[dleary]

Calling the UK “England” is a different class of error, though. England is a part of the UK.

Analogous would be calling the USA “Texas”.

Calling the UK “Britain” is a much more direct comparison.

United States of America -> America

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland -> Britain

[chihuahua]

Let's be logical about this:

(United States of) America -> America

(Federal Republic of) Germany -> Germany

(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern) Ireland -> Ireland

[rgblambda]

It's not helped when England, Britain and United Kingdom have been viewed as interchangeable terms by UK politicians, famous writers and the general public.

Boris Johnson: "If I am ever asked on the streets of London, or in any other venue, public or private, to produce my ID card as evidence that I am who I say I am, when I have done nothing wrong and am simply ambling along and breathing God’s fresh air like any other freeborn Englishman..."

Rupert Brooke: "If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England."

[graemep]

No, they are not used interchangeably, even in your examples.

Johnson is giving London as an example of a place in the UK. It is a very apposite example because it is where any power the police are given would be used most heavily (as stop and search is). He is using the the phrase "freeborn Englishman" to evoke associations with the use of the phrase that is far older than the UK. The phrase in its literal sense also excludes women and serfs and I do not think Johnson is aiming for that.

Brooke was writing a poem. He was evoking an effect and a particular sense of place and identify. "England" evokes different associations and and a different emotional response to "the united Kingdom". It is more local, and cosy, and has visual associations (the "English countryside" vs "the Scottish countryside" for example).

[RugnirViking]

Both of these simply use the word england, they are not incorrect. Yes, some people are from a place called england, just like some people are from texas, and may write poetry or wax lyrical about how they like being from texas and what it means to them

[HarHarVeryFunny]

[Great] Britain is an island

England is a country (part of Britain, together with Wales & Scotland)

The United Kingdom [of Great Britain and Northern Ireland], is an alliance of countries.

I'd hope that most citizens of the UK wouldn't regard these as interchangeable, and just because an Englishman waxes poetic about England doesn't mean he's unaware that it's part of the UK, etc.

[meiraleal]

> The United Kingdom [of Great Britain and Northern Ireland], is an alliance of countries.

No, it is not. The UK is ONE sovereign state/country, the rest are states/provinces/whatever, even tho some people living in this country might disagree and wish to separate themselves to become a full sovereign state.

[HarHarVeryFunny]

You're right, of course about the UK. It seems that maybe the most accurate (and/or historically appropriate) label for England, Wales, Scotland, and I suppose Northern Ireland, are "non-sovereign countries", or more sloppily I guess the UK and England can both be called countries ("a country within a country") with the distinction implied.

[standardUser]

No individual US state has anywhere near the economic, historic, political or social hegemony over the rest of the nation state as is seen with England in the UK. In a lot of contexts outside of the UK, saying "England" is completely comprehensible as meaning the UK, regardless of correctness. No one is going to say "England invaded Iraq" and be confused.

[throaway89]

England annexed Wales and Ireland and would have annexed Scotland if it didn't use marriage instead.

[thoroughburro]

> would have annexed Scotland if it didn't use marriage instead

Would have tried, perhaps.

[throaway89]

Im sure the Scots would have fought to the last Scotsman, but I think they would lose in the end.

[Yeul]

The Netherlands is often called "Holland" which technically doesn't even exist anymore.

But of course Dutch people don't really care what foreigners call the country, they can use whatever name they come up with it doesn't matter. Although it's nice that Germany gets it right. These kind of arguments speak to the fragile ego of some nations.