Quora精選：英國國旗里的小秘密

Answered by Simran Panwar

Simran Panwar的回復：

Ever wondered why there are three terms you commonly hear people saying when referring to England. Almost all people freely use the Great Britain and the United Kingdom as substitutes for England in general speech. So, is there any difference among the three terms?

你有沒有想過，為什么人們提到英國時通常會有三種說法？幾乎所有人在日常交談中都會說大不列顛（the Great Britain）或者聯(lián)合王國（the United Kingdom），而不是英格蘭（England）。那么，這三種稱呼有什么區(qū)別嗎？

As a matter of fact, there is a big difference, and to understand it, the best way is to get help from the three respective flags. Let's go through a few flags and you will understand the meanings of all three terms.

事實上，它們之間有很大的區(qū)別，而要理解這一點，最好地辦法就是從它們各自對應的旗幟入手。讓我們來看一些旗幟，然后你就會理解這三種稱呼的含義了。

Flag of England:

英格蘭圣喬治十字旗（St. George's Cross）：

Flag of Scotland:

蘇格蘭圣安德烈十字旗（St. Andrew's Cross）：

Now, these two countries along with Wales constitute the Great Britain and the flag of GB is also an amalgamation of these flags.

現(xiàn)在，英格蘭、蘇格蘭和威爾士一起構(gòu)成了大不列顛，而大不列顛王國的國旗也是由這兩面旗幟組合而成的。

Flag of Great Britain:

大不列顛王國國旗（注1）：

Add to these the Northern Ireland, and you get the United Kingdom. The same goes for the flag too.

大不列顛再加上北愛爾蘭，就組成了聯(lián)合王國。國旗同理。

Flag of Northern Ireland:

北愛爾蘭圣帕特里克十字旗（注2）：

Flag of the United Kingdom - The Union Flag

聯(lián)合王國國旗——米字旗

So, the next time you want to refer to England, just say England. :)

所以，下次如果你提到英格蘭，直接說英格蘭就可以啦。:)

I have been getting comments and messages regarding the current flag of Northern Ireland and the exclusion of the Wales flag from the Union Flag. Here goes:

我一直收到評論和短信，其中提到了北愛爾蘭現(xiàn)在的旗幟，以及米字旗中沒有威爾士旗幟的問題。要開始啦：

About Northern Ireland:

關于北愛爾蘭：

The current flag for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was formed sometime before 1800. And up to that time, St. Patrick's Cross was the flag used to represent Northern Ireland. The flag of the Union Jack actually comprises three different flags viz. St. George's Cross (England), St. Andrew's Cross (Scotland) and St. Patrick's Cross (Northern Ireland). So, the Union Flag has, since, remained the same.

現(xiàn)在的大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯(lián)合王國（the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland）國旗早在公元1800年以前就形成了。在那之前，北愛爾蘭的代表旗幟是圣帕特里克十字旗。米字旗實際上是由三面不同的旗幟構(gòu)成的，也就是英格蘭的圣喬治十字旗，蘇格蘭的圣安德烈十字旗和北愛爾蘭的圣帕特里克十字旗。于是，這種樣式也就一直保留了下來。

The two flags in question are as follows:

存在疑問的兩面旗幟如下：

The Ulster Banner, on which many are arguing is the real flag of Northern Ireland.

紅手旗（the Ulster Banner），許多人認為它才是北愛爾蘭真正的官方旗幟。

and St. Patrick's Cross

然后是圣帕特里克十字旗。

Now, the main point is Northern Ireland has not had a unique, government-sanctioned flag since 1972, when the Northern Ireland parliament and government were prorogued. During official events, The Northern Ireland government uses the Union Flag instead of both- the Ulster Banner and St. Patrick's Cross.

現(xiàn)在的主要問題在于，自1972年議會和政府休會以來，北愛爾蘭并沒有單獨的官方旗幟。在官方活動中，北愛爾蘭政府會使用英國國旗，而不用紅手旗或者圣帕特里克十字旗。

According to law, neither Saint Patrick's Cross nor the Ulster Banner may be flown on government buildings in Northern Ireland. But, St. Patrick's Cross is still used on some occasions in the country. Although, in official occasions, like the British government, Union Flag is the only flag used by the government of the Northern Ireland.

根據(jù)法律，無論是圣帕特里克十字旗還是紅手旗，都不能懸掛在北愛爾蘭政府建筑上。然而在北愛爾蘭的某些場合中，依然會使用圣帕特里克十字旗。不過在正式場合中，北愛爾蘭政府和英國政府一樣，只能使用米字旗。

Check: Flag of Northern Ireland

查看：北愛爾蘭國旗

About Wales:

關于威爾士：

Simply put, Wales is a prinicipality.

簡單地說，威爾士是一個公國。

(Check: Principality)

（查看：公國）

Informally saying, that means it is not a part of the Union of Great Britain and it is, or was, effectively a possession of England. Wales had no explicit recognition in the Union Flag as it had been a part of the Kingdom of England since being annexed by Edward I of England in 1282 and its full integration by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, and was therefore represented by the flag of England.When the first Union Flag was created in 1606, Wales was already united with England from the 13th century. In 1536, under Henry VIII, the Act of Union joined England and Wales officially. Thus, it didn't get a place in the Union Flag as it was considered a part of England back when the flag was created.

通俗地說，這意味著威爾士并不是大不列顛聯(lián)邦的一部分，而其實是，或者說曾經(jīng)是英格蘭的一處領地。威爾士在米字旗中沒有被明確地體現(xiàn)出來，是因為在1282年，威爾士被英格蘭國王愛德華一世吞并，其后根據(jù)《1535年-1542年威爾士法案》，被完全并入英格蘭。自此，威爾士就成為了英格蘭王國（the Kingdom of England）的一部分，因此，英格蘭國旗也就代表了威爾士。第一面英國國旗是在1606年誕生的，而威爾士早在13世紀時就已經(jīng)被并入了英格蘭。1536年，在亨利八世統(tǒng)治時期，《聯(lián)合法案》（the Act of Union）正式將英格蘭和威爾士合并到一起。因而英國國旗誕生時，由于威爾士已被認為是英格蘭的一部分，所以并沒有出現(xiàn)在國旗上。

Check: Union Jack

查看：英國國旗

譯注：

1. 1606年，詹姆斯一世統(tǒng)一英格蘭和蘇格蘭時，將兩國旗幟圖案重疊起來，作為大不列顛的國旗。
2. 愛爾蘭的圣帕特里克的白底紅色交叉型旗，最早是愛爾蘭菲茨諾德家族的旗幟；1801年，愛爾蘭與大不列顛聯(lián)合組成王國后，這面旗幟又與大不列顛國旗重疊，最后形成了大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯(lián)合王國的這面構(gòu)圖奇特的“米字旗”。20世紀中葉，愛爾蘭獨立之后米字旗并沒有發(fā)生變化，因為圣帕特里克十字旗仍然代表著北愛爾蘭自治區(qū)，而它至今仍是聯(lián)合王國的一部分。