Is this correct to refer to the UK as Great Britain?
This is how I understand all this:
1. England is just a part of the country, like a state of the USA.
2. Great Britain is the main big island, where England, Scotland and Wales are.
3. The United Kingdom is Great Britain plus Northern Ireland.
Therefore Great Britain is not a country, it is a geographical name of an island.
Am I right?
Correct one hundred percent.
¡Pon un poco de catsup al sur y comételo en un panecillo!
Very correct! But Britons themselves (maybe not people from Northern Ireland?) often say "Britain" and mean the UK!
It seems to be mainly an issue of preference. Americans prefer to call it Great Britain even England; Britishers prefer to call it the U.K. Spanish speakers I've talked to always call it "Inglaterra". I have never heard U.K. used by any Scottish immigrants I've known here in the Seattle area. They always tell everybody they meet in no uncertain terms "I'm from Scotland."
Same for Wales. Welsh people over here say they are from Wales not Britain or the UK.
You mean they say they are not from the UK, or they say they the are from Wales?
I hold a passport...it is purple in colour.
The wording on the front is:
European Union
UNITED KINGDOM OF
GREAT BRITAIN
AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Underneath that is the Royal Crest: The Crown, with a Lion to the left (wearing a crown) a unicorn to the right, with his horn.
Then the French words: Honi soit qui Mal y Pense
(Evil be to him who evil thinks)
At the bottom is the motto of the Prince of Wales: "Dieu at Mon Droit"
(God and my Right).
My order of priority:
1 SCOTTISH
2 British
3 European
4 World citizen
The capitals do mean something.
The United Kingdom includes Northern Ireland
Great Britain excludes Northern Ireland
There are French words in the British passport?! That's odd!
Why is that odd?
"Honi soit qui Mal y Pense" is the motto of the Order of the Garter, founded by King Edward III, who was the last of the Plantagenet kings of England. The Plantagenets came from Normandy and spoke Old French. During the Middle Ages, the English elite spoke Old French, while the peasants spoke a myriad of languages, including Old/Middle English.
The cover of the U.S. passport also contains foreign words: "E Pluribus Unum."
The cover of the Australian passport contains "Australia".
Kazakh is right.
I'm afraid I can't say the same for Brennus. No offence, mate, but this is not really a matter of preference. I hate to sound like just anther American basher but if they "call it Great Britain" or worst still "England" this is a sign of ignorance not preference ... or at least not only preference but a bit of both.
Perhaps Americans have some sort of deep seated aversion to the word "kingdom", I don't know. Does it upset their world view to acknowledge that it's possible to have a monarchy yet still be no less democratic (whatever that might mean)? I don't intend to get political. Please don't take any of this the wrong way. I'm not American hater: they're mostly decent folk but I do wonder what the origin of this "preference" might be.
Nevertheless it would be a sorry reflexion on the level of education in the US if Americans really don't understand the difference between the United Kingdom and Great Britain. The place's full name pretty much says it all: "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
*sigh* who cares? be an American hater...you're creating a storm in a tea cup over nothing...just for the hell of it.
In answer to the first point:
1. England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland are countries, not states.
Most people regardless of nationality don't differentiate Great Britain from the UK because the two are used interchangeably in a general sense to describe the region. The technical or political usage differentiates the GB from UK.
Oh and stop being retarded, Jim.
Foop,
If I'm retarded, how can I stop? You take me the wrong way: I don't hate Americans. I'm not trying to create storms: not in tea cups nor anywhere else. GB is not UK. UK is not GB. They're used interchangibly only by those who've either not learnt that they're not the same entity or don't care.
Jim,
You could seek a doctor as these conditions are often psychological. It sounds to me like a "Peter Pan"-type syndrome but I wonder as well: how can you stop? Self-examination is all it takes.
GB is not the UK as I've indicated so there's no need for concern. It looks like you didn't really comprehend what I wrote about usages. It matters not as I will further illustrate to help it sink in. The USA isn't America and America isn't the USA...continuing this line of thought, Holland isn't the Netherlands and The Netherlands isn't Holland but everyone uses them interchangeably, and it's not only Americans: did you ever stop to think that others use language this way? Those who have learnt these differences and who care, continue to follow popular usages, regardless, whether they are technically correct or not.
I see you haven't learnt how to spell "interchangeably" (you write "interchangibly") or don't you care?