Would the Philippines, Singapore, and other nations like India be considered part of the anglosphere, since english is an official language in these countries?
Anglosphere
Well they could be considered "associate" members. There is no real formal definition of the Anglosphere though, of course so you can define it however you like. From my recollection, I think that the Sinosphere is very liberally defined and also includes Japan and other countries that are not exactly speakers of Sino-Tibetan or Sinitic languages--so we could consider India, etc as part of the Anglosphere as they were part of the Empire. They don't necessarily have to be Anglo-Saxon countries, but just countries that have been heavily influenced by the British Empire in language and culture.
Commonwealth Countries
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations
There is only one member of the present Commonwealth that has never had any constitutional link to the British Empire or a Commonwealth member;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations
There is only one member of the present Commonwealth that has never had any constitutional link to the British Empire or a Commonwealth member;
Must the only influence be that of the British empire? The United States occupied my native country Philippines, and from personal experience, it's very americanized with english used almost always in government, education, and the majority of newspapers. I may be wrong here, but, from what I read in wikipedia, its constitution is written in english and reflects very much the American constitution. The popular culture is very americanized a la MTV. Also, from some of the essays I read, there's sort of a colonial mentality where Filipinos see America as cultural superior. Does these cultural similarities at least with the U.S. make the Philippines an anglophone nation?
<<Does these cultural similarities at least with the U.S. make the Philippines an anglophone nation? >>
I would defintely say Yes.
Anglosphere is the sphere of influence, and this would include cultural and perhaps also linguistic influence, that English speaking countries, like England and the United States in particular have around the globe.
I would defintely say Yes.
Anglosphere is the sphere of influence, and this would include cultural and perhaps also linguistic influence, that English speaking countries, like England and the United States in particular have around the globe.
I don't know enough about those places to give a definitive answer, but I would say that speaking English would be a necessary but not sufficient factor. I think that a couple of much more important factors would be similarities in political and legal systems.
The definitive members of the Anglosphere would be Britain, the US, Canada, and Australia. All of those are liberal democracies with strong traditions of civil liberties, including such rights in legal proceedings as the right to be tried by a jury of your peers, the right to be informed of the charges against you (which must be levelled in a speedy manner), etc.
Speaking English and watching MTV is not enough. There is a particular line of political/philosphical thought concerning the relationship between the state and the individual that began in England and has been carried forward by those other 3 countries I named. The more closely aligned with that current of thought another country is, the more likely it would be considered part of the anglosphere.
The definitive members of the Anglosphere would be Britain, the US, Canada, and Australia. All of those are liberal democracies with strong traditions of civil liberties, including such rights in legal proceedings as the right to be tried by a jury of your peers, the right to be informed of the charges against you (which must be levelled in a speedy manner), etc.
Speaking English and watching MTV is not enough. There is a particular line of political/philosphical thought concerning the relationship between the state and the individual that began in England and has been carried forward by those other 3 countries I named. The more closely aligned with that current of thought another country is, the more likely it would be considered part of the anglosphere.
One thing that should be noted is that in many ways, the US is actually the "odd one out" of the major members of the Anglosphere, as while it is firmly natively English-speaking today, it has had a very heavy degree of non-British influences (with actual British-descended people being often very much in the minority in large portions of the country) and local cultural innovations over the years, and even its political and legal system reflects a lot of innovations with no parallel in the rest of the Anglosphere.
I really don't think any reasonably educated individual would declare the United States to be predominantly influenced by the British be it by heritage or lineage or even culture. They've been fully independent for 233 years now. Alright, many people would say that there are many similarities between the cultures of the UK and the USA and in some respects there are.....as in entertainment and the world of popular music, for instance.
However there are many cultural differences between the two countries which are quite wide in many aspects, hence the well known "culture shocks" the people of both nations experience when living for any length of time in the others' respective countries.
What links the two countries together in the most significant way, of course, is the English Language, although jesters would class them as being almost two separate Languages. There is still a shop back home in Edinburgh which has a sign in the window stating that:
Ici on parle français Hier wir sprechen Deutsch Wij spreken hier Nederlands Här talar vi svenska Tutaj mówimy Polski
and...in smaller lettering at the bottom......: We speak American here
However there are many cultural differences between the two countries which are quite wide in many aspects, hence the well known "culture shocks" the people of both nations experience when living for any length of time in the others' respective countries.
What links the two countries together in the most significant way, of course, is the English Language, although jesters would class them as being almost two separate Languages. There is still a shop back home in Edinburgh which has a sign in the window stating that:
Ici on parle français Hier wir sprechen Deutsch Wij spreken hier Nederlands Här talar vi svenska Tutaj mówimy Polski
and...in smaller lettering at the bottom......: We speak American here
<<I really don't think any reasonably educated individual would declare the United States to be predominantly influenced by the British be it by heritage or lineage or even culture. >>
"Predominant" in the sense of 'more than any other culture', Yes. Is the British way of doing things predominant in the US?--I would say yes as well. Very strongly, especially in the North East and among the upper class practically everywhere. This trickles down to the rest of us. The way we behave in public, our manners and mannerisms, expressions are all tied to British and English upper class. Whenever we need a buison or exemplar of the "proper" way to do anything, it's always British.
