Anglophile

Plaque to Paul Mellon, an anglophile, within St George's, Bloomsbury

An Anglophile is a person who admires England, its people, and its culture.[1] Its antonym is Anglophobe.[2] The word's roots come from the Latin Angli "the English", and Ancient Greek φίλος - philos, "friend."

The word Anglophile was first published in 1864 by Charles Dickens in All the Year Round, when he described the Revue des Deux Mondes as "an advanced and somewhat 'Anglophile' publication."[3]

Though Anglophile in the strict sense refers to an affinity for the things, people, places and culture of England, it is sometimes used to refer to an affinity for the same attributes of the British Isles more generally; though the rarely used word Britophile is a more accurate term.

Description

The James, an English-style pub in Münster, Germany, sporting the UK flag and the sign of James II
A German telephone box in Bielefeld run by German Telekom which is an homage to traditional British design.

In some cases, the term Anglophilia represents an individual's appreciation of English history and traditional English culture (e.g. William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Samuel Johnson, Gilbert and Sullivan). Anglophilia may also be characterized by fondness for the British monarchy and system of government (e.g. Westminster system of parliament), institutions (e.g. Royal Mail), as well as nostalgia for the former British Empire and the English class system. Anglophiles may enjoy English actors, films, TV shows, radio shows, comedy, musicians, books, magazines, fashion designers, cars, traditions (e.g. British Christmas dinner) or subcultures.[4]

Anglophiles may use English spellings instead of American spellings, such as 'colour' instead of 'color', 'centre' rather than 'center', or 'traveller' rather than 'traveler'. The use of British-English expressions in casual conversation and news reportage has recently increased in the United States.[5][6][7] The trend, misunderstanding, and misuse of these expressions by Americans has become a topic of media interest in both the United States and England.[5][6][7] University of Delaware English professor Ben Yagoda claims that the use of British English has "established itself as this linguistic phenomenon that shows no sign of abating."[5][6][7] Lynne Murphy, a linguist at the University of Sussex, notes the trend is more pronounced in the Northeastern United States.[6]

Madonna is an example of an Anglophile.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Anglophile". The American Heritage Dictionary 5th ed. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  2. ↑ "Anglophobe". The American Heritage Dictionary 5th ed. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  3. ↑ "All the Year Round". 1864-12-03. p. 3. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  4. ↑ "Holiday Traditions of England "Merry Christmas". Holiday Traditions. Retrieved November 6, 2013
  5. 1 2 3 Britishisms and the Britishisation of American English BBC magazine September 26, 2012
  6. 1 2 3 4 Separated by a common language blog by University of Sussex linguist Lynne Murphy
  7. 1 2 3 Americans Are Barmy Over Britishisms New York Times October 10, 2012
  8. ↑ "'There are lots of things about England I love, but my husband isn't one of them,' says Madonna". Daily Mail. Retrieved September 2, 2012

Bibliography

External links

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