Talk:Great Britain/Archive 3

Scotlands
if you would of heard on the news Scotland may be breaking and become its own nation, the goverment are letting them vote so it hasn't happened yet so be aware just incase, thanks 82.0.94.223 (talk) 17:11, 9 January 2012 (UTC)ericdeaththe2nd82.0.94.223 (talk) 17:11, 9 January 2012 (UTC)
 * That's got nothing to do with Great Britain, which is a geographical term. Scotland will always be part of Great Britain, unless it literally breaks off. :) --Τασουλα (talk) 18:58, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Definition of British
Do we actually need this at all in the current article; "The term British refers to all citizens of the United Kingdom — including Welsh, Scottish, English, and Northern Irish. Within Northern Ireland, it is mainly Unionists who choose to refer to themselves as British, whilst Nationalists tend to refer to themselves as Irish.[citation needed] People from Northern Ireland can choose to be Irish, British or both; this had been the position under the respective nationality laws of the two states, but was formalised by treaty in the Good Friday Agreement."? It's not as if the article is about things British. The Skywatcher and me (talk) 19:49, 19 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Agreed. There is another article specifically about British people. Spiritofstgeorge (talk) 21:10, 20 July 2011 (UTC)
 * We also have British nationality law. I agree that those sentences are inappropriate for this article, which is about GB rather than Ireland.    Ghmyrtle (talk) 21:19, 20 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Sentence removed by Spirtofstgeorge. I assume this discussion is now closed. Thanks. The Skywatcher and me (talk) 21:59, 20 July 2011 (UTC)

I was wondering weather anyone knows what the term British ment in 1914. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.150.60.193 (talk) 19:50, 9 September 2011 (UTC)
 * The United Kingdom was a larger entity then, encompassing the whole of Ireland, so it meant much as it does today, but could be applied to what is now the Republic of Ireland too. — JonC ॐ 14:27, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

Translations of 'Great Britain'
To be perfectly honest, while I understand the rationale behind giving the name of the country in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish at the top of the article, the simple fact is that giving it in those languages serves no purpose in light of this discussion. Welsh is certainly well-used enough to warrant a translation, as the second-most spoken language in Great Britain, but to only give the Scottish Gaelic and not the Lowland Scots is a bizarre (and potentially sectarian) decision, given that they both have roughly the same number of speakers (and further that Lowland Scots is understood and used by ~80% of people in Scotland to some degree, as well as a significant number of people in the North of England and the rest of the UK).

That of course is before we get to the so-called "immigrant languages" - Scots Gaelic, of course, is an immigrant language, as, essentially, is English, and if we go back far enough, so is every language spoken in the British Isles. While I understand the position of those who see the newer languages as "foreign", the fact remains they are spoken by millions of people - Punjabi alone is spoken by over half a million people, is recognised (along with many other "non-native" languages) on official documents, not least of which being the Census, and so on. It outnumbers the Welsh-speaking figure outside of Wales itself several times over. Bengali and Sylheti speakers (two strongly related languages) in the UK together rival the Welsh-speakers to become either the joint second or third most spoken language.

Ignoring these simple facts in favour of the historically-used languages may seem appropriate; however, when one considers that Latin, in various forms, was spoken alongside these languages - or favoured over them, for a long time, as with Norman French - and that unlike Norman French, Anglo-Norman or the various archaic forms of English itself, Latin is still understood in written and spoken form by large sections of the population who, to my knowledge, are not even given opportunity to note their understanding of it on the official census, it seems curious in the extreme that we are currently using three Gaelic-language translations - including Cornish, spoken by only a few thousand with any fluency - over and above both the historical lingua franca and those of the present day. Of course it would be ridiculous to include such immigrant languages as French, Dutch and so on, who have historically at different times settled in large numbers in various parts of the country, because these populations have already, centuries since, assimilated and their descendants chosen to speak English (or possibly some form of Gaelic or other "native" tongue). Likewise there is little case for including the languages of economic migrants of the present day, as they are not considered permanent residents and do not hold, in most cases, full citizenship; however some languages, such as Polish, which have been spoken among immigrant communities over the last half century or so because their speakers were granted the right to remain in the UK and became citizens, probably should be included (though the numbers are the devil to find).

Once again, I understand the position that some languages are "non-native", but I find it ridiculous, jingoistic (and therefore out of line with NPOV) and out of touch with the reality of the situation. Three to four million people, depending on whether one includes the Gaelic languages and Lowland Scots or not, speak languages other than English, which is to say, they identify themselves as native speakers of those languages, either primarily or on a bilingual basis. Between one in twenty to one in fifteen people. We should either indulge them all by majority (which would be my preferred method, and for which I would suggest the use of an infobox), by majority of officially recognised languages - in which case there is room for Lowland Scots, which despite not enjoying the same legal recognition as Scottish Gaelic has a far wider dissemination among the so-called "native" population - by which standard there is room for debate on the inclusion of all languages in which official documents are made available (and have indeed been made available at the local and national levels of government for decades now), or, failing to reach agreement on which minority languages should be included as translations of 'Great Britain' in the opening paragraph, we should simply stick to English, as the overall majority language.

While I appreciate that this seems a small matter, the article as it stands currently smacks of the 'Little Englander' and regional variations thereof, and more to the point, is contrary to the facts unless one goes by a particularly tenuous reasoning to include the officially recognised minority language of Cornish over the apparently unofficially officially recognised minority languages of Punjabi, Bengali etc, in which, I once again remind the patient reader, all official forms and documents can be provided. Though it is of course the prerogative of any British Citizen to consider themselves more British than all the rest for whatever reason it gives them the most pleasure to claim, it is not a matter of objective fact worthy of inclusion in an encyclopaedia without commentary or disclaimer.

I sincerely hope that this matter can be settled by reasonable debate without devolving into unanswerable questions of cultural and linguistic impact; it is simply a question of population numbers, and currently the article looks very foolish. Whether its foolishness mirrors an official position of the British legal system, I cannot ultimately say and do not particularly care, though if that is to be the ultimate cause of retaining the article as is, it should be duly noted within the article itself. 92.13.248.168 (talk) 20:12, 14 February 2012 (UTC)


 * And your proposal is.... ???   Ghmyrtle (talk) 20:30, 14 February 2012 (UTC)


 * While it may be true that Britain has more Bengali speakers than Welsh speakers, Bengali isn't nativ to Britain. Nor is Punjabi, Hindi-Urdu, Cantonese, Polish, a.s.f. For a language to be nativ to Britain it has to hav originated in Britain. English, Scots, Welsh, Cornish and Scottish Gaelic all originated in Britain. Their older forms may hav been brought to Britain by immigrants, but it was in Britain that they evolved into their modern forms. This is why they belong in the lede/infobox and the others don't. ~Asarlaí 20:41, 14 February 2012 (UTC)


 * The article, as it stands, is in line with Wikipedia's Manual of Style, which stipulates that the name in indigenous languages should be given in the opening paragraph. I accept your argument that Scots should also be included, particularly as this is recognised officially by the United Kingdom, along with Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish, under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.  Skinsmoke (talk) 06:42, 25 July 2012 (UTC)

Great Britain is an island?
In light of the fact that at the London Olympics, the Host Team marched in under the name "Great Britain," doesn't this suggest that the term "Great Britain" refers not only to an island (geographic), but to a nation (state)?

