Jonah: Those researchers must be using the term “Celt” very loosely. The Proto-Celtic language did not, even on the most generous hypothesis, break off from the main body of Indo-European languages until the 3rd millennium B.C., so to speak of Celts 7,000 years ago is nonsense. Still, the general notion that the British population is genetically very old, and that the waves of invaders in historical times–Romans, Angles and Saxons, Normans–just painted thin layers of genetic change on to that main stock, has been around for a while, and seems well supported by the evidence of surveys like this one.

Experience has confirmed to me that the British are a peculiar people, as distinct from the rest of humanity as the Japanese. You can call that “cultural” if you like, but what determines culture? What are the upstream variables? Churchill called us “The Island Race,” and I don’t think Churchill was wrong.

Do Americans still pronounce “Celt” with a soft “C”? Educated Celts prefer the hard “C” (except when talking about a certain Glasgow soccer team). There is a funny story about this concerning the Welsh actor Robert Burton, but it is too indelicate for a family website.