UK'ers in the playground, answer a question for me!

[Logic]

Honestly, what is the difference, if any, between "English" and "British?"

This has bothered me for some time, and some members of the Royal Air Force seem to get offended if I use one or the other to describe them.

[Eldred]

To be British is to be from Great Britain (ie. England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland) whereas English only refers to people from England.

I think... I can't remember if all of Ireland is included in GB.

As for the RAF getting offended: no idea. I wouldn't be bothered if I was called British or English.

[Castaras]

*shrugs*

Some people refer to themselves as English, as in only acknowledging they're from England, while another will say they're British, which means they're saying they're from Britain.

Something like that, anyway...

[Rumda]

though most scotish people will be mortally offended if you call them English, and some would be offended even if you called them British

technically all of Ireland is not Britain, as the full name of the UK is the united kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

[Mr Croup]

"English" would apply to an individual from England.

"British" would apply to an individual from England, Wales, Scotland (though I've known a few Scots that would object), Northern Ireland, and to various other holdings of the U.K.

[nagora]

Honestly, what is the difference, if any, between "English" and "British?"

This has bothered me for some time, and some members of the Royal Air Force seem to get offended if I use one or the other to describe them.

England is to Britain what Texas is to United States.

England is to Britain what France is to Europe.

England is to Britain what Russia was to the Soviet Union.

In other words: it's the largest of several components. I am British but not English because I'm from Northern Ireland.

Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) is British but not English being from Scotland.

Anthony Hopkins (Hanibal Lector) is British but not English, being from Wales.

David Beckham (half-wit footballer) is British and English.

[nagora]

To be British is to be from Great Britain (ie. England, Wales, Scotland or Ireland) whereas English only refers to people from England.

I think... I can't remember if all of Ireland is included in GB.

As for the RAF getting offended: no idea. I wouldn't be bothered if I was called British or English.

Well, that's fair enough since you are both. The south of Ireland rebelled and split away from Britain in 1916, but "Great Britain" is a geographical term meaning the large island that England, Scotland, and Wales are part of, so Ireland was never part of that. Just plain "Britain" and "British" are more political/cultural terms to mean (roughly) any area subject to the queen and/or parliament.

[Rumda]

Well, that's fair enough since you are both. The south of Ireland rebelled and split away from Britain in 1916, but "Great Britain" is a geographical term meaning the large island that England, Scotland, and Wales are part of, so Ireland was never part of that. Just plain "Britain" and "British" are more political/cultural terms to mean (roughly) any area subject to the queen and/or parliament.

well that definition would either mean that the entire commonwealth is british as the majority still recognise the queen as there sovereign as much as the UK does , and with devolution the westminister parliament has less power in scotland wales and northern ireland

[Hoggy]

I prefer to be called Cornish.

[nagora]

well that definition would either mean that the entire commonwealth is british as the majority still recognise the queen as there sovereign as much as the UK does , and with devolution the westminister parliament has less power in scotland wales and northern ireland

I did say "roughly". The effect of the spell diminishes as one goes further from London. I didn't want to get into a discussion about the Commonwealth and things like Australia.

[Totally Guy]

A term I hear all the time is "British accent", which doesn't make much sense as the four parts all sound very different. For example nagora has his location as a phonetic of how he'd probably say where he comes from (which is quite cool in an exclusive kind of way).

But even if people say "English accent" that's probably inaccurate again as people still sound different city by city. But unlike the term "British accent" to mean the stereotypical english one, at least you've got a term that doesn't show any unintended favourtism. If anyone were to moan about the term "English accent" to mean the RP English, the stereotype, they'd probably just be being pedantic.

[Mr the Geoff]

England also is derived from the Angles, one of the tribes which settled in Britain from mainland Europe around the 5th century AD. As Anglo Saxon settlement didn't reach as far as Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, the Isle of Man or Ireland, no-one from there is English. They are instead Welsh, Scottish, Cornish, Manx or Irish.

Britain is the name of the island, the British are the inhabitants of the island of Britain.

Great Britain is the country made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern island (mostly by conquest, hence the certain resentment of many at being called British rather than Scottish for instance. For more information why that is, watch Braveheart!).

Being both English and British, I don't mind either.

[Dihan]

I'm Welsh first, and British second.

[Kiero]

Great Britain is the country made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern island.

Actually, Great Britain is only England, Scotland and Wales. Thus the United Kingdom of Great Britain abd Northern Ireland.

[Flakey]

(mostly by conquest, hence the certain resentment of many at being called British rather than Scottish for instance. For more information why that is, watch Braveheart!).

Just do not take much of it as real though :)

William Wallace was mostly of Norman/French extraction, and not much Scotish at all. Plus the princess in the film was 11 when William died soooo... *cough* lets not go further.

Dispite the distorted view some people in Wales and Scotland take of history, most of the inhabitants of both nations take pride in it, and dislike bring called English.

Mostly by Americans, but not totally. I think I should have printed a card up in my first visit to Florida stating :-

1. No I am not English
2. No I am not from London.
3. No I do not know x from London. I only know of 10 people out of several million that live there.

