The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
Jun 22nd 2010, 8:13 am
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The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
Aaarghh! Just reading the "Is Britain really united" thread and horrified at the gross ignorance, so here's an explanation of terms:
"The British Isles" is a geographic term describing the set of islands. It includes ALL of Ireland, the "main island" of Great Britain + Shetlands, Orkneys, Isle of Man, etc. The Channel Islands however are outside this geography.
"Great Britain" is the largest island of the group and includes most of the land mass of England, Scotland and Wales. It is also a geographic term.
"The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" is a political term describing the sovereign state. It includes the six counties of Northern Ireland which are not part of Eire and the vast majority of the other islands in the British Isles. Some of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man however are not in fact part of the UK but dependencies with loyalty to the British monarch.
For mathematicians, here it is as a Venn diagram:
Added note: red text is geographical, blue is political
"The British Isles" is a geographic term describing the set of islands. It includes ALL of Ireland, the "main island" of Great Britain + Shetlands, Orkneys, Isle of Man, etc. The Channel Islands however are outside this geography.
"Great Britain" is the largest island of the group and includes most of the land mass of England, Scotland and Wales. It is also a geographic term.
"The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" is a political term describing the sovereign state. It includes the six counties of Northern Ireland which are not part of Eire and the vast majority of the other islands in the British Isles. Some of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man however are not in fact part of the UK but dependencies with loyalty to the British monarch.
For mathematicians, here it is as a Venn diagram:
Added note: red text is geographical, blue is political
Last edited by ctfc; Jun 22nd 2010 at 9:32 am. Reason: extra info
Jun 22nd 2010, 8:28 am
#2
If I have to explain...
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
Aaarghh! Just reading the "Is Britain really united" thread and horrified at the gross ignorance, so here's an explanation of terms:
"The British Isles" is a geographic term describing the set of islands. It includes ALL of Ireland, the "main island" of Great Britain + Shetlands, Orkneys, Isle of Man, etc. The Channel Islands however are outside this geography.
"Great Britain" is the largest island of the group and includes most of the land mass of England, Scotland and Wales. It is also a geographic term.
"The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" is a political term describing the sovereign state. It includes the six counties of Northern Ireland which are not part of Eire and the vast majority of the other islands in the British Isles. Some of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man however are not in fact part of the UK but dependencies with loyalty to the British monarch.
For mathematicians, here it is as a Venn diagram:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nn_Diagram.png
"The British Isles" is a geographic term describing the set of islands. It includes ALL of Ireland, the "main island" of Great Britain + Shetlands, Orkneys, Isle of Man, etc. The Channel Islands however are outside this geography.
"Great Britain" is the largest island of the group and includes most of the land mass of England, Scotland and Wales. It is also a geographic term.
"The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" is a political term describing the sovereign state. It includes the six counties of Northern Ireland which are not part of Eire and the vast majority of the other islands in the British Isles. Some of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man however are not in fact part of the UK but dependencies with loyalty to the British monarch.
For mathematicians, here it is as a Venn diagram:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nn_Diagram.png
Jun 22nd 2010, 8:32 am
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
The jocks suck more at rugby. And it would appear all constituent parts suck pretty much equally at football.
Last edited by ctfc; Jun 22nd 2010 at 8:36 am.
Jun 22nd 2010, 8:35 am
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
The site I pinched the pic from has more detail. It's to do with England and Wales having the same legal system (despite the attempts of the Welsh Assembly and Plaid Cymru), whilst Scotland has a separate legal system.
Last edited by ctfc; Jun 22nd 2010 at 8:39 am.
Jun 22nd 2010, 8:36 am
#5
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
Wales is a principality, or something. In cricket, England is actually England and Wales.
Jun 22nd 2010, 9:11 am
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Jun 22nd 2010, 9:19 am
#7
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
Aaarghh! Just reading the "Is Britain really united" thread and horrified at the gross ignorance, so here's an explanation of terms:
"The British Isles" is a geographic term describing the set of islands. It includes ALL of Ireland, the "main island" of Great Britain + Shetlands, Orkneys, Isle of Man, etc. The Channel Islands however are outside this geography.
"Great Britain" is the largest island of the group and includes most of the land mass of England, Scotland and Wales. It is also a geographic term.
