British, Irish, scottish, welsh??... Help!?

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LEX

Mate i am as confused as you are? and i am english born and bred!! I understand your confusion and it's ok you can't be blamed for asking this question! Hopefully someone will be along shortly to explain? I'm not even going to try!! I am english living in Wales so i'm super confused? I can't believe a small rock in the north sea can have so many titles, names, etc i'm not even sure where i live? uk, great britain , united kingdom, britain??

Tony BinEye

Paradoxically, its the English who most frequently use the word 'British', and perhaps the Northern Irish (I've never really known anyone from there) The Scots generally insist on being called just that, but that may be because England has been dominant for so long, they feel the need of that distinction.
I don't think the English want to 'go it alone', as they are generally to sensible to want that. Personally, I would not like to see any seperation from Wales and Scotland, but I do think that N.Ireland
should be handed back to Eire. Tough for the Protestants, but theres no denying, it's Irish, and belongs to the Irish. England has a deplorable record in Ireland, and hanging on to N.I. only prolongs that.

DogDoc

I'm English from one of the northern counties which shares a border with Scotland.

People in the UK tend to refer to themselves as English, Scots , Welsh or Irish and only use 'British' on documents and forms. I have a sense of being British but would always describe myself as English.

The other countries which make up the UK all have strong feelings of national pride and I think the people would probably be offended to be called English.

Wales and Scotland have their own governing bodies and I know that there are some marked differences in Scottish and English law. Scotland also has its own education system.

In Wales there are areas where Welsh is the only language spoken and most Welsh people, but not all, can speak Welsh.
Gaelic is still spoken in parts of Scotland but I don't think its as widespread as Welsh.

Historically this very small island was split into many small kingdoms and for thousands of years they fought against each other. The Welsh and Scots eventually succumbed to English rule. Ireland has always resisted English rule although as you know Northern Ireland is governed by the English - or more correctly Great Britain.

We are still squabbling amongst ourselves but it seems that there is strength in being united.

To confuse matters a little for you many of us are of 'mixed race' having Welsh, Scottish, Irish, English ancestry.

My own ancestors came over with the Normans (the French) who moved northward and settled in Scotland eventually claiming title to the Scottish throne. They were defeated, run out of Scotland and settled in the northern counties of England where we have been ever since.

Jordan G

Basically, 'British' is the term that foreigners use to address the country as a whole, but when a foreigner thinks of Brits, they thing of the English, within Britain itself, scots are scots, northern irish are themselves, as are the welsh and english.

ceilteach_kitten

The term United Kingdom refers to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is a political term rather than a geographical union.

Great Britain is the political entity made up of England, Scotland and Wales, including their offshore islands. It does not include the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands or Northern Ireland.

British Isles is a geographical rather than political name. It includes all the main and offshore islands of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

In terms of refering to people, you are safer not to call anyone British. People will not take offence to being referred to by their "regional" nationality (if that makes sense?!) but people in each of the British countries may take offence to being called British or (heven forbid!!) english when not in england! Kind of the same thing as not calling a Canadian American or a New Zealander Australian. I don't think any Brit appreciates being called European.....(though i may be wrong!)

Hope that helps.

jomarie357

The different terminology for Bristish and Britain itself adds to the confusion. The 'British Isle' refers to the actual islands of Ireland and Britian (and the Isle of Man if you want to further confuse all!)the way 'North America' refers to Canada as well as the USA. The use of Great Britain is therefore used to denote the larger of the two islands (although techically there are over 200 islands making up the British Isle), and geographically means England, Scotland and Wales. When refering to the United Kingdom Northern Ireland is also included. The popular use of the term 'England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales' is not listed in order of importance, or time of joining the UK, or land-size - it is simply alphabetic - and therefore the way it is listed in most text books.
As for nationality - we are all British - ruled by British Government, voting in British elections. There are regional differences in Government, law etc between the seperate countries, the way the USA has State law and National law.
There are other regional differences-shadows of the past when the Islands were not the countries they are now, but the predecessors to what exists currently (Wessex, Mercia etc).
Different people feel differently about their nationality. Sometimes this is influenced by their politics or personal agenda's - often due prejudices they'd never get away with if directed at an ethnic minority section of society. But for instance a Yorkshire man will cheer the Yorkshire Cricket Team, the England Football team, the British Lions Rugby Team, the Britis Olympic Team and the European Ryder Cup Team!
Like many countries with ancient history we don't fit into a neat modern ideal of 'a nation' politically or via land mass. We squabble like all siblings do and our allegience is always waivering, but most of the time we stand together-and the vast majority of us get along fine!