It often is used to refer to the nation. Probably more frequently than it is used to refer to the island itself. 68.188.174.173 (talk) 02:31, 29 July 2012 (UTC)


 * This is dealt with here, here, here, and here. garik (talk) 02:47, 29 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Also bear in mind that the full name of "Team GB" is apparently "the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic team". Of course the fact that the "Northern Ireland" bit isn't usually mentioned may be partly because Northern Irish people can play for Ireland too. The broader point is that Great Britain is neither a nation nor a state. It's a collection of three nations and part of a state. garik (talk) 03:00, 29 July 2012 (UTC)


 * When the Olympic movement started and the UK joined in the 1900s "Great Britain" was a common name for the United Kingdom, so in the context of the Olympics they are Synonyms. The fact that Northern Ireland bit is added sometimes is caused by shift of common use of Great Britain from political to geographical. The statement in the article "It does not include Northern Ireland" is geographically correct but to a lot of people around the world Great Britain is still a synonym for the United Kingdom. MilborneOne (talk) 08:26, 29 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Garik, I'm interested in the statement you made, "...the fact that the "Northern Ireland" bit isn't usually mentioned may be partly because Northern Irish people can play for Ireland too.". I am wondering if the name "Team GB" was in fact chosen with this mind. Do you or anyone else know if the fact that the geographic term Great Britain excludes Northern Ireland, and the fact that Northern Ireland athletes have the option to compete for either Ireland or Great Britain, has anything to do with why the olympic team is called "Team GB", or in common use, simply "Great Britain"?-- Racer X11 Talk to me Stalk me  13:11, 29 July 2012 (UTC)
 * The reason wasn't Northern Ireland, as Great Britain has been competing in the Olympics since the original 1896 games, before Irish independence. It's probably just a relic from when the (United) Kingdom of Great Britain became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, but the shortform Great Britain remained common. CMD (talk) 13:47, 29 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I mention it because we should be careful not to draw false relations between two or more facts per WP:SYNTH. For example, at the article Terminology of the British Isles, there is the statement:


 * "Great Britain is sometimes used to mean United Kingdom. For example, at the Olympic Games, the team officially known as 'Team GB' (and often informally still called "Great Britain") represents Great Britain and Northern Ireland. However, the "Ireland" Olympic team continues to represent the whole island of Ireland. Athletes from Northern Ireland have, by virtue of their entitlement to dual nationality, the choice of participating in either the "Great Britain" team or the "Ireland" team."


 * This could possibly be interpreted as - the name for the Olympic team, "Great Britain", is used precisely because of the Northern Ireland situation. -- Racer X11 Talk to me Stalk me  14:24, 29 July 2012 (UTC)


 * It could be interpreted but clearly the common name Great Britain was used for all of the United Kingdom which included at the start of the modern olympics all four home nations (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and has nothing to do with subsequent events in Irish history, as CMD has said a relic of history. MilborneOne (talk) 15:56, 29 July 2012 (UTC)

I'm happy to accept that the fact Northern Irish people can play for Ireland is probably irrelevant. It was only a suggestion. I wondered if perhaps it had discouraged us from renaming the team "Team UK". Although in retrospect I agree that that's probably unlikely. That said, there have apparently been attempts to rename the team "Team UK", which were rejected. Does anyone know why they were rejected? I should say it doesn't seem very likely to me that this is all a relic from when the Kingdom of Great Britain became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, as CMD suggests. That happened in 1801, almost a century before the first modern Olympic Games. Of course, the (continuing) occasional use of the term "Great Britain" to refer to the UK in general may well be a relic of the pre-1801 situation, which may be what CMD means. garik (talk) 16:21, 29 July 2012 (UTC)


 * The term "Great Britain" was still in use as a common name well into the 20th century and is still used by some to refer to the UK rather than the geographic entity. In wiki-land the fact that "Great Britain" it is still used as a synonym in the wider world for the whole of the UK is sometimes not made clear. MilborneOne (talk) 16:39, 29 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Indeed. It's certainly true that most people in the world are unaware of the difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom, and almost certainly true to say that most people in the UK are unaware (or at least very unsure) of it too. Still, that's what Wikipedia is here for. garik (talk) 17:55, 29 July 2012 (UTC)

Species Extinction Rates
Why is a gratuitous observation about species extinction rates in Great Britain included right up at the top summary? Putting this point there makes the article look biased. Species extinction information - if it's relevant - should be included only in a subsection. I won't make the change myself its originator will add it back it immediately, but the authoritative editors for this section should take this in hand. Ivan Denisovitch (talk) 14:26, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

Area
the area doesn't match with the one on this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_by_area — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.23.97.203 (talk) 22:42, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

Great Britain (disambiguation) merge proposal
I'm proposing merging Great Britain (disambiguation) to Britain. See Talk:Britain. Regards, Rob (talk) 16:10, 29 August 2013 (UTC) — &#124; Gareth Griffith-Jones &#124; The Welsh Buzzard &#124; —  18:33, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Why on earth would anyone choose to do that?

'Great Britain' in other European languages
I see there is much discussion of translations of 'Great Britain' into Welsh, etc, but not into other European languages. In French it is of course 'Grande Bretagne', meaning 'Large Brittany' (not exactly a compliment, especially in the mouth of a Parisian), in Italian it is 'Gran Bretagna', also meaning 'Large Brittany', and in German it is 'Grossbritannien'. As far as I can discover in a quick search, 'Britannien' on its own is not used in German to refer to Brittany, but I may be wrong. I do not know about other languages. Maybe someone who is a better linguits than me could contribute a short section to the article?109.158.43.152 (talk) 13:54, 26 August 2012 (UTC)
 * As this is English wikipedia and non of the languages is native I cant see it as being relevant. MilborneOne (talk) 14:07, 26 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Also, "much discussion of translations of 'Great Britain' into Welsh, etc"? Translations of the name are given in languages native to Great Britain. Hardly "much discussion". garik (talk) 14:53, 26 August 2012 (UTC)
 * When we say Welsh I do believe you mean Gaelic, a celtic language which also was the native tongue (Brythonic) of Britons before the arrival of Angles, Saxons (Germanic) and Normans (Italic). Darmech (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 00:31, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Infobox: Location
user:Gareth Griffith-Jones, I was making the info-box consistent with the lead, and how is it not located North-West of continental Europe? If you don't want me to change it, then why don't you want the lead changed too? Regards, Rob (talk) 19:28, 29 August 2013 (UTC) — &#124; Gareth Griffith-Jones &#124; The Welsh Buzzard &#124; —  20:40, 29 August 2013 (UTC) — &#124; Gareth Griffith-Jones &#124; The Welsh Buzzard &#124; —  20:45, 29 August 2013 (UTC) — &#124; Gareth Griffith-Jones &#124; The Welsh Buzzard &#124; —  21:00, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Thank you Rob for pointing that out! I have carried out the revision. Cheers!
 * [[File:Europe orthographic Caucasus Urals boundary.svg]]
 * Understandably, its not very 'North'. This needs to be changed on the United Kingdom article too, and a load[s] of disambiguation articles. Regards, Rob (talk) 20:43, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Good. Glad you agree. Cheers!
 * 'north-western coast of continental Europe' is technically correct, but 'west of continental Europe' is shorter. I'm not sure which one should be used. Regards, Rob (talk) 20:55, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * I would go with 'west of continental Europe' All the best!
 * Hold on a second. "West of continental Europe" surely implies it's out in the middle of the Atlantic some way off from Portugal. To most eyes, while Britain etc may be in "western Europe" as defined politically and geographically, especially when that is simply contrasted either/or with "eastern Europe", it is very definitely to the northwest of the continent as a whole, geographically speaking, when more nuanced and precise descriptions are used. And that's not just me saying that, it's the standard basic description, as seen here.  N-HH   talk / edits  21:39, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * As its not north of Scandinavia, or west of Portugal, so I don't think it can be described as north, west or north-west of continental Europe however it is located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. I think the description currently used at United Kingdom; ' located off the north-western coast of continental Europe' is best. Regards, Rob (talk) 21:50, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * If we wanted to be a bit pedantic, we could insist on the slightly fuller construction, ie "off the northwest coast of continental Europe" rather than "northwest of continental Europe", but the latter is better surely than "west of continental Europe", which is what this page and others now say after recent changes. Can we at least undo those and restore the previous basic "northwest" wording to these pages? It's way more common than "west", even in that shorter form. Thanks.  N-HH   talk / edits  22:07, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * From what I can see, it's in north-west Europe, and located off the north-west coast of continental Europe, however is not north or west of continental Europe.
 * For descriptions of the United Kingdom, I think we should use 'located of the north-western coast off continental Europe' and for descriptions of Great Britain, I think we should use 'situated off north-western coast of continental Europe'. Regards, Rob (talk) 22:50, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * There is absolutely no need to say that the state is "off the coast" of anywhere. It's misleading.  It's an island state, located in western Europe.  The islands are off the coast of continental Europe, of course, but it is highly confusing to try and mix geographical descriptions, and political descriptions, in the same sentence.  The islands are off the coast of continental Europe, and the state is in Europe, and there is absolutely no inconsistency in that.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:56, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * It's located in north-west Europe, the United Nations even describes it in Northern Europe, its above the centre point of Europe, therefore it is north. It is also debatable as to whether it's 'in Europe' at all, whereas it's clearly 'off the north-western coast of continental Europe'. Regards, Rob (talk) 23:26, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm going to change the description on this page as you agree that the island should be described as I said, if you want the description changed at United Kingdom you will need to start a discussion, at that articles talk page. Regards, Rob (talk) 23:30, 29 August 2013 (UTC)
 * The north-south and east-west distinctions are of course binary ones, in alternative models, hence the UK can be said to be in either northern or western Europe, depending on which model and context is being applied (or indeed in northwestern Europe, if we're going for a four-way split model). I agree there's also a difference between pure geographical and political descriptions, although there is considerable conceptual overlap of course. Regardless of those complexities, as noted, the "west of .." description is inappropriate both for the island and the state. I'm going to revert that at the Britain and Great Britain disambiguation pages. What exactly we want to say for the UK and the island(s) respectively is another matter.  N-HH   talk / edits  09:37, 30 August 2013 (UTC)
 * I would simply discribe its position as "west of the mid european mainland" The European mainland latitude mid point passes through Great Britain. The Latitude for Europe is 53°N and Britain is 54°N, one degree, I think we could safely say it is mid europe, contrary to whatever the United Nations describes it. They probably used wikipedia. Darmech (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 01:09, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Britain
Great Britain (Welsh: Prydain Fawr, Scottish Gaelic: Breatainn Mhòr, Cornish: Breten Veur), also known as Britain, is an island situated to the north-west of Continental Europe.

