England, UK or Britain?
 

This is generally a message going out to those of you lucky to be in a sunny, warm country rather than Britain. Or is it England, or the UK?

From reading a lot of the posts on this message board, l have noticed that a lot of tourists call the UK England. England is actually only one quarter of Britain. There are four home nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These are collectivly known as the UK or Britain.

It is easy for most people to say England when talking about the UK since it is so poorly advertised in the media. Many shows such as 'Friends' recall Britain as England, along with many news reports.

The Queen and Prime Minister are of Britain, not of England like some media organisations make out.

It's just like calling America Washington or calling Australia New South Wales.

Make sense??

Hope it does!

Erh, not to be a nitpicker, but wouldn't this post have a better chance of stimulating discussion on the EUROPE board instead of here on the US board?

If I'm not mistaken, the "Friends" episodes were in London. This is England. It's not incorrect to say "England" when referring to London...

Yes, correct. The Friends episodes were in London. But people do not realise the fact that there are three countries in what a lot of people call 'England'. England is only one third of Britain, and just a quarter of the UK.

I don't think anyone refers to England as being all of the UK. Generally, they refer to the specific place. When they mean England, they say England, or they say Scotland, or Ireland.

See what happens when people don't see sunshine for a while. Bloody hell!

I'm going to ENGLAND next week. (And I DO know what I'm talking about!)

If you want to be taken seriously in your pursuit of educating others, you would be best served if you posted on the Europe forum. Your post is out of place in the United States.

I don't get this post at all (despite the fact that it's on the wrong board as well). If I'm going to spend a vacation in Utah, I would say I'm going to spend my vacation in Utah, not in the US or in America. So why should I say I'm going to spend my vacation in the UK, if I'm going to be spending it in England? Now if I was going to break up the trip and include Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, of course, I should and would be saying "Great Britain or the UK, but why would I say that if I'm only visiting England. Did the cast of friends also visit the other areas when they went to England? No, I don't think so. So they were correct in saying they were going to England. Or would you have preferred them to be even more general that you suggest and just say they were going to Europe??

Differentiating between the constituent parts of the UK on Fodors is preaching to the choir. Most everyone here knows the difference between Scotland and England etc.

So how to make it relevant to the US forum? Easy - tell everyone on both sides of the water that "America" refers to a somewhat larger geographic entity than than the 49 US States that happen to occupy a small portion of the continent. People from Guatamala are as much "American" as people from New Jersey. More so, even.

And while we're on the subject, her title is Queen Elizabeth II only if you're from England and Wales. She's Elizabeth I north of the Tweed.

You're so right, Gardyloo. But who will know why?

So what are the British Isles, Brittanica and Great Britain?

I know why! I know why!

The big island is called Great Britain. It includes the contiguous portions of England, Wales and Scotland. The other big island is called Ireland. It includes the contiguous portions of Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) and the Republic of Ireland, or Eire. All of the above have smaller island groups or individual islands as part of the separate countries which, along with the Isle of Man, comprise the British Isles. The Channel Isles (Gurnsey, Jersey, etc.) may or not be considered part of the British Isles depending on who's asking.

Yes Glyn, some of us dumb Americans know the difference between England, Britain, and the UK. In my travels in the Republic of Ireland and in Scotland I discovered how much they hate the English. They are relentless about their dislike of the English. And after learning the history of Ireland and Scotland I know why. BTW I have also traveled in England.

Gardyloo: You tell them! You are doing a bang up job! >:D<

Here's my take from BIG America: This is what happens when people are crowded together on a small island. One group goes around banging other people's heads together until they give in. And the Vikings don't get any kudos either because they kept all their ships to themselves and won't let the island people use them! So there!

Right now, Wales happens to be my favorite part of - what is it now? - the UK or Britain. It used to be Scotland. See, I have shifting alliances too!

I can understand you questioning why l have posted this message in your US forum. It is because during my travels, l have noticed it is generally the Americans who make this mistake.

If l had a pound for every time someone said to me 'Where in England are you from then?' , then l'd be a millionaire.

It really irritates those from the home nations, and what you may see as a small and petty difference can mean a lot to so many people.

If l ever saw an American then l wouldn't ask them where in Manhattan are you from then, would l?

So, Glyn what you really trying to say is that England is one country and as a result of invasion, war, and royal inbreeding it conquered the sovereign nations of Wales, Soctland and Ireland and therefore really should be called the United Kingdom?

Have to jump in here. England did not conquer scotland. As Scotland's king - James VI - inherited the throne of England, there is a valid argument that England became part of Scotland. To avoid that "embarrassment", the whole entity was renamed "Britain"

Thank you for educating us. However, methinks (apologies for bastardizing the language) if I meet a person from Northern Ireland and say "it's so nice to meet someone from the UK", I might just have made a new enemy.