Monthly Archives: April 2013

U OR NON-U, REDUX

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Simanaitis Says

IT USED be so simple. Beginning with October 14, 1066, one was either Norman or non-Norman. Up until recently (two days ago), it was U or non-U, the “U” standing for Upper Class.

But now, according to the BBC—an authority of things English, despite its recent kerfuffles—class structure is rather more complex. Here, let’s summarize Auntie Beeb’s assessments as well as previous attempts to keep the chavs in their place.

British linguist Alan S.C. Ross coined the terms “U” and “non-U” in 1954 in Neuphilologishe Mitteilungen, a Finnish journal.

UnonUChart

Nancy Mitford—one of the fabled six Mitford sisters—followed up with an essay on the topic that same year and then with Noblesse Oblige, an expanded version in 1956 edited by her, Ross and others.

Curiously enough, and neither here nor there, “Noblesse Oblige” was also the motto of East High, my Cleveland high school.

A followup to Mitford’s contribution, Debrett’s U &…

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A great event on wellbeing across the UK

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All Party Parliamentary Group on Wellbeing Economics

Our latest event was loosely based on some of the analysis of the new subjective wellbeing data collected by the Office for National Statistics. This data has shown, for example, that the highest levels of wellbeing are found on the small islands of the British Isles, and the lowest levels of wellbeing are found in London and the Welsh Valleys. These regional differences persist even when levels of deprivation have been taken into account. The panel discussed why there are clear differences in the levels of subjective wellbeing reported across the UK, and what policy-makers might be able to do about it.

Speakers:
– Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of the London Borough of Newham
– Dr George Kavetsos, London School of Economics
– Councillor Jim Hakewill, Kettering Borough Council

Chair:
– David Lammy MP

A recording of the panel speeches can be found here. Unfortunately, owing to a technical…

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