Since I was born to the west of the River Medway, I am a Kentish Man. Wikipedia says:

quote:

Residents of West Kent, those living west / north of the River Medway, are called 'Kentish Men', as opposed to residents of East Kent, who are known as 'Men of Kent'. [...] The division apparently derives from the ethnic differences between the Jutish settlement of the east of the county and the Saxon presence in the west, although its origins are somewhat obscure.

(My emphasis added.)

I have a theory about this, and wonder if it makes any sense. Perhaps the expert linguists here could let me know.

I wonder if it might refer to the different ways that possessives were handled in Jutish and Saxon. Perhaps the Jutes used the construction 'X of Y', but the Saxons used 'Y's X'. 'Kentish' and 'Kent's' are very close. Does this make sense?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: arnie,

I don't know about Kent but Providence, where I once lived, is divided into several sections: The East Side (upper-class,) West Side (middle) and South Providence (lower class). I have always thought the term used to describe SP was to totally cdistingush and separate SP residents from the rest of the city. North Providence became an independent town.

Of course, having been born in Maidstone, (which town is actually on the Medway) I suppose I could be either. No wonder I have such insecurities.

While I am not one of those "expert linguists," your theory surely sounds plausible to me, arnie.