The Difference Between England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom
A lesson in British etiquette. Don’t screw it up!
North Americans have a bad habit of using the terms England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom interchangeably. The problem is, the terms are not interchangeable. Depending on the context, misusing these titles can be down right offensive to certain people who inhabit the United Kingdom. Call a Welsh person English or an Irish person British and you will see what I am talking about right away.
Each one of these titles is completely different from one another and describe wholly different, if adjacent, things. Getting these phrases right will not only make you sound more intelligent, it can also rescue you from embarrassing social situations you might run into while speaking to British Isles inhabitants.
England
England is a country in the south of Great Britain. It was founded in 927 and is one of the oldest countries in the region. England borders Wales and Scotland, which are both technically their own countries. Only people from the country of England are English. Not everyone from Great…
