The United Kingdom, England, Great Britain? Are these three the same place? Different

大英聯合國、英格蘭、大不列顛? 這三個地方是相同的? 不同的?

places? Do British people secretly laugh those who use the terms wrongly? Who knows the answers

英國人對於他人使用錯的專有名詞會暗自竊笑嗎? 誰知道這些問題的答案?

to these questions? I do and I’m going to tell you right now.

我知道答案, 現在我馬上為你解答。

For the lost: this is the world, this is the European continent and this is the place we

這是全世界, 這是歐洲大陸, 而這是我們要釐清的地方。

have to untangle. The area shown in purple is the United Kingdom.

紫色標記出的地區是大英聯合國。

Part of the confusion is that the United Kingdom is not a single country but instead is a country

容易混淆的是, 大英聯合國並不是一個單一國家, 而是多個國家的一個國家。

of countries. It contains inside of it four co-equal and

當然, 這其中包含了4個平等且具有獨立主權的國家在內。

sovereign nations The first of these is England — shown here

其中的第一個就是英格蘭── 紅色標記處。

in red. England is often confused with the United Kingdom as a whole because it’s the

英格蘭常常和大英聯合國被混淆成一個整體, 原因是因為英格蘭是

largest and most populous of the nations and contains the de facto capital city, London.

面積最大及人口最稠密的國家, 而且包含實際的首都 ─ 倫敦。

To the north is Scotland, shown in blue and to the west is wales, shown in white.

北方是蘇格蘭, 藍色標記處, 西方是威爾斯, 白色標記處。

And, often forgotten even by those in the United Kingdom, is Northern Ireland shown

然後, 即便是在大英聯合國中, 依舊時常被遺忘的是北愛爾蘭,

in orange. Each country has a local term for the population.

橘色標記處。每個國家都有個地方性的名稱來稱呼全部的居民。

While you can call them all ‘British’ it’s not recommended as the four countries

你可以通稱他們是"英國人", 不這麼建議用這個通稱, 這四個國家

generally don’t like each other. The Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh regard

大體來說不是很喜歡彼此。北愛爾蘭人, 蘇格蘭人和威爾斯人將

the English as slave-driving colonial masters — no matter that all three have their own

英格蘭人視為奴隸操縱殖民者 ─ 即便這三個國家擁有自己

devolved Parliaments and are allowed to vote on English laws despite the reverse not being

權力下放的議會並且允許對英格蘭的法律投票, 儘管反之非亦然 ─

true — and the english generally regard the rest as rural yokels who spend too much

英格蘭人一般將其餘三個國家的人民, 視為是花太多時間在羊群上的鄉巴佬。

time with their sheep. However, as the four constituent countries

然而, 身為構成國的四個國家

don’t have their own passports, they are all British Citizens, like it or not.

卻沒有屬於自己的護照, 他們全都是英國公民, 不管喜歡與否。

British Citizens of the United Kingdom — whose full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain

大英聯合國的英國公民 ── 全名為大不列顛

and Northern Ireland. So where’s Great Britain hiding?

及北愛爾蘭聯合王國。 那麼大不列顛藏在哪呢?

Right here: the area covered in black in Great Britain. Unlike England, Scotland, Wales and

就在這: 黑色覆蓋的區域為大不列顛。不像是英格蘭、蘇格蘭、威爾斯和

Northern Ireland, Great Britain is a geographical term rather than a political term.

北愛爾蘭, 大不列顛是地理性質的名稱而非政治性質的名稱。

Great Britain is the largest island among the British Isles.

大不列顛是不列顛群島中最大的島。

Within the United Kingdom, the term ‘Great Britain’ is often used to refer to England,

在大英聯合國中, “大不列顛” 這個詞常用來單獨指稱英格蘭、

Scotland and Wales alone with the intentional exclusion of Northern Ireland.

蘇格蘭和威爾斯以及刻意被排除在外的北愛爾蘭島。

This is mostly, but not completely true, as all three constituent countries have islands

這是大部分, 但絕非完全確實, 這三個構成國的國家擁有

that are not part of Great Britain such as The Isle of Wight, Isles of Scilly and Lundy

不屬於大不列顛範圍內的島嶼, 例如懷特島、 錫利群島和蘭迪島

which are part of England, the Welsh Isle of Anglesey and the Scottish

這些是英格蘭的一部分, 威爾斯的安格爾西島以及蘇格蘭的

** Hebrides
** Shetland Islands
** Orkney Islands
** Islands of the Clyde

赫布里底群島、 設德蘭、 奧克尼、克萊德島。

The second biggest island in the british isles is Ireland.

不列顛群島中第二大島是愛爾蘭。

It is worth noting that Ireland is not a country. Like Great Britain, it is a geographical,

值得注意的是, 愛爾蘭並不是一個國家。如同大不列顛般, 這是一個地理性質的,

not political, term. The Island of Ireland contain on it two countries,

而非政治性質的詞。愛爾蘭包含了兩個島嶼,

Northern Ireland — which we have already discussed — and the Republic of Ireland.

