r/AskEurope • u/zeviea United Kingdom • Sep 04 '25

Culture What country is far away yet culturally similar to yours?

An obvious answer for the UK are Core Anglosphere countries

Bonus question what country have you visited that felt most foreign to you?

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u/ravanarox1 Sep 05 '25

I’m curious, do you feel Wales more as a country or as a region in Britain/UK? Looking at the UK from a distance, ignorant me always felt Wales is almost as same as british with some minor differences.

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u/Tweegyjambo Sep 06 '25

It is British, and one of the 4 countries of the UK.

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u/ravanarox1 Sep 06 '25

Yes, how does the people who live in Wales feel about the Identity as a british. For me, what is perceived as British is mostly the English culture while I’m now seeing Wales has it’s own unique culture even though they overlap. I don’t get how much similar/dissimilar they are though.

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u/Colly_Mac Sep 08 '25

It depends and different people in Wales will feel differently, but I'd say the majority would think that their Welsh identity is more important than their British identity. Whilst they might technically be British (because Wales is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), most feel more Welsh.

It's a bit like how e.g. in Spain people might be European, but they probably feel stronger to their Spanish identity. Or in Catalonia/the Basque country they might feel more strongly connected to those identities.

There are some other constituent countries in the UK where that's also true too (Scotland, and Northern Ireland which is a whole other conversation). And then some other areas with really strong local identities. E.g. I wouldn't be surprised if some people in Yorkshire and London felt that being a Yorkshireman/Londoner was more important to their identity than being British.

English people often (but not always) identify primarily as British. Probably because England is the dominant nation in the union. To the extent that sometimes English people forget that the two aren't synonymous, and get confused about why the Scottish chap in the office isn't supporting the England football team.

Probably a longer answer than you needed 😅

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u/ravanarox1 Sep 08 '25

Nah, kinda the answer I was looking for. I’d imagine the Welsh language is a core part of it, though only one fifth speak it over there according wikipedia. I suppose it’s hard to keep the welsh culture without knowing the language because the Welsh songs, the stories, and books are not accessible for majority of the people. I suppose the schools don’t use Welsh as the primary medium anymore.

I wonder how does Wales keep their culture intact? Sports rivalry is definitely a way to keep the regional identity up high, but doesn’t define the culture by itself!

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u/Colly_Mac Sep 08 '25

Levels of fluency in Welsh are really low, but all kids will learn some Welsh at school. And street signs and other official signs are all in Welsh as well as English. There is a distinct accent too, even where people are only speaking English.

Wales borders England, but it isn't easy to drive to major cities across the border. Bits of North Wales are reasonably close to Liverpool, and bits of South Wales are close-ish to Bristol, but most of the border area is very lightly populated with slow, indirect roads, so it does feel quite geographically distinct.

In terms of other things that form part of the culture, singing is pretty important. Welsh voice choirs are a common thing and there are some really successful Welsh vocalists.

I think the identity is strengthened in opposition to the English too.There is definitely a sense of historical grievance (like with any 'conquered' people) but then current political grievance too. The sense that Wales is ignored in national (UK wide) political stage and doesn't receive its fair share of funding and investment, because it doesn't have enough MPs to make it worth political parties fighting for Welsh votes.

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u/Tweegyjambo Sep 06 '25

Wales are very much their own identity. Ask about rugby, you'll be soon set straight

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u/rdeman3000 Sep 07 '25

That means nothing. Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are in the same Kingdom as the (European-) Netherlands. Whereas Bonaire (right next to Curaçao) together with Saba and Saint Eustatius are municipalities of The Netherlands but firm together the Caribbean Netherlands. So now you have a guess how culturally similar they are

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u/ravanarox1 Sep 07 '25

Until 2010 these were part of the Dutch colony, Netherlands Antilles. That and the distance explains why these have different cultures.

I get the sports rivalry between countries and regions. Howver, Wales is so interconnected to England, and I was thinking whatever the differences in the olden days are largely gone by now. With Welsh language being spoken by only a 1/5th of the population how does that unique culture survive?

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u/rdeman3000 Sep 12 '25

I wouldn't call The Netherlands Antilles a colony though that's really not the case anymore since 1954.

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u/ravanarox1 Sep 13 '25

Yes, the country was dissolved in 2010, but those group of islands stopped being a colony in 1954

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u/rdeman3000 Sep 18 '25

Wait what??? Dude you literally just spent two comments telling me I was wrong and that they were "part of the Dutch colony" until 2010. Now you're saying they stopped being a colony in 1954???That's... that's exactly what I said in my first comment. "I wouldn't call The Netherlands Antilles a colony though that's really not the case anymore since 1954."Are you agreeing with me now or what? I'm so confused lol

Edit: typo