Stuart Mckelvie wrote [snip]: > In fact, we have UK (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland), > Great Britain = British Isles, I think) (England, Wales, Scotland) > and England (England).
It's not only non-Brits who get confused about this! No doubt about the first one: UK = the United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. But Great Britain is definitely not equal to the British Isles. The latter is rarely used nowadays, since the Irish Republic (Eire) became an independent country around 1922. But I see from Google that the term is (apparently) still in use, encompassing the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands (all self-governing) as well as the four main entities, England, Scotland, Wales and (the island of) Ireland. See http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/britishisles/ for everything you need to know (geographically and politically) about the current British Isles. "Great Britain", it seems, comprises the mainland countries England, Scotland and Wales. http://www.great-britain.co.uk/ > Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (sometimes) have their own > parliamentary assemblies. Yes, Scotland and Wales have had their own devolved parliaments since 1997, though the Scottish Parliament has more powers than the Welsh Assembly (presumably because enthusiasm for another layer of bureaucracy, as many saw it, was not as strong in Wales, where the 1997 Referendum vote resulted in favour of devolution by a mere 0.6 of one percent in a 50 percent turnout). So the situation is that Scotland has its own parliament, with control of health, education, etc, while England (along with the rest of the UK) is ruled from Westminster by a Government the main posts in which are (or, until recently, were) held by Scots (Blair, Brown, Reid, Cook, etc � even the Speaker [Chair] of the Commons is a Scotsman) -:) N.B. Tony Blair was born in Edinburgh > Now, here is a question for Allen: > What does one say when one reads about the Queen of England? > Who is she Queen of? UK Queen? There ain't been a Queen of England since Elisabeth I. The current Queen Elisabeth II is Queen of the UK and Head of the Commonwealth. Little known fact: Not only ex-British Empire countries are members of the Commonwealth. Ex-Portuguese Mozambique and ex-French Cameroon joined the Commonwealth in 1995. Chris Green wrote [snip]: > I am interested to hear what Allen will say. In Canada, Elizabeth is > officially known as the Queen of Canada (one title among many)... Truth to tell, I've no idea what the Queen's official title is for each of the Commonwealth countries. Most of them have their own Head of State, though not Australia, where a recent referendum on the issue of becoming a Republic within the Commonwealth resulted in a negative vote. (Although opinion polls indicate that the majority of Australians prefer the Republic option, the alternatives to the Queen as Head of State proposed at that time sufficed to produce a majority in favour of the status quo.) > ...I assume that she is also Queen of Scotland, Queen of Wales, and Queen of > North Ireland... See above: I think she is only Queen of the UK, not of the individual countries comprising the UK. Allen Esterson London, UK --------------- > Tue, 01 Mar 2005 > Author: "Stuart Mckelvie" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Psychology programs in England question > Dear Allen, > > As a graduate of the Univesity of Stirling, I thank Allen for gently > correcting the error of locating Stirling in England. As he says, it is not > uncommon to confuse countries in the UK. In fact, we have UK > (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland), Great Britain = British > Isles, I think) (England, Wales, Scotland) and England (England). > Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (sometimes) have their own > parliamentary assemblies. > > Now, here is a question for Allen: > > What does one say when one reads about the Queen of England? > Who is she Queen of? UK Queen? > > I wrote to Katia privately with similar advice to check the websites. > Both universities are very good. If you want the most modern one, > Stirling opened in 1967 and is on a beautiful self-contained campus. In > terms of reputation, the psychology department is excellent. > > Sincerely, > > Stuart > > > > Date sent: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 05:12:38 -0500 > Subject: Re: Psychology programs in England question > To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" > <[email protected]> > From: "Allen Esterson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Send reply to: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" > <[email protected]> > > > Katia wrote: > > >> One of my former students was recently accepted at both > > >> Surrey and Stirling universities in England > > > > Stirling in England? Rabbie Burns must be turning in his grave. > > http://www.hogmanay.net/auldlangsynelyrics.shtml > > http://www.robertburns.org/links.shtml > > > > I see Katia hails from Guatemala. No shame here, Katia, this kind of error > > is not infrequently made by Americans. I recently came across an article > > on the web by an eminent American political commentator alluding to > > Swansea, England. Best of all, an American comedian recently on BBC radio > > self-mockingly took this kind of error to its extreme by telling his > > Cardiff audience how delighted he was to be in Wales, England. > > > > > > Surrey or Stirling? The weather will be warmer in Surrey, but in case > > that's not the main concern you can check them out at: > > > > http://www.surrey.ac.uk/Psychology/ > > > > http://www.psychology.stir.ac.uk/ > > > > Allen Esterson > > London, England > > ---------------------- > > > > > Mon, 28 Feb 2005 > > > Author: "Katia Morales" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Subject: Psychology programs in England question > > > > > One of my former students was recently accepted at both Surrey and > > > Stirling universities in England and has asked my opinion of the > > > Psychology programs at both. I am completely unfamiliar with both and > > > was hoping someone might have some knowledge. Please send me your > > > comments to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > Thanks in advance, > > > > > > Katia Kayayan > > > > > > Colegio Maya > > > > > > Guatemala > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Stuart J. McKelvie, Ph.D., Phone: (819)822-9600 > Chairperson, Extension 2402 > Department of Psychology, > Bishop's University, Fax: (819)822-9661 > 3 Route 108 East, > Borough of Lennoxville, E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sherbrooke, > Quebec J1M 1Z7, Canada. > > Bishop's University Psychology Department Web Page: > http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
