Forum Moderators: open
When you Brits use any of the "meta description" words above what exac-erly do you intend to convey?
Is Britain "the big island"? Is Great Britain the big island plus nearby islands, or the whole present (and former) empire? What do you mean to encomopass in "the U.K."? Is there an England? I mean, when do you use England versus Britain?
When and why do you call yourselves British versus English? Are there any other self-referential national terms that you employ besides British?
What exactly is your relationship to Australia, Canada, Bermuda, the BVI, former or present "colonies"?
How do Brits relate to India and how do Indians living in the U.K. relate to Britain?
I'm American which means that I'm Irish-German-Polish-American. Worse for my kids who are Irish-German-Polish-Swiss-British-Americans. Couldn't everyone just have stayed home.....in their caves....hiding from the sabre toothed tiger....trying to invent fire or the wheel or wireless? (Heck, they had wireless back then, didn't they?)
But really: Will somebody please explain the British to me. I like Brits (and Canadians and Aussies and Indians and...) but they're soooo confusing when it comes to their "nationality" and the Union Jack.
The U.K. is (as the name says) the union of kingdoms, i.e. the english and the scottish crown. So it includes England itself (i.e. southern part of the main island plus some smaller islands such as some of the Channel islands), Scotland (i.e. northern part of main island plus also some islands such as the Shetlands, Orkneys and Hebrides) and Northern Ireland.
The denomination most similar (geographically) to the former Empire would probably be the Commonwealth, although some of the former colonies are not part of it.
As to Great Britain, I think it may have a historical background, as Britain was conquered by the Normans (vikings turned frenchmen to make it easy). Those spoke french and so (I guess) called the island Grande Bretagne to differentiate it from the Bretagne, which is the north-western tip of France.
Or it just might be that Brits like to think of themselves as *great*. ;)
Us Brits are great, but we are also a bit thick.
All I can say is never accidentally call a welsh or scots person english as they are liable to get very cross.
Helen.
Just as you shouldn't call us southern American boys "yankees"
You take that back, Johnny Reb!
All I can say is never accidentally call a welsh or scots person english as they are liable to get very cross.
Nor an Irishman British. That history is not so well known in North America... even by my old high school geography teacher :/
Canada is a Constitutional Monarchy. The Queen is the figurehead leader of our country. We now have our constitution and have had our own government, armed forces, sovereignty for long time.
He'll be there for four months, initially, but my mother and brother may be headed over there with him if the contract gets extended. So I've got some learning to do!
Great Britain/Britain : England, Scotland, Wales , all those teeeny weeny isalnds like falklands which they hold on to, thousands of miles away from mainland ..
United Kingdom : Britain and Northern Ireland [ for americans , ireland is divided into NI ( part of UK) and Ireland(independent country) ]
( never ever address an irishman as as english ..their is an unwavering tone in a scot ..forget all that accent ...just don't commit the cardinal sin of calling an irishman english ..clues to irish ..sir names ryan O'hara 0'neilly etc.
Commonwealth : Members of Pax Britannica ( former british empire ) that are now free but in a political association . Some like Australia ( until recently or still) still regarded the queen as the head of their state ( ceremonial head ). This organization is for all practical purposes dead... :-)
<snip>
cheers
Niko
( Can't confirm if the info is PRECISE .. )
[edited by: lawman at 12:59 pm (utc) on Feb. 15, 2004]
[edit reason] Stay On Topic Please [/edit]
Great Britain = (geographical) the largest of the islands of the British Isles.
Great Britain = (political) the countries of England, Scotland and Wales, including those adjacent islands governed from the mainland (i.e. excluding the Isle of Man and the Channel Isles.) The United Kingdom of Great Britain was formed by the Act of Union (1707).
The United Kingdom = The country made up of Great Britain and the province of Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed in 1801. Southern Ireland was split off to become the independent Republic of Ireland (Eire) in the 1920s/30s.
The Channel Isles and Isle of Man have their own governments. They are dependencies of the British Crown, but not part of the UK.
[edited by: Genie at 4:09 pm (utc) on Feb. 15, 2004]
But what I want to know is: why do Americans keep getting confused about it all? After all, they know it is perfactly possible to live in Albany, New York and the United States of America simultaneously. Or am I romanticising? Do they get confused about that as well?
