Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences 
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I just realized I had an error in my prior message – I meant to say 5,000-3,000 B.C.E. (as opposed to 5-3,000 years ago). Also, I think it’s Breton that is still spoken by some in northwestern France.
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Name : Lisa, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 19, City : Raytown, State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : college student,‘Gaelic’, ‘Goidelic’, & ‘Celtic’ are basically the exact same things, tho’ you might hear some people refer to certain sublanguages, like Scottish, as ‘Gaelic’, but in reality so is Irish and others. Back about 5,000-3,000 years ago, the Proto-Indo-Europeans of w. Asia/e. Europe split up into about a dozen branches, with each group traveling a different way. After they diverged, their former language began to change significantly, because they no longer were in contact with one another. One group, the Celts, traveled to w. Europe, many of them staying on the continent (known as the Gauls, or Gallic tribes, who ended up speaking Gaulish before the Romans conquered them) and many of them settling in the British isles. Of those who went to the islands, they are usually classified according to what variation of the language branch they spoke; the ‘Bretons’ spoke Breton mainly in eastern & southern Britain, the ‘Cornish’ spoke Cornish in Cornwall in southwest Britain, and the ‘Welsh’ spoke Welsh in Wales in western Britain. (Those were the ‘Brythonic’ versions of the former language.) The ‘Irish’ spoke Irish in ‘Ireland’, the ‘Scottish’ spoke Scottish in northern Britain, and the ‘Manx’ (an offshoot of either Irish or Scottish or both) spoke Manx on the Isle of Man off the western coast of Britain. (Those were the Gaelic/Celtic versions of the former language.) Obviously not all of these languages are still hanging around today, and chances are they will unfortunately be publically dead in the next century or two. As for why England itself is not classified as a Celtic region: Another branch that initially broke off from PIE traveled to and settled in northern Europe. They are what came to be known as the German stock. Of those people, some (the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) ‘invaded’ Britain in mainly the Breton area, as far as I know. (Technically were asked to enter the country to defeat the northern Picts and such and ended up staying and taking over the place.) Because they took over that area of the island, the Breton language was quickly replaced by the newborn Old English and the Breton people were absorbed into the new culture of the area. (Again, as far as I know.) So, to make a long story short, I would venture to guess that the great majority of the British population in England is of ‘Germanic’ descent, which is why the area is not referred to as Celtic/Gaelic. Hope that helped, and I’m sorry I rambled so long!
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Name : Lisa, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 19, City : Raytown, State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : college student,I have also noticed that in the media it is the politically correct trend to classify (sometimes incorrectly) ‘blacks’ as ‘African-Americans.’ As with a former question of mine on this site, I can’t understand why people often use such terms as ‘African American’ or ‘people of color’ (the latter which I find offensive). If I may also lump people into a category for a moment, none of my many ‘black’ friends ever refer to themselves with either term – they, as well as most other people I choose to associate with, refer to themselves as individuals; they don’t try to align and segregate themselves with certain segments of the population that may not (and usually do not) at all describe or fit who they are. In fact, ‘African-American’ would seem to denote that the people using the term are from Africa, which they are not. All or some of their ancestors may very well have been from that continent, but that is irrelevant. For instance, some of my ancestors are from the European continent (from various countries) and some are from the American continent (a particular aboriginal tribe). I do not parade around in any attempt to be ‘ethnically distinct’ by calling myself a ‘Mostly-European-American.’ I am from America, and I am an American; where some of my ancestors came from is interesting, historical and culturally and ethnically pleasing to me, but nonetheless I am an American, and proud of it. Why anyone would want to owe their loyalty to a continent (not even a country or an ethnicity) where they most likely have never been and most likely do not know a great deal about is beyond me.
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Name : Lisa, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 19, City : Raytown, State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : college student,Alma – I found your post so enlightening. Thank you for sharing. Michell – I think, from what I have learned in the real world and from this great web site – that that is definitely a very funny and accurate relationship to make. J. Wallace – I would have e-mailed you personally, but you never leave your address. Every term is a preference; that doesn’t mean it’s accurate or descriptive and that it doesn’t group every person of some visual category into one group and leave others out. Further, I am glad that you are in the know of who my friends and acquaintances are, and exactly what my experiences are. ‘Get to know us’ – I have quite a few friends that you consider to be in ‘your group,’ of varying backgrounds and economic levels, and each of them thinks (as well as my ‘other friends’) that the term ‘people of color’ is ridiculous, which is why I was looking for an ‘outside opinion.’ Bob – My dark-skinned friends are of every shade imaginable, and they also have varying eye-colors. Also, I’ve come to discover that ‘Caucasian’ isn’t a very descriptive word, either, considering there is an actual ethnic group in far eastern Europe that are the Caucasians. I’m under the impression that the world would be better off if every individual could just be themselves and not make race or ethnicity an issue, because every time humans try to separate themselves from the rest of the population in this way, it’s always either inaccurate or tongue-tying, or both. So I thank you all for your responses!
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Name : Lisa, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 19, City : Raytown, State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : college student,I hate to say it’s race or class, but it’s mostly a combination, and both perpetuate and are perpetuated by the name thing. From what I’ve observed, many low-income blacks (i.e. ‘more than likely of West African ethnic makeup’) seem to think that names like LaTonya and Kwaneesha are ‘ethnic’ or ‘African,’ when in reality the names just sound and look incredibly stupid/fabricated, not African. I rarely hear educated/mid-/upper-class black people naming kids bizarre, made-up names, and I’d be willing to bet you never hear of Latino, Japanese or black British children with names like Kwaneesha, no matter their economic level. I’m all for giving kids ethnic names, especially when it shows the child’s ethnicity. I think it’s very nice and a great way to honor their past. For example, I’m part Bavarian, English, Croatian, Osage and Irish. I am proud of my ancestry and I appreciate (and someday might even give to my kids) names from those languages – i.e. Rynleah, Eostre, NÃall, NÃçka, Zaba. But there’s a point, beyond personal/social preference, when a person has to ask themselves, ‘Is this child abuse? Would anyone take my child/eventual adult seriously? Would they be respected as they should?’ You mentioned Keisha, an Americanized form of Kiswahili (an East African language), words for ‘cassia juice,’ ‘cinnamon, and/or ‘night vigil.’ Also, something I don’t understand is when black Americans use Arabic names in order to show African ethnicity, so to speak. Such as with the lovely name Latifah. Or when they adopt French names like Andre and call them ‘their own.’ (I believe all names belong to the whole of humanity, but I don’t see why names are appropriated from one culture and claimed by another in this way.) It makes me wonder if people who name their children these things know the history of the names, or if they can have ‘proper’ appreciation of the names. Relating this to my name: in Europe and North America, Lisa is mainly used as a short form of Elizabeth. For a West African tribe, it’s their sun god, and in another, it’s their chameleon goddess. Lisa is full of culture, meaning and pleasant sound. Why don’t more people of West African descent use this? Is it just that they don’t know/care about their culture? As I mentioned to begin with, there’s even more to it than that. (By the way, I don’t believe in hyphenated names. Either someone is American or they’re not; it does not matter where their ancestors came from. If they think they aren’t Americans, they should pack their bags and move to wherever they think ‘home’ is.)
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Name : Lisa, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 19, City : Raytown, State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : college student,
