England Country

The country of England.

Part of GreatBritain, which is part of the UnitedKingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), which is a member of the EuropeanUnion (EU) although still not at this moment a member of the EuroCurrencyZone?.

The BritishEmpire once was the largest empire in the world. It was said, "The sun never sets on the BritishEmpire." Most of the colonies were granted independence peacefully after WorldWar? II. Some former colonies (such as the UnitedStatesOfAmerica, India, Pakistan, Kenya, and Malaysia) fought wars either to gain their independence, or establish post-independence frontiers. The BritishEmpire has fought to prevent Argentina from seizing the FalklandIslands?; the inhabitants of the Falklands preferred British rule rather than Argentine rule.

Many internationally-popular sports (CricketGame?, AssociationFootball?, RugbyFootball?, GolfGame?) are of British origin. In addition, many other games (baseball, AmericanFootball?, CanadianFootball?, AustralianRulesFootball?) are based on British games.

Top 100 things we non-Englanders (!) know about England:

1) MatthewAstley, VickiKerr, EarleMartin, ... are from there.

2) It used to be the biggest empire in the world. They used to say: "The sun never sets on the British Empire". They lost all of their colonies peacefully but for some reason the Falkland Islanders still don't want to be ruled by Argentina. [The UK fought a war over the matter]. ... Lost all their colonies peacefully, bar one US-shaped one, I'm guessing.

3) The English language was born there.

4) They have a funny way to speak English as we can witness by watching Coronation Street. (I think you'll find that is the correct way to speak English!)

5) A great deal of influence on the rest of the world; former colonies in particular. Many internationally-popular sports (CricketGame?, AssociationFootball?, RugbyFootball?, GolfGame?) are of British origin. In addition, many other games (baseball, AmericanFootball?, CanadianFootball?, AustralianRulesFootball?) are based on British games.

6) Sport (what yankees call "sports") seems to be mostly a male pursuit in the UK. In the UnitedStates and many other parts of the world, it is quite common for women and girls to participate in intramural (and professional) sports; this activity is still somewhat stigmatized in the UnitedKingdom.

7) Nobody outside the UK truly understands EnglishOrBritish. [Including myself, apparently, as some of my comments might not apply to English taken by itself]. The distinction is the same as would be made between "New English or American". Just as it's wrong to assume that New England social mores apply to the entire United States or that accomplishments of other parts of the US are assumed to be those of New England, so is it incorrect (and often offensive) to lump all parts of Britain under the label "English".

Top 100 things you non-Englanders should know about England:

1) If an English person is being unexpectedly polite to you, it is probably because they are insulting you to your face.

2) People become very friendly when they are about to commit acts of violence against your person. E.g. "Do you want to repeat that, mate?", "How about we step outside, pal?"

3) English cuisine is excellent. Its fast food is awful. Don't confuse cuisine and junk food when discussing English food. This is an easy mistake for a visitor to make if they come from a country that does not make the distinction.

4) London and England should be treated as two completely different countries, with very different cultures. About 10% of the population live in the CityOfLondon.

London has just one single culture? Since when?

5) Over-indulgence in alcohol is a fundamental part of English culture.

6) Neighbourhood communities are centered upon the "local" - the neighbourhood's local pub.

7) England has bits stuck to the top and side. The former is Scotland, the latter is Wales. Both are part of Britain, but not part of England. People living there get especially annoyed when you get this wrong.

8) The major staples of conversation in England amount to the weather, and how things aren't like they used to be.

9) The English are very good at moaning about how rubbish things either are or once were. Therefore, a person who makes thatched rooves should be referred to as a roofer rather than a thatcher.

10) England's national sport is queueing, and the English are awfully good at it. They get very annoyed when someone tries to disrupt this pastime.

CategoryCountry CategoryOffTopic