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Geoffrey Thorndyke, Lived in the UK since 1944
No they are not. Europe is “abroad”, it’s full of foreigners, they use funny money, speak different languages, eat different food, watch different telly. You have to embark on a voyage over dangerous seas, or through a terrifying tunnel or board an aeroplane to even get there!
They drive on the wrong side of the road, have different speed limits using different measurements, and don’t sell beer in pints. It is a strange, alien and confusing place that is only suitable for the brave and fearless traveller.

不，他们没有在欧洲。
欧洲是“国外”，到处都是外国人，他们用搞笑的钱，说不同的语言，吃不同的食物，看不同的电视。你必须在危险的海洋上进行航行，或通过一个可怕的隧道，或登上一架飞机，才能到达那里!
他们在错误的道路上行驶，使用不同的测量方法，有不同的速度限制，并且不以品脱为单位卖啤酒。那是一个陌生、令人困惑的地方，只适合勇敢无畏的旅行者。

Karen O'Callaghan
Perception is everything. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Brooklyn became part of New York City on January 1, 1898. If someone in Brooklyn wishes to indicate he is journeying to Manhattan he will say, “I’m going to The City.” 123 years of history has not changed that attitude. Legally, Manhattan and Brooklyn are within the same city, but Manhattan is”the other.”
As a result, I can understand the British view of Continental Europe being “the other”. After all, for centuries if a large group of Englishmen were headed to Europe, it was probably to fight a war.

感觉就是一切。
我在纽约布鲁克林出生长大。布鲁克林于1898年1月1日成为纽约市的一部分。如果布鲁克林的某人想表示他要去曼哈顿，他会说，“我要去这座城市。” 123年的历史并没有改变这种态度。从法律上讲，曼哈顿和布鲁克林属于同一座城市，但（感觉上）曼哈顿是“另一座”。
因此，我可以理解英国人对欧洲大陆的看法是“他者”。毕竟，几个世纪以来，如果一大群英国人前往欧洲，很可能是去打仗。

Jake Arnott
I have my great-grandmother’s passport - a single page document, signed by the Secretary of State, and valid for travel ‘on the Continent’. They knew what’s what back then.

我有我曾祖母的护照——只有一页，由国务卿签字，在“欧洲大陆”旅行有效。
他们当时知道什么是什么。

MA Ellis
Britain is an Island a large island, though nevertheless still an Island in its own right. Geographically it's not ajoined to Europe, apart from the Euro Tunnel which is made made not a natural part of its physical geology. we speak British. We are very territorial about our fishing stocks around our land and we guard it well. Britain is tough it also has many allies… please do not references to us as European ok…that's not being nice. It's like calling Canadians Americans..that will sure upset them, like uk being called European would be equally as serious.

英国是一座岛屿，一座大岛，尽管它本身仍然只是一座岛屿。从地理上讲，它与欧洲没有联系，除了欧洲隧道，它不是其自然地质的一部分。
具体到英国人，我们对我们土地周围的渔业资源非常有领土意识，我们很好地保护了它。英国很强硬，也有很多盟友……
请不要把我们说成是欧洲人，这并不友好。这就好比说加拿大人是美国人，肯定会让他们不高兴，就像英国人被称为欧洲人一样严重。

Eunice Watson
Except the English use Scottish fishing stocks as a bargaining chip with Europe to get a better deal for the English and stuff us Scots who did not vote for this shist storm. By the way pal I am Scottish i am not and never will be “british” no matter how much your country tries to force that identity onto me by plastering your flag all over my countries produce.

除了英格兰人利用苏格兰的渔业资源作为与欧洲讨价还价的筹码，为英格兰人争取更好的交易，并拉拢我们这些没有投票支持这场愚蠢游戏的苏格兰人。顺便说一句，朋友，我是苏格兰人，不管你的国家如何试图把你的国旗贴在我国家的所有产品上，把这种身份强加给我，我不是、也永远不会是“英国人”。

Roy Emerson
Guess who voted for brexit eh???
Maybe learn a little bit of history and geography before spilling your Britain Alone thoughts which do not reflect the thoughts of all Brits.
Europe is the land masses on the continental shelf of Europe. It wasn't long ago the British Isle were connected to France/Belgium etc… but THE GREAT Flood washed away lots of land, creating the English Channel. Also… heard on the last Ice Age? Humanoids which had moved and explored out of Africa, eventually made their way as far as Britain, walking over the ice, which then melted and left us disconnected from mainland Europe.
We might be politically European anymore, but will ALWAYS be geographically EUROPEAN like it or not. Lucky for me, although living in England, I'm Irish and can still travel hassle free around our European neighbours countries. As can my kids. Why would anyone not want to have that freedom I cannot understand.

