View source for Languages of the United Kingdom

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use British English|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox country languages
| country = the United Kingdom
|image=File:Multilingual "Do not feed the birds" sign on canal bridge - geograph.org.uk - 2726682.jpg
|caption=Multilingual sign in London
| main = [[English language|English]] (98%;<ref name=EnglishCensus>According to the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]], 53,098,301 people in England and Wales, 5,044,683 people in Scotland, and 1,681,210 people in Northern Ireland can speak English "well" or "very well"; totalling 59,824,194. Therefore, out of the 60,815,385 residents of the UK over the age of three, 98% claim they can speak English "well" or "very well".</ref> [[national language|national]] and ''de facto'' [[official language|official]]){{ref label|a|a}}<ref name=bbclang>{{cite web|title=United Kingdom|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/uk.shtml|work=Languages Across Europe|publisher=BBC|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=2 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102173300/http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/uk.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=keyfacts>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/YearbookHomeInternal/139560/|title=United Kingdom; Key Facts|publisher=Commonwealth Secretariat|access-date=23 April 2008|archive-date=23 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123200616/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/YearbookHomeInternal/139560/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= "direct.gov.uk" >{{cite web|title=English language|url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_10012519|work=Directgov|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121015000000/http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_10012519|archive-date=15 October 2012}}</ref>
| regional =
| minority = UK Wide:<br>[[Scots language|Scots]]&nbsp;(2.23%) (2022),<ref name=SCOTSCENSUS2022>Scots - Languages - gov.scot. Out of the 67.6 million residents of the UK over the age of three, 1,508,540 (2.23%) can speak Scots, [http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ethnicity-identity-language-and-religion link].</ref> [[Welsh language|Welsh]]&nbsp;(0.9%) (2021),<ref>The usual resident population of England and Wales was 59,597,300 on Census Day, 21 March 2021, and 538,300 said they could speak Welsh [https://www.welshlanguagecommissioner.wales/policy-and-research/research/2021-census 2021 Census] from the Welsh Language Commisioner's website</ref> [[Cornish language|Cornish]] &nbsp;(<0.01% [[Second language|L2]]),<ref>{{cite web|title=Language in England and Wales: 2011|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/articles/languageinenglandandwales/2013-03-04|access-date=10 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The rebirth of Britain's 'lost' languages|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180412-the-rebirth-of-britains-lost-languages|access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hurn |first=Brian J. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/844188225 |title=Cross-cultural communication: theory and practice |date=2013 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |others=Barry Tomalin |isbn=978-0-230-39114-7 |location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire |pages=65 |oclc=844188225}}</ref> {{nowrap|[[Scottish Gaelic]],}} [[Irish language in Northern Ireland|Irish]],{{ref label|a|a}} {{nowrap|[[Ulster Scots dialects|Ulster Scots]] (0.05%),<ref name=ulsterscots>{{cite web|last=Anorak|first=Scots|title=Ulster Scots in the Northern Ireland Census|url=http://www.scotslanguage.com/Ulster_Scots_in_the_Northern_Ireland_Census|work=Scots Language Centre|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504004637/http://www.scotslanguage.com/Ulster_Scots_in_the_Northern_Ireland_Census|url-status=live}}</ref>}} [[Angloromani]], [[Beurla Reagaird]], [[Shelta]]
| immigrant = [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Urdu in the UK|Urdu]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Arabic]], [[French language|French]], [[Varieties of Chinese|Chinese]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]]<ref name= "auto" >{{cite web|title=2011 Census: Quick Statistics|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-and-quick-statistics-for-wards-and-output-areas-in-england-and-wales/STB-2011-census--quick-statistics-for-england-and-wales--march-2011.html#tab-Main-language|access-date=17 May 2014|archive-date=25 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140825050733/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-and-quick-statistics-for-wards-and-output-areas-in-england-and-wales/STB-2011-census--quick-statistics-for-england-and-wales--march-2011.html#tab-Main-language|url-status=live}}</ref><!--NOTE: List limited to those with 100,000+ speakers resident in the UK-->| sign = {{nowrap|[[British Sign Language]]}},&nbsp;(0.002%){{ref label|c|c}}<ref>{{cite web |title=BSL Statistics |url=http://signlanguageweek.org.uk/bsl-statistics |website=Sign Language Week |publisher=British Deaf Association |access-date=5 February 2021 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415125725/http://signlanguageweek.org.uk/bsl-statistics |url-status=live }}</ref> {{nowrap|[[Irish Sign Language]]}}, {{nowrap|[[Manually coded English#In the United Kingdom|Signed English]]}}, {{nowrap|[[Northern Ireland Sign Language]]}}
| keyboard = British [[QWERTY]]
| keyboard image = [[File:KB United Kingdom.svg|200px]]
| extra = <div style= "text-align: left; font-size:11px;" >a.{{note|a}} Statistics indicate respondents who can speak at least "well".<br>b.{{note|b}} Statistics indicate respondents with at least basic ability.<br>c.{{note|c}} Statistics undertaken with assumptions and large disparities between home countries.</div>
}}
{{Culture of the United Kingdom}}

