Talk:English Channel
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[edit] Main Image
Should the satellite image at the start of the article not say "Isle of Wight" instead of just "Wight"? As far is I'm aware, the former is the island's official name.
[edit] Box conflicting with text
I can see that the box with the Shakespeare quote in it is cutting into the text. Can someone fix this (I am new to editing)?
Also, to help others see what I'm seeing:
http://img170.imageshack.us/my.php?image=erroryc1.jpg
--Not Applicable 17:39, 22 August 2006 (UTC)
- I've left a note at Template talk:Quote box. If you want to Watch that page, you'll be able to chip in when necessary. Cheers, JackyR | Talk 23:25, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
- The problem, as shown in the screen capture link above, can most likely be fixed by adding a line break tag, e.g., <br>, <br clear=all>, <br clear=left>, or <br clear=right>. Try one of the examples to see what works. I added a <br clear=all> to Template talk:Quote box. See the "before" and "after" by viewing the editing history. —QuicksilverT @ 20:09, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] A Polder in the English Channel?
Did anyone ever propose to reclaim the land under the English Channel? A land-connection between France and the UK could be of huge significance. --Maccaroni 15:57, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
- Indeed, because it would financially ruin the country foolish enough to endeavor it. Besides, it would annoy the Dutch ;o).--MWAK 09:39, 19 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] "Moat that God built"
re: the "Moat that God built" comment -- this appears to be completely spurious. Google cannot find this text anywhere but in the earlier Wikipedia article. The only allusion I can find to a moat in Shakespeare is John of Gaunt's speech from Richard II:
- This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
- This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
- This other eden, demi-paradise,
- This fortress built by nature for herself
- Against infection and the hand of war,
- This happy breed of men, this little world,
- This precious stone set in the silver sea,
- Which serves it in the office of a wall
- Or as a moat defensive to a house,
- Against the envy of less happier lands,
- This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England...
But it is 'nature' not God that is described as creating the moat. I have removed the comment from the article. If anyone want to reinstate it, can they please provide a cite to show where Shakespeare uses the phrase?
Google search for "Moat that God Built"
[edit] Mixed Units
Is there any good reason why both miles and km are used as primary units in the same sentence, it doesn't read well... "It is about 350 miles (563km) long and at its widest is 240 km (150 miles)." I have changed the primary unit to kilometres for now, i.e. "It is about 560 km long (350 miles)...", although if someone has a good reason to make the primary unit miles I'm sure that'd work too! Matt Day 12:18, 22 May, 2004 (UTC)
- Most likely because the article was edited at different times by an American and non-American. Some Americans still hang on to the forlorn notion that the world is using Imperial units, while the rest of the world, and U.S. industry, have long ago changed to SI units (Heh, heh!). In my opinion, Wikipedia articles should be written using metric units as the primary, and Imperial (parenthetically) as the secondary, if they're mentioned at all. —QuicksilverT @ 20:22, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Name
An enthusiastic German contributor has overwritten the entire entry. What's the process for creating 'other language' pages?--dgd
The English channel in Portuguese is known as "canal da Mancha" like in French, in Spanish... the same. and other languages too. Why the English people call it English Channel? Pedro 20:41, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
- Why shouldn't we call it the English Channel? I don't see why all languages should use identical terms. BTW, the Welsh call it Môr Udd. I'm not sure why-- I heard it was the corruption of the name of an ancient tribe. Marnanel 21:41, May 7, 2004 (UTC)
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- I've never eard of Welsh language. It's Strange. Normally translations are used. Is there a reason? Cause the channel could be called French Channel by the French.Pedro 22:47, 7 May 2004 (UTC)
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- I'm sure the French could call it that if they wished; they don't really need to consult the English on the matter any more than the English needed to ask the opinions of French speakers before naming the channel. I don't really see what the problem is: it seems quite reasonable to me that different communities living on opposite sides of the same sea might pick differing names.