Americans don't, in usual conversation, have that many ways to refer to their country or geographic area.
There's "The United States of America" or "the U.S." (all 50 states under the U.S. government); "North America" (the continent, thus including the countries of Canada & Mexico); the "Lower 48" (the 48 contiguous states, which thus excludes Hawaii & Alaska); geographic references like "The Northeast" or "The Western U.S." Historically, it gets a little more varied, with the 13 colonies and founding of various states in "The Union" (the United States), the Louisiana Purchase and other land acquisitions, and so forth.
Not sure what to call the ones with the?'s
United Kingdom > Country
Great Britain >?
England > State?
Greater London > County/District?
London > City
Hill Street > Street Name
1111 > Street Number
Haven't figured out Australia also :)
GGG
Two questions:
1. Am I right in believing that the name 'England' refers to the Angles?
2. Are there four national teams in all sports or are there some sports with one united national team?
The name 'England' does indeed mean 'The land of the Angles'.
At least in skiing there is only one national team AFAIK. There are two brothers called Baxter, who are from Edinburgh (Scotland) who start for Great Britain. And IIRC, Great Britain has only one team for the Olympics.
There is a 'relatively' ;) freindly rivalry between us all - most clearly demonstrated by international sporting events when we compete as separate nations like The European Cup (Football) and the Six nations rugby where there is no one British team but four national teams.
It was discussed for a while that a Britsih football team would replace the four national teams - I think that discussion with the FA lasted about 3 minutes - 2.59 to layout the proposal and a second for everyone to say a resounding *no*.
Limbo
<added>
There is a joke that goes around of the welsh not even having a football league so count them out
Not actually true - the welsh do have a footbal division and there are welsh teams playing in the English league - Swansea City just got beaten in the 5th round FACup - which is pretty good going for a welsh team ;)
</added>
Not sure what to call the ones with the?'s
United Kingdom > Country
Great Britain >?
England > State?
Greater London > County/District?
London > City
Hill Street > Street Name
1111 > Street Number
England is a country, and was one all by itself until 1707. The United Kingdom is a union of countries, under a single crown, hence the name. The original United Kingdom was a union of England and Scotland.
Great Britain is an island. There are three countries on the island - England, Scotland and Wales.
The City of London is not part of Greater London, confusingly enough.
I'm not sure this discussion isn't making things worse for puzzled Americans, but I'm willing if they are... :-)
What exactly is your relationship to Australia, Canada, Bermuda, the BVI, former or present "colonies"?
How do Brits relate to India and how do Indians living in the U.K. relate to Britain?
Note that India was never a British "colony". It had a special "empire" status, which is above a colony, hence was headed by a Viceroy, not a Governor-General, as was the case with Dominions (old term now) such as Canada, Australia etc. When India became independent, King Geo VI was no longer a King Emperor - Queen Liz was the first not to be one (Empress).
How do Indians in the UK relate to the UK I'd say it depends on their age and place of birth. For the majority I imagine it is "home".
Australia is about one election away from becoming a Republic. It is an amalgamation of 6 former colonies (now our states) which federated in 1900. Other than nostalgia and history, there are no major benefits of the link today. Australians ceased being British nationals in 1948.
England : Residents of that big island yu see in the map across north west europe off france
Thanks
GGG
Quote from the Isle of Man parliamentry website
"The Island is a Crown Dependency that, through its ancient parliament, Tynwald, enjoys a high degree of domestic legislative and political autonomy. The United Kingdom Government is, by convention, responsible for the conduct of the external relations and defence of the Island. The Isle of Man's economic and social achievements would not have been possible without the stability that its constitution and institutions provide. Her Majesty the Queen as Lord of Mann is Head of State. Her personal representative on the Island is His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, who is appointed by the Crown for a five-year term"
You can continue my education in Florida. See ya there.
Guess my problem is I'm trying to use country codes:
United Kingdom -> uk
Great Britian -> gb
United Kingdom = gb
We usually talk about The United Kindom as "UK", but that's not the official country code. GB is. Why GB? Because both Ukraine and United Kingdom wanted "UK", and that for good reasons. So, they decided that neither one would get it, giving United Kingdom GB, and Ukraine UA.
Think I will just leave what I have for now :)
Thanks again
GGG