[[English language|English]] is the most widely spoken and [[De facto|''de facto'']] official [[language]] of the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Toponymic guidelines for map and other editors, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/toponymic-guidelines/toponymic-guidelines-for-map-and-other-editors-united-kingdom-of-great-britain-and-northern-ireland--2 |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> A number of regional and migrant languages are also spoken. Regional English variant languages are [[Scots language|Scots]] and [[Ulster Scots dialect|Ulster Scots]]; indigenous [[Celtic languages]] are [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Scottish Gaelic]] and [[Welsh language|Welsh]]. There are many non-native languages spoken by immigrants, including Polish, Punjabi, and Urdu. [[British Sign Language]] is sometimes used as well as liturgical and hobby languages such as [[Latin]] and a revived form of [[Cornish language|Cornish]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Language in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/articles/languageinenglandandwales/2013-03-04|access-date=2020-07-23|website=www.ons.gov.uk|archive-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107032913/https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/articles/languageinenglandandwales/2013-03-04|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Mac Síthigh |first=Daithí |date=March 2018 |title=Official status of languages in the United Kingdom and Ireland |journal=Common Law World Review |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages= 77–102|doi= 10.1177/1473779518773642}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Dunbar |first=R |author-link= |url= |title=Diversity in addressing diversity: Canadian and British legislative approaches to linguistic minorities and their international legal context. In: Williams C (ed) ''Language and Governance'' |publisher=University of Wales Press |year=2007 |isbn= |location=Cardiff |page=104}}</ref>

Welsh is a [[De jure|''de jure'']] official language under the [[Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011]] in [[Wales]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/mwa/2011/1/section/1/enacted |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426012700/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/mwa/2011/1/section/1/enacted |archive-date=26 April 2016 |access-date=30 May 2016 |work=[[legislation.gov.uk]] |publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=11 February 2011 |title=Welsh Language Measure receives Royal Assent |url=http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/welshlanguage/2011/110211welshlang/?lang=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922140142/http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/welshlanguage/2011/110211welshlang/?lang=en |archive-date=22 September 2013 |access-date=21 November 2013 |work=Welsh Government |df=dmy}}</ref> Additionally, Welsh is the only ''de jure'' official language in any part of the United Kingdom. Welsh is spoken by 538,300 people in Wales according to the [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 census]],<ref name= ":0" >{{Cite web |date=6 December 2022 |title=Welsh language in Wales (Census 2021) |url=https://gov.wales/welsh-language-wales-census-2021-html |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=GOV.WALES |language=en}}</ref> though data from the [[Annual Population Survey]] shows that 28%, or roughly 862,700 people, of Wales' population aged three and over were able to speak the language in March 2024.<ref name= "APSDataMarch24" >{{cite web |title=Welsh language data from the Annual Population Survey: April 2023 to March 2024 |url=https://www.gov.wales/welsh-language-data-annual-population-survey-april-2023-march-2024-html |access-date=11 August 2024 |website=Welsh language data from the Annual Population Survey: April 2023 to March 2024 |date=27 June 2024 |publisher=[[Welsh Government]]}}</ref> Additionally, 32.5% (1,001,500) reported that they could understand spoken Welsh, 24.7% (759,200) could read and 22.2% (684,500) could write in Welsh.<ref name= "APSDataMarch24" />

Approximately 124,000 people speak [[Irish language|Irish]] in [[Northern Ireland]], which is an official language in Northern Ireland alongside English.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-10-26 |title=Irish language and Ulster Scots bill clears final hurdle in Parliament |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-63402597 |access-date=2022-10-27}}</ref>

==List of languages and dialects==

===Living===
The table below outlines living indigenous languages of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). The languages of the [[Crown Dependencies]] (the [[Channel Islands]] and the [[Isle of Man]]) are not included here.

