Why do Americans talk about English people then use the term British?

Question

I have just read loads of answers from American's where someone asked what they thought about the English and over 50% used the term British in their answer?

This is a genuine question, not posted to cause trouble. I'm honestly intrigued as to why a lot of American's say British when they actually mean English. If you say Brits, then you are talking about English, Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish.

Sorry if I've offended anyone - I would just like to know?

To the person that said "Because we generally dont have time to place you guys in certain categories" - I'm not asking to figure out where exactly we are from in Britian, I'm just asking why you think British is another word for English?

Oh and I don't use the word Yank as I do understand the history of it.

Thanks for your honesty Stina. England is 1 country out of 4 that are part of Britian. Britian is the name for the 4 countries together.

I'm Scottish and I don't get offended, as I for one love the English, but I suppose I get a bit annoyed when people call me English when they mean British. I hope this sort of makes sense?

I think 5quidcoke has misunderstood the question. We are scattered over the British Isles and most of us don't mind being called British, but some Scots, Welsh and Irish don't really like being called English when someone actually means to say British. It's not that we have a problem with English people as I've said, it's just annoying for all us Brits when people use the term British in the wrong context. I just wanted to understand why people use it that way.

Answer 1

They do this because they think of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales & N. Ireland) are a country altogether called Great Britain. For those of you who don't know:

England = England
Great Britain = England, Scotland & Wales
United Kingdom = England, Scotland, Wales & N. Ireland
British Isles = England, Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland, Ireland

---EDIT---

"England is 1 country out of 4 that are part of Britian. Britian is the name for the 4 countries together."

No, the four countries England, Scotland, Wales & N. Ireland are the United Kingdom. Great Britain is the three countries England, Scotland & Wales.

Answer 2

>>>I'm honestly intrigued as to why a lot of American's say British when they actually mean English.>>>

Just innocent ignorance.

It's the same reason why many British people (English or otherwise) call all Americans "Yanks," even though that term historically only applies to people from the northern parts of the US.

In America, we never call anyone from Alabama, Georgia, etc. a "Yank."

>>>If you say Brits, then you are talking about English, Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish.>>>

Yes, I know. Living in Japan -- and working with some people from England, Scotland, and Wales -- I've come to know the difference.

By the way, I understand that a lot of people in Northern Ireland don't consider themselves to be British citizens. They consider themselves to be Irish citizens, in many cases.

.

Answer 3

Many Americans view "England" as the entire country, with England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland being comparable to individual states here in the U.S. They also use the term "Russia" to discribe what was once the entire Soviet Union. The problem: World history and geography are not considered essential in the U.S. educational system.

It's very comparable to Brits calling Americans "Yanks". Many here in the Southern U.S. take offense to this term. To us, the term Yankee ONLY refers to the citizens of those northeastern states which comprised the Union army during the American Civil War (or as we in the South sometimes call it; The War of Northern Aggression). Down here, "yankee" is a derogatory term.

So don't take offense from my ignorant American brethren...they mean none.

Answer 4

Well, I used to go to an online message board, an international forum with lots of 'Brits' And some of them were very touchy about being called English. Likely the Scots and Welsh folks I presume.

English as I understand it, is a citizen of England. Brit is a member of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and such...

Maybe you limeys better explain to us what you like to be called? ; )
I'm assuming you're...English?

See, an American is an American. We don't have special names for southern Americans or western Americans...I think that's where the confusion originates. Americans hear, Brits, English and they think the terms are interchangeable.

Hope this helps to explain a bit... : )

Answer 5

Because when I was in Britain, there WAS a mix of English, Scots, N. Irish and Welsh people, and most of the time they were scattered all over the British Isles, instead of being confined to their countries. My friends over in Britain don't mind being called British - it's their worldwide nationality.

I understood enough. I haven't the right statement to describe to you what I mean, though.

Answer 6

American English

Answer 7

Americans tend to use "English" and "British" interchangeably. We see the country as being called both "England" and "Great Britain", so therefore we use both terms to mean the same thing. Honestly, I don't know what the correct term is.

So enlighten me--what IS the actual difference between the terms?

Answer 8

In answering language questions it looks better to refer to "British English" (rather than "English English" - which looks silly) when you are making comparisons with American English (or indeed "Australian English", "Indian English", "Caribbean English", etc).

I am British by nationality, and have lived for most of my life in various parts of southern England - with three years in Australia in the early 1970s. Do I feel "English" or "British"? Hard to say. Certainly I note some differences between Scots and Welsh and Northern Irish and southern Irish and English ideas, but then again, I note differences between northern and southern England, and occasional failure to understand what some northern English people are trying to say in their dialects!

Answer 9

Americans tend to use the terms "English" and "British" interchangeably, though, as you correctly point out, a Welshman considers himself as English as, say, a Frenchman considers himself Italian (i.e. the two identities are nowhere near equivalent).

Mainly, it's because there's a general ignorance in the US regarding geography and other peoples. Hell, three out of five Americans surveyed couldn't find Germany on a map! Bush Jr.'s "us vs them" attitude is a reflection of this mild xenophobia.

Answer 10

I suppose it may be to differentiate between English also being a language which is spoken in many countries whilst British refers to our geographical location