This is very OT, but it's an international list, so maybe someone can clarify something for me.
I've never been sure when one is supposed to use the word England or the word Britain. Let's say I have a list in a software program (I am writing), and it has countries listed by URL. So it has US, CA, JP, FR, DE, UK. But I want to turn those URL abbreviations into country names so it's very clear to the user. Both will be listed, BTW. US United States CA Canada JP Japan FR France DE Germany UK = ??? So... UK Britain? UK England? Which is appropriate, i.e. which fits the list? Marnie, as I was born in the UK I might be able to help here. Britain is now the British Isles, comprising England, Scotland and Wales, the Isle of Man, and others such as the Scilly Isles and the Channel Islands, and which, with the exception of the Channel Islands, were inhabited pre-Norman times by the Anglo-Saxons and the Celts - although I might be persuaded that the Channel Islands inhabitants were originally Celts, although most would say they were Gauls. The Romans called the whole main island Britannia, from which Britain derives. England is that part of the British Isles bounded by Scotland and Wales. The full title of the UK is "The United Kingdom of Geat Britain and Northern Ireland", thus encompassing the bit of Ireland we still hang onto. Most of us would use the shorthand form "the UK" when referring to it, and I could correctly say either that I was born in the UK or that I was born in England. HTH John Coyle (now in Kent again) I mean, I don't think people literally turn that UK into United Kingdom (which I think some USers wouldn't automatically get anyway.) It's got to be clearer than that. And when is United Kingdom used anyway? Other than as a URL? To me it sort of sounds like Middle Earth or some fantasy place. I don't think it is universally recognizable, but maybe that's me. Like I said, I've never really understood when one is supposed to use England or Britain. So which should it be? And I don't think United Kingdom is very clear, so I would prefer either one or the other and not it. Unless people feel it really SHOULD be United Kingdom. But if so, I would want one of the others in parenthesis after it to be totally clear. Any clarification would be helpful. Even if my question isn't as clear as the answer I would like. :-) Thanks, Marnie aka Doe ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using MyMail
