U and non-U English usage, where "U" stands for
upper class, and "non-U" represents the aspiring
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...
es, was part of the terminology of popular discourse of social dialects (
sociolect
In sociolinguistics, a sociolect is a form of language (non-standard dialect, restricted register) or a set of lexical items used by a socioeconomic class, profession, an age group, or other social group.
Sociolects involve both passive acquisiti ...
s) in
Britain in the 1950s. The different vocabularies can often appear quite counter-intuitive: the middle classes prefer "fancy" or fashionable words, even
neologism
A neologism Ancient_Greek.html"_;"title="_from_Ancient_Greek">Greek_νέο-_''néo''(="new")_and_λόγος_/''lógos''_meaning_"speech,_utterance"is_a_relatively_recent_or_isolated_term,_word,_or_phrase_that_may_be_in_the_process_of_entering_com ...
s and often
euphemisms, in attempts to make themselves sound more refined (
"posher than posh"), while the upper classes in many cases stick to the same plain and traditional words that the working classes also use, as, confident in the security of their social position, they have no need to seek to display refinement.
[Ross, Alan S. C., "Linguistic class-indicators in present-day English" , ''Neuphilologische Mitteilungen'' (Helsinki), vol. 55(1) (1954), 20–56. ]
History
The discussion was set in motion in 1954 by the British linguist
Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics in the
University of Birmingham. He coined the terms "U" and "non-U" in an article on the differences that
social class makes in
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 ...
usage published in a Finnish professional linguistics journal.
Though his article included differences in
pronunciation and
writing styles, it was his remark about differences of
vocabulary
A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the ...
that received the most attention.
The upper class English author
Nancy Mitford was alerted and immediately took up the usage in an essay, "The English Aristocracy", which
Stephen Spender published in his magazine ''
Encounter'' in 1954. Mitford provided a glossary of terms used by the upper classes (some appear in the table), unleashing an anxious national debate about
English class-consciousness and
snobbery, which involved a good deal of soul-searching that itself provided fuel for the fires. The essay was reprinted, with contributions by
Evelyn Waugh,
John Betjeman, and others, as well as a "condensed and simplified version" of Ross's original article, as ''
Noblesse Oblige: an Enquiry into the Identifiable Characteristics of the English Aristocracy'' in 1956. Betjeman's poem "How to Get On in Society" concluded the collection.
The issue of U and non-U could have been taken lightheartedly, but at the time many took it very seriously. This was a reflection of the anxieties of the middle class in Britain of the 1950s, recently emerged from
post-war austerities. In particular the media used it as a launch pad for many stories, making much more out of it than was first intended. In the meantime, the idea that one might "improve oneself" by adopting the culture and manner of one's "betters", instinctively assented to before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, was now greeted with resentment.
Some of the terms and the ideas behind them were largely obsolete by the late 20th century, when, in the United Kingdom,
reverse snobbery led younger members of the British upper and middle classes to adopt elements of working class speech, such as
Estuary English or
Mockney. However, many, if not most, of the differences remain very much current, and can therefore continue to be used as
class indicators.
American usage
A study in 1940 on the speaking differences between the American upper and middle classes revealed a strong similarity with the results of Ross's research. For instance, the American upper class said 'curtains', whilst the middle class used 'drapes'. Notably, the well-heeled would use 'toilet' whereas the less well-heeled would say 'lavatory', an inversion of the British usage.
See also
*
Shibboleth
A shibboleth (; hbo, , šībbōleṯ) is any Convention (norm), custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many s ...
*
Countersignalling
References
Further reading
*
Mitford, Nancy (ed.). ''Noblesse oblige''. Hamish Hamilton, London, 1956. Reprinted Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2002, .
*
Fox, Kate. ''Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour''. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 2004.
*
Cooper, Jilly. ''Class''. Corgi Adult, 1999.
* Alan S C Ross. ''How to pronounce it''. Hamish Hamilton, London, 1970. SBN 241 01967 2
* Alan S C Ross. ''Don't say it''. Hamish Hamilton 1973,
* Charlotte Mosley (ed.) ''The Letters of
Nancy Mitford and
Evelyn Waugh''. Hodder, London, 1996, at pp. 297–394.
External links
Ross, Alan S. C., ''Linguistic class-indicators in present-day English'' (6.15 MB PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:U And Non-U English
Sociolinguistics
Social class in the United Kingdom
Human communication
English language
1950s in the United Kingdom