As far as I'm aware, Great Britain and Britain are not interchangeable as the article suggests. In the geographical sense, Great Britain refers to the island, excluding Anglesey, Orkney, Shetland, the Isle of Wight and so on. In the geopolitical sense, it refers to England (including Cornwall), Scotland and Wales. Britain refers only to England and Wales, Scotland being excluded. Confusion is caused when the adjective comes into play, as British refers to belonging to either Great Britain or Britain. Skinsmoke (talk) 06:30, 25 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Never heard "Britain" used to refer to just England and Wales before not sure where you got that idea. MilborneOne (talk) 11:57, 25 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed, ive not heard Britain referred to as just England and Wales, unless its connected to Roman period of Britannia, when the bit under roman control excluded Scotland. Britain is used to either refer to the island of Great Britain,( England, Wales and Scotland), or to the United Kingdom as a state (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). Not England and Wales alone. BritishWatcher (talk) 12:03, 25 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I think Skinsmoke has raised this before. He was misinformed then, and is misinformed now.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:07, 25 July 2012 (UTC)


 * OK I think we can close this discussion then. MilborneOne (talk) 18:20, 25 July 2012 (UTC)

I'm surprised to find the definition here saying that Great Britain does not include N. Ireland. My understanding is that Britain = Scotland, England & Wales and then adding N. Ireland into that group makes Britain become Great Britain. If that is not true, then is the word "Great" in our name simply a boast? I understand it to be "great" as in "large", which is what you get when you add territory (in this case N. Ireland). TTD911 17:41, 3 August 2012 (UTC)


 * The Great in Great Britain does mean large but in this case it means the largest island in the British Isles, a geographic term and nothing to do with politics. Oh and as per the last answers Britain has never just meant Scotland, England and Wales. MilborneOne (talk) 17:04, 3 August 2012 (UTC)
 * As the article says, the island was in fact called "Great Britain" as a translation of Britannia major, a term used in mediaeval times to differentiate it from Britannia minor, which became known as Brittany. Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:25, 5 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed, since "Britain" is endorsed as a synonym for United Kingdom, Great Britain is in fact smaller than Britain. garik (talk) 22:28, 5 August 2012 (UTC)

I know I'm late in with this but I would like to state a few points. The term 'Roman Britain' is referring to the Roman part of Britain, not that Britain and Great Britain are different. Britain = Great Britain. The United Kingdom is known as Great Britain/Britain due to the fact that most of its territory is located on the island however over time Great Britain has started to mean the UK excluding Northern Ireland so: Regards, Rob (talk) 16:07, 28 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Britain = Great Britain geographically
 * Britain = the UK politically
 * Great Britain = England, Scotland and Wales politically

Here is, apparently, what British school-children are taught (when 7–11 years old): http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/britain/britain.htm 86.3.64.247 (talk) 17:54, 31 October 2014 (UTC)

These days the term Britain usually means the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The term Great Britain stems from the classical writer, Ptolemy, who referred to the larger island as great Britain (megale Britannia) and to Ireland as little Britain (mikra Brettania) in his work, Almagest (147–148 AD). To avoid confusion, using the term Britain for the island of Great Britain is usually avoided. AlwynJPie (talk) 12:59, 21 December 2014 (UTC)

Ordnance Survey definition
I've just come across this wording on the Ordnance Survey site here - "Great Britain is the official collective name of of [sic] England, Scotland and Wales and their associated islands.... Technically, if you lose the ‘Great,’ Britain only refers to England and Wales."  Hmmm...  Any thoughts on whether the second sentence is a definition worthy of mention here? Ghmyrtle (talk) 14:07, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Native languages footnote
The first sentence includes a footnote with the Cornish, Scots, Gaelic and Welsh names for Great Britain, which seems sensible. However, it then describes those as "native languages". It doesn't mention the 5th native language - English! - and could erroneously give impression English is a non-native language. "Other native languages" would be better but still doesn't feel right somehow.

Also a couple minor issues, the Gaelic appears to be just "Britain" not "Great Britain". And is alphabetic the best order? Would seem logical to have Welsh/Cornish together due to their strong relationship, and not sensible to put Cornish first as it is least important of the 4.--Nilfanion (talk) 15:54, 13 February 2015 (UTC)


 * I think "Names in other languages" would be sufficient.
 * The Gaelic translation of "Britain" is the common name in Gaelic I believe. The direct translation isn't in use.
 * I agree, similar languages should be adjacent. English and Scots, and Welsh and Cornish and Gaelic.
 * Rob984 (talk) 16:27, 13 February 2015 (UTC)

RECENT EDIT, GB is not A PART OF the UK
The clue for the unintelligible amongst you is in the title so you really cant miss it.

The United Kingdom OF Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The version which my edit removes implies that the title should read Great Britain & Northern Ireland of the UNITED KINGDOM and this is incorrect.

WHO DISAGREES NOW....??


