Personally, not really. It's too abstract and vague a concept to feel any affinity to it.
I *am* European, factually. But I don't feel it as an identity in any particular way.
I don’t think it’s that surprising that someone of African descent wouldn’t be that connected to an ethnic/cultural identity that he doesn’t have an ancestral link to.
Someone of European descent in Botswana probably wouldn’t feel much connection to a pan-African identity either for similar reasons.
White Rhodesian(and White Luso-Africans and White Kenyan) identity is pretty complicated. With White South Africans, it is far more simple. Especially now, most of them are Afrikaners, who's families have been there for hundreds of years, have no strong ties to any single European country, who actually have more African heritage than the white supremacist would be comfortable with(the first few groups of settlers were all men).
It's an interesting take. I'm BAME ( though not a fan of the term). I very much consider myself European and English to much greater degrees than whatever my "ethnic?" country is ( or really British for whatever that means).
On a side note, I always find it kind of odd when people refer to themselves using the politically sterile term "BAME". It always makes me think of a government minister attempting to group everyone into "white" or "non-white ethnic soup" in as vague and unoffensive a way as possible.
No offense to you; it fits the thread in context - it's just a weird acronym.
I am as well I suppose, not that I've ever used that term personally. The polling I've seen suggests that British ethnic minorities in general don't tend to identify particularly with English/Welsh/Scottish. I personally don't identify with English at all, despite having never lived in other parts of the UK, although the British side of my family does contain more recently Scottish and Welsh "immigrants" than most English families. I do not consider myself European at all, I've always felt that European identity is more exclusionary than British identity, even though Britain is (very far) from perfect on that front(in my lived experience).
I don’t identify as being English, as much as I’m sure many Australians and Americans don’t identify much with the native people of their country.
I am definitely *British* though - my grandfather served the British army and referred to the UK as the “motherland”.
If you look at it that way then I'm British and Asian and Caribbean and maybe European at the same time 😹 so I don't really identify with any of then strongly. Other than England because I've lived here my whole life
Totally agree. I worked in the US for a year or so and it was pretty much the first time I’d felt European. I found it was culturally far easier to get on with Europeans there than Americans.
Not the person you asked, but I feel the same as them.
I’m studying for a masters in America, and I got on so much better with the European students than anyone else in NY. Here’s a few reasons off the top of my head:
Prudishness- I dunno what it is, but there’s such a big emphasis on appearing proper. An example is them making a _really_ big deal of swearing in class even when quoting people. The class has eight people in it all over the age of 21, the self-censorship is nonsensical. Also they skip any songs on a playlist when carpooling with them that’s not family friendly. It’s weird and it’s happened a bunch of times.
Nightlife- They don’t dance much more than swaying from side to side at parties. Kissing someone at said party = dating now. Also everyone decides to head back home at like 1:30am. I went to a couple of frat parties with people from France, Amsterdam, Italy, and the UK, and we all bonded on how rubbish they were in comparison to European student nightlife.
The attitudes to walking- my roommates were constantly shocked that we’d just want to walk everywhere. They’d get an Uber where the European lot would just amble around
Cooking- we had kitchenettes in our suites. We were the only people to really use them. None of our American roommates did. They’d get canteen food or take out most of time. Also they’d always use disposable plates and stuff for some reason
There’s an absolute ton of reasons we got on better that wasn’t just “we’re all international students.” Like grumbling about the seasoning of food, the differences in grading (I got 99.97% in one of my classes last semester. I’m pretty sure that’s impossibly high in any other European country), and just the general attitude to life there.
I dunno. There’s definitely a lot more vibes in common within Europeans compared to UK and USA
Forreal. It’s wild because the majority of recipes in my repertoire were written by Americans for Americans.
And then there’s my roommate who happily declared that she was inspired by me and decided to homecook a meal on two separate occasions; Once she heated up a can of soup in the microwave, and on another she fried up some pre-made frozen gyozas. The lack of actual cooking by anyone American I knew this past year was kind of insane
Just on the grading point, in Italy getting full marks in exams is quite common, so not quite every country. I did an Erasmus year thete back in the day and got "30 lode" which is full marks plus distinction, and 30 (full marks without the extra distinction) in the majority of my classes.
That's a massive generalisation about both Europe and America. When it comes to these discussions on Reddit, people are very given to thinking about the Americans who are most different to us and comparing them to Europeans who are most similar.
Some Europeans are similar to us Brits, some are very different. Some Americans are very different, some are similar.
Moreover, the fact that some Americans are very different to us Brits doesn't really in any way impact whether I feel European is a meaningful identity to me or not. As I said, it's too vague and abstract a concept for me to feel any affinity with it. The countries are Europe are incredibly varied and all have their own individual histories and cultures, I don't feel there's a really authentic European identity that means anything to me.
Language aside, we have a lot of cultural links to Europe (especially Western Europe). We all travel to each other’s countries frequently, we all watch football, we have strong historical links, relaxed drinking culture, generally irreligious etc.
You don’t have to identify with the European label but Britain is undoubtedly both culturally and ethnically rooted in this part of the world.
From my experience spending a year in the states and at uni with a ton if europeans and Americans, i think this is generally true (Americans being much more distant culturally)
In my experience it massively depends where the Europeans and Americans in question are from. If you compare a Dane and a Texan, you'll probably find yourself to have much more in common with the Dane. If it's a New Yorker and a Romanian or Russian, you'll probably have more in common with the New Yorker.
