GREAT Britain why? awesome America, fantastic France, incredible Italy,brilliant Belgium,marvellous Malaysia.?
I appreciate empires history etc, but what in the world warrants us being called great. Isin't a wonder why they call us pompus? I think its about time we dropped the "great".
Answers:
In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (circa 1136), the island of Great Britain was referred to as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany. The term "Bretayne the grete" was used by chroniclers as early as 1338, but it was not used officially until James I proclaimed himself "King of Great Britain" on 20 October 1604 to avoid the more cumbersome title "King of England and Scotland".
The full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
And please leave off the abuse Mark - it gains nothing and just shows you up as being small minded.
I always figured you were called "Great" because there several parts to the country. Like, "Greater Miami" includes areas around Miami. Don't be shy! Somebody's got to be great around here.
Nowadays we're commonly referred to as the United Kingdom, which is a complete joke anyway.
Britain is only relevant to the English and also Northern Irish Prods.
It used to be 'Great' that's why.
Why should we drop it the country is changing fast enough with all the immigrants screaming for changes to be made for their benefit.
I suspect you are an Immigrant or the offspring of one.
lol
it's not that we're great, it's derived from Britannia major or something like that, the latin name that the romans gave to it
here i got this from wikipedia
n Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (circa 1136), the island of Great Britain was referred to as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany.
In this case great does not signify super, fantastic, etc. It merely means great as in size. Equivalent to Greater London, Manchester, Glasgow, etc.
If foreigners fail to grasp this concept then they should learn English.
Once upon a time it was great, when it exploited countries like Canada. Not today. It is very, very small.
"Great Britain" dates from Victorian times. Queen Victoria wanted to show everyone what a powerful empire she reigned over. I suppose nowadays it's not very relevant.
About two centuries ago Britain was truly great.Arrogant and bullying but still great.
I agree, what makes Britain so great? Africa is far better! :-)
It's because we comprise of 3 Countries (I didn't include N.Ireland as the title is Great Britain and N.Ireland, no offence guys) that form a greater Nation.
It is historical, true, but we should not drop it. Our Nation is called "The United Kingdom of GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland". We have been called that for a long time and I will give up that name over my dead body. I'm in the RAF and am a patriot. That is the title of my Nation and I am PROUD of it.
It will always be Great Britain in my eyes.
What does all the stuff against immigrants do here?
Referring back to the one who said they have to learn English if they fail to understand the meaning of Great Britain (I do by the way), well, the immigrants know at least two languages and at least they make the effort to learn English as a foreign language, whereas a lot of englishspeaking people dont even bother to learn any other language.
And why should an immigrant have something against the country he immigrated to? Maybe because of all this comments? Taken from nowhere?
It is too late to change it now and drop the "Great"; we are stuck with the monicker "Great Britain". Allow us our little illusions, please!
The British people occupied an area that is basically the U.K. and Brittany, the larger part was `Greater Britain` and the smaller part `Lesser Britain`, then via stages, Great Britain and Little Britain over the Sea, to Great Britain and Brittany/Brezh/Bretagne.
I have just returned from Brittany again. A lovely place, I recommend it thoroughly.awesome cakes !
Firstly you are not comparing like with like, Britain comprises several countries, all your other examples are single countries.
if Britain is great, how come there is Greater Manchester.
You are considering the word "Great" in an erroneous context here.
Nobody calls it that anyway, overseas we allways called it "Ukay"
"The Squirrel and the Grasshopper" by Aesop
THE WORLD VERSION:
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building and improving his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
THE END
______________________________.
THE ENGLISH VERSION: (Thanks to Do Gooders and Welfare Reform…. Don’t get me @#*!&? % started!!)
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed.
A social worker finds the shivering grasshopper, calls a press conference and demands to know why the squirrel should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like the grasshopper, are cold and starving. The BBC shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper; with cuts to a video of the squirrel in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food.
The British press inform people that they should be ashamed that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so while others have plenty. The Labour Party, Greenpeace, Animal Rights and The Grasshopper Council of GB demonstrate in front of the squirrel's house. The BBC, interrupting a cultural festival special from Notting Hill with breaking news, broadcasts a multi cultural choir singing "We Shall Overcome". Ken Livingstone rants in an interview with Trevor McDonald that the squirrel got rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the squirrel to make him pay his "fair share" and increases the charge for squirrels to enter inner London.
In response to pressure from the media, the Government rushes through the Economic Equity and Grasshopper Anti Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The House of Lords is disbanded for objecting to the use of the word "b*st*rds" in the Bill. The squirrel's taxes are reassessed. He is taken to court and fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as builders for the work he was doing on his home and an additional fine for contempt when he told the court the grasshopper did not want to work. The grasshopper is provided with a council house, financial aid to furnish it and an account with a local taxi firm to ensure he can be socially mobile.
