The British Isles, you mean?

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 14:55, 2 replies, latest was 13 years ago)

As opposed to the island of Britain, which would surely be England, Wales and mainland Scotland?

(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 14:57, Reply)

Would you like me to edit the question to remove any ambiguity?

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 14:59, Reply)

Yes please.

(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:06, Reply)

Should I have included other parts of the Commonwealth?

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:12, Reply)

No. Unless your primary school level grasp of geography means you think that Canada is a part of the Island of Britain, which as has already been established, doesn't exist.

(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:16, Reply)

It doesn't exist?
Which one of these statements have I got wrong?
Great Britain is an island.
Within that island is a country called Scotland.
A Scottish man thinks that because he comes from Scotland he should not be considered British.
( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:20, Reply)

Great Britain is not an island.
It refers to a landmass, plus peripheral islands, such as Isle of Wight, Arran and Harris. Harris is an island within Great Britain.

Scotland is a country within the British Isles, and is a member of the United Kingdom.

Alright?
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:23, Reply)

No, you're referring to the British Isles
named after the largest island; Britain. "Great Britain" is the term for the union.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:25, Reply)

Great Britain is a political term
for the union between England and Scotland. I've always considered "Britain" as the name for the island on which England, Scotland and Wales are located.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:24, Reply)

*sigh* indeed
So what about people from, say, Islay?
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:26, Reply)

They are from the British Isles
but not from Britain; they are from Islay. They are part of Scotland, but not part of Britain. People from the Isle of Wight are from England; they are not from Britain.

All of the above are part of Great Britain. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but not part of any of the above. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not part of the United Kingdom, they are dependants.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:29, Reply)

www.b3ta.com/questions/offtopic/post1658955
( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:28, Reply)

So you're happy to say that you live in Britain
but not that you're British?

Fuck me, even Salmond makes more sense than this, dozey.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 14:59, Reply)

Britain is a landmass, I live on it.
I happily say that I come from the UK, but 'Britishness' refers to traits which are associated with Englishness.

My nationality and cultural identity is Scottish. Not British.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:01, Reply)

Is that UK as in The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:03, Reply)

Yes, but I am talking about 'Britishness' as a cultural background.
I consider myself Scottish, not British. It has nothing to do with where I live, it has everything to do with culture, background, education, religious upbringing, that sort of thing.

Hope this helps.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:05, Reply)

"British" is a construct, yes.
But it's a construct that refers to England and Scotland. The British parliament might be in Westminster, but it's largely run by Scots. The Armed Forces might be based on the English army, but its hardest units are mostly comprised of Scots.

The English don't even know what being English means anymore, but we're not referring to it when we talk about being British. To us it's a partnership. That's what I think, anyway.

I call myself English, by the way, although I am British in the most basic possible meaning. An amalgam of English and Scottish blood.

Yeah, I'm a Unionist, so what.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:04, Reply)

You have no problem with describing yourself as English and as British.
I have no beef with that at all, but the two are distinct things.

I, on the other hand, describe myself as Scottish, not British. This works a treat when I am in Holland, Italy, France etc.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:07, Reply)

Ah, I think I get where you're coming from.
It's a shame there's so much negativity ascribed to being "English" as there's no reason why there has to be any animosity about it anymore.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:12, Reply)

"cultural" and "scottish"?
good luck with that.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:15, Reply)

More bullying from Swipe.
We were friends once upon a time.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:18, Reply)

"we hurt the ones we love the most"

( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:22, Reply)

Wait, I am hurt deeply, so does that mean you love me again?

(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:23, Reply)

i don't believe in a thing called love

( rachelswipe with a fork, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:28, Reply)

So what exactly are your feelings on the matter?
Srsly, all you seem to do these days is bully me, it makes me feel all :'(
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:29, Reply)

hurt too many times :'(

(Quintno EXPERIMENT RUINED CANCELLED, LEFT 4EVER, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:29, Reply)

There is no such thing as the "island of britain" it's a mistake in basic grammar from Tangles
this of course doesn't excuse that fact that you seem to be unaware that Britain dies indeed incorporate northern ireland and the others
( Bazongaloid, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:03, Reply)

Great Britain (Welsh: Prydain Fawr, Scottish Gaelic: Breatainn Mhòr, Cornish: Breten Veur), also known as Britain, is an island situated to the north-west of Continental Europe.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain

Even the Scots have got a word for it.
( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:04, Reply)

Huh, interesting that Gaelic is similar in pronounciation to Cornish and Welsh
since the latter two are Brythonic, not Gaelic. I was given to understand the two language groups were more separated than that.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:08, Reply)

interesting
( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:12, Reply)

Honestly, Nakers, are you interested in anything at all?

( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:13, Reply)

ed in anything ing
( Reginald Donkeyfuck, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:16, Reply)

i met some weird cornish dudes who thought they were celts or that cornwall was somehow scottish once

(Quintno EXPERIMENT RUINED CANCELLED, LEFT 4EVER, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:13, Reply)

Not really that much of a surprise when one considers that those languages are Celtic.
Plus the Breton tongue as well, fact fans.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:14, Reply)

Yeah, but they're different language sub-groups.
Breton is also Brythonic, whereas Irish is Gaelic. Irish and Scots are a lot closer to each other than say, Cornish and Scots.

I was just mildly surprised that the pronounciation of Great Britain in all three languages were so similar, despite the spelling.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:16, Reply)

True.
I used to see gaelic cartoons on ITV when I was a kid.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:19, Reply)

Thanks Tangles, just waiting to find out if you meant 'British Isles' when you said 'island of Britain'.
The former would be a collection of several islands, the other would be only one island.

Hope this helps.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:13, Reply)

No, Al, I understand just fine, just I think that 'Britishness' as a cultural definition is overwhelmingly English, rather than also including the Celtic parts of the UK.
Kroney understands, you really should pay attention more.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:16, Reply)

Which is a shame, since "Britain"
linguistically, is a Celtic origin term.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:17, Reply)

The word is separate to the meaning.
You know that.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:19, Reply)

Yep, like I said, it's a shame.

( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:21, Reply)

*sigh*
I am not referring to which island or country I live on or in.

I am culturally Scottish, and define myself as Scottish. I do not consider myself to be culturally British, as that includes things which are culturally alien to me.

Alright?
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:28, Reply)

There's no need to be defensive, I am not disagreeing with you.
I just think it's a shame that a word that was of Celtic origin is no longer really accepted by its people as theirs.
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:31, Reply)

Meh
Language moves on.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:33, Reply)

How can we expect Americans to understand the difference
between England, Britain, Great Britain, the United Kingdom and the British Isles, if Jock here doesn't get it?
( Kroney, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 14:58, Reply)

the chill up her skirt must be affecting its brain

(Quintno EXPERIMENT RUINED CANCELLED, LEFT 4EVER, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:00, Reply)

Because he's thick.

( Fucking hell Jeff I am not a robot, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:00, Reply)

Kronester, I understand the distinctions perfectly.
It's you that's misunderstanding me, not the other way around.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 15:02, Reply)