Geographically speaking

UNIT 1. COUNTRY AND PEOPLE

1.Geographically speaking

2.Politically speaking

3.The four nations

4.The dominance of England

5.National loyalties

Learn the words and phrases. Mind the pronunciation!

rostrum - трибуна; кафедра

to Assert - твердити; заявляти; доводити; захищати; обстоювати

to pertain - належати, стосуватися (to); бути властивим (притаманним)

heir - спадкоємець

Ian

Sean

Dragon of Cadwallader

rampant - нестямний, нестримний

Read the text and find the answers to the following questions

What two big islands do we find off the north-west coast of Europe?

What do the words Eire, Ireland, the Republic refer to?

What is the official name of the state that has authority over the island of Great Britain and smaller islands around it? What other names can be mentioned?

What are ‘Crown dependencies’?

What are the four nations that are found on the British Isles? What kind of differences and similarities were and are found among them? What cities are the capitals of those nations?

Why is English culture the dominant one in Britain today?

What are signs of English domination today?

Do national loyalties in Britain have ever to do with sporting events?

How did the adjective ‘Great’ appear in the name of Great Britain?

What are the historical and poetic names associated with Great Britain?

Who does the word Briton describe?

What do you know about John Bull, Caledonia, Cambria, Hibernia, Erin, the Emerald Isle?

What are traditional male names in Scotland, Ireland, Wales? What is the most common name in England and Scotland?

What is a kilt? What is tartan?

What are the well known stereotypes of national character of the four nations that inhabit Britain?

What plants/ colours /patron saints are symbols for the four British nations?

What flags does the national flag of the UK consist of?

In the British government, there are ministers with special responsibility for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but there is no minister for England. Why do you think this is?

What are the symbols of Ukraine?

Geographically speaking

Lying off the north-west coast of Europe, there are two large islands and hundreds of much smaller ones. The largest island is called Great Britain. The other large one is called Ireland. There is no agreement about what to call all of them together. It happens so because to keep geography and politics apart is not easy. Geographically speaking, it is clear that Great Britain, Ireland and all those smaller islands belong together. So you would think there would be a (single) name for them. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, they were generally called 'The British Isles'. But most people in Ireland and some people in Britain regard this name as outdated because it calls to mind the time when Ireland was politically dominated by Britain.

So what can we call these islands? Among the names which have been used are 'The north-east Atlantic archipelago', 'The north-west European archipelago', 'IONA' (Islands of the North Atlantic) and simply 'The Isles'. But none of these has become widely accepted.

The most common term at present is ‘Great Britain and Ireland’. But even this is not strictly correct. It is not correct geographically because it ignores all the smaller islands. And it is not correct politically because there are two small parts of the area on the maps which have special political arrangements. These are the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, which are 'crown dependencies' and not officially part of the UK. Each has complete internal self-government, including its own parliament and its own tax system. Both are 'ruled' by a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the British government.

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