267. U and Non-U

‘U’ and “non-U’ refer to Upper Class and non-Upper Class (or aspiring middle class), and derives from Noblesse Oblige (1956), a collection of humorous essays edited by Nancy Mitford. It was Alan S. C. Ross who first coined the terms, in an essay in the collection that discussed the way English-language use differs in the different social classes. U English speakers, for example, would say they were sick, while non-U speakers, would be ill; U speakers would sit on the sofa, non-U’s on the settee. It’s important to note, though, that these categories omitted working-class parlance altogether. Apparently Nancy Mitford, though satirical and witty, was squarely in the U camp; I say ‘apparently’ because I haven’t read the book and don’t identify myself with either. Growing up in India, I used neither ‘sofa’ nor ‘settee,’ but ‘divan’; and now, living in the US, I use ‘couch.’ Besides, I tend to take George Orwell’s view that the middle classes should have downwardly, rather than upwardly mobile aspirations. As he put it so well in the closing line of The Road to Wigan Pier: “We have nothing to lose but our aitches.”

All the above is a result of my visit yesterday to Sandringham, the Royal estate in Norfolk. It was a dream come true if you love shows like Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs, and the employees there certainly knew how to play to the audience. I generally take a dim view of the monarchy (see TMA #94, My Uncrowned Queens), but my critical voice was more-or-less suspended for the duration. Instead I found myself oohing and aahing over the china tea sets and the settee—oops, sofa—covers, only pursing my lips and muttering under my breath at the spoils of empire in the museum and completely omitting the room choc-full of trophies from the royal hunts, especially the sickening displays of tiger skins.

But I was completely bowled over by the beauty of the gardens. Whoever designed them was a master, down to the tiniest details, and I could have gone on walking in them forever. Thank goodness for public parks like Hampstead Heath in London and Central Park in New York that make such beauty available to ordinary citizens free of charge. I’ll bow out now and leave you with a few of the photos I snapped at Sandringham. Thank you, dear cousins Sue and Jess, for having taken me there.

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