 * It's perfectly normal English to say that GB is part of the UK - nothing odd or incorrect about it. Alternatives would include "...forms part of..." or "Politically, it is part of...".   Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:57, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN & NORTHERN IRELAND. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_the_United_Kingdom

SEE INFO BOX — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.164.249.15 (talk) 14:09, 7 April 2015 (UTC)


 * Not much different than saying Hawaii is part of the US. "The United Kingdom OF Great Britain and Northern Ireland" could just as easily be interpreted as meaning "The United Kingdom (comprised) of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". -- Racer X11 Talk to me Stalk me  15:54, 7 April 2015 (UTC)


 * What are you on about? Great Britain is part of the UK. Nothing is incorrect, misleading, or unclear. Please stop edit warring or you will be blocked from editing. Rob984 (talk) 15:57, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ukpassport-cover.jpg I REST MY CASE — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.164.249.15 (talk) 16:38, 7 April 2015 (UTC)


 * With the greatest of respect, I don't think you have a case to rest here, really. But in any case you need to read WP:BRD and understand how it works. Since you want to change the article, and have been bold and made your change then been reverted, the onus is on you to come here and seek consensus on the change you would like to make. Your current approach is not working well. Best wishes DBaK (talk) 16:45, 7 April 2015 (UTC)


 * The IP 86.164.249.15 has been blocked from editing -- Moxy (talk) 16:51, 7 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Possibly back as 86.164.248.211. DBaK (talk) 09:31, 8 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Indeed. New Milton and Christchurch are 6 miles apart.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:02, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

area
Could someone please put the units of area in miles first and km in brackets as the UK does not use kilometres, only miles. All road signs in the UK are in miles, so surely that should be put first?

This article: 229,848 km²

List of islands by area: 209,331 km² with rank #9

List of islands of the British Isles: 216,777 km²

The largest figure is the only one with a source, though that does not seem very reliable. Isn't there any expert source? 85.217.21.147 (talk) 00:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)


 * The 209,331 figure on List of islands by area is sourced, linked right below the list of references. -- Racer X11 Talk to me Stalk me  01:00, 23 February 2015 (UTC)


 * So, that is a reliable source? Does not look like one. 85.217.21.147 (talk) 16:06, 23 February 2015 (UTC)


 * Never said it was. I just happened to know off the top of my head that link was there, and that it likely was the origin of the 209,331 figure. I checked, and it is. So I decided to share that info here to let readers know the value didn't just come out of thin air. -- Racer X11 Talk to me Stalk me  22:40, 23 February 2015 (UTC)


 * The figure given on this article is greater than the area of England, Scotland and Wales combined (130,395 + 78,387 + 20,779 = 229,561).
 * It's close to the area of the UK, minus the area of Northern Ireland (243,610 - 13,843 = 229,767)
 * The discrepancy is likely due to territorial waters.
 * Rob984 (talk) 23:27, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

BRITAIN ISLAND AREA SIZE IS 209,331 Km2 ranks 9th. ( Scotland, England, Wales). PLEASE PROVIDE CORRECT INFORMATION. BRITAIN ISLAND IS SMALLER THAN KOREAN PENINSULA, ISLAND OF HONSHU ( JAPAN). — Preceding unsigned comment added by GeographyInfo (talk • contribs) 13:16, 5 July 2015 (UTC)
 * There are two different definitions of Great Britain, and the article confuses them. One definition is the political definition, i.e. England + Scotland + Wales, the total areas of which sum to 234,402 sq km. - http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/administrative/the-countries-of-the-uk/index.html.   But, that definition  includes offshore islands like the Isle of Wight, Anglesey and Shetland, which are not part of the island of Great Britain.  The area of the island itself appears to be about 209,000 sq km - http://islands.unep.ch/Tiarea.htm (possibly not the best source).  As this article is (at least primarily) about the island, it should contain the lower figure - or both figures, but with an explanation.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:59, 5 July 2015 (UTC)
 * PS: I've now attempted to clarify the text, with a footnote. Ghmyrtle (talk) 14:19, 5 July 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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Contradiction: Inclusion of Ireland & Unrelated Query About use of British Isles
Lead paragraph ends with: "It [Britain] accounts for the majority of the British Isles archipelago, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands, including the island of Ireland to its west." Yet, the very next line, in paragraph two, has: "The island is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constituting most of its territory: most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island, with their respective capital cities, London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff." (How the island of Great Britain could be part of the UK of GB and NI, whilst containing the whole island of Ireland, without titular redundancy is unclear. The list of respective capitals tellingly does not include Belfast - never mind Dublin, if we're "including the island of Ireland to its west.")

"In 1801, Great Britain united with the neighbouring Kingdom of Ireland, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which was renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the Irish Free State seceded in 1922."

Further down into political definition: "Politically, Great Britain refers to the whole of England, Scotland and Wales in combination, but not Northern Ireland; it includes islands, such as the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrides and the island groups of Orkney and Shetland, that are part of England, Wales, or Scotland. It does not include the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, which are self-governing dependent territories." Then geography: "The North Channel, Irish Sea, St George's Channel and Celtic Sea separate the island from the island of Ireland to its west."

Conclusion: To fix the articles own self-contradiction, which holds the "island of Britain" to include the island of Ireland, though it is separate from it geographically; and though together with the geographic and political entity of Northern Ireland it composes the United Kingdom, despite geographically including the entire island of Ireland of which Northern Ireland is a part...I am going to delete that contradiction the lead paragraph.

Query about the "British Isles" "It [Britain] accounts for the majority of the British Isles archipelago..." The WikiPedia page on the British Isles notes in its final lead paragraph that the term is not a neutral one: "The term British Isles is controversial in Ireland, where there are objections to its usage due to the association of the word British with Ireland. The Government of Ireland does not recognise or use the term and its embassy in London discourages its use. As a result, Britain and Ireland is used as an alternative description, and Atlantic Archipelago has had limited use among a minority in academia, although British Isles is still commonly employed. Within them, they are also sometimes referred to as these islands." A later note on the page has: "Today, this name is seen by some as carrying imperialist overtones although it is still commonly used." Quite curiously, that very page has a redefinition/rebranding of sorts with the wholly new term "British Islands" to only refer to Great Britain and surrounding islands, but not Ireland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:British_Isles_terms.gif Although some geographers still clearly prefer the convenience of the term British Isles, the National Geographic Atlas has already abandoned it for "Britain and Ireland". Given WikiPedia's own acknowledgement that the term is "controversial", "objected to", "discouraged", and "seen by some as carrying imperialist overtones" it seems there's a good argument there for choosing something more neutral but perhaps nonetheless geographical-sounding like "It accounts for the majority of..."
 * "...the British and Irish archipelago."
 * "...the islands of Britain and Ireland."
 * "...the Atlantic Archipelago."

Ocarrollcian 01:02, 6 April 2016 (UTC)


 * The island of Ireland to its west is one of the 1,000 smaller surrounding islands. It is poorly worded. Obviously Great Britain along with its surrounding islands "account for the majority of the British Isles archipelago". They are the British Isles archipelago. It is meaning to imply that Great Britain alone comprises the majority of the British Isles. i.e.:


 * It accounts for the majority of the British Isles archipelago, which also comprises over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands including the island of Ireland to its west."


