. You dont have to study abroad, you clearly need to have some sort of affinity or like for that country. It would probably be easier and cheaper to study somewhere less than 3 hours away ie europe.
It's close but on balance it would have to be the Anglosphere. We are obviously in Europe and socially and politically we're much more of a European country than we would like to admit - and I have a feeling that if French or German was the world language, we wouldn't have such a problem accepting that fact. However, the Anglosphere, particularly the non-US Anglosphere, is basically a result of Brits and Irish people transplanting themselves into various parts of the world at various times and taking a few immigrants from other places with them - there are differences but it's culturally much closer to us than anything else is, and we engage with it a lot more because it speaks the same language as us. This goes far enough that I wouldn't really consider people from some parts of the Anglosphere (Australia & NZ, Ireland) to be foreigners.
Reply 34
European to be honest, it has always come across as much more civilized and cultural than the Anglosphere which seems to be being dragged into the gutter by the Americans, mores the pity.
Reply 35
Original post by hannah00


Do australians speak a very very different form of english to england ?


Yes, out side of the big cities they may as well be speaking a different language.
The Anglosphere, British culture is far more than just inside our country and known by many much like other European countries (although they feel happy to destroy their own culture) our culture is so powerful it spreads throughout the world and has shaped plenty of other nations and continues to do so, British history and culture is one of the most important and has shaped the world so much.

I feel more loyalty to the Anglosphere and more with Anglo culture although I do not deny our role within Europe and our alliances in Europe
Whilst I am Anglo-Dutch, it is my European heritage that leads me to feeling a closer affiliation with the Anglosphere. Put simply, our politics and culture as a whole is linked to a much closer degree to our fellow countries in the Anglosphere due to our history and - most importantly - the common language that we share. The Western and Central European countries may be geographically closer but, as a historical and more isolated superpower, our differences are more defined than they are in mainland Europe itself (which would help explain a certain part of anti-EU sentiment).

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