Do you consider yourself English/Irish/Scottish/Welsh or British?

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I'm part Canadian, part Norwegian, part German. So I don't really apply to this discussion.

But I've always wondered about how people in the UK label themselves. I want to visit someday. I'll read more into this thread to hopefully glean information that will prevent me getting a black eye when I do eventually visit.

 

[Pariah87]

I prefer English. Whilst it's pretty likely the bloodlines are mixed far enough back, no one in my family on either side for the 5 generations I can trace back was born anywhere but England.

That is the answer I give when asked, however I don't mind when I'm called British, especially by those across the pond because it's just easier with the large amount of accents we have to just lump us in together. Kind of like how we refer to Polish/Lithuanian/Latvian/Romanian as Eastern European, or Swedes/Danes/Norweigans as Scandaniavian. Without asking specifically where a person is from it's impossible to say, so we just use a blanket term.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Britain and the British Isles are two completely different things. Britain refers to Great Britain which is just the UK mainland ie Scotland, Wales and England so not The Isle of Man and Ireland etc. While these are part of British Isles they are not part of Britain.

But it would be still fair to refer to the denizens of the British isles as British? Correct?

Look, we have no collective term for a citizen of the UK, so we use British instead, it's fair enough.

Be a bit more liberal.

No it would not be fair to call citizens of Rep. Ireland (and even some Northern Irish) British. That is a complete and utter slap to face of everything we as a country were formed for. If you want to use British for the UK fair enough as there are plenty of examples of things that are wrong in the English language I see no problem with one more. Keep the Rep. of Ireland out of it. Even though I'd rather the North was not associated with England either as the English(gov and aristocracy I am referring to with use of English here just to stop repetition.) have done fuck all to help this country. The English have been completely disgraceful to the Irish over the years even up until the 1990 with Gerrymandering of elections. It is only in very recent times we have actually had a bit of peace with them.

 

[laughing_seraphim]

I have had this conversation on the Escapist Team fortress 2 server a few times.

I was born in Cornwall,but moved to Dublin before I was 1 and have spent the rest of my live in Ireland.

Would I say I am Irish?

No,personally I don't think anyone,save a few communities in the far west of Ireland can claim to be Irish.I find that others on the the more eastern side of things have become more English.Some people are still bitter about the whole "700 years thing" but personally,I think its unfair to hold a grudge agaisnt anyone today just because of what their father's father's government might of done,but in fairness,although some of the Irish culture is still there,I personally feel we have become largely English.

I mean no offence to anyone,and might I also add if someone wanted to be Irish,anyone could be,nothing stops anyones from using Irish commonly,playing tradition music and such.

I also don't mean to say you must do EVERYTHING possible to be Irish(by which I mean talking Irish CONSTANTLY,listening ONLY to tradition Irish music etc) I just think alot of Irish life has,along with the country's technology,ecomony and just about everything esle,I feel its grown as close to England as possible-and thus,lost alot of its modern cultural development,because they were so vital to becoming modern.

At this stage I may have lost myself abit so I'll leave it that.

This is largely the same set of conflicted views I have seen since looking into such things.
It's odd to study this from an outside perspective. There was once a time when tryign to hide being Irish was a good thing. Now some, especially the 'fitz' seem to preach a pact of unity. Now I observe a sort of trend in parts of Ireland to reclaim Irishness, while others are more or less trying to be English. The same is being seen in America. Those who actually have Irish decent (and many who simply don't) are trying to resurrect some parts of Irish Culture here, while others fight to maintain their stake in being homogeneously white.
From what I have seen in terms of research. Wales, Norther and western parts of Ireland, Northern Scotland, England and eastern Ireland would appear to be different cultures, ehtnicities and to a much less degree perhaps races even.
As for the Irish coming from England. That is hogwash that is proven false from every single source I have seen. They are the decendants of Spaniards/Norse and to a lesser extent Normans. The English are largely Celtic and the Irish remain the sole remaining Gaelic state standing. Celtic were french tribes. Gaelic is different.
However, in the past 60 years, it does appear that Ireland really has just become Nice, Proper White and just West England. But that is an outside take. I don't live there. I just read books.