"The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" is a political term describing the sovereign state. It includes the six counties of Northern Ireland which are not part of Eire and the vast majority of the other islands in the British Isles. Some of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man however are not in fact part of the UK but dependencies with loyalty to the British monarch.
For mathematicians, here it is as a Venn diagram:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nn_Diagram.png
"The British Isles" is a geographic term describing the set of islands. It includes ALL of Ireland, the "main island" of Great Britain + Shetlands, Orkneys, Isle of Man, etc. The Channel Islands however are outside this geography.
"Great Britain" is the largest island of the group and includes most of the land mass of England, Scotland and Wales. It is also a geographic term.
"The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" is a political term describing the sovereign state. It includes the six counties of Northern Ireland which are not part of Eire and the vast majority of the other islands in the British Isles. Some of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man however are not in fact part of the UK but dependencies with loyalty to the British monarch.
For mathematicians, here it is as a Venn diagram:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nn_Diagram.png
So, the Isle of Wight isn't part of Great Britain?
"It includes the six counties of Northern Ireland which are not part of Eire and the vast..." as opposed to the other counties of Northern Ireland which are part of Eire?
And I'm not a mathematician--am I allowed to read the Venn thingy, or should I look away now?
Jun 22nd 2010, 9:28 am
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
Horrified you may be, but I think you pinched this off the wrong website.
So, the Isle of Wight isn't part of Great Britain?
"It includes the six counties of Northern Ireland which are not part of Eire and the vast..." as opposed to the other counties of Northern Ireland which are part of Eire?
And I'm not a mathematician--am I allowed to read the Venn thingy, or should I look away now?
So, the Isle of Wight isn't part of Great Britain?
"It includes the six counties of Northern Ireland which are not part of Eire and the vast..." as opposed to the other counties of Northern Ireland which are part of Eire?
And I'm not a mathematician--am I allowed to read the Venn thingy, or should I look away now?
Your statement is correct - the Isle of Wight isn't part of Great Britain. "Great Britain" is just the main island. The Isle of Wight is however part of the UK and part of the British Isles.
The same is true for Anglesey, Isle of Sheppey, Lundy, Skye etc.
Jun 22nd 2010, 9:31 am
#9
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
Where's Cornwall?
Dammit we of the Cornish blood deserve to be recognised.
Dammit we of the Cornish blood deserve to be recognised.
Jun 22nd 2010, 9:35 am
#10
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
It was only the Venn diagram I pinched.
Your statement is correct - the Isle of Wight isn't part of Great Britain. "Great Britain" is just the main island. The Isle of Wight is however part of the UK and part of the British Isles.
The same is true for Anglesey, Isle of Sheppey, Lundy, Skye etc.
Your statement is correct - the Isle of Wight isn't part of Great Britain. "Great Britain" is just the main island. The Isle of Wight is however part of the UK and part of the British Isles.
The same is true for Anglesey, Isle of Sheppey, Lundy, Skye etc.
Jun 22nd 2010, 9:37 am
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
Jun 22nd 2010, 9:50 am
#12
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
So how does Little Britian fit into all of this?
Jun 22nd 2010, 9:52 am
#13
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
We'll call it a draw then.
I made these explanations so many times when I lived in Japan; the words they have are Eikoku and Igirisu, which mean more-or-less anything you want. So out came the pen and beermat, and crude maps trying to explain UK. Don't think any of them had heard of Wales
. They'd have got the Venn diagram, though.
I made these explanations so many times when I lived in Japan; the words they have are Eikoku and Igirisu, which mean more-or-less anything you want. So out came the pen and beermat, and crude maps trying to explain UK. Don't think any of them had heard of Wales
. They'd have got the Venn diagram, though.
Jun 22nd 2010, 10:30 am
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Re: The British Isles, Great Britain and the UK
We'll call it a draw then.
I made these explanations so many times when I lived in Japan; the words they have are Eikoku and Igirisu, which mean more-or-less anything you want. So out came the pen and beermat, and crude maps trying to explain UK. Don't think any of them had heard of Wales. They'd have got the Venn diagram, though.
I made these explanations so many times when I lived in Japan; the words they have are Eikoku and Igirisu, which mean more-or-less anything you want. So out came the pen and beermat, and crude maps trying to explain UK. Don't think any of them had heard of Wales
. They'd have got the Venn diagram, though.