The British people

The 4 parts of the UK represent 4 nations, which are distinct from each other in almost every aspect of life. They are different racially. The people of Ireland, Wales and Scotland belonged to the Celtic race. Those in England and Scotland were mainly of Germanic origin.

This difference was reflected in the languages they spoke, in their different economic, social and legal systems. England has always played the most important role in the history of the British Isles. That is why foreigners usually call all British people English. The English are mainly Anglo-Saxon in origin.

Traditionally the English are thought to be reserved, shy of strangers, conservative, honest, responsible and believing that they are superior to any other people on Earth. The Scots have a strong sense of national identify of their own distinct, values and traditions. Scotland is a country with its dancers, its own songs, its poetry, national food and drink. To many foreigners, the image of Scotland is associated with kilts, tartans, bagpipes.

The Welsh are proud of their culture, traditions and their language. They are gifted in the art of self-expression in words, they are not afraid of being poetic in speech. There is much literary, musical and dramatic activity in Wales. Special festivals are held to encourage Welsh literature and music. Wales is called "the land of song". The Irish have a rich literary heritage. Many great names of English literature were Irish (G. Swift, O. Wilde, G.B. Show). Britain is a country where a lot of immigrants live, they are people of different origin: they are from Commonwealth countries are Asia, Africa, the West India, Pakistan, Hong Kong.