To think most of what people call “British” is actually borrowed from other cultures?

[BlendedByEmpire]

From food to fashion to language, it seems like a lot of what’s considered traditionally British has roots elsewhere. Yet people still cling to the idea of a “pure” British culture. AIBU to think the whole concept is more mixed than most are willing to admit?

Isn't it more about values than food?

Who else queues like us? Any other country always say "thank you" to the bus driver when they get off?

Every other culture is to be celebrated and respected, except that of Britain, and apparently we borrowed it all from other people anyway so it’s nothing to be proud of.

OP - have you really only just realised this?

All cultures have cross-pollinated over centuries, millennia even. Have you never studied any history or art or music?

Did you know that the English language would have been more like German if the Normans hadn’t conquered England a thousand years ago, for example?

Strewth…what are they teaching in schools nowadays?

Acknowledging that British culture includes global influence isn’t demonising it, it’s telling the truth. Every nation is shaped by exchange and yes, Britain has contributed plenty too. That doesn’t mean we can’t talk honestly about how layered that legacy is. It’s possible to be proud and reflective at the same time.

What's wrong with drinking from cupped hands!!!?

Remember when there was nothing? Nothing at all?

Why the faux naivety as through you’ve suddenly had a profound revelation? This isn’t news.

That’s the universal human experience- see someone with a good idea, copy it.

I liked it when there was nothing! Nothing at all!

Tea’s a great example actually, it’s so associated with Britishness but the leaves come from Asia and the British taste for it was shaped by colonial trade routes. It’s not about shaming, it’s just history. That blend of influences is part of what makes British culture what it is.

All countries are a melting pot of cultures and influences.
Every country has its own way of blending.
That's what makes each country individual.

Britain has an extensive history of wool manufacture, tweed and tweed garments. British tailoring and tweed were not borrowed from anywhere else. Nor was knitwear, as Britain is cold. A lot of it came from Scotland, but we haven’t borrowed our fashion from elsewhere.

Vivienne Westwood was probably one of the most iconic and original designers ever.She was British. She worked with tartan and tweed a lot. As was Alexander McQueen. Britain is a leader not a follower in the fashion industry.

No one’s saying Britain hasn’t contributed to the world, it clearly has. But acknowledging that British culture is a mix of influences isn’t anti-British, it’s just honest. Cultural exchange has shaped every country. I’m not here to “reveal” anything shocking, just reflecting on how we define what’s considered ‘British’ in the first place.

Hello? Earth to OP…

Everywhere you look, every book you read on culture from the last 200 plus years, will tell you all about the diverse influences which have contributed to British art, language, fashion, architecture, music, literature etc. Have you been living under a rock? Do you not read?

What you’re saying is totally unoriginal and news to no one but a child.

GET IN THE SEA.

I genuinely do think more people should see it. I’ve seen so many comments these last few weeks about how people should stay in their own countries and help resolve their issues etc, and I’m itching to quote the “prosperous place to be” parts.

By talk honestly, you mean focus on our shortcomings and failures. It’s a boring script now and people are tired of it.

For all your word salad, what do you actually hope to achieve? You do realise the social problems we’re now witnessing are causing large part by people like you - insinuating, not so subtly, that British people have no culture they can call their own and take a unique pride in? Well, they do, and they know it, and they’re not ashamed to say so.

Exactly, human culture is constantly evolving through exchange. That’s kind of my point - when people talk about ‘British culture’ as if it’s fixed or pure, it ignores how much of it is hybrid by nature. And while not everyone is clinging to the idea of a ‘pure’ British culture, plenty of rhetoric (especially around immigration or ‘British values’ seems to lean that way.

'Yet people still cling to the idea of a "pure" British culture'

Where in the wide world did you get that daft idea from? One can pretty much guarantee that every British person has a different idea of what traditional British culture is anyway.

I’m not against national pride or people loving where they’re from. I’m just pointing out how cultures evolve through influence and exchange and how recognising that shouldn’t be seen as a threat to identity. British culture is real and it’s also layered, dynamic and rooted in a mix of histories. That’s something to be proud of too.

This a weird goady thread you’ve started here. I’m assuming you support Labour?

Every country has a culture, including Britain. I never said Britain doesn’t have one. I said much of what we think of as ‘British’ has been shaped by outside influences over time, just like every other culture. That doesn’t make it less real or valuable. Culture isn’t a fixed thing - it grows, absorbs and evolves.

I totally agree with everything you say. British fashion, fabric and tailoring are extraordinary.

Interestingly though sheep aren't native to the UK. They came from Asia (where they were used in wool production) and were brought to Britain in Neolithic times.

So is every other nation’s culture, by your logic. And therefore no one has a culture, nothing individual, nothing unique.

Could just as easily say Spanish have no culture of their own, no real individual history which shaped the people, nothing organic. They borrowed it all anyway, it all came from others. So what’s so special about Spanish culture anyway?

It isn’t a fixed thing - and that’s news to anyone? Of course not. But then, you’re not arguing in good faith.

'British Values' is forced by government agendas as far as I can see.

Why else am I forced to discuss 'British Values' and find examples of how I live by them every time I meet with my apprenticeship skills coach?!

I am British, but I'm not pushing 'British Values', I simply want kindness and respect from all.
Surely 'human values' should be all that's needed.
But...some cultures don't share the same values. So I guess the government now think we all need a reminder.

And while not everyone is clinging to the idea of a ‘pure’ British culture, plenty of rhetoric (especially around immigration or ‘British values’ seems to lean that way.

Ah, what a suprise. Who would have thought your agenda would be “British people can’t object to unlimited immigration “. I’m shocked I tell you, shocked to my core. And there I was thinking you were genuinely interested in discussing how British culture has evolved into the fascinating entity it is.

Yes, values like politeness, queueing or thanking the bus driver feel uniquely British and I get the pride in that but those values aren’t exclusive to Britain. Plenty of cultures show respect and courtesy, just in different ways. I’m not denying there’s something distinctively British in how we express those things, just questioning the idea that it all developed in a vacuum.