[Ven]

It’s geography and politics and culture. Great Britain is a geographical term describing the big island off the western coast of Europe — which divides into the countries of England, Wales and Scotland — the next biggest, which is Ireland — Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland aka Eire — and all the smaller associated islands which variously belong to one of those countries. However British does not now ever describe the people of Eire. It is applied to the inhabitants of the political entity, The United Kingdom — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All these countries differ by race, culture and native language. The term ‘British’ is now falling into disfavour because it often means English by default (as in the the athlete who is British when she wins a medal and Scottish when she falls over during the first lap). So, English is distinct from British, and English is the right name for the missing part of your mix. You could legitimately describe yourself as of German/ British stock or as German/Irish/Welsh/Scottish/English NB I have picked a state as i could not otherwise send this. I do not live there. I do not know where it is.

User Detail :  

Name : Ven, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : mind yer own business, Race : European, Religion : Atheist, Age : 40s, City : Sheffield, State : HI, Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : mendicant scholar, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Carter-OBrien]

I’m a mix of Irish, Welsh, Scottish, German and … English or British, I don’t really know which. Do people living in the United Kingdom differentiate between what is British and what is English? If so, in what ways? Is it cultural and/or racial?

User Detail :  

Name : Carter-OBrien, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 29, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Andy L.]

I think the simplest way to answer this is to say that in the same way that all people in America are American but are also Hispanic American, Polish American, etc., everyone in Britain is British, and at the same time English British, Welsh British, Asian British etc. Britain has always been a multiethnic country, and at the creation of Britain (when England and Scotland were united), the decision was made deliberately to use this non-sectarian title to make the state representative of all. To keep this short, I suppose what I am trying to say is that while my nationality is British, my ethnic origin is English (with a bit of Irish and God alone knows what else thrown in), and my cultural origin is Anglo-British.

User Detail :  

Name : Andy L., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 29, City : Darlington, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Civil Servant, 

[Margo]

Yes. We do differentiate. It’s a bit like asking what is the difference between America and Illinois, albeit on a smaller scale. Great Britain is made up of England, Scotland and Wales. (and the United Kingdom is made up of Great Britan & Northern Ireland) I’m English (mostly) so I’m not particularly bothered whether you describe me as British, English or ‘from the UK’, but if you describe a Scottish or Welsh person as being English you may cause offence, particularly as there has been, historically, a degree of cultural imperialism by the English, of the Welsh in particular.(The teaching by Welsh schools in Welsh has only been permitted comparativly recently) I don’t think there’s a racial element – I think it’s more to do with the historical position. Both Scotland & Wales now have some degree of autonomy (Scottish parliament & Welsh Assembly)and I think most scottish and welsh people wouild regard themselves as having a distinct national identity separate from Britain as a whole.

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Name : Margo, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 27, City : Manchester, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : lawyer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Tobias24640]

The only time people in the United Kingdom seem to refer to themselves as ‘British’ is when they are indicating against that category on official forms. Over the past several years there has been a growing trend among British people to identify themselves more closely with their respective ethnic origins. This has been very evident among the English in particular. I believe the English have felt marginalized as a result of devolutionary powers being implemented in Scotland and Wales and also because of a perceived anti – English (working class) bias in the mostly liberal-dominated British media. A good indicator of a growing English consciousness is the ever-increasing use of the cross of St. George flag. This flag was hardly ever seen 10 years ago, but I now I’m seeing it every day, especially in the form of car stickers.

User Detail :  

Name : Tobias24640, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 37, City : London, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : finance, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Nicholas Mew]

British could encompass English, Scottish or Welsh. A Welshman or Scotsman would never want to be mistaken for an Englishman. Chances are it would only be an Englishman who would refer to himself as British. I am a British citizen with a British passport, but as my family is from England, I would call myself English. The assumption when one says British is that the person concerned is English, but this is not often used in the United Kingdom. You are from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and would call yourself English, Scottish, Welsh or … well, the last one depends.

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Name : Nicholas Mew, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 33, City : Barrie, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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