{| class= "wikitable sortable"
! Language
! Type
! Spoken in
! Numbers of speakers in the UK
|-
| [[British English|English]]
| [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] ([[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]])
| Throughout the United Kingdom
|
* UK (2021 data): 91.1% (52.6 million) of usual residents, aged three years and over, had English (English or Welsh in Wales) as a main language (down from 92.3%, or 49.8 million, in 2011)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Language, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/bulletins/languageenglandandwales/census2021 |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>
|-
| [[Scots language|Scots]] ([[Ulster Scots dialects|Ulster Scots]] in Northern Ireland)
| [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] ([[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]])
| Scotland ([[Scottish Lowlands]], [[Caithness]], [[Northern Isles]]) and [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]]<br>Northern Ireland (Counties [[County Down|Down]], [[County Antrim|Antrim]], [[County Londonderry|Londonderry]])
|
* UK (2022 data): 2.23%
* [[Scotland]]: 27.74%, or 1,508,540 Scots speakers (Scottish Census Data 2022)<ref name= "census22" >{{Cite web |title=Scots |url=http://www.gov.scot/policies/languages/scots/ |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=Scottish Government |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Welsh language|Welsh]]
| [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] ([[Brythonic languages|Brythonic]])
| Wales (especially west and north) and parts of England near the [[Wales–England border|Welsh–English border]]<br>Welsh communities in major English cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
|
*UK (2021 data): 0.90%
*[[Wales]] (2021 data): 17.8%;<ref name= ":0" /> 538,300 people according to the [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 census]]; an estimation of 862,700 people, or 28%, of Wales' population aged three and over were able to speak the language in March 2024.<ref name= ":0" />{{ref|d}}
|-
| [[British Sign Language]]
| [[BANZSL]]
| Throughout the United Kingdom
| 77,000; (2014 data)<ref>{{Cite web |title=British Sign Language (BSL) |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/bfi/}}</ref>
|-
| [[Irish language in Northern Ireland|Irish]]
| [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] ([[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]])
| Northern Ireland, with communities in Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, London etc.
|
* [[Northern Ireland]]: 71,872 (2021 census data)
|-
| [[Angloromani language|Angloromani]]
| [[Mixed language|Mixed]]
| Spoken by English Romanichal Traveller communities in England, Scotland and Wales
| 90,000<ref>{{cite web|title=Angloromani|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/rme|work=Ethnologue|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=15 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515231811/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/rme|url-status=live}}</ref> (1990 data)
|-
| [[Scottish Gaelic]]
| [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] ([[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]])
| Scotland ([[Scottish Highlands]] and [[Hebrides]] with substantial minorities in various Scottish cities)<br>A small community in London
|
* UK (2022 data): 0.20%
* [[Scotland]] (2022 data): 135,915, or 2.5%, of the Scottish population at the time of Scotland's 2022 census<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion/#section7 |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=Scotland's Census |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Nova Scotia]]: 1,300 fluent in [[Nova Scotia]]<ref>Statistics Canada, [http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs‑enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E ''Nova Scotia (Code 12)''] (table), ''National Household Survey (NHS) Profile'', 2011 NHS, Catalogue No. 99‑004‑XWE (Ottawa: 2013‑06‑26)</ref>
|-
| [[Cornish language|Cornish]]
| [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] ([[Brythonic languages|Brythonic]])
| [[Cornwall]] (even smaller minorities of speakers in Plymouth, London, and South Wales)
|
* UK (2022 data): 567 people noted that they could speak Cornish in 2021 UK Census, or 0.00083%<ref>{{Cite web |author-link=Council of Europe |date=3 August 2023 |title=EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES |url=https://rm.coe.int/ukpr6-en/1680ac30bb}}</ref>
* [[Cornwall]] (2021 data): Of a population of 570,300 during the 2021 UK Census,<ref>{{Cite web |title=How life has changed in Cornwall: Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censusareachanges/E06000052/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=sveltekit-prerender |language=en}}</ref> 567 people noted that they could speak Cornish, or 0.099% of the population of Cornwall
|-
| [[Shelta]]
| [[Mixed language|Mixed]]
| Spoken by [[Irish Traveller]] communities throughout the United Kingdom
|Est. 30,000 in UK. Fewer than 86,000 worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=sth |title=Shelta |publisher=Ethnologue |date=19 February 1999 |access-date=18 August 2013 |archive-date=29 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629003323/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=sth |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| [[Irish Sign Language]]
| [[French Sign Language family|Francosign]]
| Northern Ireland
| Unknown
|-
| [[Northern Ireland Sign Language]]
| [[BANZSL]]
| Northern Ireland
| Unknown
|}

