Library vocabulary

[William Ryan]

British is an adjective referring to people or things in the United 
Kingdom; used as a collective noun 'the British' it denotes citizens of 
the UK. It is true that 'Briton' is given in dictionaries as a citizen 
of the UK (or as one of the Celtic peoples of early Britain, usually 
with the adjective Ancient), but few would use the word to refer to 
themselves - I certainly wouldn't. It is used sometimes in newspapers, 
probably for brevity in headlines, but it has stylistic flavour most 
would avoid (as in the very nationalistic 18th c. song, now probably 
sung only on the last night of the Proms, 'Rule Britannia', which 
includes the line 'Britons never, never, never will be slaves', also in 
facetious variants such as 'Married to a mermaid'). Context is 
everything. If an Englishman saw two foreigners walking down the Nevsky 
with bowler hats and umbrellas he would be most unlikely to say 'Look, 
they must be Britons'. The abbreviation Brit (whether from Briton or 
British) is also to be avoided unless you are sure of your company - in 
many parts of the world it is a contemptuous term, and when used in the 
British press it is at best colloquial or facetious.

Will Ryan


Misha Angelovskiy wrote:
> Dear Mr. Langran and list:
>
> --- John Langran <john at RUSLAN.CO.UK> wrote:
>
>   
>> We are British, not Britons. 
>>     
>
> Is the term "Briton" inappropriate?  I thought the
> only difference with British was part of speech.  Is
> that not so?  Would be really grateful if you could
> clarify.
>
> misha
>
>
>
>
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