Do the British refer to Scotland & Wales as separate countries/entities?

Question

(Not politically, but in common discourse.)

Here is a rephrasing of my question based on a better understanding of the matter:
"Do the English refer to Scotland & Wales as separate countries?"
I appreciate the answers & hope to read more.

Answer 1

yes, parts of the united kingdom are england, scotland, wales, and northern ireland...they're like the states if they are federal.

Answer 2

Almost all the answers above are wrong.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are each referred to as separate countries in common discourse amongst people in the UK.

I am from England and I perceive Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to be countries separate from my own, but collectively we all make up the United Kingdom.

Answer 3

I think that generally the English tend to think about this less than Scots or the Welsh do... the English take their national identity more for granted, whereas people from Wales and Scotland are much more aware of theirs, and often feel that their countries are treated as secondary to England.

It's quite a fuzzy area, really; and I don't think there's any definitive answer to it. Some people are much more aware of the issue than others. For example, I always describe myself as British, because my mum's English and my dad's Scottish; so technically although I was born in England I'm not entirely English.

I think that generally, if people were talking about, say, where they'd been on holiday, then yes, they would mention if they'd been to Scotland or Wales. For instance, I would tell you about my parents' house in Scotland, rather than saying it's in the North of Britain - the latter would just sound weird. But, to an extent, I'd say this as a shorthand way to be geographically precise rather than because of wanting to emphasise its being in another country.

I don't know how much help I've been... I hope I haven't just confused you!

Answer 4

In common discourse, from what I've heard from English friends, Scotland is a separate country but Wales is typically not considered separate. Presumably this is because of the large land border shared between England and Wales, versus Scotland (a peninsula) and Northern Ireland (an island).

Answer 5

Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland are all seperate countries from England.. they make up the U.K...

Answer 6

As a practical matter one could say that many Brits regard the people in the next county over as living in a separate country.

Although by American standards, the United Kingdom is a physically small country, it contains many divisions and people traditionally have strongly identified with their own region.

Someone from the south of England will certainly want to distinguish himself from a Geordie (often used to refer to anyone from the Northeast of England) let alone a Scot or a Welshman. The ethnic identify of Scots and Welshman is sufficient to support the existence of separatist parties and many people go to the trouble of learning the essentially "dead" languages of Wales and Scotland.

Indeed, when a bit of genealogical research revealed that my family had its origins in Wales and had relocated to England in the 12th century, my Grandfather was stunned to the point of being quite angry to discover that he was not therefore a "pure" Englishman.

Answer 7

The English do. We are all British. (The Scots, Welsh, Northern Irish & English)

Answer 8

Scotland yes, Wales no i dont think so.