 * "Ireland" doesn't need to be qualified given the context, although some may insist regardless. "smaller" is also redundant, they must be smaller since Great Britain is the majority.
 * Regarding your query of the term "British Isles"... its a nonissue for everyone except a small minority of editors on Wikipedia. If you really want to put your case forward, do so at the article in question (British Isles); I don't see any other term than "British Isles" bolded in the lead paragraph. If there is another common name, it should be specified in the lead paragraph following consensus.
 * Rob984 (talk) 12:57, 6 April 2016 (UTC)


 * I've made an attempt at clarifying the wording, to remove any hint of a suggestion that the island of Great Britain in some way "includes" the island of Ireland. Arguments about the use of the term "British Isles" are a perennial issue, but the term remains the most widely used one, globally, for the archipelago, and we merely reflect that - in the same way as we have articles about the Irish Sea, and British Columbia.   Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:18, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

No English?
The Languages section doesn't mention English at all. Since English is by far the most widely spoken language on the island, it should score a brief mention? HappyGod (talk) 06:58, 8 June 2016 (UTC)
 * At present, modern English is mentioned, in the final sentence of the section - but I agree that it could, and should, be given greater prominence.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 07:36, 8 June 2016 (UTC)

Political definition
"Politically, Great Britain refers to the whole of England, Scotland and Wales in combination,[34] but not Northern Ireland;"

Yes an no! It is more nuanced than the simple formulae in the article implies. because of the play on the word Great (in a similar us of the term "Make America Great Again" by Trump in the current American Presidential campaign. As this website (http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/great) explains Synonyms great for "adj very large" or for "adj important, celebrated" or for "adj excellent, skillful". The political usage can and encompass all of these. As such it simplifies too much as as such is misleading for someone who comes across articles such as:
 * https://www.gov.uk/britainisgreat
 * http://www.greatbritaincampaign.com/

So I think that an additional sentence needs to be added pointing out the politically phrase "Great Briain" can be used in different ways and not just to mean the biggest island.

"The political union that joined the kingdoms of England and Scotland happened in 1707 when the Acts of Union ratified the 1706 Treaty of Union and merged the parliaments of the two nations, forming the Kingdom of Great Britain, which covered the entire island. Before this, a personal union had existed between these two countries since the 1603 Union of the Crowns under James VI of Scotland and I of England."

"The political union that joined the kingdoms of England and Scotland happened in 1707" actually that was the second time. The kingdoms had been abolished and amalgamated under Commonwealth in the 1660s, only for it to be annulled under the Acts of Oblivion.

Also from the time of James I the Stuart Kings of England and Scotland proclaimed themselves King of Great Britain, Ireland and France. It was this deceleration by Charles II which made the Third Civil War inevitable. He could of proclaimed himself King of Scotland Ireland and France and which would have made it politically much more difficult for the English to invade Scotland in 1650 (See Third English Civil War. The reason the English Parliaments of the 17th century (with the exception of the Rump) were reluctant to agree to union before the Glorious Revolution was the feared that the hard won privileges they had gained in England would be lost in a new state of Great Britain. It took the greater danger of a Stuart restoration in Scotland (an so French encirclement), to persuade the majority in the English Parliament to accept the benefits of an Act of Union. The "Parcel of Rogues" north of the boarder felt that they had no choice (or were bribable).

So I think that the paragraph needs to be expanded: -- PBS (talk) 18:24, 13 August 2016 (UTC)
 * To mention that Royal Prerogative was used by the Stuart Kings to proclaim themselves Kings of Great Britain, Ireland and France.
 * Why the English Parliaments were reluctant to enter into a act of union for 100 years—with the exception of the Commonwealth and the Tender of Union of 1651 (followed by an act of union in 1657 both abolished by the Acts of Oblivion (in England and in Scotland).

British Grand Prix
"The British Grand Prix of motor racing is another example of a use of Britain in place of the United Kingdom" From the modern use section.

Does that actually belong there? It's arguable, because it doesn't use the word Britain. It uses the word British as the demonym as referring to the United Kingdom (which is a related issue), just like the German Grand Prix or Spanish Grand Prix. If instead you had the Grand Prix of Germany, the Grand Prix of Spain and the Grand Prix of Britain then it might belong there, as it could easily have been the Grand Prix of the United Kingdom. As a replacement, maybe something like Britain's Got Talent - which clearly uses the term Britain as a shorthand for the UK?

A different section or at least a reference on this page to why British us used to refer to something from the UK (as opposed to UKish? UKic?) would actually be relevant, given it appears to exclude people not from the island of Great Britain (likewise British vs Great British). Similar to the controversy over using American for the USA, though the exact opposite in scope. Terminology of the British Isles is probably closest to what I mean, and that took some searching to find. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7D:119B:6B00:5580:7369:9769:4A83 (talk) 22:10, 2 October 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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I have just modified 12 external links on Great Britain. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120310094351/http://livebettermagazine.com/eng/magazine/pdf_docs/2008_01/Global_Warming_Gaffney.pdf to http://livebettermagazine.com/eng/magazine/pdf_docs/2008_01/Global_Warming_Gaffney.pdf
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/history.shtml
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080315225356/http://www.nottingham.ac.uk:80/archaeology/research/plants_fallow.php to http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology/research/plants_fallow.php
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090408073505/http://www.naturegrid.org.uk:80/biodiversity/birds/ducks.htm to http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/biodiversity/birds/ducks.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090630083140/http://www.naturegrid.org.uk:80/biodiversity/birdindex.html to http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/biodiversity/birdindex.html
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/facts_about_britains_trees
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/facts_and_figures_about_wildflowers
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/county_flowers_great_britain
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20071107065620/http://www.plantlife.org.uk//uk/assets/saving-species/saving-species-publications/People-and-plants-mapping-the-UKs-flora.pdf to http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/assets/saving-species/saving-species-publications/People-and-plants-mapping-the-UKs-flora.pdf
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/facts_about_britains_trees
 * Added tag to http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20120330040554/http:/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090131203811/http://www.goffsoakmethodistchurch.co.uk:80/page4.html to http://www.goffsoakmethodistchurch.co.uk/page4.html
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/homegrown-holy-man-cry-god-for-harry-britain-and-st-aidan-814057.html

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Great Britain never existed before Act of Union 1707 ratification
United Kingdom 1603! Entire document is fake! Art0hur0moh (talk) 11:18, 17 March 2017 (UTC)

You are correct it being a political union between Scotlands burghs and England's commons. But only the kingdom of Scotland and the kingdom of England are GREAT BRITAIN! The rest from Aquitaine (France) to Ireland are the united kingdoms of Great Britain! With French, Irish and Welsh parliaments! Art0hur0moh (talk) 11:26, 17 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Great Britain is not a political designation, it's a geographical one. In short, Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles, and has existed since long before it was populated (and was eventually given its current name). I think the lead is somewhat misleading in the way it says, "also known as Britain". Britain, as you say, is short for "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (a political designation). Great Britain (the island) is not synonymous with the Kingdom of Great Britain.  nagual  design   20:10, 18 March 2017 (UTC)


 * "Britain" is a short form of "Great Britain", and the island is certainly referred to as "Britain", even though this is frequently applied to the UK as well. Rob984 (talk) 14:22, 19 March 2017 (UTC)

use to mean the UK
This is a USA usage. Few in Britain use the term at all, except ironically. People in Britain tend to talk about Britain (sometimes to mean the UK), the UK or England. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.50.84.178 (talk) 13:51, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

London is the capital of England?
On what basis is London is the capital of England? Scotland, Wales and the UK all have legislatures and seats of government giving all three capitals. On what basis does England have a Capital? ToodHall (talk) 17:53, 26 July 2016 (UTC)


 * Because it meets the definition at Capital the area of a country, province, region, or state, regarded as enjoying primary status, usually but not always the seat of the government. If it is not London then where do you think has primary status in the country ? MilborneOne (talk) 18:08, 26 July 2016 (UTC)
 * Wales survived until 1955 without a capital city, what makes you think England has one? ToodHall (talk) 18:13, 26 July 2016 (UTC)
 * I'd point to these two threads: Talk:London/Archive_6, and Talk:London/Archive_3. -- zzuuzz (talk) 18:14, 26 July 2016 (UTC)


 * Interestingly looking through various dictionary there is a strong consensus that a government is needed for a capital
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * The threads zzuuzz kindly put up would suggest the capital claim echoes back to the defunct Kingdom of England prior to 1707 ToodHall (talk) 19:40, 26 July 2016 (UTC)

"Wales survived until 1955 without a capital city," Not so, it as can be summed up in three words Cardiff Arms Park which is located in the capital of Wales.

