Let’s look at some facts about United Kingdom. England, which is a part of the United Kingdom, shares land borders with Scotland, to the north, and Wales, to the west. The Irish Sea lies north west of England, while the Celtic Sea lies to the south west. With all of these countries lumped together, one would think bilingualism runs rampant. But does it?
Quick Facts About The United Kingdom
Population: ~63 Million People
Language Facts About United Kingdom: British English (not to be confused with American English!) is obviously the most commonly spoken language. However, other languages are prevalent as well: Welsh, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Punjabi, Urdu. Polish is the most popular non-English language with about 1% of the total population reporting Polish as another ‘main language’ in England.
Welsh is also prevalent with about 600,000 speakers as well. Jonathan from dadsthewayilikeit shared that in areas, such as northern Wales, many people are bilingual and speak Welsh and English on a daily basis.
Bilingual Facts About United Kingdom: While generally thought of as a monolingual society, with 92% or so of the British reporting English as their main language, bilingualism is on the rise thanks to new legislation what was recently passed. (see more: Foreign Languages Will Be Compulsory In England In 2014)
Fun Facts About United Kingdom:
- French was the official language of England from 1066 until about 1362. Just under 300 years of Francais for the now British English speakers!
- British police do not carry guns except for in emergencies! (this blows my mind)
Oh England, You’re So Not One Of The Most Bilingual Countries
While England is making strides to become more of a powerhouse in the bilingual countries sphere, they are currently losing quite handily. Even the United States has about 20% of the population claiming to be bilingual. England, hovering around 7%, has some work to do.
However, as I stated earlier, with the new foreign language law taking effect in 2014, the next generation of little British brainiacs will most definitely be able to add language learner extraordinaire to their resume. To England’s credit, they are realizing the value that bilingualism will play in the future and they are taking action! Good for them.
While England as a country isn’t the most bilingual, the capital of London is a very international city. About 75% of the Yiddish speakers in England live in the borough of Hackney in London. These bilingual boroughs do exist throughout the city and offer great diversity in food, language, and culture. Language practice in London should be easy to find. While England may not be one of the most bilingual countries, in certain areas you can find speakers of basically any language you can think of.
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