It Is Britain

Written By Saskia Kabongo 

Shot by Vanley Burke

Have you ever stopped to think about where the slang we use every day actually comes from? 

Words like yard, mandem, tings, wagwan, and even the rhythm and tone heard across Black British culture did not appear out of nowhere. Much of the language spoken by young people across Britain today stems from Caribbean influence, particularly Jamaican Patois. Today this dialect has evolved with more African influences which have developed through immigration and communities living alongside one another for generations. 

Modern Britain sounds the way it does because Britain changed. For many young people growing up in Britain today, this multiculturalism feels completely normal because it is the Britain we have always known. Different cultures, languages and communities existing beside one another is not unusual to us, it is everyday life. 

From music to fashion, food to language, multiculturalism has shaped everyday British life. Grime, UK rap, and Drill all draw on influences from Black British communities whose roots trace back to the Caribbean and Africa. The word yard for example, commonly used to mean home, comes from Jamaican Patois. Mandem stems from Jamaican Creole, while phrases now used casually across schools, social media and in our day-to-day were once specific to immigrant communities living within Britain’s inner cities, it has now spread across the country. Creating and influencing a new dialect entirely. 

This shared language has been able to offshoot into music culture. Allowing for the developments of genres like Grime, Drill, Jungle, UK garage, Funky House, Afro Swing and drum and bass were all heavily shaped and developed by Black British artists, DJs and communities, particularly within London and other multicultural cities across Britain, such as Manchester, Bristol and Birmigham. These genres were born from the blending of Caribbean sounds, African rhythms and British working-class life. These eventually became defining parts of British music culture itself. Today, many of these sounds are recognised globally as distinctly British, despite often originating from communities that continue to face exclusion and hostility within the country they helped culturally shape. Music specifically created a place for this language to live and be documented. 

Many of these phrases and speech patterns are now recognised within what linguists describe as British Black English (BBE) and Multicultural London English (MLE). These forms of language developed through generations of Caribbean, African, South Asian and working-class communities living beside one another, particularly in cities such as London and Birmingham, where many immigrant families settled following post-war migration into Britain. Areas within these cities became hubs of multicultural life, where different accents, languages and cultures blended together over decades, eventually shaping the way modern Britain speaks today. What was once criticised as “street slang” has now become part of mainstream British culture, spoken by young people across the country regardless of race or background. 

Yet despite how deeply embedded these cultures are within modern Britain, there is still ongoing hostility towards the very communities that helped shape them. 

To understand how modern Britain became the way it is today, it is important to understand history. Following the Second World War, Britain faced major labour shortages and encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries, particularly from the Caribbean. In 1948, the ship HMT Empire Windrush arrived in England carrying passengers from the Caribbean, many of whom had been invited to help rebuild post-war Britain. They worked in transport, construction, factories and the NHS, becoming part of the foundation of modern British society. 

Over time, many immigrant families settled within cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester, building communities, raising generations and contributing to the culture, economy and identity of Britain itself. Understanding this history is important because it explains why modern Britain is as multicultural as it is today. 

But Black history in Britain did not begin with Windrush. Historians researching Black Tudors have uncovered the presence of Black people living in Britain centuries earlier, during the Tudor period. Black people existed within British ports, churches, royal courts and households long before modern conversations around immigration even began. This challenges the common idea that Blackness exists outside of British identity or history, when in reality Black people have been part of Britain for centuries. 

Britain wanted immigrant labour when the country needed rebuilding. Now, generations later, immigration has become one of the most politically divisive topics in the country. Across Britain there has been a visible rise in anti-immigration rhetoric, nationalist demonstrations and public debates around who truly belongs here. During recent protests across the UK, organised partly under movements such as “Unite the Kingdom,” tens of thousands gathered in London carrying England and Union Jack flags whilst protesting immigration policies and migrant accommodation across Britain. Some protesters described themselves as wanting to “take the country back,” while chants such as “we want our country back” reflected fears around immigration, national identity and belonging within modern Britain. Others framed the demonstrations as protecting British culture and identity. 

English flags hanging across streets and estates were viewed by some as symbols of national pride, while for others they felt tied to hostility towards migrants and multicultural communities. Social media only intensified these divisions, with conversations around immigration often becoming less about policy and more about identity, fear and belonging. 

That is the contradiction at the centre of modern Britain. 

The same communities that helped rebuild Britain, shaped its cities and influenced its culture are often still treated as outsiders within it. Britain celebrates multicultural culture every day through music, fashion, food, slang and entertainment, while simultaneously debating the legitimacy of the people who helped create it. 

Yet multiculturalism is no longer something separate from Britain. It is Britain.