Simon,
I appreciate your response, when I mentioned that places such as the USA, Canada were Celtic. What I ment was that Celts and Anglo-Celts etc had migrated to these areas (The New World Celts).
I did not mean to disregard the native American, Aboriginal culture etc in any way-shape or form, as a matter a fact, I am very interested in the variety of culture and customs.
It's the variety and interest of all the different cultures that provide us with great resources in our heritage! I have an equal respect towards all ethnic groups and religions, and do not appreciate being branded a racist, but mearly proud of my Celtic heritage, as should all peoples be proud of their ancestry, regardless of their culture and background!
I'm sorry if I offended you in any way on the Anglo-Saxon point, I realise that the English aren't purely Anglo-Saxon, respectfuly we are primeraly a mixture of Celts, Iberians, Angles, Saxons, Frisians, Norse, Norman etc.
You mention that someone is only a Celt if they speak a Celtic language etc. As Welsh, Brythonic-Celt (p-celtic) is my first language, I guess that you would agree that I am a Celt. Although the peoples of Galatia (Asia Minor) by my understanding no longer use a Celtic language, but still withhold strong-Celtic traditions. Does this make them any-less Celtic?
Regards,
Kevin
Hey J,
F@#$ OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kevin, I think labels are very difficult to unravel. You can use terms like 'Celtic culture' but then to me all that means is a kind of culture historically typical of Celtic language speakers. After all, they spoke the same language because they were part of the same tribe or nation. So Galicians look back to being Celts but they are now latins. Maybe they feel their culture and temperament don't fit into what we typically of Latin.
Forgive me if I'm wrong and what I say offends you but I think Welsh culture and the Welsh nation are very much contained within the Welsh language. In other words, if you don't speak Welsh, it can be hard to access and the casual visitor to Wales could be forgiven for thinking that it doesn't exist. English-speaking culture in Wales (to me at least) doesn't seem too different from English culture. Irish culture on the other hand is these days arguably much more established in English than in the Irish language.
People can clearly use the labels they want. The trouble is when you start to go beyond language, you run the risk of falling into the racism trap.
But equally I don't believe culture is exclusively about language. But why label it Celtic, if you're not talking about language? Maybe I'm wrong.
Are you American? Please save us all the pain and don't bother.
Seriously though. The first step is to drop the 'r' in most words. The second is to speak slower. The third is to lose all Americanisms. The fourth is drop rising intonation in statements (if you have it), but keep it in questions.
I cannot understand this obsession with wanting to sound like a native English speaker.
How does a native English person speak anyway? It depends on the region of the country in which he lives. Vocabulary is the important element of learning a foreign language. Don't try too hard to lose your native accent, and don't be surprised or upset if you are not readily understood. A lot of English people have great difficulty understanding their fellow countrymen if they come from a different area. Relax, it's all part of the fun. Be as casual and lazy as the average Britisher who probably only knows around 10 foreign words (and most of those are probably not fit for polite company).
I notice the advice given in some of your correspondence, to watch the "Monty Python" series of shows. These were some of the most brilliant comedy shows ever shown on Birish TV but, a lesson in the correct pronunciation of English, they were NOT.
Finally, I would like to say a heartfelt thanks to all the lovely friendly people who approached me, a total stranger, when I was on holiday in Malaysia recently, just so that they could try out their English. You make life so easy for this lazy Englishman.
Whats a so called Britisher Alan?? I'm sure a real citizen of the UK would call themselves a Briton!!! You sound more american than Enbglish to me!!
And we know more than ten foreign words and we can understand each other whether the person we speak to is a geordie or from the new forest. WE UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER!!!!
Je parles un petit peu de Francais et Allemagne, Les Anglais sont tres sympa et intelligent.
Get your facts right Alan!!!
Sybill, I assure you that I am British, or a Briton or, to be more precise English.
I maintain my assertion that we are, as a nation, very lazy in our approach to learning and speaking foreign languages. OK, you know some French, so do I, and I know some German. I was making a general point that, on the whole, we tend to expect all foreigners to speak to us in English and, good for them, most of them will do a very good job of it.
Go into an average British shop and ask, in French, for what you want to purchase. They will think you are from Mars.
Don't get me wrong, I am proud of my nationality. I'm a bit worried that I came across to you as possibly being an American.
To Alan,
It's normal we are concerned about our accent, since they can affect our pronunciation and we are afraid of not being understood. So we stick to sounding like Standar American accent or Standar British accent
You cannot learn an accent from reading. The only way is to "import" an English person and live with him/her, or come to England and live with English people. Why is it so important anyway? You can clearly write perfectly good English.
Why the British accent? The American accent sounds much better.
Because the english one is more accepted in the other parts of the World and generally seen as less in yer face and more friendly. Face it you sound like a bunch of dogs with the flu at the best of times!
Sybill,
Are you always so charmingly polite when you have your say on any subject?
Sybill, who's being in your face, now? With your comments, you practice the very same thing you are preaching against.
Why fair Rosalind you understand my posts! Well done but of course since you americans have been so far ahead in the "In yer face championships" then I thought that we would have some catching up to do since you've had a head start for the past 200 years.
I am glad to see it isn't just we Americans who are masters of generalisations.