The squirrel's food is seized and re distributed to the more needy members of society, in this case the grasshopper. Without enough money to buy more food, to pay the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, the squirrel has to downsize and start building a new home. The local authority takes over his old home and utilises it as a temporary home for asylum seeking cats who had hijacked a plane to get to Britain as they had to share their country of origin with mice. On arrival they tried to blow up the airport because of Britain's apparent love of dogs.
The cats had been arrested for the international offence of hijacking and attempted bombing but were immediately released because the police fed them pilchards instead of salmon whilst in custody. Initial moves to then return them to their own country were abandoned because it was feared they would face death by the mice. The cats, forbidden from taking jobs, devise a scam to obtain money from peoples credit cards. After a month, they buy a house in Belgravia next to Madonna and Guy. The local BMW dealer takes his wife on a world cruise on the back of record sales. Madonna and Guy move to Hoboken, New Jersey.
A Panorama special shows the grasshopper finishing up the last of the squirrel's food, though spring is still months away, while the council house he is in, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain the house. He is shown to be taking drugs. Inadequate government funding is blamed for the grasshopper's drug 'illness'.
The cats seek recompense in the British courts for their treatment since arrival in UK. They also sue Madonna, citing 'humiliation and rejection leading to panic attacks'
The grasshopper gets arrested for stabbing an old dog during a burglary to get money for his drugs habit. He is imprisoned but released immediately because he has been in custody for a few weeks. He is placed in the care of the probation service to monitor and supervise him. Within a few weeks he has killed a guinea pig in a botched robbery.
A commission of enquiry, that will eventually cost £10,000,000 and state the obvious, is set up.
Additional money is put into funding a drug rehabilitation scheme for grasshoppers and legal aid for lawyers representing asylum seekers is increased. The asylum-seeking cats are praised by the government for enriching Britain's multicultural diversity. Dogs (particularly working breeds) are criticised by the government for failing to befriend the cats.
The grasshopper dies of a drug overdose. The usual sections of the press blame it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity and his traumatic experience of prison. They call for the resignation of a minister.
The cats are paid a million pounds each because their rights were infringed when the government failed to inform them there were mice in the United Kingdom.
The squirrel, the dogs and the victims of the hijacking, the bombing, the burglaries and robberies have to pay an additional percentage on their credit cards to cover losses, their taxes are increased to pay for law and order and they are told that they will have to work beyond 65 because of a shortfall in government funds.
THE END
lol
SIMPLE
within the British isles there are many Islands.(over 400)
The Largest of these i.e. the one with Scotland,England and Wales is called Great Britain.
The Great has nothing to do with being powerful or fantastic but merely a geographic term to do with size.
job done!
For Gods sake learn the English language...Or look up the meaning of the word in a dictionary. Great as in Large !!!
Devilishly Dumb...
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Answers:
In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (circa 1136), the island of Great Britain was referred to as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany. The term "Bretayne the grete" was used by chroniclers as early as 1338, but it was not used officially until James I proclaimed himself "King of Great Britain" on 20 October 1604 to avoid the more cumbersome title "King of England and Scotland".
The full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
And please leave off the abuse Mark - it gains nothing and just shows you up as being small minded.
I always figured you were called "Great" because there several parts to the country. Like, "Greater Miami" includes areas around Miami. Don't be shy! Somebody's got to be great around here.
Nowadays we're commonly referred to as the United Kingdom, which is a complete joke anyway.
Britain is only relevant to the English and also Northern Irish Prods.
It used to be 'Great' that's why.
Why should we drop it the country is changing fast enough with all the immigrants screaming for changes to be made for their benefit.
I suspect you are an Immigrant or the offspring of one.
lol
it's not that we're great, it's derived from Britannia major or something like that, the latin name that the romans gave to it
here i got this from wikipedia
n Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (circa 1136), the island of Great Britain was referred to as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern Brittany.
In this case great does not signify super, fantastic, etc. It merely means great as in size. Equivalent to Greater London, Manchester, Glasgow, etc.
If foreigners fail to grasp this concept then they should learn English.
Once upon a time it was great, when it exploited countries like Canada. Not today. It is very, very small.
"Great Britain" dates from Victorian times. Queen Victoria wanted to show everyone what a powerful empire she reigned over. I suppose nowadays it's not very relevant.
About two centuries ago Britain was truly great.Arrogant and bullying but still great.
I agree, what makes Britain so great? Africa is far better! :-)
It's because we comprise of 3 Countries (I didn't include N.Ireland as the title is Great Britain and N.Ireland, no offence guys) that form a greater Nation.
It is historical, true, but we should not drop it. Our Nation is called "The United Kingdom of GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland". We have been called that for a long time and I will give up that name over my dead body. I'm in the RAF and am a patriot. That is the title of my Nation and I am PROUD of it.
It will always be Great Britain in my eyes.
What does all the stuff against immigrants do here?
Referring back to the one who said they have to learn English if they fail to understand the meaning of Great Britain (I do by the way), well, the immigrants know at least two languages and at least they make the effort to learn English as a foreign language, whereas a lot of englishspeaking people dont even bother to learn any other language.