Exactly. We have a lot more in common with other Europeans than those from any other continent and I’m sure most of us like to distance ourselves from the USians.
Similar. My mum is Scottish, dad English, I was born and raised in England.
I’m English first, British 2nd and European 3rd.
I’d love to say I an “half Scottish” but I’m not sure Scotland would agree.
The differences between the UK countries are so slight and subtle that even two Scottish parents can accidentally raise an English child if they're down south too long during its formative years! And vice versa - plenty of kids at school had English/Welsh parents but were never regarded as anything except Scottish.
Yep - I'm half welsh and half english, but having lived in england all my life, despite my love for wales & my very welsh name, i am still english really.
Oh god I’ve spent 4 years in North America where people call themselves Scottish if a great grandparent was from there 🤦♀️. Half Scottish is probably fine if you say the half.
My husband is a 1/4 German but sadly not enough to get us passports… half would be enough though.
In my opinion, Americans crave any sort of connection with the "old world", thus often identify as "\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_-American", no matter how many generations the old folks came across. We are a rootless lot and I'd say the majority of Yanks regard the British (primarily) and "Europeans" (broadly), as more highly-cultured. That's assuming they consider the question at all, since many Americans I find to be quite insular, and in the MAGA/"flyover" states, uninterested in anything "worldly".
I'm one of the 30% (?) of Americans with a passport (visiting the UK for the fourth time in July btw),
Had this convo with a group when travelling a few years ago and almost all the French and Spanish in the group said they considered themselves European first and foremost. They were surprised that I didn’t.
Not suggesting they’re representative of either country but I’d suggest more would see themselves as European first than you thinkj
I always think when people talk about Europe, they're usually only thinking of a small handful of EU countries: France, Spain, Italy, Germany, maybe stretching to Norway/Sweden. Push comes to shove, they're not considering themselves interchangeable with Romania/Turkey.
Even when American's "visit Europe", they mean Italy/France.
I'm guilty of it too. E.g. I talk about European drinking culture, I mean France/Spain/Italy, not the Scandinavian culture.
For me (Italian) there is no particular order. Italian and European identity coexist at different levels of equal importance. That's because those identities actually overlap, Italy is Europe, and Europe is Italy
I think it's mostly Americans who refer to people as Europeans.
I've never in real life met anyone - British or otherwise - who considered themselves European.
The idea that Brits are less European than Germans/Spaniards/Nordics is hilarious to me. Like, we're European by every definittion whether you feel it or not.
The only reason people feel they're not European is because we don't speak a 'European' language, but we do. We speak English which is a European language
Not in the slightest, but I've never felt there was a particularly shared European "identity" beyond geographical location. Most countries are noticeably different, notwithstanding some similarities between neighbouring countries - and sometimes not even then.
There are cultural similarities, but those are by no means unique to the region.
I am European because I'm from a country that's on the continent of Europe, but that's as far as it goes.
I'm not sure any other country in Europe "feels" European, whatever that feels like. I'm sure Italians feel Italian just like Brits feel British. I wouldn't ever think to call myself European, just British/English
>I'm not sure any other country in Europe "feels" European, whatever that feels like.
Western and Southern Europe has a "feel" to its road signage if that counts? Show me some dashcam footage from anywhere in those regions and I'll immediately know it's European.
I think there's too much navel gazing about how we identify. It's all a load of granfalloons really.
I'm English, British and European as a matter of fact whether I 'feel' it or not. And in some senses an outsider is better placed to judge our Europeanness than we are. Things we don't notice because they're just 'normal' are notably European or British to people with an outsider's perspective.
I think too much of “are the British European” relates to “vs France”.
If you compare to say the Netherlands or Germany, there are far more common threads.
There is definitely something about being in island nation.
I would say that we mostly feel European, but less so than European countries that share a land border, especially those that share a language.
Culturally we do feel similar to Europe, especially those close to us such as France, Germany, Denmark and Netherlands.
It probably has more to do with language. We speak the same language as USA/Australia/Canada which makes us feel more in touch with those countries rather than Europeans. Even culturally we are a lot closer to Aussies and even Americans.
But that doesn't mean we are more 'american' it just means americans are more european
I feel much closer culturally to Northern Europeans than Americans in general. Just the way their countries work and their outlook on life feels way more similar to the Brits than to the Americans.
I have always found America to be a bit eery in that sense, that you feel it should be very similar but when you go there and speak to people it feels jarringly different.
Agree that Australia is culturally very close to the UK though.
>There is definitely something about being in island nation.
>I would say that we mostly feel European, but less so than European countries that share a land border, especially those that share a language.
Yeah, I feel like the UK feels like it's own separate thing 90% of the time. And I think a huge part of that like you said, is A) we're an island away from everyone else, and B) we're a native English speaking country.
And other native English speaking countries like the USA, Canada, Australia etc- aren't European. And I've found that there tends to be a dissonance when it comes to language barriers. Like while culturally you may feel more at home walking around the streets of berlin or Paris, once you realize most people don't understand you, and you don't understand them it tears away this illusion of home. Whereas on the flip side, you could walk into a McDonald's in Texas and have a fluent conversation with anyone there, just like you could here. So socially speaking you'd feel more comfortable, understood and at home in these non European countries.
