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Sunny123 Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary

British or English?

Hello everyone. How do you fill the blanks with proper nationality of the person?

1. Joe is from England. He is ----------------------------------------------.
?
  

Top answer

Because of the term nationality , "British" is the more appropriate choice. However, in itself, "He is English" is correct too. Whether people from England identify more as "British" or "English" is a personal choice.

— GPY

  • Because of the term nationality , "British" is the more appropriate choice.
  • However, in itself, "He is English" is correct too.
  • Whether people from England identify more as "British" or "English" is a personal choice.
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15 Answers
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Because of the term nationality, "British" is the more appropriate choice. However, in itself, "He is English" is correct too. Whether people from England identify more as "British" or "English" is a personal choice.
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GPYBecause of the term nationality, "British" is the more appropriate choice.
Some of us on this side of the pond don't get this at all. Does it mean that Britain is a nation, but England is not a nation?

CJ
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an independent nation/state. The adjective for a citizen of this state is, unhelpfully, 'British'

Great Britain is a geographical term, though many people use it for the United Kingdom

England is a country, but it is not an independent nation/state.
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fivejedjonThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an independent nation/state. ...
Wow. So the people who live in Northern Ireland are not Irish! They're British. Is that right?

Very confusing. I think you'd have to have been born and raised there to get the hang of all these factoids.
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In some ways, the status of England is similar to that of Texas in that both were once independent nations that have been subsumed into a greater nation. The people of both retain an identity that is in some ways (but only in some) different from the greater national one.

However, the differences are fairly superficial. England does not have its own legislature or prime minister. (Scotla
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CalifJimWow. So the people who live in Northern Ireland are not Irish! They're British. Is that right?
Although you may read that "British" is a geographical term, in popular use it usually isn't. Usually it means belonging to the United Kingdom. However, applying labels such as "British" and "Irish" in Northern Ireland is a highly contentious issue, since the
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CalifJimWow. So the people who live in Northern Ireland are not Irish! They're British. Is that right?
That is correct. Most of the protestants who live there do not like being called Irish, even though they live on the island of Ireland.
CalifJim think you'd have to have been born and raised there to get the hang of all these factoids.
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Thanks fivejedjon and GPY. Much of that information turns out to be quite a head-scratcher over here, but I imagine the oddities of the U.S. are even less rational in appearance. For example, we are the only country in the world that I know of where the person who gets the most votes in a presidential election can turn out not to be the winner, as just happened this week.

CJ
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CalifJim For example, we are the only country in the world that I know of where the person who gets the most votes in a presidential election can turn out not to be the winner, as just happened this week.
In the UK, because of our parliamentary constituency system, it is possible for a party to win most seats in Parliament, and therefore form the government, d
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GPY ... it is possible for a party to win most seats ... despite another party getting more votes ...
Another 'wow'. I did not know that.

CJ
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