Anglophobia . Feminine noun The colloquial term Anglophobia refers to a rejection, antipathy, aversion, abhorrence, disgust, rancor, resentment and hostility against the English, it is also said to xenophobes that it causes antipathy to them.
Summary
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- 1 Etymology of the word
- 2 Concept
- 3 Countries with the most Anglophobia
- 4 Sources
Etymology of the word
This word is made up of the English prefix “Anglo” and the Greek suffix phobia which means fear.
Concept
It is one of the most peculiar phobias and disorders that are known. It is a totally irrational and passionate feeling of hatred towards everything that has to do with English culture, specifically England . Well, not to be confused with Anglo-Saxon. Some phenomena could roughly explain the reasons why the tendency to Anglophobia is growing. Expert sociologists in anthropology point out this rejection due to the constant imposition of the English language to develop in the academic world, in the world of work and, therefore, the tourism that the English project wherever they go.
It has been classified as a pathology because Anglophobia does not respond to any specific criticism or structural characteristic, but because it is a generalized criticism against everything that has to do with English. On the other hand, Anglophobia has its origins in the past history of the English Empire, which came to dominate half the globe, colonized resource-rich countries, wiped out the local population and imposed its culture on new generations. All of this contributes to a better understanding of this phenomenon.
Countries with the most Anglophobia
To better understand the complexity of this pathology, we will turn to a classification of countries that have deeply rooted Anglophobia.
- Australia. In the oceanic country there is one of the most prominent Anglophobias on the entire list. Although they speak English, drive to the right and share cultural habits, it must be remembered that Australia served as a prison and exile for the British Empire during the 18th century. This meant the definitive replacement of Australian aborigines by European citizens. In addition, in Australia there is a popular pejorative expression for the English immigrant: “whingeing pom”, which means “English whiner”. Let us also remember, since the country was founded, it depends, indirectly, on England at a political and economic level.
- United States of America. Another Anglo-Saxon country and a direct descendant of the English. Although it seems that there is good harmony at the political, economic and cultural level, the truth is that there are many misgivings among North Americans towards the English. In fact, the first to pronounce the word “anglophobia” was one of the country’s founders, Thomas Jefferson .
- Ireland. The Irish case is more obvious. The British Empire occupied this small island for more than seven centuries, subjecting the Irish nation politically and culturally. Once the country was decolonized, during the late twentieth century the conflict between the English and the Irish was rekindled, especially over religious issues (Catholics against Protestants), which led to the creation of the IRA (Irish Republic Army). The claims of Celtic culture, language and independence against England continue to be the subject of demonstrations and commemorative performances by the most nationalist sectors. The last political tension was caused by the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 2011, where there were public altercations and a notorious rejection of his presence on Irish soil.
- Scotland . A study by Hussain and Millar – from the Department of Politics at the University of Glasgow – examined the superiority that exists in Scottish Anglophobic society over Islamophobia.
- Argentina . The Argentine case is one of the latest and most recent in terms of Anglophobia. Basically, the tensions between England and the Latin American country date from the historical dispute between the two nations over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). The last direct conflict between the two countries occurred in 1982 , when Argentina made an attempt to recover these islands and they were defeated. The social frustration after the Falklands War was notorious, as well as difficult to manage. It wasn’t until the 1986 World Cup soccer championship that Argentines redeemed the humiliation. In a confrontation with the England team, the starDiego Armando Maradona gave the albiceleste the triumph of honor, with a goal in extremis with his hand, which would go down in history as the goal of “the hand of God”.
- The Spanish case is quite peculiar. Of the entire list of countries that suffer from Anglophobia, Spain is perhaps the least, although the undesirable tourist practice on the part of the English, makes this trend is on the rise. However, the political and social relations between Spain and England have been a real roller coaster. At the height of the Spanish Empire, which was ahead of the British Empire in conquering America, the former inflicted humiliating defeats for almost two centuries. One of the most important battles was The Battle of Cartagena de Indias in 1741 (Cartagena, Colombia today). The English, superior in number of troops and frigates, had an easy victory in mind. Quite the opposite. Without hardly realizing it, they found their “Invincible Armada” sinking and with thirty-fourths of their army down. Historical facts aside, the current Anglophobia in Spain is due to the tourist “invasion” that the English have made in the Iberian Peninsula, especially in the coastal areas, southern Andalusia and its coasts, as well as the Balearic Islands or the Coast Catalan brava. Neighbors and public administrations have for two decades denounced rude behavior by English tourists, such as drunkenness, sexual tourism and destruction of public furniture.
- Canada . In the Canadian province of Quebec there is a long tradition of Anglophobia on the part of its French-speaking population after the conquest of New France by England in 1760 . Thus, many of the inhabitants of Quebec feel that their language is threatened by the English-speaking population, which in Canada is the majority. In Quebec, the French-speaking population forms part of the vast majority and French is the only official language. The historical context and the perceived threat that is leading to Anglophobia has resulted in a strong Canadian secessionist movement for the independence of Quebec.
- France . The term perfidious Albion is an expression used by French journalists to scoff at the Francophobic sentiment of some English tabloids – who display it with statements about alleged cheating of the France football team in the 1998 World Cup or accusing the model Élodie Gossuin as a transsexual.
- Cameroon . Formed from territories administered by both the United Kingdom and France, the country achieved independence in 1960, organized in a federal system where the English-speaking part (equivalent to 7% of the territory and local population) had administrative autonomy with respect to the francophone. However, after the coup of Paul Biya in 1973 , the system was changed to a unitary and centralized state, where the state, formally bilingual, favors the use of the French language. In recent years, the persecution of the Anglophone minority in the northwest of the country has been denounced, in addition to a growing restriction of the public use of the English language in the media and education, including through criminal prosecution 16 17. The separation of the English-speaking territory is postulated in a state called Southern Cameroon or Ambazonia.
