Social Classes in Britain
Introduction
The current social classes in Britain are not categorized by the upper class, middle class and the lower class. Things have changed in Britain, making such classes to be unrecognizable. In the past decades, before the Second World War, social classes were based on these three categories, due to the separation of people based on their jobs and education. This however changed after the war, which marked the end to segregation in the country. Due to economic growth, different aspects in the country have consequently changed, and the social classes can no longer be categorized into the three social classes. Most people can now be able to go to college without any problems at all. Social classes in Britain are currently based on the mode of speech, level of education, general world overview and expectations of the world. In order to provide a clear explanation on the modern social aspects in Britain, this paper is going to analyze different books and movies.
An accent is one of the main determinants of social classes in Britain, as it explains the category in which a person falls under. A person who cannot be able to speak fluently in Britain is deemed to be either a foreigner, or a person who has not been able to acquire education, which is also a class in Britain. The level of education is very significant in the country, as it helps in shaping the classes in Britain. In the movie, The Lavender Hill Mob, a woman who runs a souvenir kiosk opens up a marked box from Eiffel towers for sale, due to language mix-up instead of holding back the boxes (Michael, n.p). The languages mix-up, consequently explains the class of the woman, as different people tend to have different accents based on their level of education. On the other hand, the woman could not be able to properly understand English language, a move which consequently led to the mix-up, making her to put open the box, and put it on sale. This consequently explains the class under which the woman false in Britain’s social class, which is lower class.
According to Kate Fox, the type of English which one speaks tends to define his social status and culture. This is consequently because, English has evolved in Britain over the years, making the language to change from time to time (Fox, 26). The type of English language being spoken by a person, such as the use of words like sportsmanship, tend to explain and can also be used to categorize a person in a certain social class. People who tend to use old version of British English, may consequently be grouped into a certain level of social class. Moreover, people who use the old version of English, tend to possess certain social characteristics, which consequently makes them to fall under the same social groups. Similarly, they tend to possess a similar culture, which consequently defines them, and puts them in a similar social class in Britain. The type of English language spoken by a person is largely affected by his or her level of education, thus making him or her to better understand how to use certain levels of language. For instance, a person who has reached a high level of education, may not speak the old version of English, since the person is able to understand and to know how the language evolves from time to time. This evolution leads to the changes in the language, thus defining the person’s social class based on the type of which one speaks.
The type of vocabulary which one tends to use can be used to determine a person’s level of education. The level of education, which is a social class, can be easily explained through the type of vocabulary which one uses (Fox, 28). For instance, if a person uses an old type of vocabulary, and also has an old type of accent, then this consequently means that the person’s level of education is low. On the other hand, a person who uses the modern version of English with modern vocabularies, can be termed as a person of a higher level of education, hence making him or her to be of a relatively different social class from that of the person who uses an old type of English vocabulary.
The movie, The Monarch: The Queen at Work, seeks to explain the different types of social classes in Britain. The movie depicts the old version of English rule, which is a very important aspect in the development of the country. Throughout the movie, the queen, who lived in the ancient Britain regime, has now adopted the new form of English (Matt, n.p). The queen is currently using the modern dialect as she speaks, thus making her to seem more updated than most people. The queen consequently depicts the evolution of the social classes in Britain, as it was not allowed for people to enter the palace. The queen can now allow photographers together with their kids to enter into the palace and take some photos of her. Moreover, this explains why the country’s social classes have evolved, since the queen does not discriminate people based on their classes, thus making them to interact easily with her.
In the Queen’s movie, The Queen 2006, the movies depicts the old social classes which existed in Britain. The movie consequently shows the way the queen perceived herself as a person of the upper class, hence no one was supposed to dictate what needed to happen during the burial of Queen Elizabeth II (Andy, Christine & Tracey n.p). In addition, the president of the US Tony Blair, could not visit or even attend her burial, since Blair was determined to modernize Britain. After the death of the Queen, Britain was finally modernized, a thing which led to the death of the upper, middle and lower classes in the country. The economy of the country grew, people were allowed to continue with their studies, a move which consequently led to the emergence of modern social classes in the country.
Conclusion
Social classes in Britain have consequently changed, due to the development of the country, a thing which has consequently led to the improvement in the social status of the country’s citizens. In addition, due to civilization, the country’s social classes had to change, since more people became employed thus making it hard for people to be grouped into different social groups of classes. New forms of social classes consequently emerged and this included the level of education, general world overview and worldly expectations. The level of education being the most dominant social class, since most people really value education in the country.
Work Cited
Fox, Kate. Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behavior. , 2014. Internet resource.
Michael, Balcon. The Lavender Hill Mob. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LoVnpITdX8 1951.
Andy Harries, Christine Langan & Tracey Seaward. The Queen (2006). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu5T-_wfUvI 2006.
Matt, Reid. The Monarch: The Royal Family at Work. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEpeIxOALgY&list=PLRDgPg-PTbk_wdf42lK_8y5EBYu20giuP 2007.
