Saturday, 28 July 2007

North vs. South : The Never-Ending Debate

The north and south of England. Where are they defined? What purpose does this definition have? Why do so many resent being classed as northern rather than southern, and what about the fact that the Midlands exists?? After a (quite evidently) southerner came to stay with my family, this north-south divide appeared to become more and more significant - much to my own amusement. Hence this blog post.

Definitions
North
Situated in or facing or moving toward or coming from the north

South
Situated in or facing or moving toward or coming from the south

The Watford Gap
The division of north and south? Interestingly, this 'gap' is said to imply that there is no culture or sophistication north of the Watford Gap. Wikipedia throws this up at me:

"Those living north of the Watford Gap claim that it is the point where humour, humility and humanity begins. Southerners respond by claiming that it is the line where well being, self respect and spirit end."

Now, whilst I have never come across such vast generalisations about the populations north and south of the said divide, I wonder - will we always feel such a divide between the people of our one, reasonably small, country?

Certain differences will always exist, of course. Economically the south will always prosper over the north: what do we find in the northern counties of the country? Significantly agricultural, these sparsely populated counties seem not to offer the job prospects that many graduates seek. Perhaps, though, one day companies will seek to move out of the crowded South-East and move towards the cheaper land. But how long will this move take? The economy in the UK is already particularly imbalanced: why will companies want to move to an economically poor area?

How about language and dialect? "There's no 'r' in bath!" Northern accents and dialects appear to be frowned upon: many people from the north reject their local dialect in order to become more employable. English students are taught no one dialect is better than another. Yet the association of a northern accent with a less intelligent person still remains. The view that the northern way of speaking is "incorrect". One wonders how long it will take before the standard pronunciation of the south spreads over the country, and we all speak the same.

I will be the first to admit that the north does lack the same appeal as the south: as a teenager I moaned constantly about being stranded with nothing to do. This is true: public transport in the rural areas is limited, if existent at all. Theatres and museums are rare. Big chains that are commonplace in the south, not heard of. How can these things change with the constant scrutination of the differences that are found between the north and south? Do we need the entire country to be the same? How do we define what the people themselves want? The divide between north and south will always exist: we as a population keep driving it along, it is something to break the ice, play into and keep the smiles and laughter going. Maybe as people we are different. But why are we different? Why does a typical northener know all their neighbours - perhaps their whole village - but a typical southerner know none at all? Of course, these are pretty vast stereotypes but there are so many people that exist like this.

From Wikipedia again:

"It is often suggested that people are much friendlier, more open about themselves, more community minded, and more willing to express their emotions in the North, while Southerners, and more specifically inhabitants of London and the South East, are stereotypically portrayed as cool, aloof, reserved, devoid of emotion, preoccupied with privacy, and not terribly friendly. One often is reminded how in the North people take pride in knowing all the neighbours up and down their block, while Southerners will boast about not knowing who lives next door."

So really, what have I achieved by this? Not a lot at all. Just further commenting upon the north-south divide. What will this result in? Nothing at all. Do I want it to result in something? I think not, no. I'll stick to my "northern ways".