UKer

[Robin Hamilton]

From: "Damien Hall" <damien.hall at YORK.AC.UK>
...
> - As (kind of) made clear by the first quotation that Jon included, 'UKer'
> is also useful because it fills a descriptive niche that isn't otherwise
> quite filled: 'someone from the UK (without being any more specific as to
> the part of the UK)'. Other available adjectives don't do this. 'English',
> 'Scottish', 'Welsh' and 'Northern Irish' describe being from the
> individual
> countries of the UK; 'British' refers to being from Great Britain, which
> is
> the island containing England, Scotland and Wales,

I think I read (some time ago, and I no longer have the reference) that the
only group of British Subjects (sic! -- not citizens, as in USAmerica) who
self-identified as "British" (as opposed to English, Scottish, Welsh, etc.)
were Northern Ireland Protestants.

> so, strictly speaking,
> it excludes Northern Ireland, though most if not all references to
> 'British
> English' in fact also include Northern Irish English.

... or further than that, Hiberno-English as a whole, which for better or
worse seems to be the current term-of-choice, including Southern Irish
English, would be a variety of English.

(I've just, checking for this post, found the Wiki entry on
Hiberno-English -- an impressive and thorough piece of work.  My complements
to whoever wrote it, if they're reading this.)

Robin
____________________

> (cf the official name
> of the country, 'the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
> Ireland'.)
>
> Damien
> - UKer
>
> --
> Damien Hall

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