Great Britain, United Kingdom, and England

Try asking a person living in the United Kingdom the exact meaning of the expression they have on their passports: "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

Many will not be able to provide an adequate answer.

Great Britain (often abbreviated as Britain) is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom.

With an area of 229,850 km², the island of Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles, an archipelago that also includes Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is the largest island in Europe.

Great Britain (as political term) is the collective name for the three countries of England, Scotland and Wales. It also includes the small adjacent islands such as the Isles od Scilly, the Hebrides, adn the island groups of Orkney and Shetland but it does not include the Channel Island and the isle of Man.

The name Britain is very ancient: the earliest known form is believed to date back to about 325 BC.

Why Great, not just Britain? There are in fact two Britains: the island of Britain in the British Isles and the land of Britain in France.

In French these are known as Grande Bretagne and Bretagne, in English as Great Britain and Brittany. The word 'Great' in this context has its old meaning of "big" as in 'she was great with child' or 'Greater London'.

Likewise, the ending '-y' on the end of 'Brittany' has the meaning 'Little', as in 'doggy', meaning 'small dog', or 'Jimmy', meaning 'little Jim'.

The term Britain is sometimes used to mean Great Britain, and both are often used to refer to the United Kingdom, which also includes Northern Ireland. Great Britain is often used as a convenient abbreviation for the unwieldy "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

While it is inaccurate, the abbreviation Great Britain is still often used by official bodies as a synonym for the UK in some contexts, for example, the UK team which competes in the Olympic Games is often referred to as 'Team GB' and the UK uses the International license plate code of 'GB'.

The adjective 'British' is, of course, used in relation to Great Britain but there is also a common tendency to use it when referring to issues relating to both Great Britain and the United Kingdom. This is inaccurate and from a legal point of view erroneous.

Sometimes, however, in legislation the term 'British' is used to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole, and not just Great Britain, especially in matters relating to the question of nationality.

For example, United Kingdom monarchs are often called "British monarchs"; United Kingdom Prime Ministers are often called "British Prime Ministers". Such usage is generally seen as correct.

However the use of the term English for British, as in "Queen of England" is clearly incorrect; England in a sense of a separate state has not existed since 1707, although the four constituent parts of the country go into the Commonwealth Games as separate teams, also for football.

The United Kingdom is made up of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The official name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" as it now appears on passports, came into use in 1922 after the constitution of the Irish Free State (1922-1937), the former name of the Republic of Ireland.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain, used to indicate the political union of England, Scotland and Wales to include Northern Ireland. 

England is the largest, the most populous, and the most densely populated of the four 'Home Nations' which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK).

Occupying the south-eastern portion of the island of Great Britain, England is named after the Angles, one of a number of Germanic peoples who settled there in the 5th and 6th centuries. England has not had separate political identity since 1707 when Great Britain was established as a political entity.

English person (or, in more old-fashioned terms, an 'Englishman') is someone who is from England and holds British nationality, regardless of his or her racial origin. However, some recent immigrants always refer to themselves as 'British' and never as 'English.'

A person, therefore, using the term 'English' to describe him or herself (regardless of personal history) is to some extent going out of his or her way to do so; hence he or she may also be seen (rightly or wrongly, and not necessarily pejoratively) as nationalistic.

While Scottish, Welsh, and Irish patriotism are widely exhibited, specifically English patriotism has often been viewed with suspicion, and most English people feel more comfortable identifying themselves with Britain as a whole, to avoid being seen as bullies by their Scottish, Welsh, and Irish neighbours.

Great Britain, dalam bahasa Indonesia di terjemahkan sebagai Inggris Raya. Tetapi dalam prakteknya penyebutan Inggris Raya jarang saya temui.

Indonesia, yang saya tahu, menggunakan sebutan Inggris, as in Perdana Menteri Inggris Tony Blair. Jika me-refers pada kasus di atas maka 'Inggris' yang dimaksud dalam bahasa Indonesia adalah GB atau UK.

Dan karena itu penyebutan 'tim nasional sepakbola Inggris' menjadi keliru (menyamakan term English as British). Karena England football team is not GB team. Untuk sepakbola, England, Scotland, dan Wales punya tim terpisah.

PS. Saya baru mengerti dengan benar definisi di atas setelah mencari bahan untuk menuliskan artikel ini. So, for everyone who ask me to write about the difference between GB, UK and England thank you very much indeed.

(kompilasi dari berbagai sumber)

Comments

[ishak]

I WANT TO GO TO THE GREAT BRITAIN,BUT I CAN NOT,BECAUSE I DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY,I AM A STUDENT AT SYIAH KUALA UNIVERSITY IN BANDA ACEH.I STUDY ENGLISH COURSE.COULD YOU TELL ME HOW TO GET A SCHOLARSHIP IN ENGLAND UNIVERSITY?

[mart]

i need the four main parts

[strozze]

Dalam konteks Bahasa Malaysia, Inggeris hanya merupakan terjemahan daripada English (apa-apa yang bersangkutan dengan England). Contoh Tanah Jajahan Inggeris, gaya Inggeris, Bahasa Inggeris. Kalau England masih disebut England, Britain masih disebut Britain. Tony Blair adalah Perdana Menteri Britain, bukan Perdana Menteri Inggeris tetapi Perdana Menteri Britain berketurunan Inggeris.

[alsya]

Ralat:

Saya penggemar olahraga, dan penggunaan abbv. "GB" masih umum digunakan, selama tim ini adalah representasi Inggris, Wales, dan Skotlandia.

[alsya]

Setahu saya Great Britain bukan "Inggris Raya", melainkan "Britania Raya.."

