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The United Kingdom does not have a constitutionally defined official language. English is the main language (being spoken monolingually by roughly 95% of the UK population) and is thus the de facto official language. Statistics Complication arises from language ability. Some low ability learners/users record themselves as speakers of various languages, while some who are (near-)fluent may choose not to, due to the stigma attached to some minority languages. Wales According to the 2001 census, Welsh is spoken by about 20% of the population of Wales, giving it around 600,000 speakers. However, there is some controversy over the actual number who speak Welsh. Some statistics choose to include people who have studied Welsh to at least GCSE standard, not all of whom could be regarded as fluent speakers of the language. Unlike Scottish Gaelic, which is sometimes viewed as a regional language even in Scotland itself, Welsh has long been strongly associated with nationalism. This phenomenon, also seen with other minoritised languages outside the UK, makes it harder to establish an accurate and unbiased figure for how many people speak it fluently. Furthermore, no question about Welsh-language ability was asked in the 2001 census outside Wales, thereby ignoring a considerable population of Welsh speakers - particularly concentrated in neighbouring English counties and in London. Scotland
Northern Ireland In Northern Ireland, about 7% of the population speak Irish Gaelic according to the 2001 census (around 110,000 speakers) and 2% regional forms of Scots according to the 1999 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (around 30,000 speakers). Alongside British Sign Language, Irish Sign Language is also used. Cornwall Cornish is spoken by roughly 3,500 people (about 0.6% of the population of Cornwall), as a result of recent revival. Before that, it died out: see Dolly Pentreath. British Sign Language British Sign Language is understood by less than 0.1% of the total population of the UK. Status Certain nations and regions of the UK have frameworks for the promotion of their autochthonous languages. The UK government has ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of: Under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (which is not legally enforceable, but which requires states to adopt appropriate legal provision for the use of regional and minority languages) the UK government has committed itself to the recognition of certain regional languages and the promotion of certain linguistic traditions. The UK has ratified for the higher level of protection (Section III) provided for by the Charter in respect of Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish. Cornish, Scots in Scotland and Northern Ireland (in the latter territory officially known as Ulster Scots or Ullans, but in the speech of users simply as Scotch or Scots) are protected by the lower level only (Section II). The UK government has also recognised British Sign Language as a language in its own right of the United Kingdom. A number of bodies have been established to oversee the promotion of the regional languages: in Scotland, Bòrd na Gàidhlig oversees Scottish Gaelic. Foras na Gaeilge has an all-Ireland remit as a cross-border language body, and Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch is intended to fulfil a similar function for Ulster Scots, although hitherto it has mainly concerned itself with culture. In Wales, the Welsh Language Board (Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg) has a statutory role in agreeing Welsh language plans with official bodies. Kesva an Taves Kernewek, the Cornish Language Board, has local government involvement but does not enjoy statutory status. Language vs dialect There are no universally accepted criteria for distinguishing languages from dialects, although a number of paradigms exist, which render sometimes contradictory results. The exact distinction is therefore a subjective one, dependent on the user's frame of reference. (See Dialect) Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic are generally viewed as being languages in their own right rather than dialects of a single tongue but are sometimes mutually intelligible to a limited degree - especially between southern dialects of Scottish Gaelic and northern dialects of Irish (programmes in each form of Gaelic are broadcast on BBC Radio nan Gaidheal and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta), but the relationship of Scots and English is less clear, since there is usually partial mutual intelligibility. Since there is a high level of mutual intelligibility between contemporary speakers of Scots in Scotland and Ulster (Ulster Scots), and a common written form was current well into the 20th century, the two varieties have usually been considered as dialects of a single tongue rather than languages in their own right. The government of the United Kingdom "recognises that Scots and Ulster Scots meet the Charter's definition of a regional or minority language". Whether this implies recognition of one regional or minority language or two is a question of interpretation. Ulster Scots is defined in legislation (The North/South Co-operation (Implementation Bodies) Northern Ireland Order 1999) as: the variety of the Scots language which has traditionally been used in parts of Northern Ireland and in Donegal in Ireland . Notwithstanding legal definitions, Scots and Ulster Scots are considered dialects of English by some. While in continental Europe closely related languages and dialects may get official recognition and support, in the UK there is a tendency to view closely related vernaculars as a single language. Even British Sign Language is mistakenly thought of as a form of 'English' by some, rather than being language in its own right, with a distinct grammar and vocabulary. The boundaries not always being clear cut can lead to problems in estimating numbers of speakers. Hostility In Northern Ireland, the use of Irish Gaelic and Ulster Scots is sometimes politically loaded, despite both having been used by all communities in the past; according to the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey 1999, the ratio of Unionist to Nationalist users of Ulster Scots is 2:1. Also, some resent Scottish Gaelic being promoted in the Lowlands, although it was once spoken in the majority of Scotland, an exception being the extreme south-east of the country, which was annexed from the Northumbrian earldom. Two areas with mostly Norse-derived placenames (and some Pictish), the Northern Isles (Shetland and Orkney) were ceded to Scotland in lieu of an unpaid dowry in 1472, and never spoke Gaelic; its traditional vernacular Norn, a derivative of Old Norse mutually intelligible with Icelandic and Faroese, died out in the 18th century after large-scale immigration by Lowland Scots speakers. To this day, many Shetlanders and Orcadians maintain a separate identity, albeit through the Shetlandic and Orcadian dialects of Lowland Scots, rather than their former national tongue. Norn was also spoken at one point in Caithness, and possibly the Western Isles, apparently dying out much earlier than Shetland and Orkney. However, Gaelic replaced Norn entirely in the Western Isles; to what degree this happened in Caithness is a matter of controversy, although it was spoken in parts of the county until the 20th century. Non-recognition Scots within Scotland and the regional varieties of English within England receive little or no public support, and are often used for comedic purposes in British media. The dialects of Northern England share some features with Scots that those of Southern England do not. Public funding of minority languages continues to produce mixed reactions, and there is sometimes resistance to their teaching in schools. Partly as a result, proficiency in languages other than "Standard" English can vary widely. Cornish The status of Cornish is also highly controversial. For example, it is commonly claimed in literature to be dead. Or that the entire body of speakers are "learners", or are mostly of low proficiency. Certainly, a number of children are being brought up to speak the language, and their Cornish may be viewed as being analogous to the position of speakers of the revived form of Hebrew. Cornish has also had problems with factionalism, which has led to some infighting. There is some public resistance to Cornish as a dead language, something which also affects minority languages in areas they are no longer commonly spoken. Germanic Celtic languages Other Indo-European Sign languages Immigrant Communities migrating to the UK in recent decades have brought many more languages to the country. Surveys started in 1979 by the Inner London Education Authority discovered over 100 languages being spoken domestically by the families of the inner city's school children. Among the more widespread languages spoken are: Historic Historic (hypothesised) Some UK placenames (e.g. Tardebigge) show evidence of a pre-Indo-European language. Other official languages Norman French is still used in the Houses of Parliament for certain official business between the clerks of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and on other official occasions such as the dissolution of Parliament. Languages of Channel Islands and Isle of Man The Channel Islands and Isle of Man are not part of the UK, but are closely associated with it. Their languages are recognised as regional languages by the British and Irish governments within the framework of the British-Irish Council. The Sercquiais (Sark) dialect is descended from Jèrriais, but is not recognised under this framework. Auregnais, the dialect of Alderney, is now extinct. See also | |||||||||
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