The English South African
A Distinctive Collective Name
Some have stated that English South Africans have no distinctive collective name for themselves, for their name is the same as that of the citizens of England, and they have equated this with a lack of distinct identity. They have argued that Afrikaners are called Afrikaners and Zulus are called Zulus, etc., but that South Africans of English descent have no distinctive name, and thus it is impossible for them to have a proper identity. At first, this may sound like a plausible argument, and sadly many English South Africans have believed it. But it is simply not true!
Firstly, English South Africans do have a collective name. It is this: “English South Africans.” Or even simply: “the English”. Granted, the first is somewhat clumsy, and the second is somewhat confusing, since the inhabitants of England have the same name; granted, it would have been better if English South Africans had come up with a better name for themselves. The Afrikaners are not called “Dutch South Africans”; the name “Afrikaner” came to be applied to them as they developed a distinctive identity and culture separate from that of Holland. But for better or for worse, this is the collective name for South Africans whose ancestors came from England. Perhaps, one day, a better one will come into usage; but for now, they are “English South Africans” or “the English.”
Frequently the English South African is called, or calls himself, an “English-speaking South African.” This has even been reduced, by some, to an acronym: ESSA. But this collective name should be discarded as worthless. For not only is this an even more clumsy name than “English South African”, and not only does it identify him solely by his language, which in itself is not the sole identifying characteristic of a people, but also, there are a great many English-speaking South Africans who are not English South Africans! They belong to other people groups, other nations, in the country.
English South Africans are not merely English-speaking South Africans. They are a distinctive nation within the borders of South Africa.
Secondly, English South Africans are not unique in this matter of their collective name. One must think these things through logically. As stated previously, a country is very often comprised of various people groups. A nation-state is one reality; a state made up of many nations is another. South Africa is the latter, not the former. And in this it is far from unique.
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Filed under: History without the humbug