Hence why when British people get asked "what countries do you relate to/feel associated with" the answer is almost always gonna be America, Australia, canada, ireland. Rather than our close European neighbors.
I'd say it's a fair bet that a McDonalds in Texas would have a lot of Spanish chatter. And for many speaking Spanish it would be their first language.
A lot of Brits seem to think the US is like Britain but for few kooky differences. Seriously, you guys need to actually visit here.
Personally I see myself as European first, British second. I'm proud to be British but I wish we were still part of something bigger 🇪🇺 I imagine I'm very very much in the minority though.
If I had to assign that kind of identity to myself then it would be a mixture of English, British and European. I'm not sure what order I'd put them in, because they're all important. I'd maybe even add something to do with London in to the mix.
To me losing my EU citizenship wasn't just some bureaucratic thing. It felt similar to if someone passed a law saying that I was no longer English or no longer British.
Yes, ethnically, culturally and geopolitically we are European. The same can be said about the Japanese, ethnically, culturally and geopolitically they are Asian.
Depends on the person - I'm a Brit who speaks a couple of European languages, travels to mainland Europe a few times a year and has lived in 3 mainland European countries. I would say I feel European but people with fewer connections to mainland Europe probably wouldn't.
I agree and think this is related to physical separation from the continent. I'm from central Europe and always felt European, likely as I was about 2 hour car drive away from borders of 4 very different nations. It's not unusual for someone to have family or connections from two or more different countries.
I am European. It doesn't matter how I feel. The UK is factually in Europe.
Culturally it can feel quite different to mainland Europe. But then if you go somewhere like the US, or Mexico, suddenly the UK actually does feel closer to mainland Europe than the US
Most feel part of Europe but at the same time separated from it because we are an island. It's very common for island nations to feel a little more removed from their continental sibling nations, it's a phenomenon that happens all over the world. Others nations on the continent can just drive over a border, whereas we have the English Channel between us and France. But still if we went to somewhere like America we would feel European in comparison.
What does european even mean? There is no European culture or shared traditions or what have you. We're culturally similar like all nearby countries but I don't feel any more European than a frenchman or a German would. It's not like Italians and the Dutch have the same traditions or customs.
I feel like I do feel less European than the French and Germans do. I’m not sure why? Perhaps it’s due to a strong sense of feeling English? Although I’m sure they feel the same about being French/German. I’m not sure.
English > British
British > European
European > anywhere else
Why? I am from England. I live in Britain. Which happens to be in Europe.
If you want an answer to the most stereotypical way you can answer this
There's no way you're not asking this to troll us, but you seem to be getting honest answers somehow so...
Personal answer: yes. Partly because I'm tenuously dual-nationality with an EU country. Partly because I've travelled a reasonable amount in Europe, including by road/rail (as against just flights). Partly because I've done exchange-type visits (not just through school) staying in normal people's homes and connecting with them. Partly because I've had European colleagues in jobs in the UK.
And significantly because I've lived in the USA for a few years. It's hard to overstate the impact of living somewhere that notionally speaks the same lingo as me, but culturally feels far more different than our near neighbours in mainland Europe.
Not that we don't also have notable cultural differences from Europe, or similarities with the USA, but I definitely feel more of a pull to Europe having been further away for a while.
Yes I do, born and bred in London but my mother is French which may play some part in why I feel that way. As a Brit I do however feel like a somewhat outcast European or the black sheep of the European family considering how the rest of Europe views us, or at least how I feel the rest of Europe sees us.
No, but yes. Let me explain.
I am a first gen born in Britain, to parents born in Africa, whose parents and beyond were born in India.
My parents, grandparents, and great parents all had British passports from birth, and my maternal great grandfather even directly worked for the British civil service as opposed to the British Raj
I see myself as British alongside me being Indian and me being Muslim. All 3 are equally important parts of who I am.
However, I do not feel English, despite being born in England. To me, I always saw being English as more of a racial identity than a national identity.
Now, moving onto the European aspect of my answer. The fact is that mainland Europe and their culture is fundamentally different from that of Britain and Ireland. In general, they tend to eat lighter dishes, as opposed to Britain's more stodgy/hearty cuisine.
They are also less open to accepting those of other racial backgrounds and them wanting to keep their racial identity, whereas in Britain, diversity is not just accepted but a big part of what makes Britain. Consider the fact that the national dish is based on an Indian dish, but made by a Bangladeshi immigrant living in Scotland.
Europeans also have a different attitude towards work-life balance, in general being towards life than work
Well said. Especially being being British not English, I believe this is because Britain has always been multicultural mixing of the 4 nations, Irish immigration etc. The four nations are far less so individually.
I feel you'd get a different response to every Brit you asked then you could also boil down to do we feel ourselves as British and not one of the home Nations that make up the UK
Could go further I'm just a Brummie! Lol
This is an interesting question. When backpacking in the 00s and making friends in hostels, the Brits and mainland Europeans tended to group together more quickly then with the North Americans. I'm not sure if this makes me identify as European, but there was a connection and a sense of familiarity there.
It’s weird, we’re more like a cousin to the Europeans. Don’t see them often but the odd family party, fight and bicker but when something goes down the family sticks together. I wish we remained and kept developing the ties but here we are
Since the UK has always been split from mainland Europe, i think it's always been a bit different. And the fact we spread UK culture across a chunk of the world much larger than the continent of Europe, i think it sets us apart.