If you are not trolling then a search of reliable sources will show you that London is considered the capital of England. See for example the statement in Parliamentary papers www.parliament.uk. In particular this statement by Mr Gieve, who was the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office in 2003 "I think it was slightly more than that. It is certainly true that the bulk of the Scottish Office was in Scotland, but London is the capital of England and Britain and we are in charge of England and Wales, so the equivalent to the Scottish Office being in Edinburgh is our being in London."

That it is not more widely stated is simply the sky is blue type of fact. The two acts of union were not so much unions but takeovers. If you look today at the the traditions of the Westminster Parliament (eg the slamming of the doors in the face of Black Rod at the opening of parliament to single out the most theatrical) then it is obvious that the UK parliament is also the parliament of England.-- PBS (talk) 10:26, 13 August 2016 (UTC)
 * I don't get the connection between sporting venues and capitals, in terms of soccer, Wrexham had more international games than Cardiff, Glasgow more than Edinburgh and prior to partition Belfast more than Dublin. I do not know many people articulating that Glasgow and Wrexham are capital cities, but you can correct me on that.
 * I am not disputing the role of London as capital of the UK, and if it had it's origins in the dissolved state of the England, I don't see how that changes things, we do not call Berlin the capital of Germany and West Germany just because of the legislature's origin.
 * The source you have given is a reliable source, but the quote you have given is not the opinion of Parliament, but rather that of a single employee, and given the quality of the grammar, a not well thought out statement.
 * I have yet to see a reliable source that states England has a capital.
 * The various dictionaries state:
 * The Collins dictionary -		"the seat of government of a country or other political unit"
 * The Free dictionary - 		"a. A town or city that is the official seat of government in a political entity, such as a state or nation."
 * "b. A city that is the center of a specific activity or industry: the financial capital of the world."
 * The OED			"The city or town that functions as the seat of government and administrative centre of a country or region: Warsaw is the capital of Poland"


 * I don't see London meeting any of these in respect to England ToodHall (talk) 17:35, 21 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Is London the capital of anywhere or is Westminster the capital of at least England? The city of London has no legislature in it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.50.84.178 (talk) 13:55, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

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Assumptions - Great Britain
Thank you Moonraker for the recently added citation into the lead. The problem is it does not back up the original research. The POV statement to verify is that Great Britain is also sometimes loosely but incorrectly applied to the United Kingdom as a whole, not that NI is not part of the UK, which is what you and your source have done. This is a classic example of drawing unfounded conclusions by incorrectly applying references. Who is to say Great Britain, when used, is not referring to the Kingdom of Great Britain? Seeing as many of these questionable statements emanate from the USA, this might be a perfectly valid alternative explanation: the mistake being made by the Americans is not realising that their original enemy, and culturally referred to in the early days pre-1801, namely (the Kingdom of) Great Britain, no longer exists. Old habits die hard? To assume that the Americans, including US presidents, are using the word 'Great Britain' for another reason, namely an incorrect use of the term 'Britain' and that that term 'Britain' is also referring to the UK, is the assumption that needs to be verified. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 04:43, 4 August 2018 (UTC)
 * I agree.... with the first couple of sentences at least.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 06:22, 4 August 2018 (UTC)

I am bemused, putting it nicely, at the spate of recent edits by Snowded in the lead. Rather than dealing with the issue I raised above, about POVs and referencing, she seems to be determined to undo any correction edits, including the removal of a quality, relevant citation, and to go off at a tangent to insert mention of Northern Ireland at any cost and without bothering to discuss. I might, of course, be wrong in my reasoning about the referencing error, but if so, why has it never been challenged but instead just side-stepped? At the risk of being accused of making a personal attack, which it certainly is not meant to be, it does seem that SD is digging her heels in. The latest SD version is yet another off topic edit, where a comment about the term Great Britain sometimes being used to mean the United Kingdom, has led to a further statement that NI is not part of (the island of) Great Britain. I will assume good faith, but sometimes it sure ain't easy. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 08:06, 6 August 2018 (UTC)
 * I'm pretty sure is a he not a she.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:43, 6 August 2018 (UTC)

I try not to make assumptions.Roger 8 Roger (talk) 09:19, 6 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Comment. I agree with you that Snowded should have brought the reasons for this edit to the talk page. However, on reading it and the BBC reference it seems fair to include mention of the controversy as the political status is mentioned in the lead. Great Britain as an island does not include Northern Ireland but some use of the terminology of 'Great Britain' (whether political, sporting or otherwise) does, as per the reference. Always difficult when these issues arise in articles that are essentially geographic rather than political. Happy to be persuaded that the text should be reverted though. Robynthehode (talk) 08:23, 6 August 2018 (UTC)
 * I've had another go at tweaking the text, to include the statement that the term GB is sometimes, in some contexts, contentiously applied to the UK as a whole. My sense is that  has been somewhat missing the point in that this article is about GB, not "Britain" (which has a subtly different meaning).  Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:53, 6 August 2018 (UTC)
 * I'm happy with your tweak and no I don't think I was confused - just trying to make sure that the use is identified as problematic. And given we met at the Monmouth Wiki gathering I really hope you know I am not female :-)  Otherwise to Robnynthehode, my view was that I was moving the debate forward by using alternative wording - a revert would hae needed explanation on the talk page -Snowded TALK 22:17, 6 August 2018 (UTC)

Map needed
Hello, experts on Great Britain! Just an opinion, but I think this article needs a current map that shows the borders of Scotland, England, and Wales, with each country clearly labeled. The image of the island from space is lovely, but for someone not familiar with where those countries border each other (for example, I always thought Wales was somewhere else), a clear map with labels would be helpful. Anyone agree? nycdi (talk) 00:52, 24 August 2018 (UTC)


 * I don't think it is appropriate because the article is geographical not political. The political element of the island is mentioned in the article with good links to articles with clear political maps that identify the countries in this part of the UK. Other articles about geographical places do the same and do not have political maps. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 07:11, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

Definition of Great Britain
Great Britain is defined as an island. This contradicts with the following statement later on in this article which suggests that Great Britain is a group of islands:

"Similarly, Britain can refer to either all islands in Great Britain, the largest island, or the political grouping of countries."

I agree that there is probably no clear definition of Great Britain but I would suggest to make this article consistent. E.g. Great Britian and the smaller surrounding islands. Or define Great Britain as group of islands which would require many additional modifications. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.33.173.187 (talk) 08:29, 13 April 2020 (UTC)


 * Why choose one definition when more than one exists? That would mean a lack of correctness. This is supposed to be an encyclopedia and not a game where we try to make everything fit into our own self-made boxes. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 10:15, 30 April 2020 (UTC)


 * That would be fine, except that the article boldly begins by saying that GB is "an island". If we're accepting that it's EITHER an island or a set-of-islands then the first sentence is wrong and must be changed. Chiswick Chap (talk) 16:36, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Suggest modify the first sentence to cover that, not sure how best to format the source. The UNEP source which is cited is a bit rubbish: it says "Nearest island: 20 km" so obviously GB includes Skye etc. which are much nearer the mainland. As is Hoy and the rest of the Orkney archipelago, including Mainland. . . dave souza, talk 19:01, 9 May 2020 (UTC)
 * This edit on 13 April made the wording less clear than it was before, by removing a key sentence. I've now attempted to clarify the wording again.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:10, 9 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Good call, was going to suggest the definition that "Great Britain is an island adjacent to the island of Great Cumbrae", borrowing an alleged prayer from the Millport minister. However, still doesn't resolve the first sentence. See nationalarchives.gov.uk –  "Great Britain (GB) is, strictly speaking, just the largest island in the British Isles. However, it is generally taken to refer to the whole of England, Scotland and Wales, including offshore islands. It does not include Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man."

