The predominant language that will come to the mind of people in a discussion about the languages of the UK (United Kingdom) will definitely be English. Out of the over 66 million residents of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; the stats show that over 98% of them speak the Queen’s language.
This country is rated as the joint third most likely country in Europe unlikely to speak a foreign language. Only 31% of the population as of this day speaks a second language in the UK. The British royal family speaks French and German. Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Prince William are fluent in both French and German.
Despite all the odds, other indigenous languages of the UK are still thriving and it shall be our focus as you read through this article. The location of the country and its long association with colonialism has opened up the UK to a number of languages and dialects that have shaped the language culture of the country.
Let us take a look at some of the languages of the UK that are spoken today.
English
Available stats show that the population that speaks English in the UK is 58 million people. There is no law existing that makes it English the official language but it is the de-facto language because it is understood by the majority and it is used in official quarters in the UK.
This language is most strongly represented in England. On getting to Northern Scotland and Wales; you are going to come across the minority languages of the UK.
The Indigenous Languages of the UK
English was not the predominant language of the UK from its inception. The French language was the lord over all other languages after the Norman Invasion of 1066, and English was relegated to the background.
The French and Germanic languages had a field day during this point in time; however, before their arrival, there are records that some languages actually were in existence. We shall take a look at these indigenous languages of the UK one after the other:
Scots Language
After the English language, the most popular language in the UK is Scots. This language is spoken in Scotland and it is strongly influenced by the English language. It is spoken by over 1.5 million people and is often referred to as a dialect of English instead of a language on its own. The Scots language is strongly retrained because it contributes to the national identity of Scottish citizens.
Welsh language
Welsh is the second most popular indigenous language of the UK after Scots and it is spoken by over 560,000 people. This is the only language in the UK that has a legal status. A series of laws made over the last three decades has conferred Welsh equal status with the English language.
All public service signs are in both English and Welsh. This language is facing the serious challenge of going into extinction because only 19% of the population speaks the language. However, it is believed that the laws in favor of the language will stem the tide in its favor.
Other Indigenous Languages
There is some other minor indigenous language that is spoken in the UK today. There is the Angloromani dialect which has over 90,000 speakers. Then the Scottish Gaelic dialect has an estimated 87,000 speakers. The Shelta dialect has an estimated 16,700 native speakers. There is Irish language that has 5,730 Irish speakers. There are about 600 people who are proud speakers of the Cornish dialect.
Top 10 Immigrant Languages of the UK
When we are talking about languages that are been spoken in the UK, mention must be made of the immigrant languages that are spoken there as of today. The colonial record of the UK opened the door to several immigrants who came to the UK, particularly from India and Pakistan. This accounts for the number of immigrant languages that are spoken in the UK today.
The Polish Language
Polish is the biggest immigrant language in the UK. There are more than 546,000 speakers of the language in the UK. When Poland joined the EU in the year 2004, the UK borders were opened to her citizens and this accounted for a large number of citizens who migrated to the country with their language. The trend slightly changed with the coming on of Bret exit.
The next set of indigenous languages that are pronounced in the UK today are from the Indian and Pakistani axis. This is so due to the presence of England in India during the 19th and 20th centuries. The languages that are connected to this region are listed (Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati) in the table with the estimated number of speakers.
| Immigrant Language | Estimated Number of Speakers |
|---|---|
| Polish | 546,000 |
| Punjabi | 273,321 |
| Urdu | 268,680 |
| Bengali | 221,403 |
| Gujarati | 213,094 |
| Arabic | 159,290 |
| French | 147,099 |
| Chinese Languages | 141,052 |
| Portuguese | 133,453 |
| Spanish | 120,222 |
The Influence of The Immigrant Languages
Like how globalisation influenced the growth of the English language, the immigrant languages have a way of influencing the English that is spoken in England. Polish for instance is seen to have an overbearing influence on the English spoken in the UK.
The influence of these foreign languages will continue to have a pronounced impact on spoken English in the UK because of the stats that are in support the fact that 13% of UK citizens are born out of the UK. There are over a million households that do have residents whose primary language is English; this can be used to safely predict that the English that they speak in the UK will continue to change over time.
Conclusion
There is more to the language spoken in the UK than English contrary to the views of several people out there. The rich cultural heritage of the UK is a clear reflection of the languages that are spoken in the United Kingdom today. The influence of these languages over each other will continue to wax stronger than what we have today. A similar trend can be observed in the United States of America, a place of a diverse cultures of several world nations.
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