Dic Siôn Dafydd
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Dic Siôn Dafydd (, "Dick
on of On, on, or ON may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews * ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin * ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995 * ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001 * ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...
John
on of On, on, or ON may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews * ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin * ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995 * ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001 * ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...
David") is a satirical stereotype of an
Anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. Etymology The word is derived from the Latin word ''Anglii'' and Ancient Greek word φίλος ''philos'', meaning "frien ...
Welsh person who deliberately turns their back on the
Welsh people The Welsh ( cy, Cymry) are an ethnic group native to Wales. "Welsh people" applies to those who were born in Wales ( cy, Cymru) and to those who have Welsh ancestry, perceiving themselves or being perceived as sharing a cultural heritage and sh ...
, their culture and the
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...
. A Dic Siôn Dafydd instead embraces the concept of
Englishness A national identity of the English as the people or ethnic group dominant in England dates to the Anglo-Saxon period. The establishing of a single English ethnic identity dates to at least AD 731, as exemplified in Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History ...
,
English culture The culture of England is defined by the cultural norms of England and the English people. Owing to England's influential position within the United Kingdom it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate English culture from the culture of the ...
and the
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
. It is traditionally used as an insult.


History and symbolism

Jac Glan-y-gors created a satirical portrait of 'Dic Siôn Dafydd' as a stereotypical Welshman who has consciously decided to forget his roots and turn his back on his nation, culture and language, influenced by a will to succeed in England. The 18th-century ballad describes Dic Siôn Dafydd as a pompous character that has grown up speaking Welsh but insists on speaking English even to his own Welsh-speaking mother. Dic Siôn Dafydd is also known to be used as a term for abuse or as an insult that has political connotations. It refers to someone from Wales who betrays their nation for their own financial or political gain, or simply having turned their back on their country. More recently it has been used as an insult for Welsh people who become part of the upper levels of the British establishment but forget their Welsh roots. The character has been described as a Welsh person speaking only English, who is an
anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. Etymology The word is derived from the Latin word ''Anglii'' and Ancient Greek word φίλος ''philos'', meaning "frien ...
and/or
anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
,
self-loathing Self-hatred is personal self-loathing or hatred of oneself, or low self-esteem which may lead to self-harm. In psychology and psychiatry The term "self-hatred" is used infrequently by psychologists and psychiatrists, who would usually describe ...
of Wales or its identity, refuses to speak Welsh, or simply a "''
traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
''".


Ballad

First and last verses of the ballad, on the left in 18th century Welsh and on the right an English translation.


Inclusion in other works

The name is also mentioned in the folk song,
Yma o Hyd Yma o Hyd (English: "''Still Here"'') is a Welsh language folk song by Dafydd Iwan. The song was released during Iwan and Ar Log's 'Taith Macsen' ("Macsen's Journey") tour in 1983. Since then it has continued to gain popularity at cultural and ...
, There have been other poems written by other Welsh poets in the style of the Dic Siôn Dafydd ballad, including by
Talhaiarn John Jones (19 January 1810 РOctober 1869), known by his bardic name of Talhaiarn, was a Wales, Welsh poet and architect. Life and reputation Jones was born at the ''Harp Inn'' (now known as ''Hafod y G̢n'') in Llanfair Talhaearn, Denbig ...
, published in 1862 under the title "Dammeg Dic Siôn Dafydd yr Ail" (The Parable of Dic Siôn Dafydd the Second). During the revival of the
Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...
tradition, a poets' competition at the 1824
National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...
at
Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
, where satirical poems in the traditional
englyn (; plural ) is a traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent know ...
form were submitted under the pre-announced title "Beddargraff Dic Siôn Dafydd" (The Epitaph of Dic Siôn Dafydd).


See also

*
Acting white In the United States, acting white is a pejorative term, usually applied to black people, which refers to a person's perceived betrayal of their culture by assuming the social expectations of white society.
*
Cultural cringe Cultural cringe, in cultural studies and social anthropology, is an internalized inferiority complex that causes people in a country to dismiss their own culture as inferior to the cultures of other countries. It is closely related to the concept ...
*
Cultural relationship between the Welsh and the English The cultural relationship between the Welsh and English manifests through many shared cultural elements including language, sport, religion and food. The cultural relationship is usually characterised by tolerance of people and cultures, although s ...
* Crachach *
Jackeen Jackeen is a pejorative term for someone from Dublin, Ireland. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines it as a "contemptuous designation for a self-assertive worthless fellow", citing the earliest documented use from the year 1840. The term Ja ...
* Self hatred *
Shoneenism Shoneenism is a pejorative term, used in Ireland from at least the 18th century, to describe Irish people who are viewed as adhering to Anglophile snobbery. Some late 19th and early 20th century Irish nationalist writers, like D. P. Moran (1869†...
*
Sycophancy In modern English, sycophant denotes an "insincere flatterer" and is used to refer to someone practising sycophancy (i.e., insincere flattery to gain advantage). The word has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens. Most legal cases o ...
*
Uncle Tom Uncle Tom is the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel, ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. The character was seen by many readers as a ground-breaking humanistic portrayal of a slave, one who uses nonresistance and gives his life to protect ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dic Sion Dafydd Welsh culture Welsh poetry Quotations from literature Fictional characters from the 19th century Male characters in literature Cultural assimilation 18th-century neologisms Pejorative terms for European people Cultural depictions of Welsh people