Re: What are the basic differences between British and American English?

sanlosinst@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Marc Frisch wrote:
English pronunciation and usage
vary hugely within the UK, and I imagine even more within Britain as a
whole.
[...]
A great many of the things you've labelled as specifically 'American'
are in everyday use in the UK, and I imagine in other parts of Britain
as well.
Which parts of Britain are not in the U.K.?

Britain consititues the territories of the Britsh Crown. This includes
the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and all the
rest, which used to be called the Dependent Territories. I think that
they have now been renamed the Overseas Territories, which doesn't make
a lot of sense since many parts of the UK are separated from each other
by sea.

No. "Britain" is just an informal term. It's basically shorthand for "Great Britain", which is the name of the island covered by England, Scotland, and Wales, and which is used metonymically for "United Kingdom". From 1707 to 1801 the United Kingdom (excluding territorial possessions) was coterminous with Great Britain, so the metonymy was less of a stretch at the time.

Etymologically speaking, Britain would be Brittany, in France, which in French is Bretagne, in comparison to Great Britain, which is Grande Bretagne. Evidently, though, Ptolemy used the Greek for "little Britain" to refer to Ireland.

There's no point in my continuing further, because http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain has more information.
.