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( British Isles naming dispute)
There is dispute and disagreement over the term British Isles. The term is defined in dictionaries as "Great Britain and Ireland and adjacent islands".[1] However, the association of the term "British" with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,[2] as well as its association with the island of Great Britain, cause the term to be regarded as objectionable or inappropriate to some people in Ireland[3]. The dispute is partly semantic to some readers the term is a value-free geographic one, while to others the term can be a value-laden political one. The fact that the British Isles in general coincided with the geographic area of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, from which most of Ireland seceded in 1922, is also highly relevant. The island of Ireland is currently occupied by two states Ireland occupies five sixths of the island and Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, occupies the remaining one sixth. The respective names of the two states Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland were themselves also the subject of a long dispute between the Irish and British governments. The dispute over state names now appears to have been resolved and in this article, for simplicity, the term Republic of Ireland is used to describe the Irish state. No branch of the government of the Republic of Ireland officially uses the term,[4] and although it is on occasion used in a geographical sense in Irish parliamentary debates, it is often used in a way that excludes the Republic of Ireland. A spokesman for the Irish Embassy in London has said use of the term would be discouraged.[5] The British government, and the other governments of the area, also appear to avoid the term and the euphemism "these islands" is often heard in its place. The term "British Isles" is sometimes used in the same way as British Islands by major media institutions.[6] This definition, excluding the Republic of Ireland, does not typically cause offence in Ireland but can be confusing as dictionary definitions have not yet recognised this usage.
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