Alf Garnett 1V

You should preferrably address the person by the Country in which they were born e.g Wales - Welsh, Scotland - Scots etc.People are very proud to identify with their Country of birth and historically England has had major conflict with the other 3 causing some resentment even today. Britain is not so unfied at the moment with the devolution of a Parliament to Scotland and the feeling in England that the Scots interfere in what are essentially English problems but they,the English, have no say in Scottish affairs. Makes sense but they are worried that Scotland may seek independance after the next general election if the Scottish National Party gets into power.There are four different cultures but in the broader sense little difference between the peoples of the various countries.

Jimbobarino

Don't Bother trying to figure it out
We're all Mad!

john k

The British Isles are home to four countries, three of the countries being England, Wales and Scotland and part of the fourth country ( Ireland ) the province of Northern Ireland, ( Province of Ulster, an administrative division of the United Kingdom ) and is known as Great Britain or the United Kingdom, all the people who live in the UK can rightfully describe themselves as British or their own national identity ie; Welsh, Irish, Scots or English, it is'nt unusual to be proud of being British as well as being proud of being English etc.

â™¥cozicatâ™¥

well all igotta say is im scottish,and yes im very proud of it,i hate it when people refer to the brits as "english" hello what about us,the welsh,the irish,,?? we are all nations within a nation,and each one of us are proud to be,scottish,english,irish,welsh,alone we are one of the united we make britain,its just a shame we cant unite and stop slagging each other off,especially us and the english...

nosdda

Britain, as you say, consists of English , Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Ireland. Put them all together, and they are British because they all live in Britain. I am Wesh, but when I am asked for my Nationality, I say British Welsh . thereby this tells anyone that I am british and live in Wales. I hope this helps you to understand better.

Bunts

The United Kingdom is; England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Southern Ireland is a self-governing republic. Nowadays, there is no difference in a reference to Great Britain, or The UK.
This year celebrates the 300th anniversary of the union of Scotland with England. That is at the moment looking shaky. But over the last 200 years, there have been various agreements between the governments of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
DeValera, the Prime Minister of Ireland, tried to reach an agreement with the English government about an amalgamation of Ireland with England. He 'sold out' the 6 states of northern tip of Ireland ' the teddy bear's head' ; to England; and England settled for what is now known as Northern Ireland - which comes under the British flag.
So, the English think of themselves as English and British; the Scots think of themselves as Scots and Scots; and similar for the Welsh. The people of Northern Ireland have voted overwhelmingly to be British.
If you ever sort it out, please let me know!

English Brit

drakshug

I can't comment about any of the other nationalities in the UK but I am Scottish, not British. The only British identity I have is my passport and my driving licence.
What sort of diminishment of national pride are you referring to? British? I'm proud to be a Scot but not proud to be British.

ferrisob1

For a start I'm English, not british, same as Scotts ar Scotish Welsh are Welsh, an Irish are Irish.
Scotish people are not British they are Scotish full stop.
Comparing British to English is insulting, we are all seperate people with different cultures an history.
As a collective of individual countries we can be called British but its all rarther demeaning to our roots.
Everyone would prefer to be on their own but seeing as the vast majority of wealth in the U.K. is generated in England it would be very unfair to do that.
Don't even get me started about politics, the Scots have been given devolution but there are 58 Scottish MP's voting on English Law. WTF?
National pride is pretty much banned in England, its a complete joke an it leads to a breakdown of society in general, that its so frowned upon that is.
There are so many distinctions an differences between the countries that there can not be a "british sense of pride"
A lot of people have big chips on their shoulders about nationalism, end of the day, I don't care who gets knocked out of what competition first, I'll support any of the U.K. nations that are left, that is the British thing to do.
Its an expansive question bruv, it could be discussed at length all night an you won't be any clearer.
Thats whats so funnie about the government plans to promote Britishness, what is that exactly???

ANN F

Great Britain Wales Scotland England
United kingdom Wales Scotland England Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland no connection separate country

Ammo

I tell people that I am from Wales in the UK but I never say I am British - I say I am Welsh - when I have to tick boxes I tick Welsh if that is not on there I leave it blank or write Welsh somewhere on the paper

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