Great Britain

The official name of the country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it lies on the British Isles of the north-western coast of Europe.
The British Isles consist of 2 big islands = Great Britain and Ireland and many smaller islands. The largest of them are The Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Hebrides, the Orkneyes and the Shetlands.
The British Isles include 2 states. The UK consisting of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Each of four parts has its own capital. Edinburgh for Scotland, Belfast for N. Ireland, Cardiff for Wales and London for England. London is also the capital of the whole country.

History
The first occupation was by celts. They came from continental Europe. Later they were pushed into the mountains. The Romans came and stayed for almost 4 centuries. The Romans built roads, military camps and forts and started many English towns London including. The next were 3 Germanic tribes = Angles, Saxons and Jutes. The next were the the Norsemen – the Danes and the Vikings. The last invasion was by the Normans who defeated the last Anglo-Saxon king. This is a reason why there are so many words in the English language.

Geography
Great Britain can be divided into upland Britain and lowland Britain. Rivers are not very long. The longest rivers are the Thames, the Severn, the Avon, the Tyne. The highest mountain range is the Highland of Scotland. The largest lakes are in the Highlands – Loch Ness

Language
The official language is English – Standard or Queen’s English. Many regions of the country have their own dialects. Scottish English is obscure (nezrozumiteľný) to people from other parts of Britain. Typical Scottish words are lass – girl, lad – boy, kirk – church, bonnie – pretty, loch – lake.
Welsh is the second official language in Wales. Irish is also of Celtic origin.