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- As to Welsh-- it has half a million speakers and a fairly active Wikipedia (http://cy.wikipedia.org ). Drop by sometime! Marnanel 01:13, May 8, 2004 (UTC)
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- And as far as the Welsh name for the English Channel is concerned, 'Môr Udd' is pronounced something like 'More Eeth' with 'th' as in 'there', not 'thank'. 'Môr' means 'sea' (cf Latin 'mare', French 'mer', English 'marine' and 'maritime') and 'Udd' means 'lord'. So an English translation of the Welsh name is 'The Lord's Sea'.
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- But I'm English and have only a smattering of Welsh. Maybe a Welsh-speaker out there can confirm, correct or amplify as necessary.
- I've seen the Welsh wikipedia, the language is too obscure. is it widly spoken? Is the first-language of whom? Pedro 00:32, 9 May 2004 (UTC)
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- It's spoken to some degree by a little more than 20% of the population of Wales: that's about 600,000 people. Several hundred thousand of those speak it as a first language, I believe. All schools in Wales must teach it, and in many it's the primary language of instruction. There's a Welsh-language TV station and it has officially equal status with English in Wales. More information is at Welsh language. Marnanel 00:51, May 9, 2004 (UTC)
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- The Welsh language is not widely known because it had become essentially a dead language, with the exception of a few small rural communities before it was ressurected by a concerted Welsh nationalistic effort by legislation for bi-lingual schools and signs.Jameskeates 17:27, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
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- It's Engelska Kanal or a variant in the Scandinavian languages, but Ärmelkanal or similar in other Germanic languages. The isogloss would appear to pass through the Channel, across Jutland and up the Baltic; the Russian is Ла-Манш, clearly a transliteration of the French. The Celtic languages all seem to have their own names; the Cornish is Chanel, similar to the Dutch Het Kanaal, but the Breton is Mor Breizh (Breton Sea?) So it's not purely a case of English chauvinism, likely as that might seem. EdC 14:02, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Car transfer
Is there any automobile tunnel or any other transfer beneath the Channel? it seems there is only rail tunnel... --Monkbel 08:13, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
No, it's just for trains (but the two governments might build one for road vehicles). It's... Thelb4! 17:58, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
Le Shuttle is a drive-on, drive-off carriage service.
[edit] French name?
What does the French name "La Manche" directly translate to, in English? -- Mark 05:03, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
- From what I've been able to find out, the French name "La Manche" translates as "the sleeve" in English – AxSkov (T) 06:39, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
- Based on the shape of a medieval sleeve. AnonMoos 03:22, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Pas de Calais and kilometres
AxSkov has removed the French name 'Pas de Calais' claiming it does not belong here, but surely the French name for an important part of the English Channel 'shared' between Britain and France is really very relevant. Readers might want to know this information about the Channel!
And I don't understand the rationale for changing the SI abbreviation for kilometres (km) to the full word, while leaving the abbreviation mi for miles. Don't we normally use 'km' in Wikipedia articles? I am restoring these changes but leaving the other edits AxSkov made. Chris Jefferies 09:08, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
- The French name is not relevant to this article and so does not belong here. It belongs on the Strait of Dover article, and if anyone wants to know the French name they can click on the Strait of Dover link. The Strait of Dover article doesn't use "La Manche" for English Channel, as it is not relevent there either. – AxSkov (T) 09:57, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
That seems quite a strong opinion. What do others think about this? What is the balance of opinion amongst editors of this article? Chris Jefferies 11:43, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
- I added after the mention of the Strait of Dover in the intro paragraph that it's Pas de Calais to the French. It's silly to say it's "not relevant" especially because the term is commonly used; I know the term myself and can't read French at all. Tempshill 20:00, 22 September 2005 (UTC)
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- Rubbish, its not relevant to this article, Strait of Dover yes, English Channel, no. The French version is definitely NOT commonly used in English. I agree with AxSkov, if someone wants to know the French version then they can click on the Strait of Dover link to find out. Mark 04:54, 5 November 2005 (UTC)
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- As an idle UK reader I was interested to see what the French called it, so I'd vote to keep that statement if it came down to it ( I shall not, however, be watching this page). --bodnotbod 20:14, 14 October 2005 (UTC)
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- I was of the understanding that while Pas de Calais is commonly used in English, it refers predominantly to the department (in the context of holidays etc.), rather than the strait itself. EdC 14:13, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
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- I have heard Pas de Calais in English but didn't understand it to mean the Strait of Dover, more the immmediate coastal area around Calais.