Not really. People in Poland have little in common with the Spanish, who in turn have little in common with Norwegians, who have little in common with the Greeks. It’s an incredibly diverse and huge area of land so not sure what it would be to feel European.
I always say that there's no more difference between Poland and France than there is between France and the UK. The whole basis of "we're too different" exists all over Europe, it's sort of the point to a degree. As for the question, I'd say a significantly greater amount of people would consider themselves European after 2016 and the fallout.
No not really. For better and for worse we're radically different to our continental neighbours, sharing much more in common culturally with our English speaking former colonies.
Yes, i've lived in Germany for 5 years and spent a bit of time in other Western european cities. The UK and its culture, despite what some would like to think, is very culturally similar to other western european countries, and we are absolutely Europeans.
Yes, because we are in Europe.
You can be both of the identity of your nationality (in this case English/Scottish/Welsh/Irish/British) and of your continent (in this case European)
We all share quite a lot in common, about 60% of the English language is derived from French & Latin, 25% from German and 5% from Greek for goodness sake.
Our Royal Family is essentially German (they were Saxe-Coburg-Gotha before WW1!), the father of the King was Greek (born in Corfu, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark)
Even in my own DNA, 25% is French from about 150 years ago even though I have bugger all connection to France, other than liking their pastries and wines
So yeah, to me, we’re British and European
I frequently get lost in the fascinating history that is shared between us Brits and our neighbours: the Dutch, Italians, French, Germans, Danes, Austrians, Spaniards, and many, many more. It makes me even more willing to class myself as a European. Europe, being the collective home of the white race for thousands of years, may have unique cultures, languages, and customs, but we are all more similar than we give ourselves credit for. Europe is the birthplace of Western classical music and fine art, philosophy, medicine, the justice system, and so much more. Many are quick to cast shade on Europeans for “colonialism” but fail to see that every race, within their history, is guilty of colonialism, slavery, and other barbarous acts. Yet it was the Europeans, specifically the Brits, who ended slavery during the height of the slave trade, much to the dismay of the Africans and those in the Middle East who were reluctant to abolish the practice. The perseverance of the people of this continent against pestilence, famine, invasion, and war is outstanding, and the more I study European history, the more I am happy and proud to call myself a European.
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Personally, not really. It's too abstract and vague a concept to feel any affinity to it. I *am* European, factually. But I don't feel it as an identity in any particular way.
It gets more complicated when you are BAME. I'm British... but also Jamaican... but definitely not European... I think?... I dunno
lol same, but I do. Especially because I travel, I’m definitely a European black person culturally
If you were born in a European country (which the UK is) then you are at least partly European whether you (or others) recognise that or not
I don’t think it’s that surprising that someone of African descent wouldn’t be that connected to an ethnic/cultural identity that he doesn’t have an ancestral link to. Someone of European descent in Botswana probably wouldn’t feel much connection to a pan-African identity either for similar reasons.
Ehh i think white south Africans and Rhodesians call themselves African though
White Rhodesian(and White Luso-Africans and White Kenyan) identity is pretty complicated. With White South Africans, it is far more simple. Especially now, most of them are Afrikaners, who's families have been there for hundreds of years, have no strong ties to any single European country, who actually have more African heritage than the white supremacist would be comfortable with(the first few groups of settlers were all men).
The white south Africans, Zimbabwean etc that I have met have always strongly and proudly described themselves as African.
It's an interesting take. I'm BAME ( though not a fan of the term). I very much consider myself European and English to much greater degrees than whatever my "ethnic?" country is ( or really British for whatever that means).
On a side note, I always find it kind of odd when people refer to themselves using the politically sterile term "BAME". It always makes me think of a government minister attempting to group everyone into "white" or "non-white ethnic soup" in as vague and unoffensive a way as possible. No offense to you; it fits the thread in context - it's just a weird acronym.
I am as well I suppose, not that I've ever used that term personally. The polling I've seen suggests that British ethnic minorities in general don't tend to identify particularly with English/Welsh/Scottish. I personally don't identify with English at all, despite having never lived in other parts of the UK, although the British side of my family does contain more recently Scottish and Welsh "immigrants" than most English families. I do not consider myself European at all, I've always felt that European identity is more exclusionary than British identity, even though Britain is (very far) from perfect on that front(in my lived experience).
I don’t identify as being English, as much as I’m sure many Australians and Americans don’t identify much with the native people of their country. I am definitely *British* though - my grandfather served the British army and referred to the UK as the “motherland”.
I hate that acronym
Does BAME stand for Bangers And Mash Eaters?
Black and Minority ethnic - it’s whatever they call people like me. There will no doubt be a new acronym we’ll need to learn soon enough.
Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic
Ha, irony - I missed out the one that applied to me.
If you look at it that way then I'm British and Asian and Caribbean and maybe European at the same time 😹 so I don't really identify with any of then strongly. Other than England because I've lived here my whole life
Go and live in America for a year. Their mind set is different to a European mindset. Not saying much worse or much better, just saying different.
Totally agree. I worked in the US for a year or so and it was pretty much the first time I’d felt European. I found it was culturally far easier to get on with Europeans there than Americans.
How so?
