An Anglo (450- ) is anyone whose chief language is English. About half the West is Anglo. Worldwide only the Chinese outnumber them.
In Shakespeare’s time there were only 5 million Anglos. Now there are over 500 million. The British Empire planted not just the English language all over the world, but also English ways of thinking and doing things.
Where Anglos live in large numbers (given in millions):
- 65m: Britain and Ireland
- 300m: North America and the West Indies
- 30m: Australia and New Zealand
- 50m: Africa
- 100m: South Asia
The sun never sets on them, to use an old expression about the empire.
In the first three regions most people are Anglos; in the other two, in those countries that once belonged to the empire, only the richest tenth are.
Anglos do not think of themselves this way. They think that race matters more than language. White Anglos think they have more in common with Russians or Greeks than they do with the people in Jamaica or the well-to-do of India.
They do not understand that language runs deeper than race. Language brings a whole universe of ideas with it. It is impossible to use that language day in and day out, and especially to receive your education in it, without being affected. Only religion can affect you more deeply.
Included in this universe of Anglo ideas:
- No man should be above the law.
- Democracy is the best form of government.
- Freedom – for individuals, businesses, property – makes society stronger, not weaker.
- The rights of private property.
- Judges should be independent of the government.
- Individuals can think for themselves. They do not need government or religion to tell them what to think or do.
- Belief in science and invention.
- Life is about making money.
- Race affects you more deeply than language, religion, upbringing, education or wealth.
- In judging another person, race matters most, then wealth.
- Sports as an important part of life.
- Life is what we make it. We are not ruled by the stars or by fate.
- Facts matter more than reason.
- Religion is a private affair.
- Poverty is a moral failing.
- In foreign affairs might makes right.
There are nine “natural” Anglo countries. A natural country is a region with at least a million people where most speak the same language and follow the same religion:
- Britain – including the heavily Protestant areas of northern Ireland
- Ireland
- West Indies – the islands including Belize, Guyana and Suriname
- Anglo-America – the English-speaking, Protestant part of North America
- Rhode Island – the heavily Catholic areas in north-eastern America, especially in and near Boston, Rhode Island and Long Island
- Utah – the heavily Mormon part of America in and near Utah
- Hawaii
- Australia
- New Zealand
While there are millions of Anglos in Africa and Asia, they do not make up most of society of a million or more anywhere. Singapore and Durban, South Africa come closest.
See also:
Are the Dutch aware that you snatched Suriname a DUTCH speaking country away from them?
Calling Suriname an Anglo country is borderline stupid!
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Dutch is the official language in Suriname, but according to the Wikipedia (which may be wrong, of course) most people there speak English as a first language:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population
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Just for the record – I’m technically an anglo, but disagree with several of the so-called ‘anglo ideas’ listed above. Especially that race (and wealth) influence judgment, and that might makes right. These sound to me like specifically North American (government) ideas, although I’m happy to say I know a lot of North Americans who would also have problems with those ‘anglo ideas’.
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I am Anglo too but do not agree with many of the ideas I listed as Anglo – like those about skin colour, making money and might makes right.
Ideas made the list not because I or you agree with them, but because they seem to be common at least in North America and Britain. And I go not by what people say but by what they do.
Like, most Anglos seem to agree that judging people by skin colour is wrong, but it still goes on way too much. They mouth the right words but it still seems to be built into how they think.
But I grant your point that the list probably has a North American cast to it as that is where I live.
Thanks for your comment.
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Also, the anglo concept of racial purity is and still is one of the key doctrines of Anglodom.
Steph
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Purity of the white race you mean…?
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Just a small history lesson: Anglo(s) were a Germanic tribe that conquered Celtic Britain.
Britain was under Roman rule. When Rome was being sacked by the Huns, the Germanic tribes (which included the Anglos, Saxons and the Jutes tribes) saw that the Romans were pulling out of Britain and invaded Celtic Britain and settled it. The Celtic Britains that didn’t assimilate were pushed into Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The majority of British people in Britain are ancestors of those Romanized British and Germanic tribes and are not ethnic (Celtic) Britains, which is why most Welsh people (such as Katharine Zeta Jones) do not like to be referred to as British.
Second history lesson: Since those Germanic tribes spoke whatever Germanic language and the Celtic Britains spoke a mix of Celtic language and Roman, English became a mixture of all of those languages. Also, there was a period of time when Britain was ruled by France, so that explains the French influence in English, such as the word “prince”. It’s an English variation/pronunciation of a French word.
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Thanks.
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That’s some retarded bullshit.
Are you high?
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Very interesting. I used a similar concept in my matser’s thesis. I wish I had yours at the time. I could have used it.
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“An Anglo (450- ) is anyone whose chief language is English. About half the West is Anglo.”
