If you’re English-Irish, come into the parlour is the heading on the most recent of John Grenham's Irish Roots columns for the Irish Times. Apparently Polish-Irish, Nigerian-Irish, Filipino-Irish are widely accepted terms in Ireland, and we all know of the Scots-Irish, but English-Irish comes out only with difficulty in Ireland.
Chinese-Canadian, Somali-Canadian, and a United Nations full of other such combinations are a commonplace in Canada. English-Canadian and French-Canada refer more to the native tongue than the national origin. Thus the French-Canadians with Irish surnames.
Being English born and bred, a long time Canadian citizen and resident, I now think of myself as Canadian when in Canada; English-Canadian or English-born Canadian when pressed about my accent; and puzzled at how things have changed when I return to England.
Is it only those of us with European origins who are so flexible in how we describe ourselves? Has that always been the case?
07 February 2014
Our hyphenated ancestors
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3 comments:
I think of myself as a Canadian from Ontario-an Ontario-Canadian. My family for the most part lived in Ontario when I was growing up. Summer vacations were spent there. Having been born and raised in Quebec province, I always have to explain that I am not French Canadian. English speakers did live in Quebec province. Schooling was segregated by language and religion.
I am first generation of British parentage. I have lived here all my life and consider myself Canadian, but my cultural background and references are sometimes very different from other "Anglo-Canadians"
I can't think of myself as anything but Canadian. My earliest ancestors arrived in Nova Scotia from the U.S. ca 1760 and the most recent arrival was my great-grandmother who arrived from Ireland via Boston ca 1875. I have no family connectio to any country but Canada.
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