Why is it that in the US...?

Question

...people see 'the BRITISH' as being an evil group of oppressors who the United States fought against for independence, whereas 'the ENGLISH' are a quaint and quirky group of people who drink tea and make strange but funny comedy shows?

How did this difference in the use of the two words arise, when really the only difference is that British also includes Scottish, Welsh and (sometimes) Northern Irish?

Answer 1

I agree, in advertising, British Steel sounds hard, - negative, English Leather sounds soft, - positive. But I do think it depend on the context of use, rather than the actual word.

Answer 2

I understand what you are getting at. I, for one, can honestly say that I hate living in America. I would much rather live somewhere else, but I do not have the funds to do so.

I have adopted many etiquettes from other countries, such as England and Australia. I have tea at 3.00 p.m. and I eat tea around 7.00 p.m. Some of the things that I say are not understood by many Americans either because I am speaking the Queen's English.

Answer 3

i hardly think we see either as particularly evil,most people have a gr8 fondness for citizens of the UK,whether called British or English.after all,u began our country,and a good many of us have a grandparent or two from Scotland,Wales,Tunbridge Wells or wherever....in my case,lifelong pen-friends in Kent.the only person who views "the British" as intrinsically evil is Mel Gibson,and Australia can at least take partial blame for him !!!!!Actually,we dont find u all that quaint.the quintessential "British" person,to me,is the acerbic Oscar Wilde...tho',of course,he was born in Dublin,wasnt he?in my vast ,lengthy aqaintanceship with museum work,we docents are just as happy to portray one of the kings own regulars as we are to portray a colonial patriot.and do please remember,the ladies of west point wept as major john andre was hung-so we hardly regarded english/british people as "evil",even then.such paranoia in one so young...thank u for writing "sometimes" northern irish-the choice clearly should be optional.ps-as long as we are speaking of "evil", i really must mention that it was at least un-neighborly for the english/british to have banned irish gaelic ,the native tongue of half my family.it was lyrical,lovely and nuanced,and the world is vastly the poorer for the loss of it.i took five years of lessons reclaiming this birthright denied to the irish and their descendants.sure,its still spoken natively in a small corners of ireland,and i think still studied at school,but i dont have much hope for its future.point being,get off ur high horse,mate-let he who's country is without sin cast the first stone!!!!! pps.- i think u are also assuming that the war of independance was a very clear-cut situation.in truth,"loyalists" and "patriots" are often of the same family.my husbands relatives hail from Scotland,circa the 1690's,during the American revolution,his ancestors had some royalists and some patriots-like the American civil war,it was often brother vs. brother,and it was seen that way,poignantly, NOT as 'us against evil"-often,u were fighting members of ur own family.

Answer 4

I don't hate the british, just the french.....which became our allies and helped win the war for independence...My how things change.

Answer 5

TELL YOU a secret. BOTH sides are great people.( THE brits and the americans)

Answer 6

Because many Americans are ignorant and don't know the difference.

Answer 7

I didn't know it was like that. Maybe you're overgeneralizing.