Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language or culture; institutional, in which institutions are influenced by those of England or the United Kingdom; or linguistic, in which a non-English term or name is altered due to the cultural influence of the English language.[Bridge, Carl, and Fedorowich, Kent. The British World: Diaspora, Culture, and Identity, 2003, p. 89. "Beyond gaps in our information about who or what was affected by anglicisation is the matter of understanding the process more fully in terms of agency, periodisation, and extent and limitations."] It can also refer to the influence of English soft power, which includes media, cuisine, popular culture, technology, business practices, laws and political systems.
Anglicisation first occurred in the British Isles, when Celts under the sovereignty of the king of England underwent a process of anglicisation.
History and examples
Europe
Channel Islands
In the early parts of the 19th century, mostly due to increased immigration from the rest of the British Isles, the town of
St Helier in the
Channel Islands became a predominantly English-speaking place, though bilingualism was still common. This created a divided linguistic geography, as the people of the countryside continued to use forms of
Norman language, and many did not even know English.
English became seen in the Channel Islands as "the language of commercial success and moral and intellectual achievement".
The growth of English and the decline of French brought about the adoption of more values and social structures from
Victorian era England.
Eventually, this led to the Channel Islands's culture becoming mostly anglicised, which supplanted the traditional Norman-based culture of the Islands.
From 1912, the educational system of the Channel Islands was delivered solely in English, following the norms of the English educational system.
British Isles
Anglicisation was an essential element in the development of British society and of the development of a unified British polity.
Within the
British Isles, anglicisation can be defined as influence of English culture in
Scotland,
Wales,
Ireland, the Isle of Man and the
Channel Islands. Until the 19th century, most significant period for anglicisation in those regions was the High Middle Ages. Between 1000 and 1300, the British Isles became increasingly anglicised. Firstly, the ruling classes of England, who were of Norman origin after the
Norman Conquest of 1066, became anglicised as their separate
Normans identity, different from the identity of the native
Anglo-Saxons, became replaced with a single English national identity.
Secondly, English communities in Wales and Ireland emphasised their English identities, which became established through the settlement of various parts of Wales and Ireland between the 11th and 17th centuries under the guidance of successive English kings. In Wales, this primarily occurred during the conquest of Wales by Edward I, which involved English and Flemish people settlers being "planted" in various newly established settlements in Welsh territory. English settlers in Ireland mostly resided in the Pale, a small area concentrated around Dublin. However, much of the land the English settled was not intensively used or densely populated. The culture of settling English populations in Wales and Ireland remained heavy influenced by that of England. These communities were also socially and culturally segregated from the native Irish and Welsh, a distinction which was reinforced by government legislation such as the Statutes of Kilkenny.
Ireland
Wales
During the
Middle Ages, Wales was gradually conquered by the English. The institutional anglicisation of Wales was finalised with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, which fully incorporated Wales into the Kingdom of England. This not only institutionally anglicised Wales, but brought about the anglicisation of the
Welsh culture and language. Motives for anglicising Wales included securing
Protestantism England against incursions from Catholic powers in Continental Europe and promoting the power of the Welsh Tudor dynasty in the rest of England.
Scholars have argued that industrialisation prevented Wales from being anglicised to the extent of Ireland and Scotland, as the majority of the Welsh people did not move abroad in search of employment during the early modern era, and thus did not have to learn to speak English. Furthermore, migration patterns created a cultural division of labour, with national migrants tending to work in coalfields or remain in rural villages, while non-national migrants were attracted to coastal towns and cities. This preserved monocultural Welsh communities, ensuring the continued prominence of the Welsh language and customs within them. However, other scholars argue that industrialisation and Urbanization led to economic decline in rural Wales, and given that the country's large towns and cities were anglicised, this led to an overall anglicisation of the nation.
The Elementary Education Act 1870 and the Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889 introduced compulsory English-language education into the Welsh educational system. English "was perceived as the language of progress, equality, prosperity, mass entertainment and pleasure". This and other administrative reforms resulted in the institutional and cultural dominance of English and marginalisation of Welsh, especially in the more urban South Wales and north-east of Wales.
Modern non-British Isles diasporas
Jewish refugees in Britain at the turn of the 20th century were encouraged to Anglicise themselves by playing
British sports.
Such assimilation was desired by both the immigrants and the local Anglo-Jewish elite, as it would preempt antisemitic and xenophobic prejudices.
Continental Europe
Germany
Philosophically, England's political ideals and strength were inspirational for Prussia in the 19th century.
British art has also had a significant influence on Germany.
Americas
Anglo-America
Canada
The term Anglicisation started being used around the time that the question of Anglicising white populations outside of the British Isles first presented itself in the late 18th century, when the
British Empire had to decide how to conciliate French Canadians to its rule.