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[edit] Narrowest part of the channel
Can someone establish where the channel is at its narrowest, is it:
- "being only 34 km (21 mi) from Dover to Cap Gris-Nez," as stated in this article, or
- "just 33 km wide between Dover in the county of Kent, England, and Calais in the département of Pas-de-Calais, France," as stated in the Strait of Dover article.
– AxSkov (T) 11:26, 10 July 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Prehistoric geography of the channel
Over on Talk:Human migration it's claimed that, as implied here, the Channel was not only walkable, but probably farmable. Would be nice to include some discussion of when this was the case exactly, and what's been found on the floor of the Channel, if anything. Any farmhouses down there for sale? Tempshill 19:55, 22 September 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Exact limits of the Channel
Officially, as far as the French are concerned, The English Channel ends at Cap Gris-Nez, which would tend to put the "Channel Tunnel" in the North Sea. Does anyone have any certain info concerning the limits on the English coastline?
[edit] See alsos
I've taken out automatic and English Canal from the see alsos because I can't see why they are relevant. If I'm missing something then don't hesitate to put them back. Mucky Duck 09:01, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] French Name
Why is this mentioned? Yes the french don't like the English name but have had no part in defining the English language. Can anyone come up with a reference using the French term or its English translation use in normal language? josh (talk) 22:48, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
- Danube mentions the local name of the river in the states it flows through; as do Rhine, Elbe, Oder River and probably others. Mediterranean Sea gives some local names; as do Baltic Sea, Archipelago Sea, North Sea and so on. The Manche name is used by some cross-border bodies: University of the Transmanche, Transmanche Ferries, and widely used to refer to the Cross-Channel Euroregion. I really can't see a problem. Man vyi 06:02, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] David Walliams
Is David Walliams' crossing really of encyclopaedaic importance? Worthy as the charity is is it it appropriate to advertise it here? Gerry Lynch 11:44, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
- I question it too. Widefox 22:50, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Table
I think that the big table about notable channel crossings looks not so good. I would suggest writing it as an article section instead of a table? Anyone agrees? --¿¡Exir Kamalabadi?!Join Esperanza! 13:09, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Fastest ever crossing by any vessel
I can't find any information on Google about the fastest crossing in a speedboat. I would guess a time of about 15 minutes. Anthony717 17:05, 15 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Shipwrecks
I've just watched a programme called "Journeys to the Bottom of the Sea: The Mystery of the M1" which stated that the English Channel has more shipwrecks per square mile than any other body of water. Can anyone find a source to support this statement so we can add it to the article? Ninja-lewis 18:15, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] The swimming section...
...is a mess:
- There's no explanation of why the Channel Swimming Association was dissolved in 1999 and replaced by the two new bodies;
- There's inconsistent capitalisation in phrases such as "Channel Swimming". I can't see why the word "Swim[ming]" should be capitalised other than in names of organisations, any more than "Cross-Country Running" would be correct;
- It's mentioned that the "King of the Channel" title is disputed, but then we get "The "King of the Channel" title is held by Kevin Murphy..." with no qualification;
- The last part, giving the various totals, is very unclear and for example does not explain what "ratified" means (by whom? When? Who accepts this?)
- For goodness' sake put in some subsection headings!
And so on and so forth... 81.153.110.14 04:32, 22 December 2006 (UTC)
