English or British?

[PJ's Mom]

Yesterday at work, my daughter was helping an older English lady try on some shoes. When the woman first spoke, my daughter said something like, "oh, I love your accent! We don't see a lot of English people here."

The lady said in a mean way that she was British, not English and left the store.

Are we wrong to call people from Englan english?

Just wondering.

[kimlovescats]

GOOD QUESTION ... surely someone here can clarify this for us? I haven't a clue myself!

[finn's mom]

I've always wondered that myself. I don't mind being corrected, but, not in an ugly way. I know when I hear people say Oriental, and, I know them, and, know they won't be offended, I'll usually correct them and say "Asian." But, I, too, have always wondered about English/British. Hmmm....

[Randi]

I believe people coming from England, Scotland and Wales are British.

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

I suppose if you are from ENGLAND you are English, whereas if you say you are BRITISH you oculd be from anywhere in Britain?

I would have expected that if the rude customer was so finicky about not being English, she would have said " I'm Scottish / Welsh " etc

I often get asked if I am English (or strangely enough Aussie), but I don't get snippy about it, as I am aware how weird and mixed up my accent sounds to most people LOL

[ComedyDevil]

Hmmm, I'm from England and I haven't got a clue!

I've called myself both ... English and British, depending on who I've been talking to. I hope someone can answer this better than me; you've got me wondering now!

Sorry that woman was mean to your daughter. And I hate my accent. Americans sound way cooler!

[vinjashira]

most English people I know call themselves British, and the Scottish call themselves Scottish

[PJ's Mom]

And I hate my accent. Americans sound way cooler!

How could you hate your accent? It's so cool!

[Miss Z]

It's strange why that lady would say that, over here we hardly ever refer to someone as 'british', it's usually english, scottish and welsh. I've never met someone who refers to themselves as british and not english, maybe she's just very patriotic or something.


It is strange though, when you think about it, why there are so many collective names for our little countries, and they all mean something slightly different, like britain, british isles and the united kingdom. Don't ask me to tell you the difference between them because i'm not entirely sure!

[jackie]

I would have expected that if the rude customer was so finicky about not being English, she would have said " I'm Scottish / Welsh " etc

^Yes, I would think that too.

This is my biggest pet peeve!!!! I have so many people say to me "I am English, not British" or vice versa. what does it matter??? It makes me crazy! I understand if people from Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales prefer not to be called British or English, but really their passport says British. People just love to snarky sometimes.

[Killearn Kitties]

I would assume that she was from Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland, therefore British, but not English.

What made your daughter think that the woman was specifically English? Might she have been from elsewhere in Britain?

[Randi]

I'm sure you can get it straightened out by looking at these links.

http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/ency...British_Isles/

http://www.wordreference.com/definition/British

[Edwina's Secretary]

Interesting question! But I have had friends from the North American continent, but not the United States. They want to know how we can call ourselves Americans....what about Canadians and Mexicans????

[buttercup132]

my whole family is english it works either or way maybe she thought you were calling her english as in canadian..

[clarebear]

I believe people coming from England, Scotland and Wales are British.

I was going to say the same thing!.

Pure English people are from such as Liverpool like myself, London, Leeds, Manchester and so on.

Sounds like a bitchy British to me LOL Sorry I couldnt resit lol.

Can you tell I am starting to feel more at home??? LOL