Comment by kergonath
3 days ago
> The still use Czech Republic for Czechia
Czech Republic is sill the formal name, right? Last time I checked it was overly formal, but not wrong to use it.
> Republic of Ireland for Ireland
Brits do this because of Northern Ireland (mostly for bad reasons, but still).
Countries are called differently depending on language and context. It’s fine.
> Brits do this because of Northern Ireland (mostly for bad reasons, but still).
This isn't specific to the British! ROI and NI refer to different countries on the island of Ireland.
I'm curious why you state "mostly for bad reasons"? (I assume you are American!)
> This isn't specific to the British!
But it is. Republic of Ireland when used to refer to the country is used almost exclusively in Britain and specifically to marginalise the country of Ireland.
I’m dubious—I’m an American who knows comparatively little about the Troubles and yet have always thought “Republic of Ireland” was the official name. I certainly use it fairly often, completely innocuously, to distinguish between it and Northern Ireland. I probably picked it up from the Wikipedia article, which prominently lists them both as common names.
the republic of ireland, or the irish republic is the official name of the country as stated on the constitution. it's not offensive at all to my irish self and is on every international letter address. southern ireland is mildly offensive because it implies ignorance of my government but not very much so. if it was offensive we wouldn't use the term northern ireland so often. the official name for that is so long i don't remember it off hand.
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