Terminology of the British Isles
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{{ otheruses4|the various geographical and political terminology relating to the states, islands, countries and nations of the [[British Isles]]
|the disagreement and different views on using the term 'British Isles', particularly in relation to Ireland |British Isles naming dispute}}
[[Image:LocationBritishIsles.png|right|thumb|300px|{{legend|#008000|[[British Isles|The British Isles]]}}]]
[[Image:British Isles Euler diagram.svg|right|thumb|300px|An [[Euler diagram]] clarifying the terminology. {{legend|#ff2828|Geographic-only locations.}}{{legend|#3030ff|Political entities (may also be geographic terms).}}]]
The various terms used to describe the different (and sometimes overlapping) geographical and political areas of the [[island]]s of Great Britain, Ireland and surrounding islands are 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 inter-relationships among those terms.
In brief<!-- note that these are not intended to be full explanations of the terms; that is for later portions of the article -->, the main terms and their simple explanations are as follows.
* Geographical terms
** The [[British Isles]] is an [[archipelago]] consisting of the islands of [[Great Britain]], [[Ireland]] and many smaller surrounding islands.
** [[Great Britain]], sometimes simply ''Britain'', is the largest island of the archipelago<ref>"Britain", Oxford English Dictionary: "More fully Great Britain. As a geographical and political term: (the main island and smaller offshore islands making up) England, Scotland, and Wales, sometimes with the [[Isle of Man]]"</ref><ref>New Oxford American Dictionary: "Britain: an island that consists of England, Wales, and Scotland. The name is broadly synonymous with Great Britain, but the longer form is more usual for the political unit."</ref><ref>"Britain", Oxford English Dictionary (Online Edition): "Britain: 1a - The proper name of the whole island containing England, Wales, and Scotland, with their dependencies; more fully called Great Britain; now also used for the British state or empire as a whole."</ref> and lies directly north of [[France]]. (The term ''Britain'' is more commonly used as a political term: an alternative name for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/page/0,,184840,00.html Guardian Unlimited Style Guide], Guardian News and Media Limited, 2007</ref>)
** [[Ireland]] is the second largest island of the archipelago and lies directly to the west of Great Britain.
**The full [[list of islands in the British Isles]] includes some 6,000 islands, of which 51 have an area larger than 20 km².
* Political terms
** The [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]] is the [[sovereign state]] occupying the island of Great Britain, the small nearby islands (but not the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands), and the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland. Usually, it is shortened to ''United Kingdom'', ''UK'' or ''Britain''.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/page/0,,184840,00.html Guardian Unlimited Style Guide], Guardian News and Media Limited, 2007</ref>
** [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] is the sovereign state occupying the larger portion of the island of Ireland. To disambiguate it from the island of Ireland, it is often called the "[[Republic of Ireland]]" or, when speaking in the context of Irish politics, simply the ''Republic'', in order to distinguish it from "[[Northern Ireland]]", despite the fact that the country's constitution names the country simply ''Ireland''. Occasionally an approximation to its gaelic 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]], [[Scotland]], [[Wales]] and Northern Ireland are the [[constituent countries]] of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern 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.<ref>[http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page823.asp Countries within a country]</ref><ref>"Great Britain", New Oxford American Dictionary: "Great Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland considered as a unit. The name is also often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom."</ref> The term ''Great Britain'' is often used (incorrectly) as synonymous with the ''UK''. However, the ''UK'' and ''Great Britain'' are not equivalent since the UK is a state formed from the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
**Britain is widely used as a political synonym for the United Kingdom.
**[[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.
**[[GB]] is the [[ISO 3166]] code for the United Kingdom.
*Linguistic terms
**The [[United Kingdom]] and the [[Republic of Ireland|(Republic of) Ireland]] are sometimes referred to as ''nations'' and ''countries'' in formal documents while [[England]], [[Wales]], [[Scotland]] and (to a lesser extent) [[Northern Ireland]] are also referred to as ''nations'' and ''countries''. In everyday language the terms nation and country are used almost interchangeably.
**'''British''' is the correct adjective pertaining to the United Kingdom; for example, a [[citizen]] of the UK is both officially and colloquially described as a [[British citizen]].
**Wales is also known as [[Principality of Wales|the Principality]]; Northern Ireland can also be referred to, by those of a unionist persuasion, as ''the Province'', in relation to its locality within the Province of [[Ulster]].
*Sport
**The constituent countries of the United Kingdom often compete separately in international competition as ''nations'' (and are often described as "the [[home nations]]"). For example in [[association football]], [[Scotland]], [[Wales]], [[Northern Ireland]] and [[England]] play as ''nations'' and are officially referred to as nations. An additional complication is that in some sports, such as [[rugby union]], players from [[Northern Ireland]] and the [[Republic of Ireland]] play as one team, ''Ireland'', in international competitions.
**Rugby players from both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom play for [[British and Irish Lions]] representing the four "Home Unions" of [[Rugby Football Union|England]], [[Irish Rugby Football Union|Ireland]], [[Scottish Rugby Union|Scotland]] and [[Welsh Rugby Union|Wales]].
**[[Great Britain]] is often used to mean [[United Kingdom]]. Usually this is simply sloppy language, but is sometimes used as a shortening of [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]] (for example in the [[Olympic Games]] Athletes from [[Northern Ireland]] have the choice to either represent ''Team GB'' or ''Team Ireland'' [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/athletics/6754181.stm]
**Team GB represents the United Kingdom at the [[Olympic Games]].
**In the majority of individual sports (e.g. [[tennis]] and [[athletics (track and field)|athletics]]), at international level competitors are identified as GB if they are from Great Britain or Northern Ireland. A small number of sports (e.g. [[golf]]) identify participants as representing their constituent country. The [[Commonwealth Games]] is the only competition where all parts of the British Islands compete as separate nations. It should be noted that the Republic of Ireland does not participate in The Commonwealth Games as it is not part of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].
**Team Ireland represents [[Ireland]] with athletes from both parts of the island taking part.
** As such, Northern Ireland is represented in both teams. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/athletics/6754181.stm]
==At a glance==
Below is a visual reference guide to some of the main concepts and territories described in this article:
<gallery>
Image:British Isles all.svg|The [[British Isles]]
Image:British Isles United Kingdom.svg|The [[United Kingdom]] of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
Image:Great Britain.svg|[[Great Britain]]
Image:British Isles Scotland.svg|[[Scotland]]
Image:British Isles Northern Ireland.svg|[[Northern Ireland]]
Image:Republic of Ireland.svg|[[Republic of Ireland]]
Image:Island of Ireland.svg|[[Ireland]]
Image:British Isles England.svg|[[England]]
Image:British Isles Wales.svg|[[Wales]]
Image:British Isles Isle of Man.svg|The [[Isle of Man]]
Image:British Isles Channel Islands.svg|The [[Channel Islands]] ([[Jersey]], [[Guernsey]], [[Alderney]], [[Sark]] and [[Herm]])
Image:British Islands.svg|The [[British Islands]]
</gallery>
== Terminology in detail ==
*'''[[Britain (name)|Britain]]''' is a political and geographic term which can mean either the island of [[Great Britain]] (so called to differentiate it from Brittany 'Little Britain'{{Fact|date=June 2007}}) or the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]].<ref>"the term 'Britain' is used informally to mean the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" — quote from [http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page823.asp British Government website]</ref>
*'''[[Great Britain]]''' is the [[List of islands by area|largest island]] in Europe and the [[political union]] of three nations, these being:
::*'''[[England and Wales]]''' Is a political and administrative term referring to the two [[home countries]] of England and Wales, which share the same legal system. Between [[Wales and Berwick Act 1746|1746]] and [[Welsh Language Act 1967|1967]] the term "England" did legally include Wales.
