And Chocolate Chip Cookies? I'll send Barack an email about it.
I see world peace looming on the horizon.
Is the term "British" offensive?
- Thread starter Argus Skyhawk
- Start date
I see world peace looming on the horizon.
Really? How so? What are the profound and irreconcilable historical and cultural differences between the UK, or if you prefer, England, and the rest of Europe?
Why would being asked to back up your declarations with actual facts make you cry?
Well, in this case, your opinion on matters is laughable and completely without basis in anything resembling reality. That makes it amusing.
On the topic at hand, I actually find the very notion of an offensive word for English people, or British people for that matter, to be absurd.
I seems almost conceited to take racial offense when you are sitting almost on top of the pack thanks to a few centuries of brutal imperialism
Sure, Limey. Whatever you say.
And Chocolate Chip Cookies? I'll send Barack an email about it.
^Don't forget apple pie!
"England has forty-two religions and only two sauces."--Voltaire.
That is one of my favourite quotes (but I always thought it was about political parties
)
And both of them great with bacon.
Although bacon may clash with at least two of those religions.....
ITL - English, British, European.
That is one of my favourite quotes (but I always thought it was about political parties
Really? That's the way I've always heard it, though I'm not sure where it comes from.
I use Voltaire's Letters on the English Nation as one of the texts for review in my Philosophical Enlightenment seminar.
I think it (my misconception) originates from my teacher back many, many years -I am (furthermore) positive that I've been corrected (on this very board) before!
That is one of my favourite quotes (but I always thought it was about political parties
Really? That's the way I've always heard it, though I'm not sure where it comes from.
I use Voltaire's Letters on the English Nation as one of the texts for review in my Philosophical Enlightenment seminar.
Edit:
Wondering, however, if it originates from Lettres philosophiques sur les Anglais though. - I was originally taught it was from a letter begging to return from his exile.
Oh, no, I'm pretty sure it's not in the Letters. I mentioned them only in passing.
It's also worth noting, in passing, in any argument about English uniqueness, that the greatest English composer of the 18th century, George Frideric Handel, was a German who got much of his musical education in Italy, and who scored his first great success on the London stage with an Italian opera, Rinaldo.
And that their greatest detective was in fact Belgian, and their second greatest detective died in Germany (or was it Austria) -and remained dead until the sequel...
Well, if he was from Ireland then he isn't from the United Kingdom
Northern.
And I guess I've made my own feax pas by not identifying him as such.
Indeed, although only the Irish care, and they really do care if history is anything to go by
To be fair to the Irish - their battle for independence from the UK was very recent, so memories are fresh on that score. And being so close to the UK and having to face every day that part of your country isn't actually yours (from their point of view) must rankle a smidgen.
It's definitely way too colloquial. It's not offensive though. But using "Mick" for Irish people is. Not so much the term itself but the fact that it has been used as an insult by the British for so many years, it's assumed to be insulting immeditely these days.
I don't think it is any more. It was once, but these days it's seen as a humourous name rather than an offensive one.
NOTE: Obviously I'm generalising wildly from my own experience here, agree or not as you choose
Captain Darling:
"I know the words to all three verses of God Save the King!"
Captain Blackadder:
"Four verses..."
Captain Darling:
"Four verses! Four verses! I meant four verses! Look, I'm as British as Queen Victoria!"
Captain Blackadder:
"So your father's German, you're half German, and you married a German?"
"I know the words to all three verses of God Save the King!"
Captain Blackadder:
"Four verses..."
Captain Darling:
"Four verses! Four verses! I meant four verses! Look, I'm as British as Queen Victoria!"
Captain Blackadder:
"So your father's German, you're half German, and you married a German?"
For the record... As much as the Spanish-speaking cultures cry about it, they are not "Americans". You never hear Canadians and Brazilians fighting to be called Americans (the Canadians are likely to kill you if you try).
American is the diminutive of the United States of America just like Mexican is the diminutive of Los Estados Unidos Méxicanos.
And I hate "Estadounidense". If we're Estadounidenses, so are Méxicanos.
And there is no continent called America. There are North America and South America, which are the Americas, but never America. The only America is the U.S.A. It's the same with how the United Mexican States call themselves Mexico for short.
United States is the equivalent of Bundesrepublik or Estados Unidos. You don't hear Deutschen calling themselves Bundesrepublikaner and you don't see Méxicanos calling themselves Estadounidenses. Same thing. We are Americans and the short form of our country is America.
American is the diminutive of the United States of America just like Mexican is the diminutive of Los Estados Unidos Méxicanos.
And I hate "Estadounidense". If we're Estadounidenses, so are Méxicanos.
And there is no continent called America. There are North America and South America, which are the Americas, but never America. The only America is the U.S.A. It's the same with how the United Mexican States call themselves Mexico for short.
United States is the equivalent of Bundesrepublik or Estados Unidos. You don't hear Deutschen calling themselves Bundesrepublikaner and you don't see Méxicanos calling themselves Estadounidenses. Same thing. We are Americans and the short form of our country is America.
THE BRITISH ARE COMING! THE BRITISH ARE COMING!
Yup. Baja and Chihuahua come to mind (LOL). You might also be familiar with names like Tabasco and Yucatan.
I lived in Ensenada, Baja California for 10 months!
As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather be called a gringo (or "gringa") over Estadounidense, Usonian, United Statesian, US-American or whatever other God-awful PC terms the PC police try to come up with to keep America-haters happy. Hell, call me a Damn Yankee, Dixie, Hick, Hillbilly, Midwesterner, Valley Girl, So.Cal resident, etc..., too (and the only ones that qualify for my neck of the sunny beaches are "So.Cal resident" and "gringa"). Anything but those ugly PC terms. Statesider is fine, however. We use that one.
Heck, I'd rather be called a Sandy Eggan, eater of sandy Eggos in Sandy Eggo! LOL. That's still preferable to being PC. Sun Diego is another funny nickname for my city. We are the real "Sunny D".
I've heard of such places, but I guess I never knew they were considered states.
Seen from this far away they seem to be states of mind...
Really? All I have to do is drive 30 minutes south and I'm on my way to La Revolución in Tijuana. There's a really nice mall in Mexicali, actually.
If you listen to our radio, there's so much mariachi, salsa and tejano, you start thinking you're in Mexico. Our oldies and classical stations are frickin' broadcast from Mexico! You get that "¡Baja!" during commercial breaks. It's actually hard to find stations in English here. And of course, there are the ever-::facepalm::-worthy non-stop telenovelas on the Spanish T.V. channels. I'd say we're pretty Spanish-inundated around here with multilingual signs and such.
And you can't miss the Mexican food. Lots and lots of it. You can't beat Roberto's.
San Diego and Tijuana just kind of meld right into each other (with a bit of a culture shock from 1st world to 3rd world). San Ysidro (right before the border) might as well be in Mexico.
So, yeah, not exactly a world away. Just a backed-up border crossing.
If you listen to our radio, there's so much mariachi, salsa and tejano, you start thinking you're in Mexico. Our oldies and classical stations are frickin' broadcast from Mexico! You get that "¡Baja!" during commercial breaks. It's actually hard to find stations in English here. And of course, there are the ever-::facepalm::-worthy non-stop telenovelas on the Spanish T.V. channels. I'd say we're pretty Spanish-inundated around here with multilingual signs and such.
And you can't miss the Mexican food. Lots and lots of it. You can't beat Roberto's.
San Diego and Tijuana just kind of meld right into each other (with a bit of a culture shock from 1st world to 3rd world). San Ysidro (right before the border) might as well be in Mexico.
So, yeah, not exactly a world away. Just a backed-up border crossing.
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