Sedangkan United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland adalah "Kerajaan Bersatu Britania Raya dan Irlandia"

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerajaan_Bersatu_Britania_Raya_dan_Irlandia

Saya penggemar olahraga, dan penggunaan abbv. "GB" masih umum digunakan, selama tim ini adalah representasi Inggris, Wales, Skotlandia, dan Irlandia Utara.

Sebagai tambahan:
conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; note - Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales
conventional short form: United Kingdom
abbreviation: UK

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/uk.html

Kesimpulan saya :

England = Inggris

Great Britain = Britania Raya

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland = Kerajaan Bersatu Britania Raya dan Irlandia

[Syahrani]

Hayo misua udah nulis ttg SE W800i.. hehehe jangan lagi pengen itu dia :D wakakaka Go Gadgeteers..

[*')Iin]

dah diterima buw....cuma belum sempat bales :D..maklum..minggu kemarin sibuk ngurusin orang sakit :D..apa kabar buwww

[yanti]

very informative ran.. makasih yaa..

kenapa Great Britain (Grande Bretagne) alias Kepulauan Britain punya kesamaan nama dgn Brittany (Bretagne) di Perancis Barat itu ya?

[Ihsan]

Duluuuu banget, pernah dapet penjelasan hal ini waktu masih kuliah. Enggak terasa waktunya sudah amat lama berlalu ....
(Mata menerawang mengingat saat memutuskan memilih Sastera Inggeris karena banyak ceweknya ....) ;)

[echa]

it will get a similar question as:

what's the difference between: Netherlands, Holland and Belanda

:D :P

Orang Spanyol bilang: Olanda [tulisan sbenernya kurang tau juga lupa, tp dibaca Holanda]
Orang Italy bilang: Olandese

Hanya orang Indo yang namain: Belanda

[*)Iin]

sehat bu di sini alhamdulillah :)..cuma seminggu kemarin sibuk aja..maklum..ibu rumah tangga :D..selamat berakhir pekan ya rani sekeluarga :)..cup cup

[Miya]

iya fotonya dipajang lagi krn diambil persis setahun yg lalu hehehe, jadi kangen dgn yg motret... iya benar si Karin atau Tomi ya??? Apa kabar ya dgn mereka?

[Priyadi]

jadi kesimpulannya:

- great britain = england + wales + scotland
- united kingdom = great britain + northern ireland

dalam bahasa indonesia:

- wales = wales
- scotland = skotlandia
- northern ireland = irlandia utara
- england = inggris
- great britain = inggris raya
- united kingdom = inggris raya juga?

menurut saya harusnya

- england = inggris, dilihat dari terjemahan, sepertinya ini paling cocok, dibanding great britain atau united kingdom
- great britain = inggris raya
- united kingdom = kerajaan inggris

jadi menurut saya yang salah bukan 'tim sepakbola inggris', tapi 'perdana menteri inggris' yang harusnya disebut 'perdana menteri kerajaan inggris' (prime minister of the united kingdom)

[ranukama]

ic...ic...jadi gitu toh...hmmmm...ic...ic
*he2*

Eh mba beneran tuh si Otty kebanyakan Detox...ntar aku bilangin deh...

[susan]

makasih atas infonya, udah dihapus skrg lagunya..emang udah kepikir mulai bosen jg hehe...kok dr kemarin2 ngga mau pada protes sih haha...

[intan]

aku pertama kali taunya waktu nonton acara kuis di Prancis, pertanyaannya Royaume Uni (United Kingdom) terdiri dari 3 negara atau 4 negara ? wahhh sejak itu, baru tau deh kalau ada La grande bretagne (Great Britain), l'Ecosse (Scotland), l'Irlande du nord (North Ireland), le pays de Galles (Wales)..
dulu di Indo diajarinnya cuma Angleterre (English) aja :P

[hani]

waktu aku diterangin tetanggaku yang orang inggris tentang GB dan segala halnya...aku perlu waktu sejam untuk mengerti...nggak jelas akunya yang emang ndak mudeng, ato dianya yang neranginnya terlalu heboh :p

baca postingan ini rasanya seperti finishing touch-nya deh ;)

[enda]

yup menarik infonya. btw kalo londo inggris itu jadi british atau apa? :p

[nisa]

wow, jadi tau bedanya England ama UK.
Tulisan yang sangat menarik, jadi
nambah pengetahuan ni Ran...
Oh ya, lg malas updet blog, tapi rajin baca
artikel disini:)
Ihh, gemes lihat Alisha, udah gede ya
sekarang. Titip sun ya Ran...
Met wikend deh buat keluarga Susilo...

[*)Iin]

oh itu ya bedanya ran. hmm jadi ngerti..makasih ya atas infonya :)

[atta]

saya mesti balik lagi nih. soalnya baca ini smabil buru2, jadi belum ngeh banget :D

[canti]

ooooo...

[Syahrani]

Hehehe nah ini dia nih :D akhirnya keluar juga. Jadi tau sekarang and paham. Ternyata England itu untuk negara itu aja kalo GB itu luas yaa.. thanks yaa :p

[Anna]

Aku tadinya rada gak mudeng dengan kata2:
The word ‘Great’ in this context has its old meaning of ‘big" as in ‘she was great with child’.
Aku kira arti great di 'she was great with child' adalah very well atau kalimat lainnya: 'she gets along with children'. Aku baru nemu contoh 'was great with child' memang berarti 'big' tapi hanya istilah khusus dalam: in an advanced stage of pregnancy. Coba lihat
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=great
Pantesan gak mudeng soalnya belum pernah hamil:-) Anyway, it's very informative article!