Bashful?

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Bashful?

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1Novak
kesäkuu 15, 2014, 4:26 am

Taken from the BBC website today:

People in the UK should stop being "bashful" about being British, the prime minister has urged.

Is there a word that defies it's real meaning more than “bashful”?

2varielle
kesäkuu 15, 2014, 7:40 am

I've yet to meet a Brit who was shy of their Britishness. What on earth did he mean?

3oldstick
kesäkuu 15, 2014, 10:14 am

Seeing that these days everything revolves round advertising and celebrity perhaps he means we should all start another 'Buy British' trend, put adverts on the TV announcing how wonderful Britain is, make sure we hook the word'British' to anyone who does anything worthwhile who belongs to our society, tell the Scots they should be grateful to be British and not be afraid to teach about famous Britons in schools.( Or maybe he is just beginning to recognise there are now many folk who really couldn't care less?)
It would help if health and safety rules didn't stop historical events, like village processions, that have been going for years.
To be serious, there are more people in Britain now that do not feel British and only the passage of time will solve that problem, if it is ever to be solved.

4thorold
kesäkuu 16, 2014, 6:03 am

I suppose the point of the original question is the false association between "bashful" and the modern verb "bash" (to strike with a heavy object). That verb is not found in standard English before about the late 18th century*, the OED suggests it may have come from Swedish via Scots dialect.

"Bashful" apparently comes from an obsolete verb "bash", an alternative form of "abash". So it's quite logical - someone who is noticeably bashed - i.e. shy, diffident, modest - is therefore bashful.

The received idea was always that one of the most important things that distinguished the British from lesser races (like Americans) was that they had the good taste not to boast incessantly about the superiority of their own country. Foreigners were expected to take it for granted, and usually did (except for the French, who have much the same attitude themselves...). Terry Eagleton talks about this quite extensively in his recent, slightly tongue-in-cheek, look at the differences between British, Irish and American characters, Across the pond.

As long as "Britishness" involves being associated with a place run by people like Cameron and his immediate predecessors, it doesn't really seem to be something one would want to admit to in public unless one had to. Exaggerated gloating because someone from "Team GB" (ugh!) has won a sporting event in a sport you don't normally follow seems a totally pointless exercise, too. I've always regarded the nationality on my passport as an accidental fact I had little control over: why should I be proud (or ashamed) of it? (I could have picked a different one, as it happens, but I stuck to being British for the purely selfish reason that I didn't want to do military service)

(*) except in the special technical sense of a hen beating her wings, which the OED records in 1642

5oldstick
kesäkuu 16, 2014, 9:37 am

It appears Cameron was just expanding on "British Values"which led to British Muslims saying they were also their values. If only we could all agree on the "love thy neighbour as thyself" it would be a happier world but when we are up against people who do not think life is precious we stand no chance.

6Novak
kesäkuu 17, 2014, 4:18 am

Report from BBC website today:

A majority of Britons believe EU immigrants should have to wait three years before being able to claim benefits, a survey has suggested.

The annual British Social Attitudes survey of 3,000 people found that 61% wanted rules toughened in this way to deter so-called benefit tourism.

Almost a quarter said the main reason immigrants came to the UK was benefits.

The report also found 95% thought people must speak English to be "truly British" compared with 86% in 2003
.

The problem for a large migrant family is that they will be provided for very well by social services and enjoy a much improved lifestyle to the one they escaped.

However, if they attempt to learn English and get employment, all that will cease, and they will be destitute. What choice do they have?

Sadly, it is reported there is no longer a “cockney” accent in London. It has completely disappeared, didn't take long, did it?

7Novak
kesäkuu 17, 2014, 7:38 am

>4 thorold: Yes, the first time I heard the word "bashful" at school, I had to look it up because I assumed it meant "full of bravado".

8thorold
kesäkuu 17, 2014, 7:40 am

>6 Novak:
This, the report said, demonstrated a "considerable gap between public opinion and reality".
I think that sums it up. People believe political rhetoric (as long as it blames all problems on foreigners), whilst claiming not to trust politicians. Sad, as you say.

9ScarletBea
Muokkaaja: kesäkuu 17, 2014, 9:07 am

I'm not British, but I always understood the word 'bashful' to be similar to 'embarrassed'.
Maybe it's just the books I read, hehe

10eromsted
kesäkuu 17, 2014, 9:09 am

>7 Novak:
You hadn't seen Disney's Snow White?

11Novak
Muokkaaja: kesäkuu 17, 2014, 10:25 am

>10 eromsted: Love it.. .. ..Thank you! I had forgotten about him. I had even forgotten that six out of seven dwarfs are not Happy.. .. .. ..