English? British? Britain? UK?

Question

what's the difference between 'Britain' and 'England'?

Do I need to add an article 'the' before these two terms?

then

Does "Englishman" refer to "Any people speaking in English" or "Any people in England" or "Any people in Britain"?

By the way, how about "American"

I am quite certain that Amercia is not the same thing as the United States

In addition to "Americans" , is there any special and common terms that refers to people in the United States

BillJ · Accepted Answer

Well now, you haven't been paying attention in geography class, have you?

The island of Britain comprises the countries of England and Scotland, and the principality of Wales, as well as a few small islands dotted around the coast. Sometimes we say United Kingdom (UK for short) instead of Britain; the difference is that the UK includes Northern Ireland as well.

Englishman means literally "an English man", a male inhabitant of the country England. We usually associate the term with someone who is of English descent (like me for example).

Perhaps someone from America would like to answer the second part of your question.

BillJ

Joshua Weaver · Answer

United States, U.S., American and America are interestingly nuanced:

In the United States and anglophone countries, as well as many other languages, people of the United States are referred to as Americans. Spanish and a few other languages have words that use United States as an adjective to refer to people.

The United States, or United States, can only refer to the physical presence of the country, as a noun. As in, I live in the United States or He's from the United States. (Although in some places, it can be an adjective as in The United States Supreme Court, or The United States Congress) But also, see below.

The acronym U.S. can be used like the above (as a noun), but also as an adjective. For instance, the U.S. Supreme Court or a U.S. Flag. American can be used interchangeably -- the American Supreme Court, the American Flag. However, when referring to a person, it will always and only be American.

America is tricky: It is always a noun, and, in the United States and anglophone countries, America almost always refers to the United States of America. But, in the United States (and probably in most other anglophone countries), America also refers to the collective of people of the United States. For instance, a commercial would say Hello, America! never Hello, United States!

Hope that helps...I can help more...

English? British? Britain? UK?

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