:::*'''[[England]]''' (see also the historical [[Kingdom of England]]).
:::*'''[[Wales]]''' (see also the historical [[Principality of Wales]]).
::*'''[[Scotland]]''' (see also the historical [[Kingdom of Scotland]])
:*The historical '''[[Kingdom of Great Britain]]''' is Britain for the period 1707-1801.
:*'''Britannia''' is the [[Roman Britain|Roman province of Britain]], or a poetic reference to later Britain, or a [[Britannia|personification of Britain]].
*The '''[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]]''', usually shortened to the '''United Kingdom''' (abbreviation '''UK'''), is Great Britain plus '''Northern Ireland''' since 1927. (The Partition of Ireland took place in 1922, but the consequent change in the official title of the UK was only made by Act of Parliament five years later.). The [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]] is often shortened to '''Britain''', even on official websites<ref>[http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Gtgl1/GuideToGovernment/AboutBritain/index.htm UK Government's "Guide to Government"]</ref><ref>[http://www.statistics.gov.uk/lib2000/index.html Office for National Statistics]</ref>
:*The historical '''[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]''' is Great Britain plus Ireland, for the period 1801 to 1922, although the name change after the secession/independence of most of Ireland only took place in 1927.
:N.B.: While "United Kingdom" is normally abbreviated '''UK''', the official [[ISO 3166]] two-letter country code is '''GB''' and the three letter code is '''GBR''' ([[Ukraine]] has the two letter code UA and the three letter code UKR). Due to a pre-existing convention originating in the [[JANET]] academic computer network, the UK's [[Country code top-level domain|Internet top-level domain]] is '''[[.uk]]''', a break from the normal practice of following ISO 3166 (a '''[[.gb]]''' domain has also been used to a limited extent in the past but is now defunct). '''GB''' is used on car number plates to indicate the United Kingdom.
:See also [[United Kingdom (disambiguation)]] for other united kingdoms and [[UK (disambiguation)]] for other meanings of the abbreviation.
*'''[[Ireland]]''' (in [[Irish language|Irish]], '''''Éire''''') refers, geographically, to the island of Ireland, or to any of the following:
<!-- on this line, the only valid wikilink for Éire is to the page on ga:wiki. But see the political context below. -->
:''Historically:''
:*The '''[[Kingdom of Ireland]]''' was Ireland for the period 1541-1801.
:*The '''[[Irish Republic]]''' was a [[Irish Declaration of Independence|unilaterally declared]] 32-county republic encompassing the entire island, during the period 1919-22. During this period, Ireland legally remained part of the UK and its independence was not recognised internationally except by [[Russia]].
:*'''[[Southern Ireland]]''' was a proposed [[Home Rule]] 26-county state under the [[Government of Ireland Act 1920]]. It never came into practical existence, being superseded by:
:*The '''[[Irish Free State]]''' is Ireland excepting Northern Ireland during the period 1922-37.
::The terms ''Irish Republic'', ''Southern Ireland'', the ''Irish Free State'' and ''Éire'' (in English-language texts) are used synonymously with the ''Republic of Ireland'', although their use can cause offense if used inappropriately, especially ''Southern Ireland'' and the ''Irish Free State''.
:''Present'':
:*'''Ireland''' (in [[Irish language|Irish]], ''[[Éire]]'') is the political entity consisting of the island of Ireland excepting Northern Ireland, 1937-present. This is the name of the state according to the [[Constitution of Ireland|Irish Constitution]].
:*The '''[[Republic of Ireland]]''' a legal "description" of Ireland excepting Northern Ireland, 1949-present. This form is used where tact or disambiguity demands. It is also the name used by the international [[Association Football]] team.
:*'''[[Northern Ireland]]''' 1922-present. That part of the island of Ireland north of the line of partition of 1922, and which is still part of the United Kingdom. It is sometimes referred to as "the North of Ireland", "the six counties" or (in extremist usage) the "occupied six counties," especially by [[Irish Nationalism|Irish Nationalists]].
:*'''[[Ulster]]''' The name of one of Ireland's four traditional [[Provinces of Ireland|provinces]]. Officially the area contains the nine northernmost counties, six of which make up [[Northern Ireland]], and three of which are part of the [[Republic of Ireland]]. It is often used by [[irish unionism|Unionist]]s to refer to the smaller [[Northern Ireland]]. Though [[Ulster]] has not been a political entity since the ancient Gaelic provincial Kingdoms, it remains associated with a geographical area and is used in sporting and cultural contexts. See [[Ulster (disambiguation)]].
:''In sport''
:*In [[Gaelic games]], no distinction is recognised between the counties of the Republic and those of Northern Ireland. County teams play in their provincial championships (where the six counties of Ulster within Northern Ireland and three within the Republic all play in the Ulster championship) and the winners of these play in the All-Ireland championship (which has been recently complicated by the introduction of a back-door system). Even within Northern Ireland, a tricolour, the [[Flag of Ireland|flag of the Republic of Ireland]], is flown at all games. At bigger games, where an anthem is played, it is always [[Amhrán na bhFiann|the national anthem of the Republic]]. In the case of the [[International rules football|International Rules]] series against Australia, an Irish national team is chosen from all thirty-two counties.
:*In Association Football, the teams correspond to political entities: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In accordance with [[UEFA]] and [[FIFA]]'s rules, each of these countries has its own football league: the [[Irish Football League|Irish League]] and the [[Football League of Ireland|League of Ireland]] respectively.
:*In [[rugby union]], [[rugby league]], [[field hockey]] , [[cricket]], [[boxing]], [[golf]], [[Athletics (track and field)|athletics]] and others the ''Ireland'' team is drawn from the whole island (ie. both the Republic and Northern Ireland). Many sports organisations are subdivided along provincial lines e.g. [[Gaelic Athletic Association]], [[golf]].
*The '''[[British Isles]]''' is a term used to mean the island of Great Britain plus the island of Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands, including the [[Isle of Man]] and, in some contexts, the [[Channel Islands]] ([[Guernsey]] and [[Jersey]]). See [[British Isles naming dispute]] for details of the conflict over use of this term.
*[[Great Britain and Ireland]], or variants like "Britain and Ireland" or "The UK and Ireland" are sometimes used as alternatives to the term [[British Isles]].
*'''Anglo-Celtic Isles''' is an alternative term (in limited use) for the geographic region comprising Britain & Ireland, more commonly referred to as the 'British Isles'. 'Anglo-Celtic Islands' is a derivative of this. It is intended as a geographic term free of any political implication and uses the macro-cultural grouping term [[Anglo-Celtic]], referring to the peoples from which the majority of the island group's population are descended – the [[Anglo-Saxons]] and the [[Celt]]s (it can also be inclusive of the [[Anglo-Norman]]s).
*'''[[Islands of the North Atlantic]]''' is another suggested replacement term for 'British Isles', without the same political connotations. However, its convolution and impracticality due to implying inclusion of fellow North Atlantic islands such as Iceland have made it unworkable and it has not come into common use. The term was used as part of the Strand 3 level of negotiations for the Belfast agreement. (Its acronym, IONA, is also the name of the small but historically important island of [[Iona]] off the coast of Scotland.)
*[[British Islands]] (a legal term not in common usage) is the UK, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.
*'''[[Brittany]]''', itself a corruption of 'Britain', and sometimes formerly known as 'Little Britain' is a historical [[Duchy]] in the West of [[France]], now a French region; for this modern administrative sense, see [[Bretagne]].
