Official Name and Other Names

In this part, we will talk about theofficial and geographical names of the UK.

Do you know the formal/informal name ofthis country?

There are so many terms we know about UK.Let’s straiten them up, so that we can see them clearly.

The united kingdom, England, great Britain？

Are these the same place? Are theydifferent places?

Do British people secretly laugh at thosewho use the terms incorrectly? Let me tell you now.

This is the national flag of the UK, andthis is the official name or the full name.

This is the world, and this is the Europeancontinent. And this is the place we have to talk about.

The area shown in purple is the UnitedKingdom. From the word united, we know that the United Kingdom is not a singlecountry, but instead is a country of countries. It contains inside of it fourco-equal and sovereign nations.

The first of these, shown here in red, isEngland. England is often confused with the United Kingdom as a whole, becauseit’s the largest and most populous of the nations, and contains the capitalcity, London.

To the north, the area shown is blue isScotland. And to the west, shown in white, is wales.

And often forgotten even by those who livein the United Kingdom, shown in orange, is Northern Ireland.

Each country has a local term for thepopulation, such as English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish. While you cancall them all British, it’s not recommended as the four countries generallydon’t like each other. The Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh regard theEnglish as slave-driving colonial masters, though all the three nations havetheir own devolved Parliaments and are allowed to vote on English laws, whilethe English cannot vote on the laws of the three.

And the English generally regard the restas rural barbarians who spend too much time with their sheep.

However, since the four constituentcountries don’t have their own passports, they are all British citizens,whether they like or not. They’re British Citizens of the United Kingdom, whosefull name, is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

So where is Great Britain? Right here. Thearea covered in black is Great Britain.

Unlike England, Scotland, Wales andNorthern Ireland, Great Britain is a geographical term rather than a politicalterm.

Great Britain is the largest island amongthe British Isles.

Within the United Kingdom, the term “GreatBritain” is often used to refer to England, Scotland and Wales, but without thepart of Northern Ireland. However, actually all three constituent countrieshave islands that are not part of Great Britain, but we won’t go into detailsto talk about them now.

The second biggest island in the BritishIsles is Ireland. It is worth noting that Ireland is not country. Like GreatBritain, it is a geographical, not political, term.

The Island of Ireland contains twocountries, Northern Ireland, which we have already discussed, and the Republicof Ireland. When people say they are Irish, usually they are referring to theRepublic of Ireland, which is a separate country form the United Kingdom.However, both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom are members of theEuropean Union. Oh wait, due to the Brexit, the status now is hard to say, butthe Brexit is a story for another time.

To review, the two largest islands in theBritish Isles are Ireland and Great Britain.

Ireland has on it two countries – the Republicof Ireland and Northern Ireland, while Great Britain mostly contains there:England, Scotland and Wales. These last three, when combined with NorthernIreland from the United Kingdom.

Nick Name

The nick name for the United Kingdom is John Bull.

John Bull is an imaginary figure who is a personification of England. He is shown in cartoons as a prosperous farmer ofthe 18th century.

John Bull first appears as a character in aseries of political satires by John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), who is a Scottishscientist, doctor and political satirist.

Bull is usually pictured as a stout man ina tailcoat with breeches (马裤) and a UnionFlag waistcoat. He also wears a low topper (sometimes called a John Bulltopper) on his head and is often accompanied by a bulldog. His size andapparent gluttony represented prosperity in an age where rosy cheeks and plumpfaces were a sign of good health.

John Bull has changed in some ways sincethe first appearance. Now he is looked upon with affection by many Englishpeople. John Bull is seen as the personification of the character of theEnglish: honest, generous, straightforward, with a zest for life and ready tostand up and fight for what he believes in.