You may find this weird......
First, let me say that here in the US I am considered an Anglophile. I am also a history buff when it comes to Europe, with emphasis on the United Kingdom (or England, or Great Britain, or Britain.) Were it not for the pandemic I would at this moment be in Holmfirth visiting my Auntie Barbara---not really my aunt but my mother-in-law's pen pal of more than 75 years. Auntie Barbara visited my family three years ago and it was our turn to visit her. Enter the pandemic.......
But I digress.
My neighbor and his family are from Liverpool and he teaches at the University of North Carolina as a visiting professor. He's 39 years old. If you ask him where he's from he will say "the UK." If you ask Auntie Barbara the same question, she will say "England."
Let me add that I understand the geo-political differences as well as what constitutes Britain, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. But somewhere in the last 50 years or so, folks who were, for example, from Manchester stopped saying they from England and started saying they were from the UK.
As I said, I understand the UK, or United Kingdom, is made up of the separate countries of England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland. What I don't understand is why do (younger) folks say they are from the UK while older folks, like my Auntie Barbara, say they are from England? And to further muddy the waters, does the same hold true for Scotland, Wales, and N Ireland---if you're 75 years old do you say you're from Scotland or the UK?
When the question(s) were posed to my neighbor, he more or less said the same holds true if you're from the United States (or America, or the States, or the US, or the USA.) But it's not the same. Those references to being a citizen of the US have always been around. Not so if you're from the UK (or England)----the changeover has occurred during my lifetime, say between 1970 and today. People stopped saying they were from England and started saying they were from the UK.
Interestingly, my neighbor's wife said it may have to do with the emergence of the European Union
If you're from the UK, does your passport say UK or England?
In the scheme of things, does it really matter, anyway?
My wife thinks I have too much time on my hands and should be cleaning out the garage.
First, let me say that here in the US I am considered an Anglophile. I am also a history buff when it comes to Europe, with emphasis on the United Kingdom (or England, or Great Britain, or Britain.) Were it not for the pandemic I would at this moment be in Holmfirth visiting my Auntie Barbara---not really my aunt but my mother-in-law's pen pal of more than 75 years. Auntie Barbara visited my family three years ago and it was our turn to visit her. Enter the pandemic.......
But I digress.
My neighbor and his family are from Liverpool and he teaches at the University of North Carolina as a visiting professor. He's 39 years old. If you ask him where he's from he will say "the UK." If you ask Auntie Barbara the same question, she will say "England."
Let me add that I understand the geo-political differences as well as what constitutes Britain, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. But somewhere in the last 50 years or so, folks who were, for example, from Manchester stopped saying they from England and started saying they were from the UK.
As I said, I understand the UK, or United Kingdom, is made up of the separate countries of England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland. What I don't understand is why do (younger) folks say they are from the UK while older folks, like my Auntie Barbara, say they are from England? And to further muddy the waters, does the same hold true for Scotland, Wales, and N Ireland---if you're 75 years old do you say you're from Scotland or the UK?
When the question(s) were posed to my neighbor, he more or less said the same holds true if you're from the United States (or America, or the States, or the US, or the USA.) But it's not the same. Those references to being a citizen of the US have always been around. Not so if you're from the UK (or England)----the changeover has occurred during my lifetime, say between 1970 and today. People stopped saying they were from England and started saying they were from the UK.
Interestingly, my neighbor's wife said it may have to do with the emergence of the European Union
If you're from the UK, does your passport say UK or England?
In the scheme of things, does it really matter, anyway?
My wife thinks I have too much time on my hands and should be cleaning out the garage.