britisher

[pallavi kakkar]

Hi


Can we say I spoke to a Britisher last night?


Regards
Pallavi

 

[philadelphia]

Not a teacher

Yes, you can -even if "British" or "Briton" would be enough.

 

[bhaisahab]

Not a teacher

Yes, you can -even if "British" or "Briton" would be enough.

"Briton" is OK, but you can't say "a British".

 

[Rover_KE]

"Briton" is OK, but you can't say "a British".

Bhaisahab's right, Philadelphia - just like you can't say 'a French'.

Rover

 

[philadelphia]

You're right, I typed too fast and thought of a British guy/girl/person. Thank you very much.

 

[Barb_D]

On a related note, I've gotten conflicting advice about whether "a Brit" is considered pejorative.

Do the native residents of Great Britain object to being called "a Brit"? (Would you use it for someone from another part of the UK that was not part of Great Britain?)

Thanks!

 

[Rover_KE]

Do the native residents of Great Britain object to being called "a Brit"?

I don't, Barb, and I would say most of us don't.

For most purposes, 'Great Britain' and 'the UK' are synonymous

The term "Great Britain" (and the abbreviation 'GB') is the traditional 'short form' of the full country title 'the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'.

(Wikipedia)

I refer to other Brits by specifying their nationality - Scottish, Welsh or Irish. I would use Brit if I didn't know what that nationality was.

When necessary, we distinguish between Northern Irish and Southern Irish - the latter (as you know but others may not) belonging to the independent Republic of Ireland.

Rover

 

[Barb_D]

Thank you - so would you really say "He is Southern Irish"?

 

[Rover_KE]

Thank you - so would you really say "He is Southern Irish"?

Yes - when necessary.

Rover

 

[Barb_D]

Thanks again. Glad I asked!

 

[bhaisahab]

Thanks again. Glad I asked!

When I say "Irish", I mean someone from the Republic. But it may be because I have part Irish ancestry and I lived in Ireland for twelve years.

 

[bhaisahab]

I don't, Barb, and I would say most of us don't.

For most purposes, 'Great Britain' and 'the UK' are synonymous

(Wikipedia)

I refer to other Brits by specifying their nationality - Scottish, Welsh or Irish. I would use Brit if I didn't know what that nationality was.

When necessary, we distinguish between Northern Irish and Southern Irish - the latter (as you know but others may not) belonging to the independent Republic of Ireland.

Rover

I don't agree that "Great Britain" and "The United Kingdom" are synonymous. The first is England, Scotland and Wales and the second includes Northern Ireland.

 

[Tdol]

Hi


Can we say I spoke to a Britisher last night?


Regards
Pallavi

People will understand you, but the word isn't used in British English- I have only heard it used by speakers from South Asia, so it depends on who you saying it to.

 

[Tdol]

On a related note, I've gotten conflicting advice about whether "a Brit" is considered pejorative.

Do the native residents of Great Britain object to being called "a Brit"? (Would you use it for someone from another part of the UK that was not part of Great Britain?)

Thanks!

It's not pejorative to me. I think that the use of English as synonymous is more likely to cause offence to Welsh, Irish and Scottish people. It's used in names like Britart and Britpop.

 

[Tullia]

I have an interesting perspective on this - or at least, *I* think it's interesting.

I am admin of a forum which is based in India, but which has a roughly equal mix of India and UK-based users. This results in some fabulously amusing language misunderstandings at times, and sadly some more complicated ones where offence is given unintentionally.

"Britisher" is used by the Indians on the board fairly frequently. (I noticed Tdol saying he hears it from Southern Asians). I have found that a lot of our British users strongly dislike it, and think it's slightly insulting. In fact, they seem to regard it almost as if it were a diminutive form.

I am sure that in the majority of cases the person using it had no such intention, but it's worth noting that it can cause problems and a pretty severe reaction from some people, so might be best avoided?



Barb, you asked if "Brit" was offensive. I wouldn't say it was offensive, but I don't think we use it ourseves very much, and it somehow feels less serious than "British".

"Brits Abroad", for example, carries some pretty negative connotations. I can't imagine ever saying "I'm proud to be a Brit"; I would choose "I'm proud to be British". Would anyone else agree with this?



Tdol, I completely agree that using English as a synonym for British is extremely offensive.

 

[SoothingDave]

In the same vein, we Americans don't normally call ourselves "Yanks" or "Yankees" (especially those from the south!) but I wouldn't take offense to the friendly use of the appellation.