Many foreigners who have not visited Britain call all the inhabitants① “English” for they are used to thinking of the British Isles as “English”. In fact， the British Isles contain a variety of peoples and only the people of England call themselves English. The others refer to themselves as Welsh， Scottish， or Irish， as the case may be； they are often slightly annoyed at being classified as “English”.
Even in England there are many differences in regional② character and speech. The chief division is between southern England and northern England. South of a line going from Bristol to London people speak the type of English usually learnt by foreign students， though there are local variations.
Further north (roughly③ beyond a line going from Manchester to Hull) regional speech is usually “broader” than that of southern Britain. Northerners are apt to claim that they work harder than the Southerners， and are more thorough. They are open-hearted and hospitable； foreigners often find that they make friends with them quickly. Northerners generally have hearty appetites： the visitor to Lancashire or Yorkshire， for instance， may look forward to receiving generous helpings at meal times.
In Scotland， the letter “R” is generally a strong sound， and “R” is often pronounced while it would be silent in southern English. In the Highlands and the Western Isles the ancient Scottish language， Gaelic， is still heard. In 1971 some 88，000 people spoke Gaelic. The Scots are said to be a serious， cautious， thrifty people rather inventive and somewhat mystical④. All the Celtic peoples of Britain (the Welsh， the Irish， the Scots) are frequently described as being more “friendly” than the English. They are of a race that is quite distinct from the English.
The Welsh have preserved their language to a remarkable extent， as you will see in the article on “Wales—Land of Song”. The English generally look upon the Welsh as an emotional⑤ people who are， however， somewhat reticent and difficult to get to know easily.
① inhabitant n. 居民，居住者
② regional adj. 个地区的，地方地，地域性地
③ roughlyadv. 略地，粗糙地
④ mystical adj. 秘的，奥秘的
⑤ emotionaladj. 绪的，情感的
不列颠民族
许多没去过英国的外国人把所有的英国人都称作“英格兰”人，因为他们总认为不列颠诸岛就是“英格兰”。事实上，不列颠诸岛上住有很多不同民族的人，而只是住在英格兰的人称他们自己为英格兰人。其他的则根据他们的情况称自己为威尔士人、苏格兰人或爱尔兰人，他们常常为被划归为英格兰人而感到生气。
即使在英格兰，各地区人的性格和语言也有许多差异。主要分为南英格兰和北英格兰，从不列斯托尔到伦敦一线以南，人们说的英语就是通常外国学生学的那种英语，尽管掺有当地的土语。
更北部地区(大致上从曼彻斯特到赫尔一线)言语的变化通常比南部更大。北方人喜欢说他们比南方人工作更努力而且更精益求精。他们心胸开朗、热情好客，外国人通常会感到他们能很快地同北方人交上朋友。北方人待客一般都真心实意，例如到兰开夏或约克夏的游客在吃饭时间都可能受到所期待的盛情款待。
在苏格兰，字母“R”所表示的音往往读得很重，而在南方英语中不发音的“R”，这里也常是发音的。在苏格兰高山地和西部诸岛上仍可以听到一种古老的苏格兰语言——盖尔语，1971年，大约有88，000人说这种语言。据说苏格兰人是严肃、认真、节俭、相当富有创造力而且还有点神秘的民族。人们常认为英国的所有凯尔特族人(威尔士人、爱尔兰人、苏格兰人)都比英格兰人要“火热”些。他们是与英格兰人截然不同的民族。
威尔士人在很大程度上保留了自己的语言，这一点你可从“威尔士——诗歌之乡”一文中看到。英格兰人一般认为威尔士人是个感情丰富的民族，然而却有些寡言少语，很难与之沟通。