Toponymy section seems out of date compared with the article Britain (place name)
If "Britain" ultimately originates from the name given to the island by the native Britons—*Pritanī, why does the section start off talking about the British Isles and the Greeks using a term that originated from the native name to refer to the whole archipelago? Does the English name originate via the Greek name? And if not then why is the origin of "British Isles" given this much emphasis right at the start of the section? Also why then go on in the second paragraph to discuss the first known recorded name of a different origin, Albion before going back to talking about the origin of "Britain"?

Perhaps the section ought to be tagged with &#123;&#123;Update|section}}, since if Britain (place name) is accurate, this section seems pretty misleading.

Rob984 (talk) 22:34, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Words like these are NOT hyphenated in Modern English
Words like these are NOT hyphenated in Modern English: seminomadic, semidesert, semiprotected, semiconductor, multiparty, multinational, multiethnic, multistate, multistage, anticommunist, antifascist, anticapitalistic, antimissile, antitank, southeast, northeast, northwest, southwest, but anti-Nazi, anti-Soviet, anti-British, and anti-Chinese are, for a good reason. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.121.195.165 (talk) 22:01, 26 June 2018 (UTC)


 * The only words in those examples that I would agree are never hyphenated are semiconductor and the various directional ones northeast &ct. For the others, I give that they are probably usually unhyphenated, but I have trouble believing that they never are. I agree that northeast etc should never be hyphenated, though, and if happen to see any in the article I will correct (but north-south axis shall be left alone). Firejuggler86 (talk) 22:12, 8 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Huh? There are no words in this article beginning with semi, multi or anti, either with or without a hyphen. There are a couple of instances of north-west and south-east though. Feel free to correct those, but don't remove the hyphen from "north-south axis". I'd do it myself but you've wasted enough of my time already trying to make sense of your post. Please remember to sign your posts on talk pages by typing four tildes . nagualdesign 22:17, 26 June 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 28 September 2020
Improved picture of great britain. I do not own any rights to the image, they belong to nasa and are available under fair use.

BroggleyBoi (talk) 17:26, 28 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: Nice try at trolling, you've erased the Isle of Wight. Dylsss (talk) 17:33, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

A single Kingdom of Great Britain
I know this is a minefield of a area but the section "A single Kingdom of Great Britain..." is political not geographical and does not seem to fit within the headline "this article is about the island. For the state of which it is a part, see United Kingdom. For the historical state, see Kingdom of Great Britain." Mtpaley (talk) 00:40, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
 * The previous paragraph correctly states that "...the term "Great Britain" is often used to include the whole of England, Scotland and Wales including their component adjoining islands", so a few words of clarification would seem reasonable to me - though the existing paragraph does seem over-long and over-detailed in the context of this article. Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:36, 3 November 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree and have boldly collated all the political stuff into a shortened final paragraph. I've also attempted to place physical geography stuff in the first paragraph, and a bit of history in the second. All up for improvement, of course. Bazza (talk) 10:13, 3 November 2020 (UTC)

Geoffrey of Monmouth
I tried to check the claim that the term "Great Britain" originated with Geoffrey of Monmouth but came up empty. The article cites a BBC story that doesn't seem relevant. It doesn't even mention Geoffrey. I downloaded Geoffrey's writing and searched it. He almost always uses "Britanniae," no "Britannia major" or "Britannia minor." Brittany is "minorem Britanniam."

I have read the relevant links and footnotes. But I don't see anything to justify the references to Brittany. If you look at the Somerset quote, he claims to be restoring an ancient name. This suggests that "Great Britain" is a direct translation from Ptolemy. Ptolemy called Britain "great" to distinguish it from Ireland, not Brittany. 5440orSleep (talk) 11:54, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

Great Britain (or simply Britain) in the introduction
Two months ago someone added "(or simply Britain)" to the opening sentence of this article. Is there consensus for that change that happened as there has been no discussion about it? This is a significant rewording of the opening sentence which had not been present before, and it fails to make clear its usage. Most uses of the word Britain in reliable sources are referring to the UK, not the island of Great Britain. I believe we should remove (or simply Britain) from the opening sentence or at the very least we need to clarify it. What are peoples views on this? RWB2020 (talk) 21:12, 25 February 2021 (UTC)
 * We go by what the preponderence of reliable sources say. So agree to removal or clarification if there is dispute amongst sources. Robynthehode (talk) 21:28, 25 February 2021 (UTC)

I’d remove simply Britain and add “historically also referred to as Albion”. More informative less exclusive of the whole archipelago. Chocolateediter (talk) 16:03, 26 February 2021 (UTC) Gareth Griffith-Jones (contribs) (talk) 10:53, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Adding "(or simply Britain)", is confusing in the lead for this article, which is solely concerned with the island of Great Britain; "simple" is the last thing it is as "Britain" is used for other entities as well. There is a section in the article on naming, plus a link to the more detailed Britain (place name). Bazza (talk) 10:15, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Back to the way it was - remove it. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 10:40, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
 * I am in total agreement with, , and  on this issue.
 * I am the one who made the edit. Encyclopaedia Britannia is the source, which is certainly considered reliable on wikipedia;
 * "Great Britain, therefore, is a geographic term referring to the island also known simply as Britain
 * "Britain" is a very common name for the island. It would like not including "UK" in the United Kingdom of GB and NI article.
 * I think it should be added unless a valid reason as to why it shouldn't be is raised; I can't see any reason given the name is so common. BBX118 17:48, 10 March 2021 (UTC) talk)

Encyclopedia Britannia is usually accepted but it is not ideal because it is a tertiary source. I think the comment is ambiguaous because the UK (including NI) is regularly refered to as Britain. I think this comment should simply be removed from the lead because it adds nothing but confusion. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 19:53, 10 March 2021 (UTC) However, judging by the replies above, I would maintain that a consensus has now been reached. Gareth Griffith-Jones (contribs) (talk) 10:26, 11 March 2021 (UTC)
 * @ There does not need for a consensus for the removal of your copy because it is you that have been adding the copy.
 * There is an inconsistency, though, with the (sourced) sentence in the section on "Modern use of the term Great Britain" that states: "Similarly, Britain can refer to either all islands in Great Britain, the largest island, or the political grouping of countries." (my emphasis)  Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:42, 11 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Indeed there is. The main issue of this discussion, though, has been whether adding "(or simply Britain)" in the opening sentence is helpful, given that that name is far from simple. "(also known as Britain)" might have been ok, but I think it's best to keep the first sentence simple and specific. In the article proper, there is considerable room for improvement on the naming section(s) (another hint that it's not a "simple" issue): one has to wade through quite a bit of text to find out that Great Britain and Britain both are and aren't the same thing. Bazza (talk) 11:32, 11 March 2021 (UTC)
 * I would certainly support the naming section of the article being improved to clarify things better. Considering the complex situation i dont think it is justified to be handled in the first sentence of the introduction at all, and to do so would cause more confusion when it is not necessary. So I oppose any change to the opening sentence which had been stable for a long time until that wording got inserted without debate. The focus should be on improving the naming section of the article. RWB2020 (talk) 13:10, 11 March 2021 (UTC)
 * What would people think about adding a sentence to the third paragraph of the introduction? - along the lines of: "Some sources use the term Britain for the island, though the single word is more correctly used to refer to the entire United Kingdom."  Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:37, 11 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Id fully support that. Its something that can be explained in a sentence like that and would fit well in the last paragraph. I think thats much more informative and less confusing than attempting to mention it in the first sentence. RWB2020 (talk) 14:52, 11 March 2021 (UTC)

Gareth Griffith-Jones (contribs) (talk) 16:25, 11 March 2021 (UTC)
 * As there is just the one source, it is not worth mentioning in the Lead.


 * The one source is Encyclopædia Britannica. This more than enough for a lead refer to a shortened name. Given E.B. have mentioned it (which is a basic fact for anyone in the UK or Britain) I'm sure it's cited in many other sources, which can be provided I'm sure.