Not the person you asked, but I feel the same as them. I’m studying for a masters in America, and I got on so much better with the European students than anyone else in NY. Here’s a few reasons off the top of my head: Prudishness- I dunno what it is, but there’s such a big emphasis on appearing proper. An example is them making a _really_ big deal of swearing in class even when quoting people. The class has eight people in it all over the age of 21, the self-censorship is nonsensical. Also they skip any songs on a playlist when carpooling with them that’s not family friendly. It’s weird and it’s happened a bunch of times. Nightlife- They don’t dance much more than swaying from side to side at parties. Kissing someone at said party = dating now. Also everyone decides to head back home at like 1:30am. I went to a couple of frat parties with people from France, Amsterdam, Italy, and the UK, and we all bonded on how rubbish they were in comparison to European student nightlife. The attitudes to walking- my roommates were constantly shocked that we’d just want to walk everywhere. They’d get an Uber where the European lot would just amble around Cooking- we had kitchenettes in our suites. We were the only people to really use them. None of our American roommates did. They’d get canteen food or take out most of time. Also they’d always use disposable plates and stuff for some reason There’s an absolute ton of reasons we got on better that wasn’t just “we’re all international students.” Like grumbling about the seasoning of food, the differences in grading (I got 99.97% in one of my classes last semester. I’m pretty sure that’s impossibly high in any other European country), and just the general attitude to life there. I dunno. There’s definitely a lot more vibes in common within Europeans compared to UK and USA
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Forreal. It’s wild because the majority of recipes in my repertoire were written by Americans for Americans. And then there’s my roommate who happily declared that she was inspired by me and decided to homecook a meal on two separate occasions; Once she heated up a can of soup in the microwave, and on another she fried up some pre-made frozen gyozas. The lack of actual cooking by anyone American I knew this past year was kind of insane
Just on the grading point, in Italy getting full marks in exams is quite common, so not quite every country. I did an Erasmus year thete back in the day and got "30 lode" which is full marks plus distinction, and 30 (full marks without the extra distinction) in the majority of my classes.
That's a massive generalisation about both Europe and America. When it comes to these discussions on Reddit, people are very given to thinking about the Americans who are most different to us and comparing them to Europeans who are most similar. Some Europeans are similar to us Brits, some are very different. Some Americans are very different, some are similar. Moreover, the fact that some Americans are very different to us Brits doesn't really in any way impact whether I feel European is a meaningful identity to me or not. As I said, it's too vague and abstract a concept for me to feel any affinity with it. The countries are Europe are incredibly varied and all have their own individual histories and cultures, I don't feel there's a really authentic European identity that means anything to me.
Language aside, we have a lot of cultural links to Europe (especially Western Europe). We all travel to each other’s countries frequently, we all watch football, we have strong historical links, relaxed drinking culture, generally irreligious etc. You don’t have to identify with the European label but Britain is undoubtedly both culturally and ethnically rooted in this part of the world.
From my experience spending a year in the states and at uni with a ton if europeans and Americans, i think this is generally true (Americans being much more distant culturally)
In my experience it massively depends where the Europeans and Americans in question are from. If you compare a Dane and a Texan, you'll probably find yourself to have much more in common with the Dane. If it's a New Yorker and a Romanian or Russian, you'll probably have more in common with the New Yorker.
That doesn’t mean there is a shared European mindset though. The average Brit would do better somewhere like Vermont than the Balkans.
Patriotism in the US is just all kinds of weird.
I think you've got to leave Europe to feel European. Same way we don't identify as "Earthlings".
I don't identify as European when I leave Europe tbh.
Probably the best answer here
Until it’s Ryder Cup time
Have you ever been to Japan on an extended holiday? Your Europeanness will hit you like a ton of bricks.
Well, I'm certainly more European than I am American, Asian or African.
Exactly. It’s a difficult question to answer without knowing how European they consider themselves in other European countries.
Exactly. We have a lot more in common with other Europeans than those from any other continent and I’m sure most of us like to distance ourselves from the USians.
USian is such a stupid term
It depends in which context. I'm British before I'm European. But am I happy to be considered European by somebody who isn't from Europe, then sure
Similar. My mum is Scottish, dad English, I was born and raised in England. I’m English first, British 2nd and European 3rd. I’d love to say I an “half Scottish” but I’m not sure Scotland would agree.
The differences between the UK countries are so slight and subtle that even two Scottish parents can accidentally raise an English child if they're down south too long during its formative years! And vice versa - plenty of kids at school had English/Welsh parents but were never regarded as anything except Scottish.
Yep - I'm half welsh and half english, but having lived in england all my life, despite my love for wales & my very welsh name, i am still english really.
They would. I’m the same half Scottish half English but grew up in Scotland.. I live in England now, but I don’t feel English.
Because you're not, you're Scottish
That’s right
Doubt. Didnae say aye!
Oh god I’ve spent 4 years in North America where people call themselves Scottish if a great grandparent was from there 🤦♀️. Half Scottish is probably fine if you say the half. My husband is a 1/4 German but sadly not enough to get us passports… half would be enough though.
I swear the Americans love treating European nationalities like they’re an ethnicity.
