Culture of the United Kingdom
British culture blends diverse national traditions with global influence.
Last updated
British culture is influenced by the histories of its constituent nations, the British Empire, and immigration from around the world.[1][2] England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland each have their own distinct cultures, and these four cultures are not identical but share some common ground.[1] Cricket, football, boxing, tennis, and rugby are among the sports that were modernized in Britain, and sport holds a central position in British culture.[3]
Quick Facts
- Field
- Culture
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Known for
- Cultural superpower
- modern novel
- Industrial Revolution
- British music
- sport
- Languages
- English (de facto official)
- Welsh
- Scottish Gaelic
- Scots
- Cornish
- Irish
- Ulster Scots
- British Sign Language
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Britain's early cultural development was shaped by the arrival of Celtic and Germanic groups, as well as by the Roman occupation which lasted for nearly 400 years.[4][5] As a result of the British Empire's growth, England, Scotland and Wales incorporated people from various parts of the world.[6] After World War II, increased immigration led to a more varied cultural environment in Britain.[6] Immigration from Eastern Europe to the UK rose considerably following EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007.[6]
English serves as the UK's de facto official language, and roughly 95% of the British population are monolingual English speakers.[7] Under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the British Government gives recognition to seven additional languages.[7] Britain is where the modern novel was developed, and its most prominent cultural figures include playwrights, poets, and authors.[8] A revival of poetry, along with an emphasis on emotion, nature, and individualism, characterized the Romantic Period.[9]
What the cited sources add
The Smithsonian Magazine notes that Robinson Crusoe captivated readers unlike anything in its time.[10] The Office for National Statistics states that ethnic group identification may include common ancestry, elements of culture, identity, religion, language and physical appearance.[11] The English Heritage account describes Roman bathing as an essential part of Roman life that reveals culture.[12] The Lyrical Ballads, printed for J. & A. Arch in 1798, is a landmark collection by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.[13][9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Culture of the United Kingdom" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Little, "Scotland and Britain 'cannot be mistaken for each other'", BBC News, 6 June 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Culture of the United Kingdom" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Swaine, Jon (13 January 2009) Barack Obama presidency will strengthen special relationship, says Gordon Brown The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 March 2010.; E. J. Kirchner and J. Sperling, Global Security Governance: Competing Perceptions of Security in the 21st Century (London: Taylor & Francis, 2007), p. 100.; "Jeremy Paxman: what empire did for Britain", The Telegraph, 2 October 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Culture of the United Kingdom" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sport and the British", dmu.ac.uk; "The cultural superpower: British cultural projection abroad" . Journal of the British Politics Society, Norway. Volume 6. No. 1. Winter 2011.; Sheridan, Greg, "Cameron has chance to make UK great again", The Australian, 15 May 2010; "London is the world capital of the 21st century... says New York | News", Evening Standard; Calder, "London, capital of the world", The Independent, 22 December 2007; "BBC poll: Germany most popular country in the world", BBC, 23 May 2013; "World Servi en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Culture of the United Kingdom" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Who were the Celts?", Museum Wales; "Our Migration Story: The Making of Britain", ourmigrationstory.org.uk (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Culture of the United Kingdom" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Roman Britain", English Heritage (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Culture of the United Kingdom" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ethnic group, England and Wales – Office for National Statistics", ons.gov.uk (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Culture of the United Kingdom" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: BBC – Languages – United Kingdom BBC (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Culture of the United Kingdom" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The rise of the novel", The British Library (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Culture of the United Kingdom" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lyrical Ballads", J. & A. Arch, 1798 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Magazine, "The Real Robinson Crusoe", Smithsonian Magazine. facts only, no text reused. smithsonianmag.com
- "Ethnic group, England and Wales – Office for National Statistics", ons.gov.uk. facts only, no text reused. ons.gov.uk
- "Roman Britain", English Heritage. facts only, no text reused. english-heritage.org.uk
- "Lyrical Ballads", J. & A. Arch, 1798. facts only, no text reused. archive.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Culture of the United Kingdom (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in National Cultures And Ethnic Groups
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Culture of the United Kingdom (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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