==Geographical distinctions==
===The British Isles===
{|
|-
| [[Image:British Isles all.svg|50px]]
|
The [[British Isles]] is an archipelago in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] off the coast of [[Continental Europe]]. It includes [[Ireland]] and [[Great Britain]], and the [[Isle of Man]], but usually excludes the [[Channel Islands]]. Also included are the thousands of small islands off the coast of both the larger islands such as [[Shetland]] and [[Orkney]]. The term is not universally accepted (see [[British Isles naming dispute]])
|}
===Great Britain===
{|
|-
| [[Image:Great Britain.svg|50px]]
| Great Britain refers to the largest of the British Isles. The word "Great" simply means "larger" (no connection with "greatness" in other senses is intended) in contrast to [[Brittany]], a historical term for a [[peninsula]] in modern France that largely corresponds with the present day French province of [[Bretagne]]. That region was settled by many British immigrants during the period of [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] migration into Britain, and named "Little Britain" by them. The [[French language|French]] term "Bretagne" now refers to the French "Little Britain", not to the British "Great Britain", which in French is called ''Grande-Bretagne''.
|}
===Scotland===
{|
|-
| [[Image:British Isles Scotland.svg|50px]]
| The name [[Scotland]] specifically refers to a part of the island of [[Great Britain]], the second largest constituent country of the UK occupying the Northern part of the island. [[Scotland]] borders England to the south of the country and is bounded by the [[North Atlantic Ocean]] to the west and the [[North Sea]] to the East. Also included in the geographical territory are the hundreds of small islands off the coast of Scotland such as [[Outer Hebrides|Eilean Siar]], [[Shetland]], [[Skye]] and [[Orkney]].
|}
===England===
{|
|-
| [[Image:British Isles England.svg|50px]]
| The name England specifically refers to a part of the island of Great Britain, the largest constituent country of the UK occupying the south-eastern part of the island. The other constituent countries of Scotland and Wales are not in England, but border on it.
|}
===Ireland===
{|
|-
| [[Image:Island of Ireland.svg|50px]]
| The second largest island in the archipelago is Ireland. Most of the island is in the [[Republic of Ireland]]. The north east of the island is in the [[United Kingdom]]. That Ireland is a part of the geographical "British Isles" does not mean that all of the island is politically "British", although the term British Isles has been described as "politically loaded"<ref># ^ "When I refer to the composite Monarchy ruled over by James VI and I and by King Charles I, it is always described as Britain and Ireland, and I deliberately avoid the politically loaded phrase 'the British Isles' not least because this was not a normal usage in the political discourse of the time". Canny, Nicholas (2001). Making Ireland British:. New York: Oxford University Press, p. viii. ISBN-13:.</ref>.
|}
===Isle of Man===
{|
|-
| [[Image:British Isles Isle of Man.svg|50px]]
| The [[Isle of Man]] lies between Great Britain and Ireland. It is governed as a British [[Crown dependency]], having its own parliament, but with the United Kingdom responsible for its defense and external relations.
|}
===Channel Islands===
{|
|-
| [[Image:British Isles Channel Islands.svg|50px]]
| Although the [[Channel Islands]] are associated with the United Kingdom politically as [[Crown dependencies]], they are an outcrop of the nearby French mainland, and historically they are the last remaining parts of the former [[Duchy of Normandy]].
|}
=== Rockall ===
{|
|-
| [[Image:British Isles Rockall.svg|80px]]
|
The island of [[Rockall]] is a small, uninhabited islet lying some 301.4 km (187.3 miles) west of [[St Kilda, Scotland|St Kilda]] ([[Outer Hebrides]]) and 424 km (229.1 miles) north-west of Ireland. It lies in the [[exclusive economic zone]] of the [[United Kingdom]] (as determined from the [[Isle of Harris]]), whilst its surrounding [[continental shelf]] (but not the island itself, which they ignore) is claimed by [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Iceland]] and [[Denmark]] (through the [[Faroe Islands]]). The [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]], states ''Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf'' and consequently the EEZ of the United Kingdom does not extend further because of it. Continental shelf rights are negotiated independently of EEZ rights.
|}
==Political distinctions==
===The United Kingdom===
[[Image:British Isles United Kingdom.svg|80px]]
[[Image:Ukpassport-cover.jpg|80px|right|thumb|A UK passport]]
''The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'' is the official full title of the state. This name appears on official documentation such as British passports. For convenience, the name is usually shortened to ''United Kingdom, UK'' or ''Britain''. ''Great Britain'' is also widely used as a synonym for the UK.
The '''United Kingdom''' is a sovereign [[state]]. Its four [[constituent countries]] are sometimes considered to be of different status. This view may be supported by the existence of [[Devolution|devolved]] governments with different levels of power in Scotland and Wales (see [[Asymmetrical federalism]]). Due to historical precedent, [[England]], [[Northern Ireland]], [[Scotland]], and [[Wales]] are [[countries]] and [[nations]] in their own right (although none of these is sovereign today). Wales is also a [[principality]] of the United Kingdom ([[Prince of Wales]] is a title usually given to the [[heir apparent]] to the [[British throne]]). [[Northern Ireland]] is sometimes described by [[United Kingdom]] citizens as a [[province]] of the United Kingdom, which derives from the Irish [[Provinces of Ireland|province]] of [[Ulster]], which [[Northern Ireland]] is part of. This epithet is also applied because it originally was part of the [[UK]] as part of Ireland rather than as a constituent country or nation in its own right. Northern Ireland also had, until 1972, a far greater degree of [[self-government]] than the other constituent parts of the UK.<!-- removed completely inaccurate statement which implied that unionists don't consider the nine-county historical Ulster as legitimate and implied ownership of the word to one 'faction'. -->
''Great Britain'' is both a geographical and a political entity. Geographically, it is one island, but politically it also contains the islands that belong to its constituent nations - England, Wales and Scotland (most notably England's [[Isle of Wight]], Wales' [[Anglesey]] and Scotland's [[Inner Hebrides]], [[Outer Hebrides]], [[Orkney Islands]] and [[Shetland Islands]]).
The abbreviation ''GB'' is sometimes officially used for the United Kingdom, for example in the [[Olympic Games|Olympics]], or as the [[vehicle registration plate#International codes|vehicle registration plate]] [[List of international license plate codes|country identification code]] for UK-registered cars ''(see also [[British car number plates]])''. The GB code is not always accepted, and unofficial alternatives are sometimes used for protest (such as ''SCO'' in Scotland, ''NI'' in Northern Ireland, or ''ENG'' for England)<ref name="numberplates">{{cite web
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1731653.stm
|title=Flag day for patriotic drivers
|date=2001-12-28
|accessdate=2007-10-22
|author=BBC News
}}</ref>.
The [[internet code]] ''"[[.gb]]",'' although allocated to the UK, is unused and UK web domains use ''"[[.uk]]"''.
The four constituent parts of the UK are also known to some as ''[[Home Nations]]'' or the "Four Nations". The BBC refers to its UK-wide broadcasting operation as ''Nations and Regions'' <ref name="bbcnations">{{cite web
|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/keyfacts/stories/nationsregions.shtml
|title=BBC Nations & Regions
|author=BBC Press Office
}}</ref>("regions" referring to the [[Regions of England]]). Thus the UK naming conventions tend towards describing four distinct ''nations'' which exist within a single sovereign ''state''.
In sport, the UK Nations mostly have their own separate national teams - England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, for example in [[football (soccer)|football]]. Sporting contests between the Four Nations are known as "Home internationals" (an example is the [[British Home Championship]] in football).
The governing body for football in Northern Ireland is called the [[Irish Football Association]], having been in existence since some forty years before partition. Its counterpart in the Republic (plus [[Derry City FC]]) is the [[Football Association of Ireland]]. The [[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland national team]] retained the name "Ireland" for some fifty years after partition. Since around 1970 the two teams have been consistently referred to as "Northern Ireland" and "Republic of Ireland" respectively.