====Anglic====
{{Further|Anglic languages}}
[[File:Street sign, Ballywalter - geograph.org.uk - 344056.jpg|thumb|Street sign in [[Ballywalter]], [[Northern Ireland]], in [[British English|English]] and [[Ulster Scots language|Ulster Scots]]]]
*[[British English]]
**[[English language in England|English English]] (as spoken in England)
***[[Northern England English|Northern English]]
****[[Cheshire dialect]]
****[[Cumbrian dialect|Cumbrian]]
****[[Northumbrian dialect|Northumbrian]]
****[[Geordie]] (of [[Newcastle-upon-Tyne]] and surrounding area)
****[[Lancashire dialect and accent|Lancastrian]] ([[Lancashire]], northern parts of [[Greater Manchester]], eastern parts of [[Merseyside]] and surrounding area)
****[[Mackem]] (of [[City of Sunderland|Sunderland]] and surrounding area)
****[[Manchester dialect|Mancunian]] ([[Greater Manchester]], [[Cheshire East]] and surrounding area)
****[[Yorkshire dialect|Yorkshire/Tyke]]
****[[Scouse]] ([[Liverpool]] and other parts of [[Merseyside]], [[Cheshire West]], parts of [[North Wales]] and surrounding area)
***[[East Midlands English]]
***[[West Midlands English]]
**** [[Black Country English|Black Country]] (of [[Dudley]], [[Wolverhampton]], [[Walsall]] and [[Sandwell]])
**** [[Brummie dialect|Brummie]] (spoken in [[Birmingham]])
**** [[Potteries dialect|Potteries]] (North Staffordshire, centred on [[Stoke on Trent]])
***[[Southern English English]]
****[[East Anglian English|East Anglian]]
****[[Estuary English]]
****London
*****[[Cockney]]
*****[[Multicultural London English]]
****[[West Country dialects]] (Bristol, Devon, Dorset, Somerset; also parts of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Herefordshire)
*****[[Anglo-Cornish|Cornish English]]
**[[Scottish English]]
***[[Highland English]]
**[[Welsh English]]
***[[Cardiff dialect]] (additional varieties of which spoken throughout South Wales)
**[[Hiberno English]]
***[[Mid Ulster English|Ulster English]]
**[[Signing Exact English|Sign Supported English]] (a sign language based on English, not BSL)
*[[Scots language|Scots]]<ref name= "conventions.coe.int" >{{cite web|title=List of declarations made with respect to treaty No. 148|url=http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG&VL=1|work=European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|publisher=Council of Europe|access-date=21 November 2013|quote=The United Kingdom declares, in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Charter that it recognises that Scots and Ulster Scots meet the Charter's definition of a regional or minority language for the purposes of Part II of the Charter.|archive-date=22 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622194011/http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148|url-status=live}}</ref>
**[[Insular Scots]]
***[[Shetland dialect]]
***[[Orcadian dialect|Orcadian]]
**[[Northern Scots]]
***[[Doric dialect (Scotland)|Doric]]
**[[Central Scots]]
***[[Glasgow patter|Glaswegian]]
**[[Southern Scots]]
**[[Ulster Scots language|Ulster Scots]]<ref name= "conventions.coe.int" />

====Insular Celtic====
{{Further|Insular Celtic languages}}

*[[Brythonic languages]]
**[[Western Brittonic languages]]
***[[Welsh language|Welsh]]
**[[Southwestern Brittonic languages]]
***[[Cornish language|Cornish]]
*[[Goidelic languages]]
**[[Irish language in Northern Ireland|Irish]]<ref name= "autogenerated2" >{{cite web|title=List of declarations made with respect to treaty No. 148|url=http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG&VL=1|work=European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|publisher=Council of Europe|access-date=21 November 2013|quote=The United Kingdom declares, in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Charter that it recognises that Cornish meets the Charter's definition of a regional or minority language for the purposes of Part II of the Charter.|archive-date=22 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622194011/http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148|url-status=live}}</ref>
***[[Ulster Irish]]
**[[Scottish Gaelic]]<ref name= "autogenerated2" />
***[[Beurla Reagaird]]
**[[Manx language|Manx]]

====Mixed====
*[[Angloromani language|Angloromani]]
*[[Scottish Cant]]<ref>Scottish Cant at ''[[Ethnologue]]'' (12th ed., 1992).</ref>
*[[Shelta]]

====Sign languages====
*'''[[BANZSL]]'''
**[[British Sign Language]]
***[[Northern Ireland Sign Language]]
*'''[[French Sign Language family|Francosign]]'''
**[[Irish Sign Language]]

===Extinct===
*Insular Celtic
**Brythonic
***[[Cumbric language|Cumbric]]
***[[Pictish language|Pictish]]
**Goidelic
***[[Galwegian Gaelic]]
*Anglic
**[[Old English]]
***[[Middle English]]
****[[Yola language|Yola]]
****[[Fingalian]]
****[[Early Scots]]
*****[[Middle Scots]]
*Nordic
**[[Old Norse]]
***[[Norn language|Norn]]
*Indic
**[[Romani language|Romani]]
***[[Welsh Romani language|Welsh Romani]]
*Romance
**[[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]]
*Kentish Sign
**[[Old Kentish Sign Language|Old Kentish Sign]]

==Regional languages and statistics==
{{bar box
|float = right
|width = 350px
|barwidth= 300px
|title = Distribution of languages of the United Kingdom (2021)
|bars =
{{bar percent|[[British English|English]]|DarkSlateGray|91.1}}
{{bar percent|[[Scots language|Scots]]|DarkSlateGray|2.23}}
{{bar percent|[[Welsh language|Welsh]]|DarkSlateGray|0.90}}
{{bar percent|[[Scottish Gaelic language|Scottish Gaelic]]|DarkSlateGray|0.20}}
{{bar percent|[[Irish language in Northern Ireland|Irish]]|DarkSlateGray|0.10}}
{{bar percent|[[Cornish language|Cornish]]|DarkSlateGray|0.00083}}
}}
[[File:English language proficiency in England and Wales.png|thumb|right|English language proficiency in England and Wales in 2011. The 'English' category included Welsh for usual residents of Wales.]]
[[File:English as main language in London 2021.svg|thumb|341x341px|Percentage of English as main language in London 2021]]

=== English ===
{{Main|English language}}
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2022}}
In the 2011 UK census, 98% of people over the age of three were reported as speaking English.

English is a [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]] language brought around the 5th century CE to the east coast of what is now [[England]] by [[Germanic peoples|Germanic-speaking]] immigrants from around present-day northern Germany, who came to be known as the [[Anglo-Saxons]]. The fusion of these settlers' dialects became what is now termed [[Old English]]: the word ''English'' is derived from the name of the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]]. English soon [[Celtic language-death in England|displaced]] the previously predominant [[Common Brittonic]] and [[British Latin]] throughout most of England. It spread into what was to become south-east [[Scotland]] under the influence of the Anglian medieval [[kingdom of Northumbria]]. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of [[Great Britain]] and the [[United Kingdom]] from the 18th century, via the [[British Empire]], and of the [[United States]] since the mid-20th century, it has been widely dispersed around the world, and become the leading language of international discourse. Many English words are based on roots from [[Latin]], because Latin in some form was the lingua franca of the [[Christian Church]] and of European intellectual life. The language was further influenced by the [[Old Norse]] language, with [[Viking]] [[Viking Age#England|invasions and settlements]] in England from the 8th to the 11th centuries. The [[Norman conquest of England]] in 1066 gave rise to heavy borrowings from [[Old French]], and vocabulary and spelling conventions began to give what had now become [[Middle English]] the superficial appearance of a close relationship with Romance languages. The Great Vowel Shift that began in the south of England in the 15th century is one of the historical events marking the separation of Middle and Modern English.

===Wales===
{{main|Welsh English|Welsh language}}
{{further|Languages of Wales}}
[[File:Wales.cardiff.slow.jpg|thumb|left|Bilingual road markings near [[Cardiff Airport]], [[Vale of Glamorgan]]]]
Welsh ({{lang|cy|italic=no|Cymraeg}}) emerged in the 6th century from [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]], the common ancestor of Welsh, [[Breton language|Breton]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]], and the extinct language known as [[Cumbric]]. Welsh is thus a member of the [[Brittonic languages|Brythonic]] branch of the [[Celtic languages]], and is spoken natively in [[Wales]]. There are also Welsh speakers in {{lang|cy|[[Y Wladfa]]}} (The Colony),<ref>National Library of Wales' bibliography for [http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=239&L=1 'The Welsh settlement in Patagonia'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601113134/http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=239&L=1 |date=1 June 2020 }}</ref> a [[Welsh people|Welsh]] settlement in [[Argentina]], which began in 1865 and is situated mainly along the coast of [[Chubut Province]] in the south of [[Patagonia]]. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of [[Patagonian Welsh]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Prior |first=Neil |date=2015-05-30 |title=Patagonia 150 years on: A 'little Wales beyond Wales' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-32919137 |access-date=2020-07-30}}</ref>

Both the English and Welsh languages have official, but not always equal, status in Wales. English has ''de facto'' official status everywhere, whereas Welsh has limited, but still considerable, official, ''de jure'', status in only the public service, the judiciary, and elsewhere as prescribed in legislation. The [[Welsh language]] is protected by the [[Welsh Language Act 1993]] and the [[Government of Wales Act 1998]], and since 1998 it has been common, for example, for almost all British Government Departments to provide both printed documentation and official websites in both English and Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the [[National Assembly for Wales]] unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales.<ref>{{cite web|title=Policy and legislation|url=http://wales.gov.uk/topics/welshlanguage/policy/?lang=en|work=Welsh Language|publisher=Welsh Government|access-date=21 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531072241/http://wales.gov.uk/topics/welshlanguage/policy/?lang=en|archive-date=31 May 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name=bbcnews2010>{{cite web|title='Historic' assembly vote for new Welsh language law|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-11934239|work=BBC News|access-date=21 November 2013|date=7 December 2010|archive-date=15 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015204346/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-11934239|url-status=live}}</ref> On 9 February 2011, this measure received Royal Assent and was passed, thus making the Welsh language an [[official language|officially recognised language]] within Wales.<ref>{{cite web|title=Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 |url=http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-legislation/bus-leg-measures/business-legislation-measures-wl.htm |work=National Assembly for Wales |access-date=13 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121033157/http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-legislation/bus-leg-measures/business-legislation-measures-wl.htm |archive-date=21 January 2011 }}</ref>

The [[Welsh Language Board]]<ref name= "board" >{{cite web|url=http://www.byig-wlb.org.uk/English/publications/Publications/4068.pdf|title=2004 Welsh Language Use Survey: the report|access-date=23 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204183526/http://www.byig-wlb.org.uk/English/publications/Publications/4068.pdf|archive-date=4 December 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> indicated in 2004 that 553,000 people (19.7% of the population of Wales in households or communal establishments) were able to speak Welsh. Based on an alternative definition, there has been a 0.9 percentage point increase when compared with the 2001 census, and an increase of approximately 35,000 in absolute numbers within Wales. Welsh is therefore a growing language within Wales.<ref name= "board" /> Of those 553,000 Welsh speakers, 57% (315,000) were considered by others to be fluent, and 477,000 people consider themselves fluent or "fair" speakers. 62% of speakers (340,000) claimed to speak the language daily, including 88% of fluent speakers.<ref name= "board" />

However, there is some controversy over the actual number who speak Welsh: some statistics include people who have studied Welsh to [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] standard, many of whom could not be regarded as fluent speakers of the language. Conversely, some first-language speakers may choose not to report themselves as such. These phenomena, also seen with other minority languages outside the UK, make 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 and other large cities. It is estimated that 110,000 to 150,000 people in [[England]] speak Welsh.<ref name= "WelshStatOverview" >[http://www.byig-wlb.org.uk/English/publications/Publications/A%20statistical%20overview%20of%20the%20Welsh%20languagef2.pdf Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg, A statistical overview of the Welsh language]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, by Hywel M Jones, page 115, 13.5.1.6, England. Published February 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/49749c8cc.html |title=World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - United Kingdom: Welsh |publisher=Minority Rights Group International |year=2008 |access-date=17 June 2016 |archive-date=14 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614083549/https://www.refworld.org/docid/49749c8cc.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Nevertheless, the 2011 census recorded an overall reduction in Welsh speakers, from 582,000 in 2001 to 562,000 in 2011, despite an increase in the size of the population—a 2% drop (from 21% to 19%) in the proportion of Welsh speakers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20677528|title=Number of Welsh speakers falling|date=11 December 2012|website=BBC|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=23 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023155109/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20677528|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[2021 United Kingdom census]] indicated that on census day, the population of England and Wales as 59.6 million.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-22 |title=Population of England and Wales |url=https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref> Of this population, roughly 538,300 people noted that they could speak Welsh,<ref name= ":1" >{{Cite web |title=2021 Census |url=https://www.welshlanguagecommissioner.wales/policy-and-research/research/2021-census |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=www.welshlanguagecommissioner.wales |language=en-GB}}</ref> or 0.90% of the population. Within Wales, this percentage grows to 17.8%.<ref name= ":1" /> In addition, data from the [[Annual Population Survey]] shows that 28%, or roughly 862,700 people, of Wales' population aged three and over were able to speak the language in March 2024.<ref name= "APSDataMarch24" />

===Scotland===
{{main|Scottish English|Scots language|Scottish Gaelic}}
{{further|Languages of Scotland}}

====Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig)====
[[File:PartickPartaig.jpg|thumb|120px|Bilingual sign (Scottish Gaelic and English) at [[Partick railway station]], [[Glasgow]]]]
{{Main|Scottish Gaelic}}
[[Scottish Gaelic]] is a [[Celtic language]] native to [[Scotland]]. A member of the [[Goidel]]ic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish. Outside Scotland, a dialect of the language known as [[Canadian Gaelic]] exists in [[Canada]] on [[Cape Breton Island]] and isolated areas of the [[Nova Scotia]] mainland. This variety has around 2000 speakers, amounting to 1.3% of the population of [[Cape Breton Island]].

The [[United Kingdom Census 2011#2011 Census for Scotland|2011 census of Scotland]] showed that a total of 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) in Scotland could speak Gaelic at that time, with the [[Outer Hebrides]] being the main stronghold of the language. The census results indicate a decline of 1,275 Gaelic speakers from 2001. A total of 87,056 people in 2011 reported having some facility with Gaelic compared to 93,282 people in 2001, a decline of 6,226.<ref name= "2011 Census of Scotland" >[http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html 2011 Census of Scotland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604200212/http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html |date=4 June 2014 }}, Table QS211SC. Viewed 30 May 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/common/home.jsp Scotland's Census Results Online (SCROL)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411035930/http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/common/home.jsp |date=11 April 2014 }}, Table UV12. Viewed 30 May 2014.</ref> Despite this decline, revival efforts exist and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 has increased.<ref>Scottish Government, [http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/A-f%C3%A0s-le-G%C3%A0idhlig-48b.aspx "A’ fàs le Gàidhlig" ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410110639/http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/A-f%C3%A0s-le-G%C3%A0idhlig-48b.aspx |date=10 April 2016 }}, 26 September 2013. Viewed 30 May 2014.</ref>

The Gaelic language was given official recognition for the first time in Scotland in 2005, by the [[Scottish Parliament]]'s ''[[Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005]]'', which aims to promote the Gaelic language to a status "commanding equal respect" with English. However, this wording has no clear meaning in law, and was chosen to prevent the assumption that the Gaelic language is in any way considered to have "equal validity or parity of esteem with English".<ref>{{cite journal|last = McLeod|first = Wilson|title = Gaelic in contemporary Scotland: contradictions, challenges and strategies|pages = 7|location = University of Edinburgh|url = http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/gaelic-in-contemporary-scotland-challenges-strategies-and-contradictions(d4353dd1-29f9-4a0c-b9b9-c63552c8fea3)/export.html|access-date = 28 December 2016|journal = Europa Ethnica| date=March 2014 | volume=71 | issue=1/2 | doi=10.24989/0014-2492-2014-12-3 |archive-date = 29 December 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161229030843/http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/gaelic-in-contemporary-scotland-challenges-strategies-and-contradictions(d4353dd1-29f9-4a0c-b9b9-c63552c8fea3)/export.html|url-status = live|hdl = 20.500.11820/d4353dd1-29f9-4a0c-b9b9-c63552c8fea3|hdl-access = free}}</ref> A major limitation of the act, though, is that it does not constitute any form of recognition for the Gaelic language by the UK government, and UK public bodies operating in Scotland, as reserved bodies, are explicitly exempted from its provisions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2005/asp_20050007_en_1#pb5-l1g10 |title=Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 (s.10) |date=1 June 2005 |publisher=[[Office of Public Sector Information]] |access-date=25 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100907081446/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2005/asp_20050007_en_1 |archive-date= 7 September 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref>