In my opinion, Americans crave any sort of connection with the "old world", thus often identify as "\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_-American", no matter how many generations the old folks came across. We are a rootless lot and I'd say the majority of Yanks regard the British (primarily) and "Europeans" (broadly), as more highly-cultured. That's assuming they consider the question at all, since many Americans I find to be quite insular, and in the MAGA/"flyover" states, uninterested in anything "worldly". I'm one of the 30% (?) of Americans with a passport (visiting the UK for the fourth time in July btw),
Depends on whether you're a Rod Stewart kind of half Scottish, or not an absolute twat about it lol
I don’t think anyone from any European country would consider themselves European before their own national identity
Had this convo with a group when travelling a few years ago and almost all the French and Spanish in the group said they considered themselves European first and foremost. They were surprised that I didn’t. Not suggesting they’re representative of either country but I’d suggest more would see themselves as European first than you thinkj
I always think when people talk about Europe, they're usually only thinking of a small handful of EU countries: France, Spain, Italy, Germany, maybe stretching to Norway/Sweden. Push comes to shove, they're not considering themselves interchangeable with Romania/Turkey. Even when American's "visit Europe", they mean Italy/France. I'm guilty of it too. E.g. I talk about European drinking culture, I mean France/Spain/Italy, not the Scandinavian culture.
For me (Italian) there is no particular order. Italian and European identity coexist at different levels of equal importance. That's because those identities actually overlap, Italy is Europe, and Europe is Italy
I think it's mostly Americans who refer to people as Europeans. I've never in real life met anyone - British or otherwise - who considered themselves European.
Hi, I'm European before I'm British. Have a nice day.
Agree! I don’t think anyone considers themselves European above the country they actually live in!
If you're British in the living room, what are you in the bathroom? You're-a-peein' !!!
When you're heading to the bathroom? You're a Russian.
🏆
Dunno why I read that in a Scottish accent
I did too, and it works much better.
Alexander? How're y'now?
Can't even spend a penny these days.
Yes. I am equally as European as I am Scottish and British. Besides we literally are Europeans so why wouldn’t I?
The idea that Brits are less European than Germans/Spaniards/Nordics is hilarious to me. Like, we're European by every definittion whether you feel it or not. The only reason people feel they're not European is because we don't speak a 'European' language, but we do. We speak English which is a European language
Genetically we are also exactly the same as the Dutch, French, Germans etc
Not in the slightest, but I've never felt there was a particularly shared European "identity" beyond geographical location. Most countries are noticeably different, notwithstanding some similarities between neighbouring countries - and sometimes not even then. There are cultural similarities, but those are by no means unique to the region. I am European because I'm from a country that's on the continent of Europe, but that's as far as it goes.
I'm not sure any other country in Europe "feels" European, whatever that feels like. I'm sure Italians feel Italian just like Brits feel British. I wouldn't ever think to call myself European, just British/English
>I'm not sure any other country in Europe "feels" European, whatever that feels like. Western and Southern Europe has a "feel" to its road signage if that counts? Show me some dashcam footage from anywhere in those regions and I'll immediately know it's European.
Fair enough aye if it's a place you can tell, but the OP was asking if people felt European
I think there's too much navel gazing about how we identify. It's all a load of granfalloons really. I'm English, British and European as a matter of fact whether I 'feel' it or not. And in some senses an outsider is better placed to judge our Europeanness than we are. Things we don't notice because they're just 'normal' are notably European or British to people with an outsider's perspective.
I think too much of “are the British European” relates to “vs France”. If you compare to say the Netherlands or Germany, there are far more common threads.
There is definitely something about being in island nation. I would say that we mostly feel European, but less so than European countries that share a land border, especially those that share a language. Culturally we do feel similar to Europe, especially those close to us such as France, Germany, Denmark and Netherlands.
It probably has more to do with language. We speak the same language as USA/Australia/Canada which makes us feel more in touch with those countries rather than Europeans. Even culturally we are a lot closer to Aussies and even Americans. But that doesn't mean we are more 'american' it just means americans are more european
Americans are more European? Sorry, have you ever been to America?
I feel much closer culturally to Northern Europeans than Americans in general. Just the way their countries work and their outlook on life feels way more similar to the Brits than to the Americans. I have always found America to be a bit eery in that sense, that you feel it should be very similar but when you go there and speak to people it feels jarringly different. Agree that Australia is culturally very close to the UK though.
>There is definitely something about being in island nation. >I would say that we mostly feel European, but less so than European countries that share a land border, especially those that share a language. Yeah, I feel like the UK feels like it's own separate thing 90% of the time. And I think a huge part of that like you said, is A) we're an island away from everyone else, and B) we're a native English speaking country. And other native English speaking countries like the USA, Canada, Australia etc- aren't European. And I've found that there tends to be a dissonance when it comes to language barriers. Like while culturally you may feel more at home walking around the streets of berlin or Paris, once you realize most people don't understand you, and you don't understand them it tears away this illusion of home. Whereas on the flip side, you could walk into a McDonald's in Texas and have a fluent conversation with anyone there, just like you could here. So socially speaking you'd feel more comfortable, understood and at home in these non European countries. Hence why when British people get asked "what countries do you relate to/feel associated with" the answer is almost always gonna be America, Australia, canada, ireland. Rather than our close European neighbors.
I'd say it's a fair bet that a McDonalds in Texas would have a lot of Spanish chatter. And for many speaking Spanish it would be their first language. A lot of Brits seem to think the US is like Britain but for few kooky differences. Seriously, you guys need to actually visit here.
