This map took me a long time to make, and is very detailed, but will always be incomplete and inaccurate due to the nature of language. Why this map is so detailed The diversity of English dialects in the United Kingdom is enormous. It’s common for people from either side of a river, mountain, or […]
Britain
British and Irish words for British and Irish nations
Infographics mapping out the various origins and etymologies of the names of seven British and Irish nations in the seven main languages of those nations. Before we get into the etymology, you may want to make sure you’re familiar with what all these words actually refer to. Here’s my post about how to use these […]
The difference between Britain, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles
…and how to talk about them without offending people The history of Britain and Ireland is long, complicated and horribly messy, and as a result, lots of people get the words that describe the region mixed up. As well as being inaccurate, misusing these words can cause a lot of offence, so it’s important to […]
Who Brings Presents in Different British regions?
I’ve been getting a lot of confused comments about this post, especially from non-Brits, so I though I should clear it up.Lets start at the bottom and work our way up: Old Nick Yes, in western Cornwall, all gifts are brought by Satan, as a result of a typo in a royal charter in 1338. […]
England Could Have Been Sexland
Here, have some history! England was formed by 2 major groups from what is now northern Germany: the Angles, from the Anglia Peninsula; and the Saxons, from Saxony. There were also the Jutes, from what’s now Denmark. The Saxons settled southern England, founding the Kingdoms of Wessex (West-Saxons), Essex (East-Saxons) and Sussex (South-Saxons). The Angles […]
100 British Words for Rain
In the UK, we talk incessantly about the weather. In a recent study, 94% of British people admitted to having talked about the weather in the past six hours, and 38% in the last hour. There are a few reasons for this obsession; The first is that we have a LOT of weather. In my hometown […]
Every Native British and Irish Language
There are hundreds languages spoken in Britain and Ireland. However, only a handful are native languages, which have evolved in the region over hundreds of years. For my full post mapping the history of languages in the region, click on the link below: A Brief History of British and Irish Languages I made this post […]
A Brief History of British and Irish Languages
Two charts and seventeen maps, showing how the languages of Britain and Ireland have changed since the Roman rule of Britannia ended 1600 years ago! First, check out this GIF I made! When most people think of the languages of Britain and Ireland, they probably think of English. It’s the language pretty much everybody speaks, […]
The Origins of Northumbrian
Alreet lads and lasses! Has it gannin? I’ve made catalogue of Northumbrian and Geordie dialect words. Some of them are unique to the area, some are found in other British dialects. Some are common, some are dying out, spoken only by a few older people.For each word, I have tried to give the most likely etymology, with […]
Winter Solstice: Sunrise and Sunset Times
A couple of maps showing when the Sun rises and sets on the shortest day of the year, depending on where you are in Britain and Ireland.