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The broadest view is that an English person is someone who is from England and holds British nationality, regardless of his or her racial origin. The English frequently include their neighbors in the general term "British" while the Scots and Welsh tend to be more forward about referring to themselves by one of those more specific terms. This reflects a more subtle form of patriotism in England. Until fairly recently, many English people would have been surprised to be asked "are you English or British?" and might even have responded "What's the difference?". With the increasing awareness that the Scots and Welsh are thinking about the British/Scots British/Welsh issue, English people now recognize that the question at least deserves some thought (and English football fans now wave the Union flag only rarely). One difficulty for people wondering if they might be English as well as British is that an "English" national identity is often taken to have been appropriated by far right organizations such as the British National Party. This radicalizing of identity is often seen to be a problem. The English musician Morrissey expressed this sentiment in the lyrics of his 2004 single "Irish Blood, English Heart", having been criticized as being racist when he aligned himself to the English flag in the 1990s: "I've been dreaming of a time when / To be English is not to be baneful / To be standing by the flag / Not feeling shameful / Racist or partial". Presumably controversies like this arise because "English" is for some reason seen as an ethnicity, while "British" is a simple statement of fact: it is often said that English-born people who self-identify as black are proud to be "black British" but do not feel able to say "black English". This means that English identity is - for better or worse - often closely associated with English nationalism. Some English nationalists claim that the 'original culture' of England is comprised of legacies of Brythonic tribes of Celts and Anglo-Saxons appearing in waves of gradual migration. It also is seen as being influenced by the Scandinavian legends such as Beowulf and the Norman Conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a common early location for English identity. Attempts have been made to de-radicalize English identity. Modern English identity is often built around its sports, one field in which the British Home Nations often compete individually. In particular the English Association football team, Rugby Union team and Cricket team often cause increases in the popularity of 'Englishness'. English identity is also affected by the divisions in lifestyle between its north and south. |
England Information: Inside |