北愛爾蘭 ─ 我們已經討論過的 ─ 還有愛爾蘭共和國。

When people say they are ‘Irish’ they are referring to the Republic of Ireland which

當人們說他們是“愛爾蘭人”, 他們指的是愛爾蘭共和國,

is a separate country from the united kingdom. However, both the Republic of Ireland and

一個從大英聯合國分割出去的國家。然而, 愛爾蘭共和國和

the United Kingdom are members of the European Union even though England often likes to pretend

大英聯合國兩者都是歐盟會員國的成員, 即便英格蘭常喜歡自稱

that it’s an Island in the mid-atlantic rather than 50km off the coast of France. But

是中大西洋地區的一座島而非距離法國海岸線外50公里的。但

that’s a story for another time. To review:

那是下次的故事了。回顧一下:

The two largest islands in the British Isles are Ireland and Great Britain. Ireland has

愛爾蘭和大不列顛是不列顛群島中最大的兩個島嶼。愛爾蘭上

on it two countries — the republic of ireland and northern ireland, while Great Britain

有兩個國家－愛爾蘭共和國和北愛爾蘭, 而大不列顛上

(mostly) contains three: England, Scotland and Wales. These last three, when combined

(主要是)包含三個國家: 英格蘭, 蘇格蘭和威爾斯。這後面三個國家,

with northern Ireland form the United Kingdom Finished… no

與北愛爾蘭結合起組成了大英聯合國。結束了...不

There are still many unanswered questions. Such as, why, when you travel to Canada is

還有很多未解答的問題。例如:為什麼去加拿大旅遊時,

there British Royalty on the money? To answer this, we need to talk about Empire.

英國王室會出現在紙鈔上? 解答此一問題, 我們需要談到帝國。

You can’t have gone to school in the English-speaking world without having learned that the British

在這個說英文的世界裡, 你過去求學時, 不可能沒學習到

Empire once spanned a 1/4th the worlds land and governed nearly a 1/4th its people.

大英帝國曾橫跨了四分之一的世界, 統治了世界上四分之一的人。

While it is easy to remember the part of the empire that broke away violently…

然而容易的就能想起, 帝國的部分地區激烈地掙脫著...

We often forget how many nations gained independence through diplomacy, not bloodshed.

我們也時常忘記有多少個國家是藉由外交來贏得獨立, 而非流血場面。

These want-to-be nations struck a deal with the empire where they continued to recognize

這些想要獨立的國家與帝國達成的協議, 他們仍會繼續承認

the monarchy as the head of state in exchange for a local, autonomous parliament.

君主國是他們的上位者, 藉此換取地方性的自主議會。

But this raises the question: are these countries then still part of the United Kingdom?

但這引發了個問題: 這些國家仍是大英聯合國的一部分嗎?

Well, not exactly, but to understand how they are connected, we need to talk about the crown.

嗯, 並不完全地, 但為了要了解之間的關聯, 我們必須提到王權。

Not the physical crown that sits behind glass in the tower of London and earns millions

並非是倫敦塔裡坐在玻璃後方,

of tourist pounds for the UK but the crown as a complicated legal entity best thought

為大英聯合國賺取百萬英磅觀光商機的實體君主, 而是複雜法律本質的王權,

of a one-man corporation. Who created this corporation?

單一市政府的最佳見解。誰建造了這個市政府?

God Did. According to British Tradition all power is

上帝建造的。根據英國的傳統, 所有的權力

vested in God and the monarch is crowned in a Christian ceremony.

是由上帝賦予的, 君主是在基督教的儀式中受到加冕。

God however — not wanted to be bothered with micromanagement — conveniently delegates

然而, 上帝不想被這些微小管理煩擾, 因此上帝合宜地授權

his power to an entity called the crown. While this used to be the physical crown in the

其權力給一個稱之為王權的本質。而這習慣用於倫敦塔裡可見的君主－

tower of london — it evolved over time into a legal corporation sole able to be controlled

此君主隨著時間逐漸發展成法律上的單一政府, 只能夠被

only by the ruling monarch. All the laws of the United Kingdom derive

具支配地位的最高統治者控制。所有大英聯合國法律的存在,

their right to exist from the crown, which in turn derives its power from God.