[Ikkitosen]

I'm Welsh first, and British second.

This is the prevalent attitude of most British people; own nationality first, British second.

And no, no part of Ireland is in Britain.

Cornwall, many many moons ago, was it's own...country? Principality? Dunno. Anyhow, there's an independence movement down there, but I have to say it's largely a local issue and barely impinges upon the rest of the isles whatsoever (sorry Cornwall).

So:

Britain = England, Scotland and Wales, plus Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrides, and the island groups of Orkney and Shetland

Politically you can add Northern Ireland, but technically they're a part of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).

God save the Queen

[CrazedGoblin]

sounds all very confusing

[Archonic Energy]

I'm Welsh first, and British second.

that's strange i'm British first & a Londoner second... and English Third

[Adlan]

Local Identity is quite important to people in the UK, I often find my self responding to Where are you from with Norfolk, instead of England.

A Scotsman is a Scotsman, and will be very offended if you called him an Englishman, A Yorkshireman would be offended if you asked if he was from london, and if you mistook some Irish for english, you'd be a lick of trouble.

Too me, a Forigener is someone from outside norfolk, I'm off to machester today, and to me it can be like another country. People at the Uk meet up will attest to this.

[Ikkitosen]

Too me, a Forigener is someone from outside norfolk...

You mean someone not related to you?


EDIT: You see, predictable local joke - there's much more variation
over "small" distances here than somewhere like, say, the USA. Another insight into what Britain "is". Sorry Adlan.

[Adlan]

The English and The American have one peculair flaw in common, they both fail to understand the number 100.

To An Englishman, a 100 miles is a Long way
To An American a 100 years is a Long time

[banjo1985]

Local Identity is quite important to people in the UK, I often find my self responding to Where are you from with Norfolk, instead of England.

A Scotsman is a Scotsman, and will be very offended if you called him an Englishman, A Yorkshireman would be offended if you asked if he was from london, and if you mistook some Irish for english, you'd be a lick of trouble.

Too me, a Forigener is someone from outside norfolk, I'm off to machester today, and to me it can be like another country. People at the Uk meet up will attest to this.

Funny, I'm from near Birmingham, and I get very annoyed when I get called a Brummie! However it is true that anyone outside of the Black Country tends to seem pretty foreign to me!

[Serpentine]

I think that works just as well with Australia rather than the US.

[Saithis Bladewing]

I get very annoyed when anyone calls me a Brummie, maybe because I don't live in Birmingham (nevermind how close it is...)

I think that the term 'British accent' is probably used not only to describe the stereotypical english accent, but more primarily used as a label for those who speak the British dialect of english, which while varying minorly from area to area, is still more or less the same across the UK.

[Ikkitosen]

There was an awesome TV show in which they analysed the true origins of people. They picked the most intolerant people who took massive pride in being English (or Scottish, or whatever) and not being a part of anything else like Britain and measured the "purity" of their blood. Of course they were largely dumb so didn't see it coming when the presenter said "so, you're 80% African. Still think you're better than other people? How'dya feel, sucka?*"





*I paraphrase.

[InaVegt]

As with the Welsh first, British second.

I'm Overijsselian first, Dutch second. As such I absolutely hate it when people say I'm from Holland, as that's like calling england Britain, France Europe, Texas the USA, or the USA America. Holland is simply the largest part of the Netherlands.

[Ikkitosen]

As with the Welsh first, British second.

I'm Overijsselian first, Dutch second. As such I absolutely hate it when people say I'm from Holland, as that's like calling england Britain, France Europe, Texas the USA, or the USA America. Holland is simply the largest part of the Netherlands.

This is a common viewpoint of those not from the largest part of their country. As an Englishman, when people refer to Britain as England I'm not offended so I can politely educate them. Call a Welsh or Scottish person English and you'll get an outburst.

Sounds the same in The Netherlands.

[Archonic Energy]

This is a common viewpoint of those not from the largest part of their country. As an Englishman, when people refer to Britain as England I'm not offended so I can politely educate them. Call a Welsh or Scottish person English and you'll get Shot.

Fixed that for you there...

that's twice in one day Ikk.

[Serpentine]

As with the Welsh first, British second.

I'm Overijsselian first, Dutch second. As such I absolutely hate it when people say I'm from Holland, as that's like calling england Britain, France Europe, Texas the USA, or the USA America. Holland is simply the largest part of the Netherlands.

Um, it probably doesn't really matter, but... these comparisons are starting to bug me. Russia to the Soviet Union, sure, or, I don't know, Java to Indonesia maybe, and there was another one that worked even better that I've forgotten, but comparing a state/nation or nation/continent association to a nation/union of nations one? Bad people, naughty. Fix your analogies

[Rawhide]

I have only one word...


QUEENSLANDER!



Call me Australian, call me an Aussie, call me a Queenslander, I don't care. I am part of the great nation of Australia, I am also a Queenslander, but I do not see that I am in any way a Queenslander more than I am an Aussie.