Multiculturalism in Britain: mosaic or melting-pot?

Multiculturalism is a term used to describe societies where different cultures co-exist.

Contemporary Britain is a multicultural and multi-faith society state where a diverse range of cultures,
beliefs and identities live in a constant state of exchange. A multicultural nation consists of two or
several cultures, meaning that Britain is clearly multicultural even without its ethnic minorities.

Multicultural Britain is tied to immigration, and to post-war mass immigration from certain parts of the
former British Empire.

The history of multiculturalism can be told from many perspectives, since there is no accurate picture of
what the early settlement of the present British Isles was actually like.

However, from about 600 BC there was a movement of the Celtic tribes into the islands from Western
Europe. The Celts were not a unified group, they were divided in scattered tribes who fought with one
another and spoke different languages.

The use of different languages led to the creation of several indigenous languages in Britain. Most are
varieties of Gaelic, the language of Gaels, one of the Celtic tribe. Most accounts begin around 4 th
century BC, when Gaels settled in Ireland, Scotland and parts of Wales.

This is the origin of why English is called a linguistic ‘stew’ which has absorbed varies elements of
speech brought by ancient tribes. Latin is one of the most influential: it was introduced by the Romans
around 2000 years ago, from 43 AD until 409 AD. After the Roman withdrawal, English was commonly
spoken by the Anglo-Saxons, which was based on the Germanic dialects of Angle, Saxons and Jute
invaders from north-western Europe.

As the population grew and spread, English mixed with other dialects to become what we now call Old
English. Around 12th century, following the Norman conquest of 1066, dialects from around the country
mixed with Norman French. This language was known as Middle English. Over the next three centuries
thousands of words were created, and by 1500 written English was beginning to resemble the language
of today.
In the 20th century, the socialist policies of post-war Labour government led to rapid social change.
Britain’s economic growth created high levels of demand for manual labour, so the British authorities
began to offer jobs to Commonwealth citizens in the West Indies, India, Pakistan and Africa.

Non-white communities have increased and work in a broad range of occupations. However, some
have experienced problems with low-paid jobs, educational disadvantage, unemployment, decaying
housing in the inner cities, isolation, alienation and discrimination.

This wave of immigrants led to the creation of at least 20 different varieties of English.

The English spoken today reflects many different roots, and continues to adopt and adapt words and
phrases from other languages

Among the most distinctive varieties are the dialects of Glasgow, Liverpool, Northern Ireland and east
London. They contain many non-standard words and they are very easy to recognize.

In Liverpool the dialect is known as Scouse, while the vernacular (native dialect of a specific population)
form of east London is Cockney, famous for its rhyming slang.

The dialect of London’s black communities was born in the late 20 th century, when forms of speech
used by Afro-Caribbean immigrants mixed with the English accent of the locality. This was known as
black English vernacular (BEV)
In recent times there has been a trend towards multicultural London English (MLE), a dialect composed
of many elements of creole from Jamaica, South Asian languages, African American English and
Cockney.

The growth and spread of MLE is likely to be the consequence of growing up in a culturally diverse city.

There are now more than four million non-white Britons - more than the population of the Republic of
Ireland. Almost half of all ethnic minority Britons live in London. Inner London is the only part of the
country where black Britons outnumber British Asians. Britons of Chinese origin, along with African-
Asians, can no longer be considered disadvantaged groups - both men and women achieve similar
earnings to their white counterparts, and are as, or even more likely, to be in professional and
managerial jobs. This experience is shared with the growing British Indian and Afro-Caribbean middle-
classes.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the multicultural debate took a new turn, from race relations to
religion, this was further seen in correlation with the two terror attacks on America and Britain in 2001
and 2005. 9/11 and 7/7, the London bombings, changed many Britons’ perceptions of people from the
ethnic minorities and created a feeling of xenophobia.

Multiculturalism indicates a plurality of cultures and hence, identities. In the mid-1980s, Pakistani
novelist Hanif Kureishi wrote in The Rainbow Sign (1986) that white Britons had to learn a new way in
which to be British, and that being British is not what it used to be. Immigrants, 2nd and 3rd generations
of first comers, became part of British society and claimed their right to be British as they came from
former colonies with British passports. Britishness as a national identity therefore has to be constantly
reassessed, adopted to changing circumstances

Integration has played a vital role in policy making and politicians in several countries have passed race
relations acts in an attempt to create equal opportunities for all, regardless of background. This is
visible in education, in recruitment to public employment, in the media and other areas where there has
been a political motivation to display diversity. However, since assimilation and integration processes
are not always successful, controversial questions continue be asked about the meaning of
‘Britishness’.

In the end, I believe that multiculturalism is indeed a melting pot, the metaphor for a heterogeneous
society becoming more homogeneous, with all its different elements melting together in a harmonious
whole with a common culture. Cultural assimilation is important to the maintenance of national unity,
and it is the first step towards the future of England, it provides diversity and keeps people open-
minded.

Diversity is Britain’s greatest strength. Diversity is the sign of an inclusive, multicultural society,
something to be celebrated and reflected throughout all levels of society.

Rather than shrink from diversity we need to fully embrace it. We should be using the best talents in
society to deal with threats such as terrorism – and including people with experiences, skills and an
understanding beyond those of a narrow elite.