猜猜谁投票支持英国脱欧?
在陈述你的“英国孤独”的观点之前，或许可以学习一点历史和地理知识，这些想法并不代表所有英国人的想法。
欧洲是位于欧洲大陆架上的一块块陆地。不久之前，不列颠岛还与法国/比利时等国家相连。但是大洪水冲走了很多土地，形成了英吉利海峡。还有，听说过上次冰河时代的故事吗?类人动物走出非洲，最终到达英国，在冰面上行走，然后冰面融化，随后我们与欧洲大陆失去了联系。
我们可能在政治上不再是欧洲人，但无论你喜不喜欢，在地理上永远是欧洲人。幸运的是，虽然我住在英国，我是爱尔兰人，仍然可以在欧洲邻国自由旅行。我的孩子们也一样。我无法理解为什么会有人不想拥有那种自由。

Victoria Whiteley
The UK does NOT belong to Europe. I am English and I have never said “I'm going to Europe", nor can I think of any British or Irish person I know who speaks that way. We would say “I'm going to Italy/Belgium/Finland” or whichever country we are going to. It is Americans who constantly refer to “Europe" and I am sure the OP is American, has never been outside of the USA and is therefore imagining how we speak based on American made films.

英国不属于欧洲！
我是英国人，我从来没有说过“我要去欧洲”，我也想不出我认识的任何一个英国人或爱尔兰人会这样说。我们会说“我要去意大利/比利时/芬兰”或者任何我们要去的国家。
倒是美国人经常提到“欧洲”， 而且我确信提问者是美国人，从来没有离开过美国，因此根据美国电影在想象我们如何说话。

Richard Perry
Well I have definitely said “I’m going to somewhere in Europe this summer - just not sure yet” or words to that effect. And I am very definitely European. And most people I know would describe themselves as European as well as describing themselves as British.

我确实明确地说过“今年夏天我要去欧洲的某个地方——只是还不确定”或者类似的话。我绝对是欧洲人。我认识的大多数人会说自己是欧洲人，也会说自己是英国人。

Richard Brown
I would refer to the country rather than the continent but the UK is most definitely part of Europe.

我会用欧洲国家而不是欧洲大陆来表达，英国绝对是欧洲的一部分。

Victoria Whiteley
I think you are taking the question out of context. The UK may be in the same geographic region but it in no way belongs to Europe.

我认为你是断章取义了。英国或许在同一个地理区域，但绝不属于欧洲。

Richard Brown
That depends what you mean by ‘belongs' to Europe?
The land mass on which the UK sits belongs to that which is named ‘Europe'. No-one owns it as such.

这取决于你所说的“属于”欧洲是什么意思?
英国所在的这块土地被称为“欧洲”，没有人单独拥有它。

Alex McCutcheon
Makes sense to me! It also reminds me of hearing people in Morocco speaking of “going to Africa" which I guess is in the same league.

对我来说有道理! 这也让我想起了摩洛哥人说的“去非洲”，我想这也属于同一范畴。
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Clive Bilby, Self-employed polymath and student that loves to learn
Yes the UK is part of Europe, but Britain isn’t part of mainland Europe. You have to understand the history of Britain, we’ve had a 100-year war with France in our past, when most of Europe fell to Napoléon, it was the British that defeated him at Waterloo. When much of Europe fell to the Axis Powers during World War II, it was again the Brits that felt isolated, joining the war at its very start in 1939 (America didn’t join until after the Battle of Britain was won).
When the UK wanted to join the European Community, it was President De Gaulle of France that wasn’t keen and vetoed Britain's membership application in 1963, in fact, he died before the UK joined. It had been De Gaulle’s opinion that the UK wasn’t a good fit for Europe, that it would act in its own interests against Europe and as an agent of America. Perhaps he was right! But because the British had given De Gaulle refuge when he fled to England and allowed him to operate as leader of the Free French movement there, with the support of British prime minister Winston Churchill, this was seen as yet another example of ‘them and us’ by the British people.
So, when you have been raised on an island separated from mainland Europe, why do the Brits feel more British and less European, because of the country’s very long history.