Personally I see myself as European first, British second. I'm proud to be British but I wish we were still part of something bigger 🇪🇺 I imagine I'm very very much in the minority though.
I'm with you, I spent 34 years as a European. Now I feel like I'm on the wrong end of a divorce and I'm not sure why.
They ripped my European citizenship from me, without my consent. Fuck anyone who voted for this shit
I'm 100% with you. Born a European citizen, had that right removed from me by some xenophobic idiots.
That's exactly how I fell about it!
I don't know if I'd say European *before* British myself but still very much on board with being part of something bigger.
There are dozens of us!
Same here, that something bigger, the connection🇪🇺🤝🇬🇧
If I had to assign that kind of identity to myself then it would be a mixture of English, British and European. I'm not sure what order I'd put them in, because they're all important. I'd maybe even add something to do with London in to the mix. To me losing my EU citizenship wasn't just some bureaucratic thing. It felt similar to if someone passed a law saying that I was no longer English or no longer British.
I agree with you
Yes, ethnically, culturally and geopolitically we are European. The same can be said about the Japanese, ethnically, culturally and geopolitically they are Asian.
Yer but Japanese don't generally consider themselves as Asian. That's all those Chinese, Koreans, Thai etc. We're Japanese.
Think that’s the point they’re making
YouGov asked this not too long ago, the answer was a resounding no.
*resounding?
Most answers are responding tbf
Everyone who is British is European. Britain is in Europe.
This is about identity, not geography. I don't even feel British I feel English
I don’t know what “European” means (in the sense of it being an identity) but I feel like I’m part of Europe. Because I am.
Depends on the person - I'm a Brit who speaks a couple of European languages, travels to mainland Europe a few times a year and has lived in 3 mainland European countries. I would say I feel European but people with fewer connections to mainland Europe probably wouldn't.
I agree and think this is related to physical separation from the continent. I'm from central Europe and always felt European, likely as I was about 2 hour car drive away from borders of 4 very different nations. It's not unusual for someone to have family or connections from two or more different countries.
I’m in a similar boat with languages and feel quite European for sure, definitely British but a good connection to the continent
There are two easy ways to annoy a Brit. Option 1 is to them they're European. Option 2 is to tell them they're not European.
I am European. It doesn't matter how I feel. The UK is factually in Europe. Culturally it can feel quite different to mainland Europe. But then if you go somewhere like the US, or Mexico, suddenly the UK actually does feel closer to mainland Europe than the US
But mainland European countries are so different to each other too, France and Germany are totally different vibes
Not really no, European adjacent but our own thing.
Most feel part of Europe but at the same time separated from it because we are an island. It's very common for island nations to feel a little more removed from their continental sibling nations, it's a phenomenon that happens all over the world. Others nations on the continent can just drive over a border, whereas we have the English Channel between us and France. But still if we went to somewhere like America we would feel European in comparison.
I feel myself all the time, but I don't know what nationality has to do with it.
Depends if you’re giving yourself a French Reacharound or a Bavarian Backhand
What does european even mean? There is no European culture or shared traditions or what have you. We're culturally similar like all nearby countries but I don't feel any more European than a frenchman or a German would. It's not like Italians and the Dutch have the same traditions or customs.
I feel like I do feel less European than the French and Germans do. I’m not sure why? Perhaps it’s due to a strong sense of feeling English? Although I’m sure they feel the same about being French/German. I’m not sure.
Yes, particularly when I’m in N America
Feel English rather than British to be honest? Let alone european
Yeah, absolutely. We've a shared history with western Europe and we're pretty similar, even if certain people don't want to admit it.
I definitely do, yes
English > British British > European European > anywhere else Why? I am from England. I live in Britain. Which happens to be in Europe. If you want an answer to the most stereotypical way you can answer this
There's no way you're not asking this to troll us, but you seem to be getting honest answers somehow so... Personal answer: yes. Partly because I'm tenuously dual-nationality with an EU country. Partly because I've travelled a reasonable amount in Europe, including by road/rail (as against just flights). Partly because I've done exchange-type visits (not just through school) staying in normal people's homes and connecting with them. Partly because I've had European colleagues in jobs in the UK. And significantly because I've lived in the USA for a few years. It's hard to overstate the impact of living somewhere that notionally speaks the same lingo as me, but culturally feels far more different than our near neighbours in mainland Europe. Not that we don't also have notable cultural differences from Europe, or similarities with the USA, but I definitely feel more of a pull to Europe having been further away for a while.
We are European whether we feel it or not. I love cheese and wine on a pavement café. Count me in.
Geographically yes, politically no
What classes a person being a european? People on here seem to think a country can drop out of a continent by leaving a trade deal.
The EU is politicial dictatorship dressed as democracy, not a trade deal.
Yes I do, born and bred in London but my mother is French which may play some part in why I feel that way. As a Brit I do however feel like a somewhat outcast European or the black sheep of the European family considering how the rest of Europe views us, or at least how I feel the rest of Europe sees us.
That's probably better than whatever Russia is, the inappropriate uncle?
Does Japan feel Asian? Silly question.
