Great Britain? United Kingdom? England? What's the Difference? Explained.
- Jun 21, 2015
- 3 min read
I've noticed that a lot of people use United Kingdom, Britain, and England interchangeably. I've also realised that many people think "British" and "English" are synonomous. Guess what! None of these things mean what you might think! I'm here to clarify what all these things mean, even when you thought we were all speaking the same language!
United Kingdom (UK): This term refers to a few countries. The UK is made up of: England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland (to the recent disappointment of nearly half of the Scots). See, the name makes sense: it's a union of a few entities which make up the kingdom.
Want to know a fun fact? When you see the Union Jack, something that commonly seems to be a very English symbol, you are actually looking at the juxtaposition of the St. George’s Cross (or flag of England), the Scottish flag, and the Saint Patrick’s cross (represents Ireland). All those colorful lines are parts of each country's flag*. Actually, if Scotland had left the United Kingdom, they would have had to redesign the Union Jack! John Oliver explains.
Important note: (The Republic of) Ireland is not in the UK. I hear people clump the Republic of Ireland with the UK so often. Don't do it! it's 100% incorrect. It is a completely separate country, and you'll look like an a-hole if you call Ireland a part of the UK.
Great Britain: Britain refers to a landmass. The UK is often referred to as "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". What? Why?
So, Britain is an island, made up of England, Wales, and Scotland. Northern Ireland (part of the UK, but politically separate from the Republic of Ireland), is on a different island: Ireland.
That being said, no one will correct you if you refer to someone from Northern Ireland as British. They even call themselves British, but technically they're not.
Most of us Americans use the word "British" synonymously with "English", but watch out! Most English people will correct you, insisting that they are English.
That being said, I wouldn't call someone from Scotland British, because, so many people would get confused because of this dominant colloquial understanding that British = English. Plus, we've mentioned that about half of the Scots want to be independent, so maybe we should avoid clustering them with the English. Did you know the Romans couldn't even conquer Scotland? Let's avoid pissing the Scots off.
So, that leaves us with...
England: This is the country most of us mean when we talk about the UK (sorry Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland!). Most people I've met here prefer to be called English versus British, probably because they do understand that Britain refers to a few places.
England is much more than just London, and the country is quite different outside of its famous capital. Don't confuse what you know about London with what you know about England as a whole. They're quite different!
So now you're the expert on these terms.
Now, when people tell you they've been to the UK, now you can pretentiously ask them, sorry, where specifically in the UK have you been to? Oh, you probably mean you've been to England.
Then refer them to my blog so they can learn more.
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