英国是欧洲的一部分，但英国不是欧洲大陆的一部分。你必须了解英国的历史，我们与法国在过去有过一场100年的战争，当时大部分欧洲国家倒在拿破仑的铁蹄之下，是英国人在滑铁卢打败了他。在第二次世界大战期间，当欧洲大部分国家落入轴心国之手时，英国人又一次感到被孤立，他们在1939年战争一开始就加入了战争(美国直到英国战役获胜后才加入)。
当英国想要加入欧共体时，是法国总统戴高乐对英国的加入不感兴趣，并在1963年否决了英国的加入申请，事实上，他在英国加入欧共体之前就去世了。戴高乐的观点是，英国不适合欧洲，它会以自己的利益来对抗欧洲，并充当美国的代理人。也许他是对的! 但戴高乐逃到英国时，英国给予了他庇护，并允许他在英国首相温斯顿·丘吉尔的支持下，作为自由法国运动的领袖，这被英国人民视为“他们和我们”的又一个例子。
所以，当你在一个远离欧洲大陆的岛屿上长大时，为什么英国人觉得自己更像英国人，而不是欧洲人？因为这个国家有着悠久的历史。

Marcel LeSinge
One of the games I like to play is to consider what Britain would be like if the land bridge across the Dover Straits hadn’t been destroyed during the Ice Age. I guess we’d probably be speaking German now.
History undoubtedly plays a part in the British (English, in particular) feeling different and separate from mainland Europe. It’s also something that has been fanned by the media and politicians for generations. Being an island, with a sea journey to mainland Europe, uninvaded since 1066, with an independent colonial past and a history of conflict with many European countries had created a feeling of difference. I also suspect that not having been defeated in a war and not being invaded has made some British feel superior, while failing to understand that the experience of invasion & defeat in war has finally brought many European countries to realise that banding together is better than both being on their own or in conflict. Lacking that experience, many English don;t understand its importance to Europeans, one reason why they have failed to anticipate the EU’s stance in relation to negotiations with the UK leaving the unx.

我喜欢玩的一个游戏是：设想如果横跨多佛海峡的大陆桥没有在冰河时代被摧毁的话，英国会是什么样子。我猜我们现在可能在说德语。
历史无疑是英国人(尤其是英格兰人)感觉与欧洲大陆不同和分离的原因之一。几代人以来，这也是媒体和政客们所热衷的。作为一座岛屿，从海上到欧洲大陆，自1066年以来从未被入侵，有独立的殖民历史和与许多欧洲国家的冲突的历史，创造了一种不同的感觉。我怀疑, 没有被打败，没有被侵略的历史这让一些英国人觉得优越, 从而未能明白入侵和战败的经验最终让许多欧洲国家意识到联合起来比各自独立或冲突更好。由于缺乏这种经验，许多英国人不理解它对欧洲人的重要性，这也是他们未能预测欧盟在与英国脱欧谈判中的立场的原因之一。

However, it’s also worth remembering that in terms of our DNA we differ little from the French, Belgians and Dutch. We share much common culture. Almost the whole of the population of the UK is descended from European invaders of these isles or emigrants to these isles. Though we speak a common language, with the USA, we have at least as much, if not more, in common with our European neighbours.
I also strongly suspect that De Gaulle’s rejection of our initial bid to join the EEC (as it was then) was as much because of his wish to revenge himself for being treated as a man of little importance while he was in London during the war. He was a man with a very large ego and a long memory for slights. Having set up an organisation which allowed German industry and French farming to flourish, he also didn’t want a British complication. Pompidou’s “non”, like Chirac’s better founded refusal to agree to the UN agreeing the US/UK war in Iraq, was essentially for domestic political reasons. By and large, the other Europeans have been happy for us to be a member of the EU, and not just because of our financial contribution, but because we have provided a balance to the Franco-German duopoly and resisted the bureaucratisation of EU activities.