And why should an immigrant have something against the country he immigrated to? Maybe because of all this comments? Taken from nowhere?
It is too late to change it now and drop the "Great"; we are stuck with the monicker "Great Britain". Allow us our little illusions, please!
The British people occupied an area that is basically the U.K. and Brittany, the larger part was `Greater Britain` and the smaller part `Lesser Britain`, then via stages, Great Britain and Little Britain over the Sea, to Great Britain and Brittany/Brezh/Bretagne.
I have just returned from Brittany again. A lovely place, I recommend it thoroughly.awesome cakes !
Firstly you are not comparing like with like, Britain comprises several countries, all your other examples are single countries.
if Britain is great, how come there is Greater Manchester.
You are considering the word "Great" in an erroneous context here.
Nobody calls it that anyway, overseas we allways called it "Ukay"
"The Squirrel and the Grasshopper" by Aesop
THE WORLD VERSION:
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building and improving his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
THE END
______________________________.
THE ENGLISH VERSION: (Thanks to Do Gooders and Welfare Reform…. Don’t get me @#*!&? % started!!)
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed.
A social worker finds the shivering grasshopper, calls a press conference and demands to know why the squirrel should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like the grasshopper, are cold and starving. The BBC shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper; with cuts to a video of the squirrel in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food.
The British press inform people that they should be ashamed that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so while others have plenty. The Labour Party, Greenpeace, Animal Rights and The Grasshopper Council of GB demonstrate in front of the squirrel's house. The BBC, interrupting a cultural festival special from Notting Hill with breaking news, broadcasts a multi cultural choir singing "We Shall Overcome". Ken Livingstone rants in an interview with Trevor McDonald that the squirrel got rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the squirrel to make him pay his "fair share" and increases the charge for squirrels to enter inner London.
In response to pressure from the media, the Government rushes through the Economic Equity and Grasshopper Anti Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The House of Lords is disbanded for objecting to the use of the word "b*st*rds" in the Bill. The squirrel's taxes are reassessed. He is taken to court and fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as builders for the work he was doing on his home and an additional fine for contempt when he told the court the grasshopper did not want to work. The grasshopper is provided with a council house, financial aid to furnish it and an account with a local taxi firm to ensure he can be socially mobile.
The squirrel's food is seized and re distributed to the more needy members of society, in this case the grasshopper. Without enough money to buy more food, to pay the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, the squirrel has to downsize and start building a new home. The local authority takes over his old home and utilises it as a temporary home for asylum seeking cats who had hijacked a plane to get to Britain as they had to share their country of origin with mice. On arrival they tried to blow up the airport because of Britain's apparent love of dogs.
The cats had been arrested for the international offence of hijacking and attempted bombing but were immediately released because the police fed them pilchards instead of salmon whilst in custody. Initial moves to then return them to their own country were abandoned because it was feared they would face death by the mice. The cats, forbidden from taking jobs, devise a scam to obtain money from peoples credit cards. After a month, they buy a house in Belgravia next to Madonna and Guy. The local BMW dealer takes his wife on a world cruise on the back of record sales. Madonna and Guy move to Hoboken, New Jersey.
A Panorama special shows the grasshopper finishing up the last of the squirrel's food, though spring is still months away, while the council house he is in, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain the house. He is shown to be taking drugs. Inadequate government funding is blamed for the grasshopper's drug 'illness'.
The cats seek recompense in the British courts for their treatment since arrival in UK. They also sue Madonna, citing 'humiliation and rejection leading to panic attacks'
The grasshopper gets arrested for stabbing an old dog during a burglary to get money for his drugs habit. He is imprisoned but released immediately because he has been in custody for a few weeks. He is placed in the care of the probation service to monitor and supervise him. Within a few weeks he has killed a guinea pig in a botched robbery.
A commission of enquiry, that will eventually cost £10,000,000 and state the obvious, is set up.
Additional money is put into funding a drug rehabilitation scheme for grasshoppers and legal aid for lawyers representing asylum seekers is increased. The asylum-seeking cats are praised by the government for enriching Britain's multicultural diversity. Dogs (particularly working breeds) are criticised by the government for failing to befriend the cats.
The grasshopper dies of a drug overdose. The usual sections of the press blame it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity and his traumatic experience of prison. They call for the resignation of a minister.
The cats are paid a million pounds each because their rights were infringed when the government failed to inform them there were mice in the United Kingdom.
The squirrel, the dogs and the victims of the hijacking, the bombing, the burglaries and robberies have to pay an additional percentage on their credit cards to cover losses, their taxes are increased to pay for law and order and they are told that they will have to work beyond 65 because of a shortfall in government funds.
THE END
lol
SIMPLE
within the British isles there are many Islands.(over 400)
The Largest of these i.e. the one with Scotland,England and Wales is called Great Britain.
The Great has nothing to do with being powerful or fantastic but merely a geographic term to do with size.
job done!
For Gods sake learn the English language...Or look up the meaning of the word in a dictionary. Great as in Large !!!
Devilishly Dumb...
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