However, in [[Rugby Union]], the four ''Home Nations'' are England, Ireland (the whole island, i.e. the Republic of Ireland plus Northern Ireland), Scotland and Wales.
UK teams in the Olympics have competed under several different names - most recently in Athens the athletes were presented at the Opening Ceremony under a banner which said simply Great Britain, rather than the full Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Olympic athletes from Northern Ireland may choose whether to represent the UK or the Republic of Ireland.
Since the [[Good Friday Agreement]], and the subsequent implementation legislation, sporting organisation (and several other organisations, e.g. [[Tourism in Ireland|tourism]], [[Irish Gaelic]] and [[Ulster Scots]] language boards) on the island of Ireland has increasingly been cross-border.
Citizens of the UK are called ''British'' or ''Britons''. The term ''Brits'' may also be used, sometimes [[pejoratively]], for example by supporters of [[Scottish independence]] when referring to supporters of the [[Acts of Union 1707|Union]]. Some older slang names for Britons are ''Tommy'' (for British soldiers), ''Anglo'' and ''Limey''. [[Anglo]] properly refers only to England, but it is sometimes used as a broader reference as an element in compound adjectives: for example, ''"Anglo-French relations"'' may be used in newspaper articles when referring to relations between the political entities [[France]] and the United Kingdom. ''Anglo-Saxon'' may be used when referring to the whole English-speaking world, the [[Anglosphere]], although ethnically very few of the world's one thousand million English-speakers are of [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] origin.<!-- removed completely untrue statement -->
===Ireland===
[[Image:Republic of Ireland.svg|80px]]
{{Main|Names of the Irish state}}
[[Image:Eirepas.JPG|thumb|80px|A Republic of Ireland passport]]
Since the adoption of the [[Constitution of Ireland]] in 1937, '''[[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]''' has been the constitutional name of the state which covers approximately five-sixths of the island of [[Ireland]]. ([[Northern Ireland]] covers the remaining sixth of the island, in its north-east. Northern Ireland remains a constituent part of the United Kingdom.)
Since the [[Republic of Ireland Act 1948]], the term "Republic of Ireland" is the term used as the additional ''description'' of the state. This term is useful in avoiding ambiguity between the name of the island and the name of the state. However, the term "Ireland" is always used in formal diplomatic contexts such as the [[European Union]] or the [[United Nations]]. The passport of the Republic of Ireland bears the name ''Éire - Ireland''.
Before the introduction of the 1937 constitution and the new name, the [[Irish Free State]] occupied the same territory as the modern state of Ireland. The Irish Free State became an autonomous [[dominion]] of the [[British Empire]] in 1922 when it seceded from the United Kingdom through the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]]. The King ceased to be its Head of State [[Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936| in 1936]] and the state ceased to be a Dominion and left the Commonwealth [[Republic of Ireland Act 1948|in 1948]].
Traditionally, the island of Ireland is divided into four [[Provinces of Ireland|province]]s - [[Leinster]], [[Connacht]], [[Munster]] and [[Ulster]], with each of the provinces further divided into counties. The Republic of Ireland takes up 83% of the island, and twenty-six of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Northern Ireland takes up the remaining area and six of the traditional nine counties of Ulster, although these counties no longer exist as official administrative units.
On the island of Ireland, as everywhere, the naming of places often raises political issues. The usage of "Ireland" as the [[Constitution of Ireland|official name]] of the state causes offence to some [[unionists (Ireland)|Unionists]] in [[Northern Ireland]], as it implies that the state [[Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|still]] has a territorial claim to the whole island - the terminology of "Republic of Ireland" or "[[Éire]]" is much preferred by Northern Irish unionists when referring to that political state. Similarly, some [[Nationalists (Ireland)|Nationalists]] in Northern Ireland also prefer to reserve to usage of "Ireland" to refer to the whole island.
In Northern Ireland, Irishness is a highly contested identity, with fundamentally different perceptions between unionists who perceive themselves as being both British and Irish, and nationalists who consider both communities to be part of the Irish nation.<ref>[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/dd/report7/report7c.htm CAIN: Democratic Dialogue: With all due respect - pluralism and parity of esteem (Report No. 7)] by Tom Hennessey and Robin Wilson, Democratic Dialogue (1997)</ref>
The Republic of Ireland is often referred to by the [[Irish nationalists|Nationalist]] and [[Irish Republicans|Republican]] communities by the term "the Twenty-six Counties", with the connotation that the state constituted as such forms only a portion of the ideal political unit of the [[Irish Republic]], which would consist of all of the [[Counties of Ireland|thirty-two counties]] into which the island is divided. Additionally, the term ''"the Six Counties"'' (in reference to Northern Ireland's six counties) is also used. Other Nationalist terms in use include: ''"the occupied six counties"'', but more popularly, ''"the North of Ireland"'' and, ''"the North"'', these are terms also used by the Irish national broadcaster [[RTÉ]].{{Fact|date=June 2007}}
The Irish Passport is available to Irish citizens and can also be applied for abroad through Irish Consular services and the local Irish Embassy. As per the [[Irish nationality law]], any person born on the island of Ireland before 2005, or otherwise a first generation descendant of such a person, is allowed to apply for an [[Irish Passport]]. As such, residents of Northern Ireland may be Irish Citizens and hold an [[Irish Passport]] if they choose.
===Ulster===
The terminology and usage of the name ''Ulster'' in Irish and British culture varies. Many within the [[unionist (Ireland)|unionist]] community refer to [[Northern Ireland]] as ''Ulster''{{ndash}} although this is officially wrong, as the [[Provinces of Ireland|Irish province]] of Ulster is a nine county entity incorporating the three counties of [[Donegal]], [[Cavan]] and [[Monaghan]], which are in the Republic of Ireland, along with the six northern counties. The term ''Ulster'' (and "''the Province''") are sometimes preferred by Unionists, sometimes because it can suggest an origin of the polity of Northern Ireland that pre-dates 1922, referring back to the [[Act of Union 1800]], the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1689, the [[Plantation of Ulster]] in 1610, the ancient migrations between Ulster and Scotland, and even to [[biblical]] tradition. This use for the term ''[[Ulster]]'' by [[Irish Unionism|Unionists]] to mean [[Northern Ireland]], is offensive to members of the [[Irish Nationalism|Nationalist]] community, as Ulster includes, but is not exclusive, to Northern Ireland. For these reasons, it is understandable that certain local place names are still in dispute: for example see [[Derry/Londonderry name dispute]].
===British Islands===
[[Image:British Islands.svg|80px]]
Under the Interpretation Act 1978 of the United Kingdom, the legal term '''''British Islands''''' (as opposed to the geographical term ''British Isles'') refers to the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]], together with the [[Crown dependencies]]: the [[Bailiwick]]s of [[Jersey]] and of [[Guernsey]] (which in turn includes the smaller islands of [[Alderney]], [[Herm]] and [[Sark]]) in the [[Channel Islands]]; and the [[Isle of Man]]. On the front of passports issued to residents of the Crown dependencies, the words "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" are replaced with "British Islands" followed by the name of the issuing state or island <ref name="CIpassports">{{cite web
|url=http://www.gov.gg/ccm/navigation/home-department/customs---excise--immigration---nationality-service/passports2/
|title=States of Guernsey passports |work=Guernsey Government Website}}
</ref>.
