2 ms·
I realise this is tangential to the original topic, but this notion that the UK is not a part of Europe (and therefore mentioned separately) seems really weird
by Cu3PO42 7y ago
I realise this is tangential to the original topic, but this notion that the UK is not a part of Europe (and therefore mentioned separately) seems really weird to me. They can leave the EU as much as they want, but it doesn't change the fact that physically they're still in Europe.
Is this because of some perceived notion of cultural differences? Because if we're starting to draw lines based on that we probably need to divide mainland Europe into a bunch of separate parts as well.
- fossuser 7y agoI only said it that way in an attempt to be clear because they left the EU (and I’ve heard people use Europe to mean EU).
- Cu3PO42 7y agoI see, thank you for clarifying. It's true that some people do use Europe to mean EU, I hadn't taken that possibility into account. In my experience, this is mostly done in sentences like "In Europe something or another is allowed/forbidden/... (by law)", but I can definitely see where you're coming from.
- learc83 7y agoIt's because America has (and has historically had) a closer relationship with the UK than with other European countries. The British see themselves as different than the rest of Europe as evidenced by sayings like "on the continent", so it's natural for us to pick some of that up.
- chillacy 7y agoMexico and Canada are technically part of America (North) and Russia is in Asia, yet most people don’t say that Canadians are Americans and Russians are Asians. One of the great funs of language.
- BlueTemplar 7y agoRussia is mostly in Europe, population-wise.