Britain Country and People possible questions

Territorial:
The British Isles
Ireland

Consists of Ireland, Great Britain and several smaller isles.

Smallest isle, also called Erin or The Emerald Isle, evoking the
lush greenery of its countryside.
Biggest isle

Great Britain
The Republic of Ireland
The United Kingdom

State on the south of the isle Ireland

(of Great Britain and Northern Ireland): state that consists of the
rest of the British Isles. (short: UK)

Northern Ireland
Scotland/Wales/England
Britain

The protestant northern part of Ireland, that still belongs to the UK.
Three parts of GB, with Northern Ireland the UK
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (adj: British)
= The United Kingdom

Irish and informal name of the Republic of Ireland:

Eire, informal: Ireland or the Republic
Small parts with special political arrangements:
The Channel Islands en the Isle of Man or called Crown Dependencies. They have a complete
internal self-government including an own Parliament and an own tax system. They are ruled by
a Lieutenant Governor, who is appointed by the British Parliament.
Explain Albion:
This is a name used in poetic and rhetorical context to refer to Britain. It was the name the
Romans gave to Great Britain, probably because of the white chalk cliffs around Dover.
Original Roman names:
England:
Britannia (also the name of the female embodiment of Britain, always
shown whit a helmet and a trident - the symbol of power over the sea which explains Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves. For hundreds
of years her picture used to be on the reverse side of coins.)
Caledonia
Cambria
Hibernia

Scotland:
Wales:
Ireland:
Political history:
After a process during hundreds of years The British Isles became a single state in 1800, when
the Irish Parliament joined the English, Scottish and Welsh one in Westminster. In 1922 however
Ireland was divided in two parts: the catholic south became a single state (the Republic of
Ireland), while the northern part stayed with Britain.
Identifying symbols of the four nations:
England

Wales

Scotland

Ireland

St Georges cross

Dragon of
Cadwallader

St Andrews cross St Patricks cross

Flag

Plant
Colour
Patron

Rose
White
St George

Leek (Daffodil)
Green
St David

Lion rampant
Thistle
Red
St Andrew

Republic of Ireland
Shamrock
Green
St Patick

saint
23 April
1 March
30 November
17 March
Saints day
Race and origin:
The people in Ireland, Wales and northern Scotland are from Celtic origin, while the inhabitants
of England and the southern part of Scotland descend form Germanic tribes. This difference can
be seen in the language spoken in those areas: In Ireland people speak Irish Gaelic, in Scotland
Scottish Gaelic and in Wales Welsh, all Celtic languages. The modern English is derived from
various Germanic dialects.
Passports:
The same for whole the UK
John Bull:
He is a fictional character that appears in a lot of 19 th century cartoons. He symbolises the old
English virtues and an 18th century country gentleman, evoking an idyllic rural past. He can be
compared to the American character of Uncle Sam.
Names:
Mac of Mc are Scottish or Irish
O is Irish.
Davis, Evans, Jones, Lloyd, Morgan, Price and Rees are typically Welsh surnames.
Smith is the most common surname in both England and Scotland.
The Scottish equivalent for John is Ian, the Irish Sean.
Nicknames and stereotypes:
Scot:
Jock
Miserly
Irishman:
Paddy or Mick
Great talkers
Welshman:
Dai or Taffy
Singing ability
Kilt:
A skirt with a tartan pattern worn by Scottish man. It is very well known though it is hardly ever
worn in every-day life.
Musical instruments:
Scotland: Bagpipes
Wales: Harp
Ireland: Harp
Britons:
Briton is a formal word to talk about a citizen of Britain. The Ancient Britons were the people
living in England before and during the Roman occupation, who are the ancestors of the Welsh
people.
Domination of England:
Using the name England to talk about Britain is a mistake, however not a serious one because
Britain is the dominating nation in the UK. The Bank of England controls the supply of
money in whole the UK and not the Bank of Britain. The name Elisabeth the Second is also
strange for the Irish and the Scottish, because they have never had the First.
Anglo:
Is derived from the Anglons, a Germanic tribe that came to England in the 5 th century. They
also gave their name to England of Angleland.
Number of inhabitants:
England
48,900,000
Scotland
5,100,000
Wales
2,900,000
Northern Ireland 1,600,000
Total
58,600,000
Flag of the UK:
Called the Union Jack, is a combination of the three crosses shown on the
previous page.
Give an example of the complicated division of loyalties among many people in Britain:
During the Eurovision Song Contest of 1992 there were only two countries that still had a
chance to win: UK and Ireland. BBC Commentator Terry Wogan An Irishman that was
Britainss most popular commentator spoke about both the UK and Ireland as we.

Thomas Geudens

2005