Bob W wrote:
I suspect that quite a few users from Northern Ireland would
disagree. While they live in the United Kingdom (of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, to give the full name), they
would take
exception to your suggesting that they live in Britain.
Possibly, but Ireland (all of it) is considered to be one of
the British Isles, isn't it? (So I'm not sure you can say
that Britain refers to the same as *Great* Britain.)
There is a distinction between the physical and the political. The British
Isles are physical things off the north coast of Western Europe. The largest
of them is Britain. The 2nd largest is Ireland. The political institution
called Great Britain happens to be on the island of Britain.
I'm not sure if that is 100% correct. I think Great Britain is also a
name of the island itself. But wait, I'll look it up... Britannica says:
Great Britain, also called BRITAIN, island lying of the western
coast of Europe and consisting of England, Scotland and Wales. The
term is often used as a synonym for United Kingdom, which also
includes Nordern Ireland and a number of offshore islands.
Are you sure Great Britain exists as a political institution, by the way
- I mean, formally? I've been been lead to believe that England doesn't
- in the sense that there is a constitution for the UK, and special
regulations for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but nothing
special about England mentioned anywhere (it's just "the rest" of the UK.)
- Toralf