==Historical aspects==
===Origins of terms===
{{see|Britain (name)}}
The earliest known names for the islands come from [[ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] writings. Though the original texts have been lost, excerpts were quoted or paraphrased by later authors. Parts of the [[Massaliote Periplus]], a merchants' handbook describing searoutes of the 6th century BC, were used in translation in the writings of [[Avienus]] around [[AD]] 400. Ireland was referred to as ''Ierne'' (''Insula sacra'', the ''sacred island'', as the Greeks interpreted it) "inhabited by the race of ''Hiberni''" (''gens hiernorum''), and Britain as ''insula Albionum'', "island of the Albions".<ref name=snyder>{{cite book
| last = Snyder
| first = Christopher A.
| title = The Britons
| publisher = [[Blackwell Publishing]]
| date = 2003
| id = ISBN 063122260X }}</ref> Several sources from around 150 BC to [[AD]] 70 include fragments of the travel writings of the ancient Greek [[Pytheas]] around 320 BC, which also used the terms "Albion and 'Ierne."<ref>Entry for Albion a 1911 Encyclopedia.[http://historymedren.about.com/od/aentries/a/11_albion.htm]</ref> and have been described as referring to the British Isles, including Ireland, as the ''Pretanic Islands''.<ref name=ohi>{{cite book
| last = Foster (editor)
| first = R F
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Donnchadh O Corrain, Professor of Irish History at University College Cork: (Chapter 1: ''Prehistoric and Early Christian Ireland'')
| title = The Oxford History of Ireland
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| date = [[1 November]] [[2001]]
| location =
| url =
| doi =
| id = ISBN 019280202X }}</ref> Greek writers used the term αι Βρεττανιαι, which has been translated as the ''Brittanic Isles'', and the peoples of these islands of ''Prettanike'' were called the Πρεττανοι, ''Priteni'' or ''Pretani''.<ref name=snyder/> These names derived from a "[[Celtic languages|Celtic language]]" term which is likely to have reached Pytheas from the [[Gaul]]s<ref name=ohi/> who may have used it as their term for the inhabitants of the islands.<ref>[http://www.celticgrounds.com/chapters/encyclopedia/p.html Encyclopedia of the Celts]: Pretani</ref>
The Romans called the inhabitants of Gaul (modern [[France]]) ''Galli'' or ''Celtae''. The latter term came from the Greek name Κελτοι for a central European people, and 17th century antiquarians who found language connections developed the idea of a race of [[Celt]]s inhabiting the area, but this term was not used by the Greeks or Romans for the inhabitants of Britain or Ireland,<ref name=ece>[http://www.walespast.com/article.shtml?id=36 The earliest Celts in Europe |WalesPast]</ref> nor is there any record of the inhabitants of the British Isles referring to themselves as such.
''Priteni'' is the source of the [[Welsh language]] term [[Prydain]], ''Britain'',<ref name=ohi/> and has the same source as the [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]] term [[Cruithne (people)|Cruithne]]. The latter referred to the early [[Brythonic languages|Brythonic]] speaking inhabitants of Ireland,{{Fact|date=June 2007}}<!-- I'm pretty sure the language that the Cruithne spoke is unknown --> the [[Scottish highlands]] and the north of Scotland,<ref name=ohi/> who are known as the Cruithne in [[Scottish Gaelic]], and who the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] called [[Picts]] or [[Caledonians]].
===Romans===
[[Image:Roman britain 400.jpg|thumb|Roman Britain in 410]]
[[Caesar's invasions of Britain]] brought descriptions of the peoples of what he called ''Britannia pars interior'', "inland Britain", in 55 BC. Throughout Book 4 of his ''Geography'', [[Strabo]] is consistent in spelling the island Britain (transliterated) as ''Prettanikee''; he uses the terms ''Prettans'' or ''Brettans'' loosely to refer to the islands as a group - a common generalisation used by classical geographers. For example, in Geography 2.1.18, ''…οι νοτιώτατοι των Βρεττανών βορειότεροι τούτων εισίν'' ("…the most southern of the Brettans are further north than this").<ref name="Roseman">Translation by Roseman, ''op.cit.''</ref> He was writing around AD 10, although the earliest surviving copy of his work dates from the 6th century.
[[Pliny the Elder]] writing around AD 70 uses a Latin version of the same terminology in section 4.102 of his ''[[Pliny's Natural History|Naturalis Historia]]''. He writes of Great Britain: ''Albion ipsi nomen fuit, cum Britanniae vocarentur omnes de quibus mox paulo dicemus.'' ("Albion was its own name, when all [the islands] were called the Britannias; I will speak of them in a moment"). In the following section, 4.103, Pliny enumerates the islands he considers to make up the Britannias, listing Great Britain, Ireland, and many smaller islands.
In his ''Geography'' written in the mid 2nd century and probably describing the position around AD 100,<ref name=ohi/> [[Ptolemy]] includes both Britain and Ireland – he calls it ''Hibernia'' – in the island group he calls ''Britannia''. He entitles Book II, Chapter 1 of as ''Hibernia, Island of Britannia'', and Chapter 2 as ''Albion, Island of Britannia''.<ref>[http://www.roman-britain.org/ptolemy.htm Ptolemy's Geography]</ref>
The name ''Albion'' for [[Great Britain]] fell from favour, and the island was described in Greek as Πρεττανία or Βρεττανία, in [[Latin]] ''Britannia'', an inhabitant as Βρεττανός, ''Britannus'', with the adjective Βρεττανικός, ''Britannicus'', equating to "British".<ref name=snyder/> With the [[Roman conquest of Britain]] the name [[Britannia]] was used for the province of [[Roman Britain]]. The Emperor [[Claudius]] was honoured with the [[Roman naming convention|agnomen]] ''Britannicus'' as if he were the conqueror, and coins were struck from AD 46 inscribed <small>DE BRITAN, DE BRITANN, DE BRITANNI,</small> or <small>DE BRITANNIS</small>. With the visit of [[Hadrian]] in AD 121 coins introduced a female figure with the label <small>BRITANNIA</small> as a personification or goddess of the place. These and later Roman coins introduced the seated figure of Britannia which would be reintroduced in the 17th century.<ref>[http://www.24carat.co.uk/britanniaframe.html Britannia on Roman Coins], [http://www.predecimal.com/p2roman.htm Roman coins in Britain]</ref>
In the later years of Roman rule Britons who left Latin inscriptions, both at home and elsewhere in the Empire, often described themselves as ''Brittanus'' or ''Britto'', and where describing their citizenship gave it as ''cives'' of a British tribe or of a ''patria'' (homeland) of ''Britannia'', not ''Roma''.<ref name=snyder/> From the 4th century, many Britons migrated from Roman Britain across the [[English Channel]] and founded [[Brittany]].
===Mediaeval period===
[[Image:Britain 802.jpg|Map of Britain with part of Ireland in 802|thumb]]
While Latin remained the language of learning, from the early [[mediæval]] period records begin to appear in native languages. The earliest [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous]] source to use a collective term for the archipelago is the ''[[Life of Saint Columba]]'', a [[hagiography]] recording the missionary activities of the sixth century Irish monk [[Saint Columba]] among the peoples of what is now Scotland. It was written in the late seventh century by [[Adomnán of Iona|Adomnán]] of [[Iona]], an Irish monk living on the [[Inner Hebridean]] island. The collective term for the archipelago used within this work is '''Oceani Insulae''' meaning ''"Islands of the Ocean"'' (Book 2, 46 in the Sharpe edition = Book 2, 47 in Reeves edition), it is used sparingly and no ''Priteni''-derived collective reference is made.
