Posted by andyb on January 02, 2007 at 15:07:06 from 194.80.183.1 user beardbiter.
In Reply to: Re: Britain was Re: Grammar posted by PeterH on January 02, 2007 at 12:16:40:
Nothing at all to do with AR
I think Peter H may have a touch of anticipatory astigmatism a visual impairment common amongst bowlers who see the umpire’s finger raised long before it is uncurled. It is cause, I believe, by wearing rose tinted spectacles.
My point is that both ‘UK’ and ‘GB’ are abbreviations for ‘The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’. This view is supported by the following extract from the Wikipedia article : ‘"Great Britain" and/or the abbreviation "GB" (or "GBR") are officially used for the entire UK by the Universal Postal Union, the International Olympic Committee, NATO, the International Organization for Standardization, and other organisations. (See also country codes and international licence plate codes).
If I may cite our old friend Ludwig (Wittgenstein) words take their meaning from the language game on which they are deployed. In this case, Great Britain, is used in a range of different contexts: as a former means of distinguishing between Britain and Brittany, as a geographic description, as a metonomy for the entire UK of GB and NI and, of course, as a patriotic claim.
“The inhabitants of NI are 'Irish', not 'British'.”
Many of them wouldn’t agree with you, which is at the root of the problems.