British vs English

"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message
...


So the character in the TV show was just being awkward, if you are
English,
you are also British.


Certainly that's true; it's also true that if you are English you are
European, tho' plenty of English people would object to being so described.

"Anthony" wrote in message
...

"Mark Hewitt" wrote in
message
...


So the character in the TV show was just being awkward, if you are
English,
you are also British.


Certainly that's true; it's also true that if you are English you are
European, tho' plenty of English people would object to being so
described.

Correct. I once had the very same argument with a friend of mine who
insisted that "Britain is not part of Europe", of course I explained to him,
no matter which way you look at it, either geographically or poticially it
was in Europe and no matter how much he stamped his feet and whined it
wasn't going to change matters ;-)

PS. I'm a Geordie, who is English and British and European.

"John Smith" wrote [top posting rearranged]
| Paul Ayling wrote:
| The rule is "another triumph for Great Britain, England loses again"
| Well, I still don't get it.

England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland compete separately in many
sporting and other international events. Because the media and government
has a strong English (London) bias, if Scotland win an event it's a triumph
for GB. If Scotland don't win, it probably won't even be reported whereas if
England lose it's a 'national' disaster. There's something of a tradition in
some parts of Scotland of supporting whichever team is playing against
England, even if it's the Argentinians :-)

Owain

"John Smith" wrote
| On some inane television show I watched for a moment recently, a
| character was asked if he was British. He said, "I'm not British.
| I'm English." Is there a difference?

Yes. the United Kingdom of Great Britain is comprised of England and
Scotland, each of which retained its separate status as a nation after the
Union. There is also Wales, which got taken over by the English in
12something.

It's an unusual objection to make and I wonder if in this instance it was
done for dramatic or comedic effect. Most English people regard
British/English as synonymous. People in Wales and Scotland do not; they see
themselves as Scottish or Welsh rather than British and get rather miffed at
England being used a synonym for the UK. A Scottish or Welsh person is
likely to get extremely miffed if they are called English. The choice of
language is particularly sensitive if you are in Northern Ireland.

Owain

"Mark Hewitt" ha scritto nel
messaggio ...

[cut]

FWIW, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the full
name of the country.
The UK consists of Great Brtain and Northern Ireland
Great Britain consists of Scotland, England and Wales.

England is but one country in Britain.

So the character in the TV show was just being awkward, if you are
English,
you are also British.


What about the people living in the Channel Islands and in the isle of Man.
Are those British, English, Welsh?. I understand that they are not even part
of UK but rather have a different status. Which country are they?.
Elio

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 13:15:01 -0000, "Mark Hewitt"
wrote:

"Anthony" wrote in message
"Mark Hewitt" wrote in
message
...


So the character in the TV show was just being awkward, if you are
English, you are also British.
Certainly that's true; it's also true that if you are English you are
European, tho' plenty of English people would object to being so
described.

Correct. I once had the very same argument with a friend of mine who
insisted that "Britain is not part of Europe", of course I explained to him,
no matter which way you look at it, either geographically or poticially it
was in Europe and no matter how much he stamped his feet and whined it
wasn't going to change matters ;-)

no, it all depends on which definition of Europe you take, Many people
after asserting that Britain is part of Europe, refuse to also agree
that Europe is part of Asia.

Jim.

Are you just too stupid to look in a geography book?

"John Smith" wrote in message
om...
Well, I still don't get it.

Thanks for trying.

JS

Paul Ayling wrote:

The rule is "another triumph for Great Britain, England loses again"

John Smith wrote:

On some inane television show I watched for a moment recently, a
character was asked if he was British. He said, "I'm not British.
I'm English." Is there a difference?

JS

Knight of the Road wrote:

"Great Britain" means "those countries which form the larger landmass of the
British Isles"- and consists of England, Scotland and Wales. So I am English
and British too.

No. Great Britain can mean two things. First, it means the UK, which includes
Northern Ireland. Second, it is a geographical term applied to a single island,
the largest of the British Isles. In this definition, the Isles of Wight, Man,
and the Orkneys are near Great Britain but not part it.

... Ireland is not part of Britain. ...

Wrong. The northern part of it is, because "Britain" is synonomous with the UK.

"Knight of the Road" wrote in message
...


"John Smith" wrote

Well, I still don't get it.


"Great Britain" means "those countries which form the larger landmass of
the
British Isles"- and consists of England, Scotland and Wales. So I am
English
and British too.

"The United Kingdom" is short for "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland". Ireland is not part of Britain.

Whether a person chooses to describe himself as English, British or
European
is largely a matter of political preference, rather than geography.

Except for people like a friend of mine, who is British and German but can
never be English.

Colin Bignell

"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message
...

"John Smith" wrote in message
m...
On some inane television show I watched for a moment recently, a
character was asked if he was British. He said, "I'm not British. I'm
English." Is there a difference?

OMG are you serious? I thought the amount of geographical knowledge in the
world was bad.. but really!

FWIW, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the full
name of the country.
The UK consists of Great Brtain and Northern Ireland
Great Britain consists of Scotland, England and Wales.

England is but one country in Britain.

So the character in the TV show was just being awkward, if you are
English,
you are also British.

There is no guarantee that someone who is English is also British. British
is a nationality, which can be changed. English describes your country of
origin, which cannot.

Colin Bignell