Author Topic: Help from Brits or British expats please  (Read 963 times)

Devonai

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,645
  • Panic Mode Activated
    • Kyrie Devonai Publishing
Help from Brits or British expats please
« on: September 08, 2008, 06:30:49 PM »
I'm in the middle of my third Sci-Fi novel, and I decided to include a character from England.  She needed to be from the countryside, so I chose Romanby at random (after looking around the Wensleydale valley).  My question is, how would this character describe where she's from to a stranger from another country?

She currently says, "I'm from Romanby, Yorkshire, UK."  Is this at all accurate, or might she use other nomenclature?  Thanks.
My writing blog: Kyrie Devonai Publishing

When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout!

Iain

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,490
Re: Help from Brits or British expats please
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2008, 12:01:59 AM »
Never heard of Romanby.

You've set yourself a challenge making her a Yorkshire-person. Most I've met would tell you they are from Yorkshire as though it were a country, and the finest country at that - "I'm from Romanby in Yorkshire"
I do not like, when with me play, and I think that you also

Devonai

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,645
  • Panic Mode Activated
    • Kyrie Devonai Publishing
Re: Help from Brits or British expats please
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2008, 06:03:17 AM »
Thank you for the advice.  It would work perfectly well in this case for the character to omit "UK," since the person with whom she's speaking doesn't know where the UK is anyway.
My writing blog: Kyrie Devonai Publishing

When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout!

K Frame

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 44,601
  • I Am Inimical
Re: Help from Brits or British expats please
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2008, 06:06:19 AM »
All this talk about Yorkshire makes me want a nice beef joint and a pudding...

It's getting too close to lunch.
Carbon Monoxide, sucking the life out of idiots, 'tards, and fools since man tamed fire.

Iapetus

  • friend
  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 176
Re: Help from Brits or British expats please
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2008, 12:52:00 AM »

She currently says, "I'm from Romanby, Yorkshire, UK."  Is this at all accurate, or might she use other nomenclature?  Thanks.

That sounds reasonable, but there are other equally likely wasy of saying it.
Example: "Britain", "Great Britain", or "England" as an alternative to "UK".

She might also vary how she described it depending on who she was talking to, how well they know UK geography, and how important it is for them to know exactly where she is from.

For example, if I was describing where I live, I might say any of the following:
"I'm from Britain"
"I'm from England"
"I'm from / I live in the South-west [of] England"
  "...in the county of Somerset"
"I'm from Somerset, in the SW of England"
"I live in a town called Taunton, in Somerset, in the SW of England".

As you can see, there are lots of ways of describing where I'm from, depending on how precise I want to be, and the more precise I am, the more permutations there are.

Also, it could be even more complicated in the case of a character from Yorkshire as:
Yorkshire is in the North of England (and Northerners often have a sense of common identity, often in opposition to Southerners), but only in the middle of Great Britain, and a lot of foreigners confuse the two.
Plus, as Iain hinted, Yorkshiremen (and women) tend to be very patriotic about their county (I've heard several describe it as "God's own country"), sometimes view themselves as slightly superior to anyone from anywhere else, and may describe their origins first with "I'm from Yorkshire", add add detail later.  Although that would probably just be in a UK context; if they were talking to a foreigner they'd probably mention that they came from came from England first, unless they person already knew that, and was familiar with UK geography.

Devonai

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,645
  • Panic Mode Activated
    • Kyrie Devonai Publishing
Re: Help from Brits or British expats please
« Reply #5 on: September 11, 2008, 04:46:47 AM »
Thank you!
My writing blog: Kyrie Devonai Publishing

When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout!