For a relatively small sized country the UK has a pretty impressive wealth of different languages.

Whilst English is the common language used across the British Isles, the Welsh are officialy a bilingual nation, meaning that all official documents, literature and public information signs and roadsigns must be displayed in both English and Welsh.

Northern Ireland and Scotland also have a diverse linguistic history which is seen in the everyday use of Gaelic (both Irish Gaelic and Scots Gaelic, which both differ from eachother) as-well as English.

You will also find another langugae in use in Scotland called Scots, which although sharing many similarities and deriving itself mostly from English, is widely classed as an authentic and separate language in its own right.

But even within these individual countries you will still find that different areas have their own heavy accents with so many expressions and slang words that, to the untrained ear, they may even sound like a completely different language altogether.

This is all part of the wealth of sounds and culture that goes towards making the UK such an interesting place to visit and explore, with the historical stories behind the different regions linguistic developments often as fascinating as the region itself.

Immigrant Languages

Recent history has seen a huge increase in immigration to the UK and this has brought with it a host of different languages being spoken on the streets of Britain’s towns and cities. Walk through parts of North London and the dominant language spoken by many shopkeepers and customers could be Greek or Turkish, and if you take a trip up to Bradford, in the north of the county, you will hear languages as exotic as Urdu and Pashto.

This wide use of different languages has created a big debate in the UK. As part of the UK’s policy of multiculturalism, local government policy is to translate signs and literature into different languages, to reflect the diversity of the local area, but many people feel that the huge amount of money being spent on translation services would be more effective if it was used to provide English lessons.

In fact official estimates put the number of different languages being used significantly and on a daily basis in communities across the UK to be at around 35, so you can see how much money must get spent each year on translation services. A lot of people are now coming to the view that by not encouraging people to learn English it creates a more divided society.

But the UK has historically prided itself on being a liberal country that encourages diversity, and many other people argue that taking away translation services, effectively forcing people to learn English, goes against the UK’s traditional stance. This is a debate which many people across the UK continue to have.

But the majority of the UK can be divided into 2 broad types of native language; these are Anglic (or Anglicised) languages and Gaelic ones. Anglic is a term which can be used to describe languages that are associated with English, so while they may sound quite distinct, if you have not heard them before, they are actually rooted in English.

Gaelic is the term given to languages that you may hear described as ‘Celtic’ languages, these are found in traditionally non-English regions, predominantly Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Irish and Cornish, they are also linked with other Gaelic languages in northern Europe, such as Breton in France. Although not used in any official legal or political capacity outside of Wales (see above) they are an important part of the local culture for many people in the UK.

This is demonstarted by the high volume of local television and radio stations broadcasting in these languages, and you will find many public signs written in both English and Gaelic in Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland.

Anglic is more closely associated with the dominant European languages of Latin, German and French, and an Anglic language is basically a derivative of English. You find that this term is most commonly used in the lowlands of Scotland were close contact with the English lead to a language developing known as Scots, known as Ulster Scots in Northern Ireland. As a general rule, the further you go into the Highlands of Scotland the less Anglicised the language becomes.

But nowadays things are changing because of the high levels of migration and the dominance of television in people’s lives, leading to regional dialects and accents being worn down with each successive generation. In the 1940s the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) took a sample recording of different peoples across the UK, to play them back today shows just how much a (for example) Cornish fisherman’s accent has softened compared to his grandfather’s.

You may have heard of a language that is spoken in London called ‘cockney’ this is actually short for ‘cockney rhyming slang’ and is rarely used by anyone in the East End of London these days. It is however still used a lot in the broader English culture, particulalry in the very popular genre of British gangster films that continue to be made in the UK.

 An example of this is saying ‘whistle’ to describe the word ‘suit’ (whistle and flute) or ‘butchers’ to describe ‘look’ (butcher’s hook) however do not be fooled into thinking that this is a widely accepted way of communicating in London, it is more commonly used as a bit of fun amongst friends.

To be listed here click

USEFUL WORDS

bilingual = able to use two languages equally well
fluent = able to speak, read or write a language easily and well
dialect = the form of a language that is spoken in one area of the country that may be different from other forms of the language
regional accent = a way of pronouncing the words of a language which differs depending on the area of the country

Wales – Welsh
Scotland – Gaelic
Ireland – Irish
Cornwall – Cornish
British Sign Language = the language used by deaf people in the UK

FOREIGN WORDS & PHRASES USED IN ENGLISH

French
He was very excited when his first book was published, but now, having written over 30, he’s fairly blasé about it.
She chooses her clothes, hair-style and make-up so that she is in the latest fashion.  She always looks very chic.
If we take Charles out to dinner, we must choose a very good restaurant.  He’s a gourmet.

Spanish
No, our house hasn’t got a proper garden, just a paved patio.
A man who is very hard, tough and masculine is sometimes described as ‘macho’.
After lunch I like to have a siesta for an hour or so.

German
My television’s kaput.  I’ll have to buy a new one.
At the age of three she went to a kindergarten just to learn to play with other children.
My garden was looking very overgrown and neglected so I had a real blitz on it last weekend.  I worked all day.

Italian
A week after the wall was repainted it was covered in graffiti again.
He didn’t want to be recognised so he changed his appearance and travelled incognito.

Chinese
When the Prime Minister comes just be polite and formal.  There’s no need to kowtow to him.

Latin
Some people just want to preserve the status quo in this country, but others want change, reform and development.
Duty free goods may only be purchased by bona fide travellers.  Please show your flight-ticket when buying.