UK, Ireland - the boring details (OT)

[Neil Ward]

No: HPFGUIDX 690

>> Catlady wrote: 

>JKR said in an interview that Hogwarts is the only wizarding school 
>for students from the UK and Ireland. I assume that she was referring 
>to the political entities United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, 
>which I believe combine to cover the physical geography called the 
>islands of Britain and Ireland, plus some associated small isles. If 
>the two big and numerous small islands are not collectively referred 
>to as the British Isles (as in George Orwell's example of a book 
>whose title in French was Les oiseaux europeenes and in English it 
>was Birds of Europe and the British Isles), please educate me as to 
>what they can be called collectively.

****

I wish I could claim to know all the minor details listed below, but I admit
to having checked some points.  Most British people wouldn't know most of
these distinctions and would confuse GB and UK and the associations with
Ireland without thinking. 

Apologies, congratulations and sympathy to those of you who did know all this:-

- 'Great Britain' has referred to the union of England, Scotland and Wales
since 1707.  The term excludes Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the
Channel Islands.

- 'Britain' is a more informal term with no official status, and can
sometimes include Northern Ireland (but because no one has defined what it
means, hey, put France and China in there if you like).

- 'The British Isles' is a geographical term encompassing Great Britain,
Northern Ireland and all the surrounding isles, including the aforementioned
ones and Scottish islands, such as the Shetlands, but excluding the Republic
of Ireland.

- 'The United Kingdom is a political term, as Simon said, shorthand for 'The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'.  It does not usually
include the smaller islands.

- 'England' is England.  It's a common mistake among some Americans (in my
experience) to refer to Great Britain or the UK as 'England'.  If you do
this, expect to be glared at by assorted Welsh and Scottish people, not to
mention the Manx islanders and other non-English entities.

- 'The Republic of Ireland (or Eire)' is a separate country and has nothing
to do with the UK, Great Britain, British Isles etc.  The fact that Northern
Ireland is part of the Irish land mass, but politically involved with the
UK, is the reason for the troubles in Northern Ireland.

- 'Ireland' can be used to include Eire and Northern Ireland.

- 'The European Union' includes all of the above, plus the other 14 members
of the economic and political union of European states.  

'Europe or Western Europe' includes the European Union and a number of other
countries.  People would normally say 'mainland Europe' or 'Continental
Europe' to define the main land mass and exclude the UK, Ireland and
Scandinavia.

- 'Lewisham' is the region where I live.  It is a component of London,
England, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, the British Isles, the European
Union, Europe, the World, the Earth, the Solar System, the Milky Way, the
Universe.

Aren't you all bored now?

Neil
            Flying-Ford-Anglia

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   "Then, dented, scratched and steaming, 
   the car rumbled off into the darkness, 
   its rear lights blazing angrily"

 [Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]

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