Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
They are British. The post is about people equating Britain to England.
And this would not be inaccurate at all. In the practice (please, if some briton is reading this, correct me if I'm wrong) Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are autonomous regions of England in the same way of Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country in relation to Spain. England, stricto sensu, has no different parliament of Britain, nor a devolved government; the government of England is the same of Britain.
And this would not be inaccurate at all. In the practice (please, if some briton is reading this, correct me if I'm wrong) Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are autonomous regions of England in the same way of Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country in relation to Spain. England, stricto sensu, has no different parliament of Britain, nor a devolved government; the government of England is the same of Britain.
No Fabio this is wrong. The British government is the central government of 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. That means it governs England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. But England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all separate countries in their own right. A Scot would be extremely offended if you said Scotland was a region of England and rightly so!
Think of it like the US government governing the USA but each state is separate. What you are saying would be similar to saying Oregon is a region of California.
I hear/see this constantly - people refer to all things English as strictly British. Is this the norm now?
I never see Scots/Scottish things, Welsh, or Northern Irish referred to as British, only English.
To me, British/"a Brit" means someone or something from the entire union (i.e. British flag). Am I just being nitpicky?
Discuss!
I've only ever heard someone from England refer to themselves as being British. I can't recall anyone from N. Ireland or Scotland call themselves Britsh.
Americans seem to be following the lead of those English who call themselves British. And then the know-it-alls "silently" roll their eyes at us. (Which I must admit is much better than loudly rolling their eyes)
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,060,466 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fabio SBA
And this would not be inaccurate at all. In the practice (please, if some briton is reading this, correct me if I'm wrong) Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are autonomous regions of England in the same way of Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country in relation to Spain. England, stricto sensu, has no different parliament of Britain, nor a devolved government; the government of England is the same of Britain.
No they are all separate nations, although the capital of the United Kingdom just HAPPENS to be in London because it's the biggest and most important city. Of course the relationship might not be equal, but that's how it is. Scotland has a separate parliament, I believe, but not Wales or Northern Ireland. The other nations in the UK have their own identity and governance, though, to various degrees. They're a bit more separate than autonomous regions.
I've only ever heard someone from England refer to themselves as being British. I can't recall anyone from N. Ireland or Scotland call themselves Britsh.
Americans seem to be following the lead of those English who call themselves British. And then the know-it-alls "silently" roll their eyes at us. (Which I must admit is much better than loudly rolling their eyes)
Scotland is absolutely British. Scotland is part of the British Isles - it is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Scottish are British and would describe themselves as such depending on the context. Northern Ireland is slightly different - it is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but is not part of 'Britain' which refers to the larger island separate from Ireland. Northern Ireland is however part of the British Isles which is a geographical term referring to the collection of islands.
I am English and I explained earlier that constantly referring to the English as 'British' and never using 'English' is an American thing that we go along with for ease. It's not wrong - it is correct but in England I would refer to myself as English, but in America I tend to use British otherwise I tend to get a blank look as all Americans use 'British' instead.
If collectively you have someone from each country present at the same time, they would refer to themselves as British. The Scots, Welsh, Irish (and English) all have very proud separate identities and culture and like to refer to themselves as such. However the Scots, Welsh and English are also all proud to call themselves British collectively. The Irish tend to just refer to themselves as Irish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
No they are all separate nations, although the capital of the United Kingdom just HAPPENS to be in London because it's the biggest and most important city. Of course the relationship might not be equal, but that's how it is. Scotland has a separate parliament, I believe, but not Wales or Northern Ireland. The other nations in the UK have their own identity and governance, though, to various degrees. They're a bit more separate than autonomous regions.
Trimac, each country have their own capitals: London is the capital of England, Cardiff is the Capital of Wales, Edinburgh is the Capital of Scotland and Belfast is the Capital of Northern Ireland.
In terms of London being capital of the UK see the explanation here:
Quote:
"Unlike most capital cities, London's status as the capital of the UK has never been granted or confirmed officially—by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the UK's unwritten constitution. The capital of England was moved to London from Winchester as the Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the royal court, and thus the political capital of the nation."-
from Wikipedia.
Scotland does have its own parliament but is not completely independent from the UK parliament.
in England I would refer to myself as English, but in America I tend to use British otherwise I tend to get a blank look as all Americans use 'British' instead.
I'm not buying it. I can't imagine you've met even a couple of Americans who didn't what being English means.
Besides, we've all seen Braveheart and Trainspotting, we know all about the evil "Anglish".
I agree, and I tend to not. It's that fine line before becoming a "know-it-all", that and I'd be correcting on a constant basis. It's not worth the headache, so I just silently roll my eyes.
I tried that when I told them I was northern irish but they got all confused and thought we were english so from then on we just said we were irish because we couldnt be arsed.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
