U English
The U English ( Upper English , mutatis mutandis upper class English ) is a defined by a discourse in the 1950s phrase, it sets itself apart from the English of the middle class ( non-U English ) from.
The working class uses (essentially) the same terms as the English upper class ( British nobility ). While the middle class uses new terminology such as neologisms and euphemisms to sound more noble and to rise above the working class, the upper class, on the other hand , uses the same language as the people, an even and traditional English. They should be sure of their elevated social position and not try to artificially emphasize the existing class differences.
Examples
| U English | non-U English |
|---|---|
| Bike or bicycle | Cycle |
| Dinner jacket | Dress suit |
| Knave | Jack ( card game ) |
| Vegetables | Greens |
| Ice | Ice cream |
| Scent | Perfume |
| They've a very nice house. | They have (got) a lovely home. |
| Ill (in bed) | Sick (in bed) |
| I was sick on the boat. | I was ill on the boat. |
| Looking-glass | Mirror |
| Chimneypiece | Coat piece |
| Graveyard | Cemetery |
| Spectacles | Glasses |
| False teeth | Dentures |
| The | Pass on |
| Mad | Mentally |
| Jam | Preserve |
| Napkin | napkin |
| sofa | Settee or couch |
| Lavatory or loo | Toilet |
| Rich | Wealthy |
| What? | Pardon? |
| Good health | Cheers |
| lunch | Dinner (for lunch ) |
| pudding | Sweet |
| Drawing-room | Lounge |
| Writing-paper | Note-paper |
| How d'you do? | Pleased to meet you |
| Wireless | radio |
| (School) master, mistress | Teacher |
history
The debate was started by British linguistics professor ( Birmingham University ) Alan SC Ross in 1954. He coined the terms “U English” and “non-U English” in a Finnish journal. He pointed out the differences in pronunciation and writing style , but it was his analysis of the different vocabulary that heated the debate.
The English author Nancy Mitford took up the debate in 1954 in her article "The English Aristocracy". There was widespread discussion of class differences and arrogance after the article was published. The essay was then edited and published by Evelyn Waugh and John Betjeman . Ross's original article Noblesse Oblige: an Inquiry into the Identifiable Characteristics of the English Aristocracy was also edited and published again in 1956. John Betjeman published a provocative poem he called How to Get on in Society .
The discussion was taken seriously at the time, as it was a post-war England where a new middle class was emerging from the ruins.
swell
- ↑ a b Ross, Alan SC, Linguistic class-indicators in present-day English , Neuphilologische Mitteilungen (Helsinki), vol. 55: 113-149 (1954)
- ↑ Mitford, Nancy (ed.). 1956. Noblesse oblige . London, Hamish Hamilton, 'Note'.
- ↑ Mitford, Nancy (ed.). 1956. Noblesse oblige . London, Hamish Hamilton.
- ^ Buckle, Richard (ed.). 1978. U and Non-U Revisited . London: Debrett.