Another early native source to use a collective term is the ''[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]'' of [[Bede]] written in the early eighth century. The collective term for the archipelago used within this work is ''insularum'' meaning "islands" (Book 1, 8) and it too is used sparingly. He stated that Britain "studies and confesses one and the same knowledge of the highest truth in the tongues of five nations, namely the Angles, the Britons, the Scots, the Picts, and the Latins", distinguishing between the [[Brythonic languages]] of the "ancient Britons" or [[Old Welsh]] speakers and other language groups.<ref>[http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/institutes/sassi/spns/watsloth.htm General survey of Lothian]</ref>
Early [[Celt]]ic, [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxon]] and [[Viking]] kingdoms such as [[Rheged]], [[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]] and [[Wessex]] amalgamated, leading to the formation of [[Scotland]], [[England]] and [[Wales]]. In [[Norman Ireland]], local lords gained considerable autonomy from the [[Lordship of Ireland]] until it became the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] under direct English rule.
===Renaissance mapmakers===
[[Image:Blaeu - Atlas of Scotland 1654 - INSULAE ALBION ET HIBERNIA - Old Great Britain.jpg|thumb|150px|right|The 1654 Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, ''Insulae Albion Et Hibernia'']]
[[Abraham Ortelius]] makes clear his understanding that England, Scotland and Ireland were politically separate in 1570 by the full title of his map: ''"Angliae, Scotiae et Hiberniae, sive Britannicar. insularum descriptio"'' which translates as ''"A representation of England, Scotland and Ireland, or Britannica's islands."'' Additionally many maps from this period show Wales and Cornwall as separate nations, most notably those of Mercator.
Maps of the Mediæval, Renaissance and later periods often referred to ''[[Albion]]''. This archaic term was originally used by [[Ptolemy]] and [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] to mean the island of Great Britain. In later centuries its meaning changed to refer only to the area we now call Scotland (''[[Albany (disambiguation)|Albany]]'', or ''[[Alba]]'' in [[Scottish Gaelic language|Gaelic]]). ''Albion'' has survived as a poetic name for Britain but it is not in everyday use.
===18th and 19th Centuries===
[[Image:Moll - The north part of Great Britain called Scotland.png|thumb|180px|A 1726 map showing "The north part of Great Britain called Scotland"]]
Following the [[Acts of Union 1707]], a fashion arose, particularly in Scotland, for referring to Scotland and England as ''[[North Britain]]'' and ''[[South Britain]]'' respectively. These terms gained in popularity during the nineteenth century. The most lasting example of this usage was in the name of the [[North British Railway]], which became part of the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] in 1923, and in the name of the North British Hotel, built by the railway in Edinburgh in 1902, which retained the name until it reopened in 1991 as the Balmoral Hotel.
===Evolution of kingdoms and states===
[[Image:Nations of the UK.png|400px|thumb|right|A timeline of [[state]]s in the British Isles. (Formally, ''Ireland'' continues to exist, but the term "Republic of Ireland" is more widely used).]]
The diagram on the right gives an indication of the further evolution of kingdoms and states. In 1603 the [[Scottish King]] [[James I of England|James VI]] inherited the [[English throne]] as "James I of England". He styled himself as ''James I of Great Britain'', although both states retained their sovereignty and independent parliaments, the [[Parliament of Scotland]] and the [[Parliament of England]]. (The term "Great Britain" itself reportedly dates from as early as 1474, and was in common usage from the mid-16th century onwards.<ref>[http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/royalstyle_uk.htm Royal Styles and Titles in England and Great Britain], heraldica.org</ref>)
The 1707 [[Act of Union 1707|Act of Union]] united England and Scotland in the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain]] under the [[Parliament of Great Britain]], then in 1800 Ireland was brought under British government control by the [[Act of Union 1800|Act of Union]] creating the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]. Irish unrest culminated in the [[Anglo-Irish War|Irish War of Independence]] and the 1922 separation of the [[Irish Free State]] which later became the [[Republic of Ireland]]. The majority Protestant [[Northern Ireland|northeast]] continued to be part of what was now the [[United Kingdom|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]].
[[British overseas territories]] such as [[Bermuda]], [[Gibraltar]], [[Hong Kong]], the [[Falkland Islands]], and the [[British Antarctic Territory]] have (or have had) various relationships with the UK. The [[Commonwealth of Nations]] (formerly the British Commonwealth) is a loose confederation of nations roughly corresponding to the former [[British Empire]], mostly for economic co-operation, formalised in 1931. (This has no connection with the [[Commonwealth of England]] and [[The Protectorate]] which were short-lived [[republic]]s replacing the previous kingdoms during the [[Interregnum]] (1649–1660).)
==Adjectives==
The [[adjectives]] used to describe the contents and attributes of the various constituent parts of the British Isles also cause confusion.
In the absence of a single adjective to refer to the [[United Kingdom]], ''British'' is generally used to refer to the [[United Kingdom]] as a whole. However, in a specifically physical geographical sense, ''British'' is used to refer to the island of [[Great Britain]]. Members of the [[Unionism in Ireland|Unionist]] communities in Northern Ireland might describe themselves as ''British'' even though they are not on the island of Great Britain, as this reflects a political and cultural identity.
The cumbersome adjective ''Great British'' is very rarely used to refer to [[Great Britain]], other than to contrive a [[pun]] on the word ''great'', as in "Great British Food".
''Irish'', in a political sense, is used to refer to the [[Republic of Ireland]]. [[Northern Ireland]], as a constituent part of the [[United Kingdom]], would be included within the umbrella of the political term ''British'', though many Unionists in Northern Ireland also consider themselves Irish. In order to be more specific, ''Northern Irish'' is therefore in common usage. Members of the [[Irish Nationalism|Nationalist]] communities would not describe themselves as ''British'' and would only use the terms ''Irish'', or specifically ''Northern Irish'' where needed.
The term ''Ulster'' can also be used as an adjective (e.g. "[[Royal Ulster Constabulary]]"), but this is more likely to be used by [[Unionists (Ireland)|Unionists]] and has political connotations in the same fashion as its use as a proper noun (because only six of the traditional nine counties of [[Ulster]], namely [[County Antrim|Antrim]], [[County Armagh|Armagh]], [[County Down|Down]], [[County Fermanagh|Fermanagh]], [[County Londonderry|Londonderry]] and [[County Tyrone|Tyrone]], are included in Northern Ireland with the remaining three counties [[County Cavan|Cavan]], [[County Donegal|Donegal]] and [[County Monaghan|Monaghan]] forming part of the Republic). The term ''Ulsterman'' (or ''Ulsterwoman'') is common and holds no such political connotation. Likewise, [[Irish Nationalism|Nationalists]] might describe, say, a lake in Northern Ireland as ''Irish''. However, some [[Irish Nationalism|Nationalists]] might attribute what they see as less attractive aspects of [[Northern Ireland]] to Britain or even to England.{{Who|date=June 2007}}
Note that the geographical term [[Irish Sea]] thus far appears to have escaped political connotations, even though territorial control of the waters of the Irish Sea is divided between both the Republic of Ireland and the UK, and also includes a British [[Crown dependency]], the [[Isle of Man]] — as yet there appears to be no controversy with the term’s usage to mirror that of "British Isles". The [[North Channel (British Isles)|North Channel]] is found off the east coast of Northern Ireland and it stretches the length of roughly two-thirds of Northern Ireland's eastern coastline.
The "Northern" in "Northern Ireland" is not completely accurate. The most northerly point on the island, [[Malin Head]], is in the Republic of Ireland — in [[County Donegal]]'s [[Inishowen]] Peninsula.
''Scottish'', ''English'' and ''Welsh'' are self-explanatory but the term ''English'' is sometimes incorrectly used to mean ''British'' as well,<ref>"The majority of English people still behave as if 'English' and 'British' are synonymous", historian [[Norman Davies]] quoted in [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/255337.stm The English: Europe's lost tribe], BBC News Story, January 14, 1999</ref> although seldom by those aware of the political connotations; many people living in all parts of the UK and Ireland find such use of ''English'' insulting.
