In what sense English? an exploration of English migrant identities and identification

Abstract

The empirical focus of this article is an analysis of the self-identities of English-born persons living in urban Scotland. The material is theorised relative to the debate between modernist conceptions of identity and post-structuralist notions of identification. The researchers construct a fourfold typology of 'English' migrants that helps to problematise the nature and diverse meanings of 'Englishness'. The search to understand why many English migrants avoid the 'English' label in statements of self-identity leads to consideration of work on neo-tribes and problems of identification in fluid societies. A secondary, but also important, aspect of the paper is the exploration of 'accent' as a marker of 'identity'. This proves important in bounding the English service class in Scotland, otherwise an invisible migrant population.

An Audible Minority: Migration, Settlement and Identity Among English Graduates in Scotland

“…As another graduate living in Scotland remarked, '… I think part of the reason I would never really feel Scottish is because I don't really think other people would ever really see me as Scottish …' (NSIS 11). Such sentiments provide further support to some of the previous research described above (Findlay et al 2004;Kiely et al 2005a;Bond 2006;Bond and Rosie 2006), and also highlight the fact that imputed identity may prove a significant impediment to the sense of belonging and settlement of migrants to Scotland. Although migrants may of course become settlers without adopting a new national identity, where national origins are themselves the object of direct discrimination on the part of the 'majority' community, this is likely to represent a barrier to belonging which will militate against attempts to encourage higher rates of in-migration and settlement.…”

“…However, more recent research has explored the notion that the English in Scotland may be subject to certain dimensions of disadvantage experienced by other minorities (Bond 2006;Bond and Rosie 2006;Hussain and Miller 2006;McIntosh et al 2004aMcIntosh et al , 2004bWatson 2003). Many of these studies, and not a few others (Findlay et al 2004;Kiely et al 2005aKiely et al , 2005b have also explored how the English in Scotland negotiate their national identities.…”

“…Their predominantly professional and managerial occupational profile (Findlay et al 2004), together with an historical background of established concerns about the 'anglicisation' of Scotland (McCrone 1992: 122-123) has meant that much research and discussion has focused on social environments in which 'the English'…”

“…A key feature here is that a majority of people in Scotland prioritise their Scottish over their British identity, and a substantial minority attach negative political and historical connotations to the label 'British'. Migrants from England are thus subject to majority assumptions that they will similarly self-identify as 'English' and many thus acquire an 'English' national identity not through their own agency, but because it is attributed to them by the majority Scottish population ( In the face of this, some migrants may continue to emphasise their British identity as an (attempted) means of reconciling Scots and English differences, while others may instead assert an (English) regional identity (Findlay et al 2004). But, especially for relatively long-term migrants from England, a further option is that migrants may assume (at least partially) a Scottish identity.…”

‘Blue Squares’, ‘Proper’ Muslims and Transnational Networks

“…This is an important point, especially in the context of recent research that has highlighted how English people are discriminated against in Scotland, often on the grounds of their accent (Findlay et al, 2004;Mcintosh et al, 2004aMcintosh et al, , 2004b. Even if Talib was to desert his religion, he would still be regarded as an outsider, and clearly feels excluded by others rather than choosing to be different himself.…”