Anglicisation was also expected of immigrants, particularly at the time that the country envisioned itself as part of a global British imperial community, until the
cultural mosaic model took root in the late 20th century.
Caribbean
United States
The United States was the first major British colony to become independent. Early into the American Revolution, the majority of the colonists still felt loyal to Britain and preferred reconciliation over independence.
Close cultural relations eased the resumption of post-Revolution ties between the two nations and later aided their cooperation during World War II, giving rise to what became known as the Special Relationship.
Both nations' cultural legacies and rising global stature led them to consider themselves as successors in certain ways to the Roman Empire,
and American hegemony was able to peacefully succeed the British Empire's
Pax Britannica in part due to the widely shared heritage.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a nationwide effort in the United States to anglicize all immigrants to the US. This was carried out through methods including (but not limited to) mandating the teaching of American English and having all immigrants change their first and last names to English-sounding names. This movement was known as Americanization and is considered a subset of Anglicization due to English being the dominant language in the United States.
Latin America
Mexico
Cornish miners introduced some of their cuisine in the 19th century. Mexico's proximity to the United States has also furthered its uptake of the English language, particularly in the border regions.
Africa
East Africa
In Kenya, Christian missionaries played a significant role in advancing British culture. Though initially the colonial education system allowed for a more localised pedagogy, in the aftermath of the Mau Mau rebellion the curriculum was revised to feature a greater emphasis on British culture and positive involvement in the region.
Southern Africa
South Africa
Anglicisation came into greater effect after the
Anglo-Boer War, when the British decided to inculcate Afrikaner children in the English language and culture, contesting prior Dutch societal influences.
West Africa
Asia
East Asia
China
South Asia
Bangladesh
India
Two centuries of
British India saw India become the subject of intense discussions around the merit of
Westernisation and modernisation on an ancient, unchanging culture. In the decades after India's 1947 independence, Anglicisation actually became more apparent in some respects: more people had learned English, which now was more significant in its capacity as a world language, and cricket was greatly popularised. Universal adult suffrage and higher levels of college attendance were also achieved.
Pakistan
Southeast Asia
Singapore
Malay was Singapore's lingua franca late into the colonial era until English started to predominate; after Singapore became independent from British rule, it decided to keep English as its main language to maximise economic efficiency.
Various politicians associated with Singapore's founding postcolonial period have measuredly praised British influences that they claim laid the foundation for the city to become more successful.
West Asia
During the late colonial era, British planners were preoccupied with combating growing anti-Western sentiments among Arabs; the instrumentalisation of the
British Council was seen as the best way to create stronger cultural ties.
Oceania
Australia
Australians had very significant ties to the United Kingdom until the mid-20th century, with racial and historical ties cited as reasons to keep the relationship strong. The breakup of the British Empire then reoriented Australia towards American influences.
Language
Linguistic anglicisation
Linguistic anglicisation is the practice of modifying foreign words, names, and phrases to make them easier to spell, pronounce or understand in
English language.
The term commonly refers to the respelling of foreign words, often to a more drastic degree than that implied in, for example,
Romanization.
Non-English words may be anglicised by changing their form and/or pronunciation to something more familiar to English speakers. Some foreign place names are commonly anglicised in English. Examples include the Denmark city København (Copenhagen), the city of Moskva (Moscow), the Sweden city of Göteborg (Gothenburg), the Netherlands city of Den Haag (The Hague), the Spain city of Sevilla (Seville), the city of Al-Qāhira (Cairo), and the Italy city of Firenze (Florence). The India city of Kolkata was once anglicised as Kolkata, until the city chose to change its official name back to Kolkata in 2001. Anglicisation of words and names from indigenous languages occurred across the English-speaking world in former parts of the British Empire. Toponymy in particular have been affected by this process.
In the past, the names of people from other language areas were anglicised to a higher extent than today. This was the general rule for names of Latin or (classical) Greek origin. Today, the anglicised name forms are often retained for the more well-known persons, like Aristotle for Aristoteles, and Adrian IV (or later Hadrian) for Hadrianus. During the time in which there were large influxes of immigrants from Europe to the United States and United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries, the names of many immigrants were never changed by immigration officials but only by personal choice.
Dominance of Anglo-/British English
Britishisms (terms unique to British English) have entered American English over the centuries and continuing to this day, despite the modern global predominance of American English.
Globalisation and the increasing role of British journalists are cited as factors for this in the present day.
Englishisation
Sports
Indirect influence
English pastimes and ideas influenced early American sporting practices significantly.
For example, Mark Dyreson has argued that American attempts to improve the world through sport took inspiration from British imperial models.
The England-originated philosophy of Muscular Christianity also played a role in shaping American attitudes towards sport and its global role by the turn of the 20th century.
See also
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English diaspora
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Education:
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Religion:
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Christianization § British North America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Africa