Now, when you look at a bottom-up view of America, then that may be where you may not see it. Bottom-up, America *is* different: cowboys, gangstas, inner citiy-cultures influenced by peoples from frempt or foreign lands, yeah, I can see that too.
But to think that the US is not a member of the Anglosphere to me seems ludicrous.
"Predominant" in the sense of 'more than any other culture', Yes. Is the British way of doing things predominant in the US?--I would say yes as well. Very strongly, especially in the North East and among the upper class practically everywhere. This trickles down to the rest of us. The way we behave in public, our manners and mannerisms, expressions are all tied to British and English upper class. Whenever we need a buison or exemplar of the "proper" way to do anything, it's always British.
Now, when you look at a bottom-up view of America, then that may be where you may not see it. Bottom-up, America *is* different: cowboys, gangstas, inner citiy-cultures influenced by peoples from frempt or foreign lands, yeah, I can see that too.
But to think that the US is not a member of the Anglosphere to me seems ludicrous.
Damien, that was obviously meant as a joke so don't try and pass it off as something serious.
Travis, if the US is the "odd one out", then what about Canada? In my opinion it is so similar to the Northern and especially Northwestern US, that there are no more cultural, lingustic, or any other differences than going to simply another city in the US--in fact significantly less compared to many states in the US. It's also shared many of the innovations that the US has made. Also the US has given back many of innovations to other Anglosphere countries.
Btw, where do you think Ireland fits into all of this?
Travis, if the US is the "odd one out", then what about Canada? In my opinion it is so similar to the Northern and especially Northwestern US, that there are no more cultural, lingustic, or any other differences than going to simply another city in the US--in fact significantly less compared to many states in the US. It's also shared many of the innovations that the US has made. Also the US has given back many of innovations to other Anglosphere countries.
Btw, where do you think Ireland fits into all of this?
Good point. All you have to do is compare Seattle to Vancouver to show that Canada should also be considered the odd one out. In my opinion Vancouver actually seems more foreign than Seattle. In Seattle, most everyone speaks English. In Vanvouver on the other hand, there are many more Asian immigrants, particularily from China. If I had to say which city seems more English (or North American) culturally, and which one seems less influenced by foreign (non-English) countries, I would have to say Seattle.
Leasnam, wow, that's a brilliant way of putting it. I heartily agree. Anything upper class or the proper, cultivated, or educated way of doing things in America is the British upper-class way, whereas everything else comes from a whole host of other cultures. It reminds me of the time after the Norman conquest when it was the Norman example that was considered the cultivated paradigm, whereas the native English way was the lowlier, more primitive way.
<,It reminds me of the time after the Norman conquest when it was the Norman example that was considered the cultivated paradigm, whereas the native English way was the lowlier, more primitive way. >>
Well, yes, for unfortunately, William the Madman-Murderer did slaughter all of the Anglo-Saxon upper class and 99.999% of its clergy in his cost--i.e. his attempt, to gain power.
This unfortunate event left a huge vacuum in my beloved England permitting the Norman way of doing things to spale as the rule...an utter shame really...
Well, yes, for unfortunately, William the Madman-Murderer did slaughter all of the Anglo-Saxon upper class and 99.999% of its clergy in his cost--i.e. his attempt, to gain power.
This unfortunate event left a huge vacuum in my beloved England permitting the Norman way of doing things to spale as the rule...an utter shame really...
We can also eliminate Britain from the Anglosphere as well, as it's clearly too Norman-French and Celtic influenced to be truely Anglo-Saxon anymore. Not to mention all of the immigrant influences from other countries.
I myself did not say that the US was not part of the Anglosphere, which it most definitely is part of; I was just pointing out that in discussions of the Anglosphere it should be remembered that it is signficantly less British and has significantly more non-British influences and local innovations than, say, Australia or New Zealand (or even English-speaking whites in South Africa for that matter). As for Canada, I would say that traditionally English Canada was significantly more British than the US, but in reality today it is probably on par with the US in this regard.
About British influence in the US, especially if you exclude the Irish and Scots-Irish component of such, I would agree that it definitely is much stronger amongst the upper class here than amongst the lower and middle classes, and also I would say that it is much stronger in the Northeast and coastal South than it is in other areas of the US such as the Midwest and Southwest. Also, it seems to have historically been particularly strong amongst the upper class of the Northeast and coast South, while it has slowly died down over time. On the other hand, it has never been strong at all here in the Midwest, as even the upper class here was largely Anglicized non-British immigrants; for instance, here in Milwaukee, almost all the major figures amongst the upper class of the late 19th century were German, with varying degrees of anglicization.
(Note that when I say "British" here, I am referring to the entirety of the British isles, but with some emphasis on England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.)
About British influence in the US, especially if you exclude the Irish and Scots-Irish component of such, I would agree that it definitely is much stronger amongst the upper class here than amongst the lower and middle classes, and also I would say that it is much stronger in the Northeast and coastal South than it is in other areas of the US such as the Midwest and Southwest. Also, it seems to have historically been particularly strong amongst the upper class of the Northeast and coast South, while it has slowly died down over time. On the other hand, it has never been strong at all here in the Midwest, as even the upper class here was largely Anglicized non-British immigrants; for instance, here in Milwaukee, almost all the major figures amongst the upper class of the late 19th century were German, with varying degrees of anglicization.
(Note that when I say "British" here, I am referring to the entirety of the British isles, but with some emphasis on England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.)