To point out yet again to the geographically challenged of Britain....

[AnnabelleLee]

THAT northern Ireland is in the UK. Ireland is an entirely separate country. Like,properly different,with its own currency and culture and laws and all that.
FFS.

TAAT?

prompted by, but not about. I've seen it a hundred times on here, people haven't got the most basic idea. They usually still manage a big opinion though.

Can I also point out that Scotland is in the UK, but we have our own education and legal system. Many posters talk about "the UK legal system" or "Education in the UK" when they mean England.

Wales has it's own education system too!

Though law is the same. English and Welsh law.

Hell of a job explaining that to people wanting legal advice when they're based in Scotland/N.I.

I recently had to explain to a colleague why a client got incredibly irritated with her repeatedly confusing Dublin and Belfast.

You are right but they did ask for no threads about that thread so this will be deleted.

It's not about that thread. The point of that thread was something else entirely.
This is a general point about simple geography.

"Many posters talk about "the UK legal system" or "Education in the UK" when they mean England."

Yes, perhaps they'll start listening when Scots (not just you, I know many in real life who do this) stop pretending that the rest of the UK is 'England' when Wales does, in fact, exist.

OP, it's also a bit absurd to pretend that the UK has a single culture, when every single fucking tiny region is full of people who are determined that they are completely different to the English/Scots/Welsh/Northerners/Southerners/Cornish/Foresters/Londoners/Geordies/etc etc ad fucking infinitum nauseum. The UK is like a giant basket full of insane woodlice swarming over each other yelling about how they are special and different.

Ima run away to Scandinavia the noo.

I hate USA media/tv/etc making constant reference to British, when they are referring to English. They don't like being lumped with Canada, we don't like being lumped with each other either! It's just lazy stupidity.

And London/ the 'south' is centre of the universe

If you like Venn diagrams, this will simplify it all for you.

If you don't, you'll be further confused so don't open the link.

I have a feeling that technically 'Britain' refers to just England and Wales.

4.bp.blogspot.com/-XcGvzzT_CiI/UTyfGpC3BAI/AAAAAAAAVak/RofCkIyS04Q/s1600/British_Isles.png

I love Venn diagrams!

I could point out though that a large contingent objects to the term "British Isles" though as a colonial hold over, and uses the alternative term Western European Isles.

That diagram is mind boggling!

That diagram is wrong though as it is not the British Isles. That is a name that is used in Britain only and is not a recognised geographical term

And it misses the Shetland Islands

That venn diagram looks correct to me. I was talking to someone the other week who seriously could not get their head round Britain and England not being the same thing ie UK is made up of Scotland Northern Ireland Wales and Britain? No amount of people trying to correct him worked

Where does the Isle of Wight come in?

Bit too much of a TAAT for me so YABU, though I agree with your post in principle.

Isle of Wight is part of England. Shetland Islands are part of Scotland so they are covered under those names

Its missing the rest of the Channel Islands, the Scottish Islands, the Irish Islands.....but it can't have everything. It does convey the states well though.
The Channel Islands are not part of the UK but they are British Crown dependencies, and the inhabitants are British citizens.

Interesting diagram. My understanding though, was that Britain is mainland England, Wales and Scotland and that Great Britain included the islands such as Isle of Wight, Anglesey and all the Scottish Isles, but not Ireland (island). Although perhaps I am getting confused with the bBritish Isles.

Great Britain is the name of the island on which sits most of England, Scotland and Wales. Traditionally though the term also includes islands such as The Isle of Wight and Angelsey as they're not really proper islands like the Channel Islands .

Now thats where it gets confusing Great Britain is both the name for the largest island in a strictly geographic sense but also a term for the political union of England Scotland and Wales including all islands belonging to those 3 states.

My bugbear is references to "the north" referring to the north of England.

Ireland encompasses the Republic and Northern Ireland. NI is in the UK. The Republic isn't. Whilst it's daft to lump all Irish people together, it's not quite the same as calling a Welsh woman, English. IMO.

I got asked by an American once (on a chat forum) if I had a British accent.

The mind boggles