==Problems with use of terms==
{{main|British Isles naming dispute}}
===British Isles===
The dictionary definition of [[British Isles]] is that it is a geographical term that refers to the whole of [[Ireland]] and [[Great Britain]] as well as the surrounding islands. However, it is sometimes used as if identical to the UK;{{Fact|date=June 2007}} or to refer to [[Great Britain]] and the surrounding islands, excluding the island of [[Ireland]] entirely.<ref>"[http://www.megalithics.com/] Website on Megalithic Monuments in the British Isles and Ireland. Ireland in this site includes Fermanagh, which is politically in Northern Ireland."</ref><ref>"[http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/FHMpaper/ The website uses the term "British Isles" in various ways, including ways that use Ireland as all of Ireland, while simultaneously using the term "The British Isles and Ireland", e.g. ''"Anyone using GENUKI should remember that its name is somewhat misleading — the website actually covers the British Isles and Ireland, rather than just the United Kingdom, and therefore includes information about the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland."'']</ref><ref>"[http://http://www.ngrs.demon.co.uk.guide.pdf] Guide to Narrow Gauge rail in the British Isles and Ireland which includes Belfast lines under the section on Ireland."</ref> The [[BBC]] and [[The Times]] have style guides that mandate the dictionary definition but occasional misuse can be found on their web sites.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/britain_01.shtml British Weather (Part One)] This BBC article referred to 'a small '''country''' such as the British Isles' between at least April 2004 and January 2007 (checked using the Wayback Machine at http://web.archive.org. Last accessed and checked 01/01/07. It was changed in February 2007 and now reads 'a small '''area''' such as the British Isles'</ref><ref> For example, see Google searches of
[http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22british+isles+and+ireland%22+site:bbc.co.uk&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 the BBC website].</ref>
The term ''[[British Isles]]'' can also be considered irritating or offensive by some on the grounds that the modern association of the term ''British'' with the [[United Kingdom]] makes its application to Ireland inappropriate.
The policy of the government of the [[Republic of Ireland]] is that no branch of government should use the term,<ref>"[http://www.oireachtas-debates.gov.ie/D/0606/D.0606.200509280360.html Written Answers - Official Terms"], [[Dáil Éireann]] - Volume 606 - 28 September, 2005. In his response, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs added that "Our officials in the Embassy of Ireland, London, continue to monitor the media in Britain for any abuse of the official terms as set out in the Constitution of Ireland and in legislation. These include the name of the State, the President, Taoiseach and others."</ref> and although it is on occasion used in a geographical sense in Irish parliamentary debates, this is often done in a way that excludes the Republic of Ireland. In October 2006, The Times quoted a spokesman for the Irish Embassy in London as saying that they would discourage its use.<ref>"[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2385403.html New atlas lets Ireland slip shackles of Britain"]A spokesman for the Irish Embassy in London said: “The British Isles has a dated ring to it, as if we are still part of the Empire. We are independent, we are not part of Britain, not even in geographical terms. We would discourage its useage.[''sic'']”</ref>
During a stop-over visit to the Republic of Ireland in 1989, the leader of the [[USSR]], [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], indicated that he assumed Ireland's [[head of state]] was [[Queen Elizabeth II]], given that she was the British Queen and his officials said that Ireland was a part of the British Isles.<ref>Eamon Delaney, 2001, ''An Accidental Diplomat: My Years in the Irish Foreign Service'', New Island Books, Dublin, ISBN 1902602390</ref>
In [[Northern Ireland]], [[Irish nationalism|nationalists]] reject the term and use ''these islands'' or ''these isles'' as an alternative.<ref>{{cite book |last=Guelke| first=Adrian |chapter=Northern Ireland and Island Status |title=Northern Ireland and the Divided World: The Northern Ireland Conflict and the Good Friday Agreement in Comparative Perspective |editor=[[John McGarry]] ed. |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |pages=p. 231}}</ref>
There have been several suggestions for replacements for the term ''British Isles''. Although there is no single accepted replacement, the terms ''Great Britain and Ireland'', ''The British Isles and Ireland'' and ''Britain and Ireland'' are all used.
===Ireland===
The word ''Ireland'' has two meanings.
# It is the official name of [[Republic of Ireland|the state]] that occupies five sixths of the island.
# It is a geographical term for [[Ireland|the whole island]]
===Ulster===
The word ''Ulster'' has two usages.
# It is the name of [[Ulster|one]] of the four [[Provinces of Ireland]], consisting of the nine northern counties of the island. Its jurisdiction is partitioned between the United Kingdom (six counties) and the Republic of Ireland (three counties).
# It is an alternative name for [[Northern Ireland]], used by many in the [[Irish Unionism|Unionist]] community. It consists of the six north-eastern counties of the island that remain part of the United Kingdom.
===England===
[[Image:WWII Divide and Conquer 12.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A still from the 1943 propaganda film series ''[[Why We Fight]]'', which may be interpreted{{who}} as giving the name ''England'' to the whole of Great Britain]]
The word ''England'' is often used colloquially — and incorrectly — to refer to Great Britain or the United Kingdom as a whole.<ref name="gmikes">"When people say England, they sometimes mean Great Britain, sometimes the United Kingdom, sometimes the British Isles - but never England." - {{cite |author=George Mikes |title=How To Be An Alien |publisher=Penguin |date=1946 }} ISBN 0582416868
</ref><ref name="jrose">"In practice, many people outside of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland incorrectly use 'England' to mean Britain..." p. 208 - {{cite |author=Jean Rose Freedman |title=Whistling in the Dark: Memory and Culture in Wartime London |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |date=1998 }} ISBN 0813120764</ref> This usage is problematic and causes offence in many parts of Britain, especially in Scotland and Wales.
Inadverent references to England as an island<ref name="islandofEngland">
{{cite web
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=a3dvMh4dF88C&dq=%22island+of+england%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=ZVpf_ma6Up&sig=sla6_rn7DUy1oSnZLS4XIjvIwZ0#PPR1,M1
|title=A Relation or rather a True Account of the Island of England
|author=Charlotte Augusta Sneyd
|date=1500
|accessdate=2007-10-21
}}
</ref>, to an "English passport"<ref name="englandpassport">
{{cite web
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/255337.stm
|title=The English: Europe's lost tribe
|author=BBC News
|date=1999-01-14
|accessdate=2007-10-21
}}
</ref>, or to Scottish or Welsh placenames as being in England<ref name="scotlandengland">
{{cite web
|url= http://www.esl-languages.com/en/adults/learn/english/edinburgh/england/index.htm
|title= Learn English in Edinburgh, England
|accessdate=2007-10-21
|work= ESL Language Studies
}}</ref><ref name="englandpassport"/> are common examples of incorrect use of the term ''England''. In sporting events, it was common for fans of the [[England national football team|England football team]] to wave the British [[Union Flag]], until the English [[St George's Cross]] gained popularity at [[UEFA Euro 96|Euro 96]]<ref name="englandpassport"/>.
There are historical instances of patriotic references to "England" which are actually intended to include Scotland and Wales as well.<ref name="nelson">[[England expects that every man will do his duty]] - Horatio Nelson, message to the British Fleet 1805</ref><ref name="disraeli">
{{cite news
|title= The English Prime Minister. Mr. Disraeli's Elevation To The Peerage
|url=
|format= PDF
|work=
|publisher= New York Times
|date= 1876-08-12
|accessdate=2007-10-21
|url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D04E0D91F3FE73BBC4B52DFBE66838D669FDE
}}
</ref><ref name="mlincoln">"The more formal use of 'Great-Britain and Ireland' and colloquial use of 'Old England' and 'old English spirit' in this description is evidence of the process of forging a national identity..." page 99 - {{cite |author=Margarette Lincoln |title=Representing the Royal Navy: British Sea Power, 1750-1815 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |date=1946 }} ISBN 0754608301</ref>
The usage of "England" as a synonym for "Britain" is common throughout the world, although this confusion is declining in the UK. In [[Germany]], the term "England" is often used to mean Great Britain or even the entire United Kingdom. In many other languages, such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean, the word for "English" is synonymous with "British" - see the article on [[Alternative words for British#Other languages|Alternative words for British]] for more detail.
