jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Found online.

"British" seems to have surpassed "English" in popular use.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

And the smart a** has it wrong. The country is "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

Looking at the messages last response I have to wonder if that statement is true. I always thought that England was the country and Great Britain was the all encompassing Realm that included all the territories and colonies.

FreddB Loc: PA - Delaware County

Great Britain is the island; England, Scotland, and Wales. Ireland is a separate island, and, in a just world, a single, united, separate nation as well.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

No controversy, really. There's the island of England, and then there's Great Britain, which is the rest of what they control. I would expect English people to refer to themselves as English in particular, and as British in general. That's up to them, of course.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

13 Loc: I am only responsible to what I say..not what

lol! True!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

"And the smart a** has it wrong. The country is "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

And do you expect people to say that every time they refer to Britain? And it isn't a country; it's a kingdom.

Great Britain is not a country; it's a landmass. It is known as 'Great' because it is the largest island in the British Isles, and houses the countries of England, Scotland and Wales within its shores.
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-UK-Great-Britain-Whats-the-Difference/#:~:text=Great%20Britain%20is%20not%20a,and%20Wales%20within%20its%20shores.

FreddB Loc: PA - Delaware County

Not a smartass; someone whose mother never forgot the Black and Tans gentle hand.

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

Expert here. Maybe, but at least I live here and was born here.
I'm English, not Scottish, not Welsh, and not Irish. And I'm sure the last three wouldn't want to be confused with any other. We are (except for the IRISH) all BRITISH.

The United Kingdom consists of Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) and Northern Ireland.

The British Isles consists of Britain and Ireland (both North and South).

Jerry, there is no Island of England.

On the few times I've to the U.S., and people ask where I'm from I say England, and if a U.S. tourist should seek help I'll ask where they're from. They normally reply with a State, and sometimes add U.S. / America.

(Download)

Stephan G

As the old Adage runs, "Depends on with whom you are talking."

I remember trying to keep up with whom is from where, around the world. And at the ripe age of seven, starting to learn a new language, American English. I grew up in a multilingual/multicultural town. Most that I have met who fall under the umbrella of being British would identify their origins in the designations of their birthplace. When it came to those raised in London, would even identify themselves by the regions of the town.

P-J Loc: UK

Great Britain is the main island of the British Isles, which used to include the island of Ireland, but now known as Great Britain & Ireland

England is the largest geographical area of the island of Great Britain which includes Wales & Scotland. Each nation tends to call themselves by the country of their birth English, Welsh, Scots etc. Of which we are proud of our own heritage. It irks the the other home nations when foreigners generally tend to call us all English & rightly so.

Being British is the all encompassing name for people of these countries, unfortunately British has been devalued by the fact is that immigrants are now called British-Asian or British-Pakistani, British-Caribbean etc. No one would call themselves British-English etc.
So now we tend to call ourselves by the country of our birth, though I think you are defined by your DNA or your parents DNA/country of origin, not where you were born.
I no longer call myself British for these very reasons, to the majority of the indigenous peoples of these islands, British now generally refers to people of ethnic backgrounds.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Interesting.
My ancestry goes back to <primarily> England (back far enough, wasn't it simply called that?) and Scotland, to which I simply refer as English/Scottish.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It's not so simple, is it? : )

Lucian Loc: From Wales, living in Ohio

Nope... I'm Welsh and that is nothing like English. The people look slightly different, the language is nothing like English and yet we are British. Great Britain, as it was always called, was/is made up of England, Wales and Scotland, plus Northern Ireland, which is not attached to the land mass that comprises the other three "countries" mentioned.

There have been several names over the centuries, the British Isles, Great Britain and more recently (although a long time, in fact) The United Kingdom or the U.K. Non-Brits have, for many, many, many years, referred to Great Britain or the UK, incorrectly, as "England".