Mexican Americans who are raised speaking English and not
Spanish as their primary language are Anglos? I think a lot of my Mexican friends (in Texas) would find offense at being considered Anglo on the sole basis as their primary language is English. Most of the Mexican-American descent kids I grew up with do not speak Spanish at all since their parents tried to make sure they assimilated into (white) American culture – especially in the south.
Where I live currently Spanish is definitely the first language in my neighborhood. I live in Jersey City,NJ which is extremely diverse. If a child is raised speaking Spanish at home and English in school what are they? Anglo or Hispanic?
My partner is Haitian and speaks 3 languages fluently – Creole, French and English – and all were important in her life. But by definition could she be considered Anglo?
By your definition anyone who speaks English as a first or “chief” language is Anglo – so Jay-Z is Anglo American, Oprah is Anglo American, Stephen Colbert is Anglo American clearly, and they all share the same Anglo belief system as stated above? Africans who immigrated to Britain are Anglos by virtue of their chief language being English, right?
Does the term Anglo supercede African as a determiner by definition of what an Anglo is? Should African Americans drop African from their descriptor and start going with Anglo from now on since language is the determiner and not skin color?
Please elaborate……
I’m seriously interested in knowing how African Amercians or other Americans or other English speaking Anglos feel about this Anglo situation as defined above – and not being a smart ass even though I know my comments do seem sarcastic – I’m all for everyone being called Anglo and don’t feel that whites should corner the market on the term Anglo – but in the next logical step does that mean that black Americans share the same belief as Abagond that Language is a stronger tie/bond than race? Do African Americans want to ascribe to the list above?
And, also note that Abagond only mentions “white” once above and generalizes that Anglos are people who speak English, not just white ppl who speak English.
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Marie:
“Anglo” as most use it means a white, assimilated Anglo-American. But as used in this post it means anyone whose main language is English. If you curse in English, you are an Anglo for the purposes of this post.
The people in Jersey City you spoke of are not Anglos, your Haitian friend is only partly Anglo but Mexicans who know only English are Anglos, even if that thought makes them cringe. And so are English-speaking blacks in North America, the Caribbean, Britain and Africa.
The paradox is that part of being Anglo is being racist: believing that race matters more than culture, religion or class. So it is hard for them to see what they have in common – which is considerable – because of their beliefs about race.
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i don’t think i would ever be considered anglo or be able to identify as anglo, even though english is my first language.
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There’s a difference between Anglophone and Allophone.
An Anglophone is anyone for whom English is a mother tongue (ppl descended from Britain or UK/Ireland, as well as peoples affected by British colonialism which wiped out their ancestor culture/languages and replaced them with English. The latter are Anglo because English is the ONLY language they and their ancestors have known for many generations.
Allophones are people who speak English as FIRST or SECOND language. Allophones are raised by non-mother tongue/native English-speakers. They either learned English outside the home in schools, or picked it up from television. But, inside the home, their parents spoke to them in another language, and/or they responded in another language.
e. If your Spanish-speaking parents spoke only Spanish in the home to you, you are an Allophone. If Spanish was the first language you learned and was raised speaking, you’re an Allophone. If English is only a language you use to interact with people you’re working with, etc., you’re an Allophone.
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About Suriname
http://srn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sranantongo
This language used to be called “Negro-English” but though a certain similarity to English cannot be denied, I don’t think that including somebody praying like this can be called an Anglo.:
Wi Tata na hemel,
yu nem mu de santa !
yu kondre mu kon !
yu wani mu go doro na
grontapu so leki na hemel !
Gi wi tide da njanjan fu wi !
Gi wi pardon fu den ogri,
di wi du, so leki wi owktu de gi
pardon na den suma, disi du wi ogri !
No meki wi kon na ini tesi !
Ma puru wi na da ogriwan !
Bikasi ala kondre de fu yu en ala tranga
nanga glori de fu yu,te teego. Amen .
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I’m white British, I actually DO think that I have more in common with English-speaking Indians or Africans than I do with white Russians. Not everthing is about race.
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“An Anglo (450- ) is anyone whose chief language is English.”
Sorry, but no. The Irish mostly speak English these days, but if you called an Irishman an “Anglo”, you’d probably get punched in the face.
Anglos are properly the ethnic English and their descendants. You may be able to stretch the term to include all those of British descent, or even, in the US, all English-speaking Whites.
But some Nigerian isn’t an Anglo because he was educated in English language school.
Look at South Africa, we have Cape Coloured people (this term is not considered derogatory in South Africa) who speak Afrikaans and share many ancestors with Afrikaners, but they are not considered Afrikaners. Why? Because to be an Afrikaner, you must be White.
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