Instituto de Estudios Superiores BelénPROFESORADO EN INGLÉS

Historia de la Civilización Inglesa I

England, Britain, or what?Various terms are used to describe the different (and sometimes overlapping)

geographical and political areas of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, and surrounding

islands. The terminology is often a source of confusion, partly owing to the similarity

between some of the actual words used, but also because they are often used loosely. The

purpose of this article is to explain the meanings of and relationships among those terms.

"England" is sometimes, wrongly, used in reference to the whole United Kingdom,

the entire island of Great Britain (or simply Britain), or indeed the British Isles. This is not

only incorrect but can cause offence to people from other parts of the UK.

England is part of the United Kingdom, along with Scotland and Wales. Great Britain,

the United Kingdom and the British Isles do not mean the same thing. Great Britain is very

often, but incorrectly, used as a synonym for the sovereign state properly known as the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom is made up of:

England: The Capital is London;

Scotland: The Capital is Edinburgh;

Wales: The Capital is Cardiff;

Northern Ireland: The Capital is Belfast.

In brief, the main terms and their simple explanations are as follows:

1. Geographical terms:

The British Isles is an archipelago consisting of the two large islands of Great

Britain and Ireland, and many smaller surrounding islands.

Great Britain is the largest island of the archipelago.

Ireland is the second largest island of the archipelago and lies directly to the west

of Great Britain.

2. Political terms

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the

constitutional monarchy occupying the island of Great Britain, the small nearby

islands (but not the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands), and the north-eastern

Instituto de Estudios Superiores BelénPROFESORADO EN INGLÉS

Historia de la Civilización Inglesa I

part of the island of Ireland. Usually, it is shortened to United Kingdom or the

UK, but Great Britain or Britain is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to the whole

of the state. The abbreviation GB is frequently used for the United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Northern Ireland in international agreements.

Ireland is the sovereign republic occupying the larger portion of the island of

Ireland. However, to distinguish the state from the island, or to distinguish either

of these from Northern Ireland, it is also called "the Republic of Ireland" or simply

"the Republic". Occasionally, its Irish-language name, Éire, will be used in an

English-language context to distinguish it from "Northern Ireland", even though

the word "Éire" directly translates as "Ireland".

England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are legal jurisdictions

within the United Kingdom.

Great Britain means the countries of England, Wales and Scotland considered

as a unit.

British Islands consists of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle

of Man. These are the states within the British Isles that have the British monarch

as head of state.

3. Terminology in detail

Britain is a political and geographic term which can refer to the United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or the island of Great Britain.

Great Britain is the largest island in Europe and the political union of three nations,

these being:

o England,

o Wales;

o Scotland

Britannia was the Roman province of Britain, or a

poetic reference to later Britain, or a

personification of Britain (a female personification

of the island, a goddess, armed with a trident and

shield and wearing a centurion’s helmet)

Instituto de Estudios Superiores BelénPROFESORADO EN INGLÉS

Historia de la Civilización Inglesa I

IMAGE SOURCES: “Britannia”: Accessed 05/04/2011 03:54 from

https://sites.google.com/site/ecfbritannia/Britannia1.jpg

“United Kingdom Cities and Town”: Accessed 05/04/2011 03:35 from http://clg-

kani-keli.ac-mayotte.fr/IMG/png/uk2.png

SOURCES: Wikipedia.org: Terminology of the British Isles. Accessed 05/04/2011 04:05 p.m.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminology_of_the_British_Isles

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMERTodas las imágenes, sonidos, videos y demás

recursos multimedia y/o analógicos contenidos en este documento han sido recopilados de distintas fuentes y pertenecen a sus respectivos autores.Su inclusión aquí ha sido sólo con fines educativos y no se ha aspirado a obtener ningún rédito económico. Se permite la reproducción total o parcial del presente documento y sus adjuntos bajo los términos de las licencias Creative Commons:

Atribución – No Comercial – Compartir Igual

Prof. Dante R. ACOSTA