BBX118 19:30, 18 April 2021 (UTC)(talk)

As far as I know, the name of the island is Britain, while "Great Britain" includes other islands such as the Hebrides and the Farnes. The article baldly states that Great Britain is the name of an island, but it's not clear where this opinion comes from. Sorry, I don't have an authoritative source for the view that Britain is the name of the island, but without an authority with the view currently given in the article, the very least one can say is that it's a controversial take. If the Encyclopedia Britannica reference is used as an authority, we should at least note that the map on that page shows Great Britain as being composed of the main island and several others, in other words, substantiating the usage I am familiar with.Dominic Cronin (talk) 20:25, 7 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Great Britain is the name of the island, Britain is a term mostly used to refer to the whole United Kingdom rather than the island, there is conflicting usage, but referring to the island as Britain has far less use in reliable sources.
 * The point about the other islands being included is already covered in the introduction in the third paragraph, "The term "Great Britain" is often used to refer to England, Scotland and Wales, including their component adjoining islands." and there is a whole section in the article covering different definitions and whats included. I think the article currently reflects these complex issues well and think its unnecessary for any fundamental change after so many years of stability on this issue. RWB2020 (talk) 08:06, 10 August 2021 (UTC)
 * is correct, and 's statement ("As far as I know...") is absolutely wrong. Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:21, 10 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Dominic Cronin's statement is geographical, while RWB2020's at least might be taken as a political one. The lead could be tweaked to distinguish more clearly between these groups of meanings, & I don't think the article should begin with the over-bald and over simplified statement that "Great Britain is an island...". Johnbod (talk) 21:56, 25 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Ghmyrtle challenges my statement as "absolutely wrong" without providing any authority. My point is that the existing text has no authority either, and this is certainly the usage I grew up with. As Johnbod says, when I say Britain is an island, that is geographical. Britain also refers to the political entity of the UK. We might also note that in "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", Great Britain clearly refers to more than the largest island. Dominic Cronin (talk) 16:51, 9 September 2021 (UTC)


 * I agree with ; I also think getting an admin help input would be useful. If reliable sources - including Encyclopedia Britannica - have the name referred to as "Great Britain, also known as Britain" I don't see an argument for not including it here. Should we reflect what EB says in its introduction?:


 * "Great Britain, also called Britain, is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, consisting of England, Scotland, and Wales."


 * https://www.britannica.com/place/Great-Britain-island-Europe


 * The term "Britain" is in the introduction of the UK article, which arguably makes less sense than including it here as it's simply a shorthand/synecdoche or metonymy term for the UK referring to a part, as Holland is for the Netherlands, or Bosnia for Bosnia and Herzegovina. "Great" Britain's terminology was to include Scotland, i.e. greater Britain, and the island's isles. The country itself is called the United Kingdom, and it's comprised of the island of Britain/Great Britain and Northern Ireland.


 * BBX118 09:35, 4 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi, BBX118, I've disabled your admin-help request, as this appears to be a content-focused discussion. Admins on Wikipedia have no special authority to opine or issue rulings on content questions; we are merely given some extra tools by the community to help deal with editor conduct issues. If you're looking for help with dispute resolution, the third-opinion board or the dispute resolution board are the places to go; if you're just looking for some extra eyes, making a (neutrally-worded) post at the talkpages of relevant Wikiprojects might be a good place to start. Thanks, Writ Keeper &#9863;&#9812; 11:32, 4 September 2021 (UTC)

GB in international plate code only until 28 September 2021
GB is used in international plate code only until 28 September 2021. Now, British car should have a UK plate code in most of Europe (except Ireland).

Thus you must add only until 28 September 2021. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.67.202.154 (talk) 20:12, 12 November 2021 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Great Britain (disambiguation) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 16:04, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

Intro edit similar to United Kingdom
I would like to propose making a very similar edit to that made to the United Kingdom intro.

Current: "Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe."

Proposal 1: "Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the north-western coast of continental Europe and comprises the countries England, Wales and Scotland."

Proposal 2: "Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The island comprises the countries England, Wales and Scotland."Titus Gold (talk) 16:27, 30 May 2022 (UTC)

Thanks


 * No. It's not true - or at least, it's not that simple.  All three countries have islands that are not part of the island of Great Britain (Isle of Wight; Anglesey; Shetland; etc etc).  The term "GB" has two definitions - (1) the island; (2) England + Wales + Scotland.  Let's not confuse them.  (And don't forget to sign your posts.)  Ghmyrtle (talk) 16:28, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
 * And this is explained in the entire third paragraph of the introduction, so its best not to partially mention it in the 2nd sentence. Better to handle it all in the separate third paragraph. RWB2020 (talk) 17:02, 30 May 2022 (UTC)

You are correct of course Ghmyrtle. Thanks for this note. Here are my revised proposals:

Proposal 1: "Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the north-western coast of continental Europe and comprises the mainland of the countries England, Wales and Scotland."

Proposal 2: "Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The island comprises the mainland of the countries England, Wales and Scotland."Titus Gold (talk) 17:57, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
 * no change is necessary. RWB2020 (talk) 18:24, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Leave it as it is - much clearer. We do not need to try and pack everything into the very first paragraph.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 19:43, 30 May 2022 (UTC)
 * I agree that no change is the correct way to go. - Roxy the grumpy dog . wooF 19:46, 30 May 2022 (UTC)

Main Article Image
Given the confusion some people have between Great Britain, Ireland, the UK, England etc., I'm not sure that using that image of the Britain alongside (the island of) Ireland really helps. Although it does underneath the image explain the set up, I think it may add unnecessary confusion, and simply does not help to provide any clarity. Would it not be way more appropriate to simply use an image of Great Britain alone? John arneVN (talk) 04:02, 30 March 2022 (UTC)


 * The way the geography is shaped, you can't have a satellite image that doesn't include at least some part of Ireland, and I think it's better to have all of Ireland included in the picture for context rather than cutting off half of it. The image caption explains it perfectly fine. Rreagan007 (talk) 00:41, 25 April 2022 (UTC)


 * I actually would take the opposite view point; in that as this Article is only about the island of Great Britain, therefore Ireland's image should be cropped out; the sat. image will always have some of the island of Ireland in it, in the same way as it will always have some of the Continent in it - by cropping part of the island of Ireland out of the main image (in the same way France, etc. has been cropped out) it will make it more clear that the Article only refers to the island of Great Britain. Bibby (talk) 12:53, 25 April 2022 (UTC)


 * I think the title of the article pretty clearly indicates that the article is only about the island of Great Britain. I still think having all of the British Isles in the satellite image is helpful for scale. Rreagan007 (talk) 14:46, 25 April 2022 (UTC)


 * Wait a minute—you mean "Great Britain" doesn't include Ireland? Or, rather, it no longer does? But it did earlier? It's clear I'll need to read the article more carefully. Thanks for pointing out this important distinction. It does, after all, concerning the inclusion or exclusion of an entire country (or at least the part of it that doesn't feel the need for another country's protection due to ironically life-threatening disagreements over how to worship the same divinities). – AndyFielding (talk) 01:43, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

use to mean the United Kingdom
American politicians can use Great Britain to mean the whole UK, or at least its government. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7D:59C5:6700:95C8:F52D:B4DB:6B7B (talk) 10:20, 4 July 2022 (UTC)

"Rodents make up 40% of the mammal species."
Although this is true in regards to mammal species worldwide, there is nothing I can find that states 40% of mammals in the UK are rodents.

Out of the 107 species of mammals within the UK list below, only 15 are members of the order Rodentia. That makes up 16.05% of the mammal species within the UK.

Source: Mammal.org UK species list JarroNevsbaru (talk) 22:10, 27 August 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 8 September 2022
King: Charles III 93.103.140.132 (talk) 18:34, 8 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. CMD (talk) 20:51, 8 September 2022 (UTC)