USA + UK = ?

[Ed]

Do any of you think that eventually the US and UK might merge (or whatever it is countries do)? It would have interesting ramifications.

 

[athon]

A recent novel called 'Light of Other Days' by Arthur C Clarke (and...damn forget his co-author) had this. Because of the economic failure of the Euro, the UK had to merge with the US as another state.

I don't think this would happen. The days of nationalism I feel are drawing to an end, where nations are colonised or annexed. I think it is becoming a trans-national world economy. Hence I felt the accusations of the US becoming imperial as ridiculous. It doesn't have to - why not set up profitable trade relations and let the country run itself?

Athon

 

[uneasy]

At last! The USA/UK language unification project I have dreamed of.

Duplicate words will be eliminated, removing those with the most syllables.

elevator will become lift
apartment will become flat
drawing pin will become thumbtack or pushpin
zebra crossing will become crosswalk
etc. etc.

"how's your father" will become... well I never figured out what this means

Finally, all 9000 slang words the Brits have for penis will be consolidated into "penis".

Or were you serious?

 

[Malachi151]

Its Anglo-global domination!! Ahh, run for you lives!!!! Raise the Red Flags!!

 

[JAR]

Me and my younger brother were talking about a similar thing where all the countries with most of their population speaking English combine. I'm not sure how many countries that would include.

It gets confusing with the U.S. because there are more people who are German in descent than there are people who are English in descent. There's also more people in the U.S. who are Irish in descent than there are people who are English in descent.

In fact, people of English descent only make up about 13% of the U.S. population according to the 1997 INFORMATION PLEASE ALMANAC. English is the third most common ancestry in the U.S. ranking behind German which is about 23% of the population and Irish which is about 16%.

The question is, would that 87% of the rest of the U.S. population be willing to think of themselves as Anglo-Saxons?

 

[Malachi151]

Me and my younger brother were talking about a similar thing where all the countries with most of their population speaking English combine. I'm not sure how many countries that would include.

Its get confusing with the U.S. because there are more people who are German in descent than there are people who are English in descent. There's also more people in the U.S. who are Irish in descent than there are people who are English in descent.

In fact, people of English descent only make up about 13% of the U.S. population according to the 1997 INFORMATION PLEASE ALMANAC. English is the third most common ancestry in the U.S. ranking behind German which is about 23% of the population and Irish which is about 16%.

The question is, would that 87% of the rest of the U.S. population be willing to think of themselves as Anglo-Saxons?

I agree with what you say, in fact there was a time, I think it was after the Civil War, when German almost became the national language. Its also why many Americans supported Hitler too, at least up until war broke out, they were all big on German pride, etc. However, America is primarily Anglo culturally IMO, and founded by Anglos. Most people consider America Anglo, even though of course it is no such thing racially, people consider it that culturally/institutionally.

I'm an Anglo-phobic Anglo myself.

 

[Khalid01]

UK? I thought we were going to absorb Canada and Quebec first, then we can span the ocean. But if and when the UK and we become a whole nation, do we capitulate to the parliamentry system? I find their system very intriguing and perhaps better.

 

[Frank Newgent]

America is primarily Anglo culturally IMO

Yessir, after a game of soccer or just an afternoon of flying the kite, maybe a short siesta followed by, say, a plate of tacos with some sweet corn and I can't help but say to myself over that glass of red burgundy: "Bob's your uncle".

 

[Voob]

A big fart will become "a hoary ripper".

Who says "zebra crossing" ?

 

[Jon_in_london]

Angloshpere

 

[Number Six]

Clearly, USA + UK = U (SA + K).

Anyone remeber the movie "Americathon" from the early 80s or so? It was set in the future (the late 90s I think). The President of the USA was Chet Roosevelt (a descendent of Franklin Roosevelt) and he was played by John Ritter (aka Three's Company's Jack Tripper). The USA was broke and was holding a telethon to get money to keep it going. That's about all I remember except that at one point in the telethon they had a musician from England (it was Elvis Costello but I don't remember his character's name) play a song and when introducing him they identified him as being from England, the 56th (or something like that) state in the union (of the USA).

IMO there will never be a merger between the USA and the UK that is anything nearly as close as the states within the USA already have with each other. I think the time of political entities getting larger with each member being closely related (i.e. the subentities within it being close) is over and future mergers will be on a broader level, like that of the European Union (EU). The EU will be closer than Europe was in the past but it will never be as close as the USA is now. It's nothing inherent in the people or the countries or whatever, it's just that times have changed. There is probably a more eloquent way of putting it than "times have changed" but I can't think of it right now.

The USA could eventually get up to 51 or 52 states (Puerto Rico has the option of joining and they vote now and then but it doesn't pass) but no more IMO.

But that's just my long range predictions. Maybe cyber-archeologists will dig it up 500 years from now and judge my predictions.

 

[JAR]

Yessir, after a game of soccer or just an afternoon of flying the kite, maybe a short siesta followed by, say, a plate of tacos with some sweet corn and I can't help but say to myself over that glass of red burgundy: "Bob's your uncle".

And don't forget that Americans mostly speak English.

Here's a list of modern English words with the Old English words they derive from:

a > an
an > an
after > aefter
any > aenig
ash > aesc
ask > ascian
at > aet
back > baec
bade > baed
bathe > bathian
beam > beam
bid > biddan
bind > bindan
bone > ban
each > aelc
either > aegther
errand > aerende
ever > aefre
oak tree > ac-treo
oar > ar
oath > ath
one > an
own > agen

I can list more words that come from Old English if you want me to.

I got this information from "Old English Grammar and Reader" by Robert E. Diamond and "The American Heritage College Dictionary: Third Edition" by Houghton Mifflin Company

 

[Lothian]

We threw the war of independence to get rid of you . We don’t want you back.

 

[Underemployed]

USA + UK = U(SUK)

 

[JAR]

We threw the war of independence to get rid of you . We don’t want you back.

Before you say that, just think of all the great fictional characters who were Americans or were created by Americans, such as Conan, Tarzan, Dirk Pitt, Columbo, Rambo, Rocky, Dirty Harry, etc.

 

[davidhorman]

A recent novel called 'Light of Other Days' by Arthur C Clarke (and...damn forget his co-author) had this.

Stephen Baxter. A much better writing partner for Clarke than Gentry Lee.

David

 

[Soubrette]

...snipped
The question is, would that 87% of the rest of the U.S. population be willing to think of themselves as Anglo-Saxons?

Well, the Angles and the Saxons were both Germanic tribes before they came over and kicked the Celts bottoms

Sou

 

[Supercharts]

So what happens to the Constitutional Monarchy? Somehow such a union would have to accommodate this issue. UK would keep HRH and we'd get Barney Frank?

 

[Aoidoi]

I agree with what you say, in fact there was a time, I think it was after the Civil War, when German almost became the national language. Its also why many Americans supported Hitler too, at least up until war broke out, they were all big on German pride, etc. However, America is primarily Anglo culturally IMO, and founded by Anglos. Most people consider America Anglo, even though of course it is no such thing racially, people consider it that culturally/institutionally.

I'm an Anglo-phobic Anglo myself.

http://www.snopes.com/history/govern/onevote.htm#german

I just bring it up because I'd heard the same thing (about German almost being the national language), and it's apparently false.