The British Isles

The British Isles

The British Isles form a group lying off the north-west coast of the continent of Europe, mainly within the rectangle 50-60 degrees North and 0-10 degrees West. Their total area is about 121,600 square miles. The two largest islands are Great Britain, including England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland; comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The seas surrounding the British Isles are the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the English Channel.

Great Britain is the largest island in Europe. Its western coast is deeply indented; on the contrary, its eastern coast is for the most part low-lying. The mountainous and hilly areas lie to the north and west; south-east England and the Midlands are known as Lowland Britain. Great Britain and Ireland are separated by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St. George's Channel. Great Britain and Northern Ireland make up the United Kingdom (UK).

England occupies the southern part of the island of Great Britain; Scotland occupies the northern part of the island of Great Britain; Wales is a peninsula on the south-western of Great Britain; Northern Ireland takes up the northern corner of Ireland.

The English languages

The first people in Britain about whose languages we have definite knowledge are the Celts. Celtic was therefore presumably the first Indo-European language to be spoken in the country we now know as England.