==Further information==
===Isle of Man and Channel Islands===
The Isle of Man and the two [[bailiwick]]s of the Channel Islands are [[Crown dependencies]]; that is, non-sovereign [[nation]]s, self-governing but whose sovereignty is held by the British [[The Crown|Crown]]. They control their own internal affairs, but not their defence or foreign relations. They are not part of the United Kingdom nor part of the [[European Union]].
*The [[Isle of Man]] is part of the [[British Isles]], situated in the [[Irish Sea]] between Great Britain and Ireland.
*The [[Channel Islands]] consist politically of two self-governing [[bailiwick]]s: the [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]] and the [[Bailiwick of Jersey]]. They are the remnants of the [[Duchy of Normandy]], which was once in [[personal union]] with the Kingdom of England. They are sometimes, despite their location next to mainland [[France]], considered part of the British Isles. This usage is political rather than geographic.
*The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are [[British Islands]] in United Kingdom law.
===Celtic names===
The [[Celtic languages]] in the region — [[Cornish language|Cornish]] (no native speakers), [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Scottish Gaelic language|Scottish Gaelic]], [[Welsh language|Welsh]] and [[Manx language|Manx]]— each have names for the various countries and subdivisions of the British Isles.
Some of the above are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Cornwall
! England
! Ireland
! Northern Ireland
! Republic of Ireland
! Scotland
! Wales
|-
| '''Cornish'''
| Kernow
| Pow an Sawson
| Wordhen
| Wordhen North
| Republyk Wordhen
| Alban
| Kembra
|-
| '''Irish'''
| An Chorn
| Sasana
| Éire
| Tuaisceart Éireann
| Poblacht na hÉireann
| Albain
| An Bhreatain Bheag
|-
| '''Manx'''
| Yn Chorn
| Sostyn
| Nerin
| Nerin Twoaie
| Pobblaght Nerin
| Nalbin
| An Bhreatain Bheag
|-
| '''Scottish Gaelic'''
| A' Chòrn
| Sasainn
| Èirinn
| Èirinn a Tuath
| Poblachd na h-Èireann
| Alba
| A' Chuimrigh
|-
| '''Welsh'''
| Cernyw
| Lloegr
| Iwerddon
| Gogledd Iwerddon
| Gweriniaeth Iwerddon
| Yr Alban
| Cymru
|}
Note: In Irish there are actually several terms for Northern Ireland: ''An Tuaisceart'', meaning "the North", is usually used, but a more recent term for official use is ''Tuaisceart Éireann''.
The English word ''Welsh'' is from a common [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] root meaning "foreigner" ([[cognate]] with [[Wallonia]] and [[Wallachia]], and also cognate with the word used in Mediaeval German to refer to the French and [[Italy|Italian]]s). The English names ''[[Albion]]'' and ''[[Albany (disambiguation)|Albany]]'' are related to ''Alba'' and used poetically for either England or Scotland, or the whole island of Great Britain. English ''[[Erin]]'' is a poetic name for Ireland derived from ''Éire'' (or rather, from its dative form ''Éirinn'').
===The terms for the British Isles in the Irish language===
In Irish, the term ''Oileáin Bhriotanacha'' is attested as a version of the English term ''British Isles''.<ref>For example on [http://www.englishirishdictionary.com/ english-irishdictionary.com].</ref> In this sense, ''Briotanach'' refers to British people in the sense of the islands belonging to them. Another translation is ''Oileáin Bhreataineacha'', which is used in a 1937 geography book translated into Irish from English.<ref>''Tír-Eóluíocht na h-Éireann'' ('The Geography of Ireland') by T. J. Dunne, translated by Toirdhealbhach Ó Raithbheartaigh, Government Publications Office, Dublin<blockquote>''Tá Éire ar cheann de na h-oileáin a dtugar na <u>h-Oileáin Bhreataineacha</u> ortha agus atá ar an taobh Thiar-Thuaidh de'n Eóraip. Tá siad tuairim a's ar chúig mhíle oileán ar fad ann. (Oileánradh an t-ainm a bheirtear ar áit ar bith i n-a bhfuil a lán oileán agus iad i n-aice a chéile mar seo.) Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór (Sasain, an Bhreatain Bheag, agus Alba) an dá oileán is mó de na h-Oileáin Bhreataineacha.''</blockquote><blockquote>Ireland is one of the islands which are called the British Isles and which are on the North-Western side of Europe. It is thought that there are five thousand islands in total there. (Archipelago is the name which is borne by a place in which there are many islands next to each other like these.) Ireland and Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) are the two largest islands of the British Isles.</blockquote></ref> In this instance, ''Breataineach'' refers to the people of the island of Great Britain, again in the sense of the islands belonging to them. Neither of these two terms is often used in Irish.<ref>See for example Google searches for ''[http://www.google.ie/search?q=%22Oile%C3%A1in+Bhriotanacha%22+-%22na+Maighdean%22+-%22na+Maighdine%22+-%22na+Maighde%C3%A1n%22+-wiki&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a Oileáin Bhriotanacha (less references to the British Virgin Isles)]'' or ''[http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&q=%22Oile%C3%A1in+Bhreataineacha%22&meta= Oileáin Bhreataineacha]'', which produces only mirrors of Wikipedia.</ref>
Earlier dictionaries<ref>Patrick S. ''Dineen, Foclóir Gaeilge Béarla, Irish-English Dictionary'', Dublin, 1927</ref> give ''Oileáin Iarthair Eorpa'' as the translation, literally meaning ''West European Isles''. Today the most common term ''Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór'' is used, meaning literally as ''Ireland and Great Britain'', as provided by terminological dictionaries.<ref>focail.ie, "[http://www.focal.ie/Search.aspx?term=the%20British%20Isles&lang=1 The British Isles]", Foras na Gaeilge, 2006</ref>
==Slang==
[[Blighty]] is a slang word for Britain derived from the [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] word ''bilāyatī'' ("foreign"). Depending on the user, it is meant either affectionately or archly. It was often used by British soldiers abroad in the First World War to refer to home.
==Europe==
The term "[[Europe]]" may be used in one of several different contexts by British and Irish people; either to refer to the whole of the European continent, to refer to only to [[Mainland Europe]], sometimes called ''"continental Europe"'' or simply ''"the Continent"'' by some people in the archipelago — as in the apocryphal newspaper headline "Fog shrouds Channel, continent cut off."
Europe and the adjective European may also be used in reference to the [[European Union]], particularly in a derogative context such as "The new regulations handed out by Europe".
==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}
==See also==
*[[Alternative words for British]]
*[[Subdivisions of the United Kingdom]]
*[[British-Irish Council]]
*[[British Lions]] and [[British and Irish Lions]]
*[[British Overseas Territory]]
{{Template group
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{{United Kingdom topics}}
{{British Isles|The British Isles - or Great Britain, Ireland & the Isle of Man}}
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[[Category:British Isles| ]]
[[Category:Geography of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Geography terminology]]
[[eo:Britio (terminaro)]]
[[pl:Wyspy Brytyjskie (nazewnictwo)]]
[[ru:Британские острова (терминология)]]
[[tr:Britanya Adaları (terminoloji)]]
[[zh:不列顛群島 (用語)]]