U and non-U

U and non-U

The term was not known to Fowler (1926) but the idea of language use as a distinguishing feature of class most certainly was, as his article on ‘genteelisms’ (paying guest for lodger, serviette for napkin, etc.) shows. The term U, denoting the language of the upper class, was coined by the linguist A. S. C. Ross in 1954, and was turned into a kind of cult by Nancy Mitford in her book of essays entitled Noblesse Oblige, which explored a theme already present in her earlier writing, notably in her largely autobiographical novel The Pursuit of Love (1945) where Uncle Matthew (representing her father) explodes with indignation at words such as handbag and notepaper. The table below lists words considered U and non-U taken from Nancy Mitford's book, plus some pairs that have come to be distinguished in the same way since she wrote. (See also the entry genteelism.)

u / non-u

bag / handbag

bike / cycle

drawing-room / lounge

enough / ample, sufficient

false teeth / dentures

house / home

lavatory / toilet

looking-glass / mirror

luncheon / dinner

napkin / serviette

pudding / sweet, dessert

rich / wealthy

scent / perfume

be sick / be ill

sofa / settee

sorry / pardon

vegetables / greens

writing-paper / notepaper

Forms of pronunciation as well as choice of words are also a feature of U and non-U; for example, the pronunciation of scone to rhyme with stone is often regarded as non-U, as distinct from the U (originally northern) form that rhymes with gone, and for either iy-dhǝ is U and ee-dhǝ is non-U.

Social exclusiveness of a potentially sinister kind lies behind what can easily be taken for a language game. Nonetheless, the spirit of fun is hard to resist, as the poet John Betjeman found in his gently satirical poem ‘How to Get on in Society’ (1954):

Phone for the fish-knives, Norman,

As cook is a little unnerved;

You kiddies have crumpled the serviettes

And I must have things daintily served

(four more verses follow)