The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

 

 

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1. The geographical position of the country The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) is the official name of the state which is situated on the British Isles. It consists of four parts which are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.    The UK is an island state. The two main islands are Great Britain and Ireland which are separated by the Irish Sea. The UK is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover and is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the north and the North Sea in the East. 2. The capital and the main cities London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Edinburg is the capital of Scotland, Cardiff is the capital of Wales and Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. The most important industrial cities are Manchester, Sheffield and Glasgow. Liverpool is the city where the members of the Beatles grew up and became popular. Many of their songs were influenced by the city. Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford and Cambridge are connected with English culture: Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of William Shakespeare and Oxford and Cambridge are famous for the most prestigious universities in Great Britain. 3. Population and languages The population of the UK is over 60 million people with over 51 million people living in England. The population of Scotland is over 5 million people and over 3 million people live in Wales. As for Northern Ireland its population is about 1.8 (one and a half) million people. People who were born in Great Britain don’t like it when they are called the English.  People born in England are called the English. People born in Scotland are called the Scottish, and people born in Wales are called the Welsh. Most British people (the British) speak English but Welsh people (the Welsh) keep their native Welsh language. All inhabitants of Scotland speak English but Scottish accent ['xksqnt] is very strong and Scottish Gaelic ['geIlIk] is also spoken there. Irish people (the Irish) speak Irish and English.