法律權利衍伸來自於王權, 王權則是依次衍伸來自於上帝。

It’s a useful reminder that the United Kingdom is still technically a theocracy with the

這是個有意義的提醒, 大英聯合國嚴格地來說仍然是君權神授的國家,

reigning monarch acting as both the head of state and the supreme governor of the official

控治的君主同時是國家之首以及

state religion: Anglicanism. Such are the oddities that arise when dealing

國家官方宗教至高的統治者。當涉及到這有著一千年歷史的君主體制,

with a 1,000 year-old Monarchy. Back to Canada and the rest, the former colonies

這些奇怪的事應運而生。回到剛剛加拿大討論停止的地方, 舊時的殖民地

that gained their independence through diplomacy and continue to recognize that authority of

藉由外交贏得了獨立, 並且持續承認王權的權力,

the crown are known as the Commonwealth Realm. They are, in decreasing order of population:

這些舊時的殖民地為大英國協王國。這些殖民地的人口數處於逐漸減少的狀態－

** Canada
** Australia
** Papua New Guinea
** New Zealand
** Jamaica
** Solomon Islands
**

** 加拿大** 澳洲** 巴布新幾內亞
** 紐西蘭
** 
牙買加**所羅門群島
**

Belize
** The Bahamas
** Barbados
** Saint Lucia
** Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
**

貝里斯**巴哈馬**巴貝多**聖露西亞**聖文森及格瑞那丁**

Grenada
** Antigua and Barbuda
** Saint Kitts and Nevis
** Tuvalu

格瑞那達
**
安地卡及巴布達**聖克里斯多福及尼維斯
**吐瓦魯

All are independent nations but still recognize the monarchy as the head of state even though

這些全是獨立國家但仍持續承認君主為他們的上位者,即便在這些國家境內

it has little real power within their borders. There are three further entities that belong

只有著微乎其微的實質權力。還有另外三個實體也歸屬於王權之下,

to the crown and these are the Crown Dependencies. Unlike the Commonwealth Realm, they are not

這些是皇家屬地。與大英國協王國不同的是, 他們不被認為是

considered independent nations, but are granted local autonomy by the crown and British Citizenship

獨立國家, 但王權允許賦予地方自治權, 而大英聯合國允許賦予英國公民權－

by the United Kingdom — though the UK does reserve the right to over-rule the laws of

即便大英聯合國確實保權力來統治

there local assemblies. The Crown Dependencies are:

這些地方議會的法律。皇家屬地包含:

** The Isle of Man
** Jersey
** Guernsey Are we all done *now*?

**曼島**澤西**根西** 現在全部都解答完成了嗎?

Almost, but not quite. There are still a couple of loose threads, such as this place:

幾乎快了, 但並不完全。仍然還有幾個不明確的事, 好比這個地方:

The tiny city of Gibraltar on the Southern Coast of Spain famous for its rock, its monkeys

西班牙南方沿海區域上直布羅陀的小城市, 以巨巖、猴子聞名,

and for causing diplomatic tension between the United Kingdom and Spain.

引起了大英聯合國和西班牙外交上的緊張情勢。

Or what about the Falkland Islands? Which caused so much tension between the United

或者是福克蘭群島? 使得大英聯合國和阿根廷間, 有著如此多的緊繃的局勢,

Kingdom and Argentina that they went to war over them.

還發生過了福克蘭戰爭。

These places belong in the last group of crown properties know as: British Overseas Territories.

這些地方屬於最後一代王權的領土, 也就是英國海外領土。

But their former name — crown colonies — gives away their origins.

但早前的名稱－直轄殖民地－使這些地方喪失了領土的根源。

They are the last vestiges of the British Empire.

這些地方是大英帝國剩下的殘餘。

Unlike the Commonwealth Realm, they have not become independent nations and continue to

與大英國協王國不同, 這些地方並未成為獨立國家, 並且還

rely on the United Kingdom for military and (sometime) economic assistance. Like the Crown

依賴著大英聯合國在軍事上及(有時候)經濟上的援助。就像是

Dependencies, everyone born in their borders is a British Citizen.

皇家屬地, 生於國界中的每個人都是英國公民。

The Crown colonies are, in decreasing order of population:

人口數正下滑的直轄殖民地:

**Bermuda** Cayman Islands
** Turks and Caicos Islands
** Gibraltar
** British

**百慕達**開曼群島**土克凱可群島**直布羅陀**

Virgin Islands
** Akrotiri and Dhekelia
** Anguilla
** Saint Helena
** Ascension

英屬維京群島**亞克羅提利與德凱利亞**安圭拉**聖赫勒拿島**

Islands
** Tristan da Cunha
** Montserrat
** British Indian Ocean Territory
** South

阿森松島**崔斯坦達庫尼亞**蒙特塞拉特山**英屬印度洋領地**

Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
** Falkland Islands
** British Antarctic Territory
**

南喬治亞與南三明治群島**福克蘭群島**英屬南極領地**

Pitcairn Islands. In our final review, the United Kingdom is

皮特凱恩群島. 最後的複習, 大英聯合國

a country situated on the british isles and is part of The Crown which is controlled by

是一個處於不列顛群島上的國家, 並為皇家的一部分,

the monarchy. Also part of the crown and the british isles

被君主政體控制著。同時, 部分的王權及不列顛群島

are the crown dependencies. The independent nations of the former empire that still recognize

是屬於皇家屬地。早期大英帝國中, 仍然承認王權的獨立國家,

the crown are the commonwealth realm and the non-independent remnants of the former empire

屬於大英國協王國, 而那些早期大英帝國殘餘中的未獨立國家,

are the British overseas territories.

則為英國海外領土。