然而，同样值得记住的是，就DNA而言，我们与法国人、比利时人和荷兰人没有什么不同。我们有许多共同的文化。几乎所有的英国人都是这些岛屿的欧洲入侵者或移民的后裔。虽然我们和美国说着共同的语言，但我们和我们的欧洲邻居也有同样多的共同点。
我还强烈怀疑，戴高乐当初拒绝我们加入欧共体(当时的情况)，同样是因为他想报复，因为战争期间他在伦敦时，被当作一个不重要的人对待。他是一个非常自负的人，对别人的怠慢有很长的记忆。蓬皮杜（法国前总理1962-1968）的“不”，就像希拉克（法国前总理，前总统）拒绝联合国同意美英在伊拉克的战争一样，本质上是出于国内政治原因。
总的来说，其他欧洲人很高兴我们成为欧盟的一员，不仅仅是因为我们的财政贡献，也因为我们为法德双头垄断提供了平衡，并抵制了欧盟的官僚主义化。

Tony Jones, lives in Essex, UK
I don’t think we do. You’re right that I don’t describe myself as a european on a regular basis, because I am British. I would be British, English and european in that order. But I am european - its just not my main identity.
I have never said I am going to Europe whenever I cross the channel, because mostly, that suggests I am travelling to more than one country, when in reality, I am going to France. In which case, I’d say I am going to France.
I don’t really refer to Europe as europe either, generally I’d say ‘the continent’.
There is some debate as to what Europe and Europe mean. In my eyes, Europe is the continent as a whole, and not the European unx. People will mix up the two.

你说得对，我不会经常把自己描述为欧洲人，因为我是英国人。我是不列颠人，英国人然后才是欧洲人。我确实是欧洲人——但这不是我的主要身份。
每次横渡英吉利海峡，我从来没有说过我要去欧洲，因为这多半意味着我要去不止一个国家旅行，而实际上，我要去的是法国。那样的话，我得说我要去法国。
我也不把欧洲称为欧洲，通常我会说“欧洲大陆”。
关于“欧洲”到底意味着什么，存在一些争论。在我看来，欧洲是整个大陆，而不是欧盟。人们会混淆两者。
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Benjamin Telford, HR Guy at National Health Service
As you may have gathered from the whole Brexit thing, the UK has long perceived itself as separate from Europe. The UK is geographically isolated by virtue of being an island, but there’s also a historical tradition of conflict, religious, linguistic and political isolation as well, feeding into this view that the UK is not a part of the pack.
So whilst the UK is part of Europe officially, culturally it sees itself as an odd one out, and has always taken steps to keep that distance. This included not adopting the euro, or schenghen visas, or national ID cards, or various other EU or European schemes that would have tied the UK closer to Europe. This is further reflected in the language used, hence references to “visiting Europe”.

你可能已经从英国退欧这件事中了解到，英国长期以来一直认为自己已经脱离了欧洲。英国在地理上是孤立的，因为它是一座岛屿，这里有冲突、宗教、语言和政治孤立的历史传统，这使得英国不是族群中的一员。
因此，虽然英国在官方上是欧洲的一部分，但在文化上，它认为自己与欧洲格格不入，并一直采取措施保持距离。这包括不采用欧元、申根签证、国民身份证，以及其他各种将英国与欧洲联系得更紧密的欧盟或欧洲计划。这进一步反映在所使用的语言中，因此提到“访问欧洲”。

Stephen Leader
In my experience, it is not the British that say they are “going to Europe”, it is the Americans.
British studied geography at school so are more than aware that Europe consists of many countries so they would say that they are going to France or Germany.
(Some) Americans however just know that there is a country “over there” called Yoorup that sounds pretty cool. They plan to do this country in five days.

根据我的经验，不是英国人说他们要“去欧洲”，而是美国人。
英国人在学校学过地理，所以他们非常清楚欧洲是由许多国家组成的，所以他们会说他们要去法国或德国。
(有些)美国人只是知道那边有一个“国家”叫Yoorup（Europe，欧洲的谐音），听起来很酷。他们计划在五天内游览这个“国家”。