British Isles naming dispute "British-Irish Isles" and the Islands of the North Atlantic. In documents drawn up jointly between the British and Irish governments, the archipelago is referred to simply as "these islands". To some, the dispute is partly semantic, and the term is a value-free geographic one, while, to others, it is a value-laden political one. The Crown dependencies of the Channel Islands may also for geo-political reasons be included in the British Isles, despite not being geographically part of the archipelago. United Kingdom law uses the term British Islands to refer to the UK, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man as a
British Isles the island called Great Britain. The earliest known use of the phrase "Brytish Iles" in the English language is dated 1577 in a work by John Dee. Today, this name is seen by some as carrying imperialist overtones although it is still commonly used. Other names used to describe the islands include the "Anglo-Celtic Isles", "Atlantic archipelago", "British-Irish Isles", "Britain and Ireland", "UK and Ireland", and "British Isles and Ireland". Owing to political and national associations with the word "British", the Government of Ireland does not use the term "British Isles" and in documents drawn up jointly between the British