When you’re studying overseas and the Prof says “British Isles”.

When you’re studying overseas and the Prof says "British Isles". from ireland

34 comments

  1. Fine options for the Brits to use moving forward:

    ​

    * Britain and Ireland
    * North-West French Archipelago
    * Anglo-Celtic Isles

  2. Ask a British person not to use that term and they’ll become an archaeologist, classicist, geographer, geologist, zoologist, and an ornithologist to justify not saying simply “*Britain and Ireland*”… and if all that fails, will say “*it’s just a term, get over it*”.

    The fact is it’s a loaded term, a possessive noun (re)coined in order to lay claim over Ireland by the English monarch at the beginning of their imperial ambitions. It’s not a big deal but the people who insist on using the term should at least know its history.

  3. I don’t really mind people calling it the British isles to be honest. I don’t use the term buts it’s not like it’s something I encounter in my day to day life.

  4. Another collective term I encountered in oz was anglo celt. It was bizarre to hear an Aussie simultaneously cite his love of his Irish convict ancestry and his love for his queen. Very strange diaspora stokholm syndrome.

  12. I think the only sensible way of naming the reigon is by combing the historical names of the landmasses.

    Aristotle
    Albion (Britain)and lerne (Ireland) : combine them to: albioerne

    Ptolemy
    Alwion, Iwernia, and Mona (isle of man): Alwwerona

    Modern names
    Britain, Wales, scotland, Ireland, isle of man: Wabrireotlanman

    “Where are you from geographically?”
    “Oh, I’m from the wabrireotlanman isles”

    Super simple.

  13. I’m 100% Irish but we have to realise that Ireland is part of the British Isles. It’s a geographical name, not a political one.

    Edit: from Google:

    The British Isles is a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles and over six thousand smaller islands.

  15. I live in the US doing a PhD, and when I was helping out at the graduate orientation for international students last summer I had an English woman come up to me (after I had introduced myself saying I was from Ireland) and say “oh I’m SO glad to find another Brit here” to which I replied “oh where are they?”

  16. Why do we need a collective term anyway, there’s clearly a political reasoning, I don’t get the reason for it. It’s just two countries ffs

  17. I have found some English get equally sensitive about term Celtic isles; Welsh, Scottish &northern irish mostly comfortable with that term.

    I generally ask what does British mean?
    Celtic i generally take to mean islands settled by Celts; but there were never a ‘British people’

    British is a mix of Saxons, Normans, Norse, Celts and god knows what else. British isles loaded term suggesting ownership and no more valid than Celtic isles.

    Don’t know why we need a common term for 2 independent nations other than to antagonize or placate a minority unionist population in northern Ireland

  20. I thought « Isles » was plural to encompass all those little islands around the big one, like the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight and the zillion tiny islands off the northwest coast of Scotland.

  21. I liken it to saying to a proud Mexican person, “You’re American” as in your country is on the North American continent. Technically true in a geographical sense but my oh my are there better ways to say it.

  22. I’ve heard some people suggest “Anglo-Celtic Isles”, but thats a bit of a mouthful, not to mention pretentious. Ireland and the UK is the only one that works really.

  24. While we’re at it can we make the English stop calling themselves Britons because they stole that from the Brythonic inhabitants, who they called Wealsc. Which means foreigner.

    They called the actual Britons foreigners on their own land, whilst destroying their language and exiling them to the fringes of South Britain.

    Make Lloegyr Welsh Again is what I’m saying.

  26. “British Isles” will always bring back memories of the American I was talking to get furious with me when I explained “if THAT makes me British, then you can’t kick out illegal immigrants if they’re from anywhere in the Americas”.

  28. I care about this much less than the yanks using our airports as starting points to go rampage the Middle-East and our cities as duty-free labour playgrounds with no accountability.

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