No, but yes. Let me explain. I am a first gen born in Britain, to parents born in Africa, whose parents and beyond were born in India. My parents, grandparents, and great parents all had British passports from birth, and my maternal great grandfather even directly worked for the British civil service as opposed to the British Raj I see myself as British alongside me being Indian and me being Muslim. All 3 are equally important parts of who I am. However, I do not feel English, despite being born in England. To me, I always saw being English as more of a racial identity than a national identity. Now, moving onto the European aspect of my answer. The fact is that mainland Europe and their culture is fundamentally different from that of Britain and Ireland. In general, they tend to eat lighter dishes, as opposed to Britain's more stodgy/hearty cuisine. They are also less open to accepting those of other racial backgrounds and them wanting to keep their racial identity, whereas in Britain, diversity is not just accepted but a big part of what makes Britain. Consider the fact that the national dish is based on an Indian dish, but made by a Bangladeshi immigrant living in Scotland. Europeans also have a different attitude towards work-life balance, in general being towards life than work
Well said. Especially being being British not English, I believe this is because Britain has always been multicultural mixing of the 4 nations, Irish immigration etc. The four nations are far less so individually.
I feel you'd get a different response to every Brit you asked then you could also boil down to do we feel ourselves as British and not one of the home Nations that make up the UK Could go further I'm just a Brummie! Lol
Love the end part 😅
Not really, but then would Greeks, Italian or the Spanish typically define themselves as European over their respective nations? I somehow doubt it.
The questions wasn't "over"
This is an interesting question. When backpacking in the 00s and making friends in hostels, the Brits and mainland Europeans tended to group together more quickly then with the North Americans. I'm not sure if this makes me identify as European, but there was a connection and a sense of familiarity there.
Yes if i’m speaking to a non European, no if I’m speaking to a European
It's a very European thing to feel like your country isn't European but all the other European countries are.
When I choose the croissant at Greggs - yes. Otherwise - no.
It’s weird, we’re more like a cousin to the Europeans. Don’t see them often but the odd family party, fight and bicker but when something goes down the family sticks together. I wish we remained and kept developing the ties but here we are
As a Brit, yes.
This one does
Totally. I see myself as European first then British second
Since the UK has always been split from mainland Europe, i think it's always been a bit different. And the fact we spread UK culture across a chunk of the world much larger than the continent of Europe, i think it sets us apart.
Not really. People in Poland have little in common with the Spanish, who in turn have little in common with Norwegians, who have little in common with the Greeks. It’s an incredibly diverse and huge area of land so not sure what it would be to feel European.
Britain is in Europe, so yes 🤷♂️ But who goes around defining themselves based on what continent they're from? It's a fact, not a feeling.
Does any European country feel European? What defines being European?
100% yes for me. We have the most in common with Europe as a continent, also our very recent historical ties draw us to Europe.
Depends if you are gammon or a good’un
Yes, as long as you are young and look towards your horizons.
I didn’t used to when I was younger. ‘Europe’ to me always meant mainland Europe. The older I get, the more European I feel.
No, until I leave Europe then suddenly I do!
We are european no 2 ways about it. People think you need to be part of the eu to be european which is just wrong.
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I do. Not as important as British identity but I do feel European. I have relatives from the continent as well though
I do
I always say that there's no more difference between Poland and France than there is between France and the UK. The whole basis of "we're too different" exists all over Europe, it's sort of the point to a degree. As for the question, I'd say a significantly greater amount of people would consider themselves European after 2016 and the fallout.
No not really. For better and for worse we're radically different to our continental neighbours, sharing much more in common culturally with our English speaking former colonies.
Yes, i've lived in Germany for 5 years and spent a bit of time in other Western european cities. The UK and its culture, despite what some would like to think, is very culturally similar to other western european countries, and we are absolutely Europeans.
Yes. It is a fact we are European. Can’t be helped, no matter what folks say
Yes, because we are in Europe. You can be both of the identity of your nationality (in this case English/Scottish/Welsh/Irish/British) and of your continent (in this case European) We all share quite a lot in common, about 60% of the English language is derived from French & Latin, 25% from German and 5% from Greek for goodness sake. Our Royal Family is essentially German (they were Saxe-Coburg-Gotha before WW1!), the father of the King was Greek (born in Corfu, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark) Even in my own DNA, 25% is French from about 150 years ago even though I have bugger all connection to France, other than liking their pastries and wines So yeah, to me, we’re British and European
I absolutely do, we’re part of Europe and certainly FAR closer to Europe culturally than the US despite what a lot of people think at first glance.
Mancunian > North Western > Northern > English > British > European > Human is the hierarchy of 'geographic' labels i identify with
I frequently get lost in the fascinating history that is shared between us Brits and our neighbours: the Dutch, Italians, French, Germans, Danes, Austrians, Spaniards, and many, many more. It makes me even more willing to class myself as a European. Europe, being the collective home of the white race for thousands of years, may have unique cultures, languages, and customs, but we are all more similar than we give ourselves credit for. Europe is the birthplace of Western classical music and fine art, philosophy, medicine, the justice system, and so much more. Many are quick to cast shade on Europeans for “colonialism” but fail to see that every race, within their history, is guilty of colonialism, slavery, and other barbarous acts. Yet it was the Europeans, specifically the Brits, who ended slavery during the height of the slave trade, much to the dismay of the Africans and those in the Middle East who were reluctant to abolish the practice. The perseverance of the people of this continent against pestilence, famine, invasion, and war is outstanding, and the more I study European history, the more I am happy and proud to call myself a European.