Which English-speaking country has the best flag? We’ll debate it today
Lesson summary
Hi there everyone, I’m Jeff and you are listening to Plain English, where you can upgrade your English each and every Monday and Thursday. Today is lesson number 601, so you can find the full lesson, including the transcript, at PlainEnglish.com/601.
Coming up today: Which English-speaking country has the best flag? We’ll talk about six flags today and I will determine the winner. In the second half of the lesson, I’ll show you how to use the English expression “in use.”
This is an easier lesson, so enjoy it—maybe you’re on the beach right now, enjoying the last few days of summer. Let’s get going.
Which English-speaking country has the best flag?
What is an English-speaking country? The question is not an easy one to answer. India has over 200 million English speakers, the second-most in the world, but only 0.2 percent of the population speaks English as their native language.
I’m going to subjectively choose the following countries for this discussion. Here they are in alphabetical order: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Every one of the countries on the list was once a part of the U.K. or a colony of the U.K.
So let’s start with the mother of them all: the Union Jack. This is the design of the flag of the United Kingdom. It features a red cross, like a T, over the top of another red cross like an X. Both red crosses are outlined in white. Any area that is not red or white is blue. The crosses represent military crusaders or saints from the British Isles over the years . The design you know today has been in use since 1801, making it the oldest flag on our list. The earliest evolution of this design dates back to 1601.
Two flags on our list include the Union Jack on their own flag. Those are Australia and New Zealand.
The flag of Australia is dark blue, and it includes the Union Jack in the upper-left hand quadrant.
On the right-hand side of the flag, there are five white stars of varying sizes. These represent the “Southern Cross,” a constellation that is most easily visible from the southern hemisphere. The Australian flag also has a white star underneath the Union Jack. This seven-pointed star represents Australia’s six original states plus territories. This has been Australia’s flag since its independence, over 120 years ago.
New Zealand’s flag is very similar. It has the Union Jack in the upper-left hand quadrant, just like the Australian flag has. It also features the Southern Cross constellation on the right-hand side, but the stars are red, outlined in white. And that’s it. The design of the New Zealand flag came first, so many believe Australia’s design copied New Zealand’s. In 2016, the acting prime minister of New Zealand told Australians to get their own flag. Tensions between the two nations have since blown over .
How about the last flag on the list with red, white, and blue? That would be the United States. The U.S. flag has thirteen stripes, seven red and six white. In the upper-left hand quadrant is a field of navy blue, on top of which are fifty white stars. The thirteen stripes represent the thirteen colonies at independence. The fifty stars represent the fifty states. The current design has been in use only since 1960, the year after Hawaii became the fiftieth state. Over the years, as states have been added, the arrangement of the stars has changed.
Next up, Ireland. This is one of the many tricolor flags of the world, but the only one on our list. Ireland’s flag is three vertical stripes, green, white and orange. The flag represents the hope that Roman Catholics (in green) and Protestants (in orange) can live peacefully together. The flag was adopted in 1916, when Ireland declared independence from Great Britain.
Finally, Canada. Canada once had a flag derivative of the Union Jack—I did not know this, but it’s true. The current flag was adopted only in 1965. Canada’s flag has two narrow red stripes on the left and right, and a white field in the broad center. Over that field is a bright red maple leaf. It’s instantly recognizable and 100 percent Canadian, with no colors or symbolism from its colonial times. The maple leaf is a national symbol. The flag has the additional benefit of looking the same from the front or the back.
So I am going to crown Canada the winner of the flag competition among English-speaking countries. Australia and New Zealand—come on, it’s been long enough. You need your own flags without the Union Jack on it, and they need to be different. Canada put a maple leaf on the flag, can New Zealand put a kiwi on a flag? I think it’s time.
The U.S. flag from 1912 to 1959 had 48 stars, which meant six rows of exactly eight stars. That looks very square, very disorienting! The current flag, of 50 stars, has them arranged in staggering rows of six or five. This design is better.
Quick fact for you. Country flags are typically a 1:2 aspect ratio, meaning they are twice as wide as they are tall. Only three countries are exceptions.
Switzerland and the Vatican City have square-shaped flags. Nepal is the only country whose flag is not a rectangle of any kind. Nepal’s flag is two overlapping triangles. One hundred ninety-seven countries have rectangular flags—tiny Nepal is going its own way.
JR’s song of the week
JR has picked a song this week. It’s called “Turning Page” by Sleeping at Last. “I’ve waited a hundred years, but I’d wait a million more for you,” is how the song starts. JR will be seeing Sleeping at Last in Chicago later this year.
So that’s today’s song, “Turning Page” by Sleeping at Last. And I’ve been posting the songs to our Instagram Stories, so if you’re curious what these sound like—follow us on Instagram @plainenglishpod .
Next up: the English expression “in use.”
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