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The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Immigration resulted in great bonds born of adversity, wit and steely resolve
Diane Abbott's reflections on the experiences of the Windrush generation are poignant, in that they testify to a sense of solidarity among immigrant populations that tends to receive too little consideration (The Windrush generations were proudly British. Yet immigrants are still fighting to be seen that way, 22 June). The contribution of Caribbean nurses to the NHS is now, thankfully, acknowledged. My Jamaican mother was among that early cohort, but so too were a great many Irish nurses, whom she numbered among her close work colleagues and personal friends. Their shared acknowledgment of the petty prejudices of everyday racism that 'othered' workers from the Caribbean and Ireland was mutually supportive both in and outside work, at a time when such things received no recognition more generally. There are many more nuanced stories of postwar migration to be told. The moments of fraternity – born of adversity, wit and steely resolve – between Caribbean and Irish nurses in the NHS is just one of them. Paul McGilchrist Cromer, Norfolk Thank you, Diane, for your article. I remember clearly when these people arrived and felt sorry for them being forced to leave their country in order to make a living. At the time, I was a pupil at an excellent convent school in a poor, rundown part of north‑west London. Several girls were welcomed as pupils. Later, when a patient in hospital, there was a chronic shortage of nurses and West Indian women saved the day. I am sorry to hear that there was so much prejudice and sad to know that this still exists, and that Nigel Farage has such a following. Veronica Edwards Malvern, Worcestershire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
09-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Minding our language on the use of Americanisms
The continual expansion of the English language is inevitable and welcome. But while Elisabeth Ribbans is right that 'it would be a mistake to regard language as a fortress', it is not unreasonable to lament the effect of some invasive species whose proliferation is so rapid that native alternatives face possible extinction (How the use of a word in the Guardian has gotten some readers upset, 4 June). 'Gotten' may be an innocuous, if inelegant, English word making a return journey from the US, but some other US variants are more problematic. For example, the phrase 'Can I get …?' is suffocating more polite ways of making a request, such as 'May I/can I have …?' or simply 'I'd like …'. It is also annoyingly inaccurate, since in most cases the person asking has no intention of helping themselves and wouldn't be allowed to, even if they wanted to. But wholesale adoption not only leads to neglect of alternatives, it can also produce banality. So when both a sandwich and a sunset might today be described as 'awesome', it is reasonable to imagine that even as eclectic a wordsmith as Shakespeare might consider modern English borrowings as diminishing the language through having gotten McGilchristCromer, Norfolk Thank you, Elisabeth Ribbans, for your article on the cosmopolitan and evolving use of words in the English language. I am always stung by the snobbery I encounter among my British peers regarding American words or spellings. Criticism of American accents more so. My country of origin provokes pride and shame in increasingly equal measure, but to be cowed because of my voice, both written and spoken, leaves a foul taste. Once we've gotten past this distasteful persnicketiness, we can actually appreciate the meaning of the words being used, not just their Amy FultonOxton, Scottish Borders I grew up in the old West Riding, only a few miles from the county border with Lancashire. In the early 1950s, we regularly used the word 'gotten'. It was frowned on by teachers and others addicted to standard English. I believe the use of the word was common in other districts of Yorkshire. It is an English and not an American word, which has sadly passed out of use. Language evolves!Roderick WilsonAmpleforth, North Yorkshire When I worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, US, in the 1980s, my friendly editor had more appreciation of British irony than spelling. She once wrote on a draft paper: 'Richard. Please pick one spelling of 'practice' and stick to it.'Richard LammingShaldon, Devon Am I alone in finding 'shined' for 'shone' less than illuminating? Incidentally, like, who introduced 'like' like?Bill WintripDorchester, Dorset So not an ill-gotten 'gotten' then. Now where do we stand on 'snuck'?Tony RimmerLytham St Anne's, Lancashire Never mind 'faucet' and 'gotten' (Letters, 29 May), I've been racking my brain: in what play did Shakespeare use 'worser'? (Colon used free gratis.)Iain FentonLancaster Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