====Scots====
{{main|Scots language}}
The Scots language originated from [[Northumbrian Old English]]. The [[Anglo-Saxon]] [[Kingdom of Northumbria]] stretched from south [[Yorkshire]] to the [[Firth of Forth]] from where the Scottish elite continued the language shift northwards. Since there are no universally accepted criteria for distinguishing languages from dialects, scholars and other interested parties often disagree about the linguistic, historical and social status of [[Scots language|Scots]]. Although a number of paradigms for distinguishing between languages and dialects do exist, these often render contradictory results. Focused [[broad Scots]] is at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum, with [[Scottish Standard English]] at the other. Consequently, Scots is often regarded as one of the ancient varieties of English, but with its own distinct dialects. Alternatively Scots is sometimes treated as a distinct Germanic language, in the way [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] is closely linked to, yet distinct from, [[Danish language|Danish]].

The 2011 UK census was the first to ask residents of Scotland about Scots. A campaign called Aye Can was set up to help individuals answer the question.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Scottish Census Day 2011 survey begins|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12871752|work=BBC News|access-date=21 July 2011|date=26 March 2011|archive-date=19 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719232531/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12871752|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Scots language – Scottish Census 2011|url=http://www.ayecan.com/|work=Aye Can|access-date=21 July 2011|archive-date=27 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727210457/http://www.ayecan.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> The specific wording used was "Which of these can you do? Tick all that apply" with options for 'Understand', 'Speak', 'Read' and 'Write' in three columns: English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How to fill in your questionnaire: Individual question 16 |url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/en/howto/questionshelp/q/i16.html |work=Scotland's Census |publisher=General Register Office for Scotland |access-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012054603/http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/en/howto/questionshelp/q/i16.html |archive-date=12 October 2011 }}</ref> Of approximately 5.1 million respondents, about 1.2 million (24%) could speak, read and write Scots, 3.2 million (62%) had no skills in Scots and the remainder had some degree of skill, such as understanding Scots (0.27 million, 5.2%) or being able to speak it but not read or write it (0.18 million, 3.5%).<ref>{{cite web|title=Scotland's Census 2011: Standard Outputs|url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html|publisher=National Records of Scotland|access-date=12 December 2014|archive-date=1 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201210446/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html|url-status=live}}</ref> There were also small numbers of Scots speakers recorded in England and Wales on the 2011 Census, with the largest numbers being either in bordering areas (e.g. [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]]) or in areas that had recruited large numbers of Scottish workers in the past (e.g. [[Corby]] or the former mining areas of [[Kent]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks206ew.xls|title=2011 Census: KS206EW Household language, local authorities in England and Wales (Excel sheet 268Kb)}}</ref>

The [[2021 United Kingdom census#2022 census for Scotland|2022 census for Scotland]] reported that of a population of 5,436,600 in Scotland,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scotland's Census 2022 - Rounded population estimates |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-rounded-population-estimates/#section2 |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=Scotland's Census |language=en}}</ref> 1,508,540 people could speak Scots,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scots |url=https://www.gov.scot/policies/languages/scots/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=www.gov.scot |language=en}}</ref> or 27.74% of the population of Scotland. However, with an estimated population of 67.6 million in the UK in 2022,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2022 |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref> this percentage falls to 2.23% of the population of the UK.

===Northern Ireland===
{{main|Languages of Northern Ireland|Irish language|Irish language in Northern Ireland|Ulster Irish}}
{{further|Languages of Ireland}}

====Ulster Scots====
{{main|Ulster Scots dialects}}
2% speak [[Ulster Scots dialects|Ulster Scots]], seen by some as a language distinct from English and by some as a dialect of English, according to the 1999 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (around 30,000 speakers). Some definitions of Ulster Scots may also include Standard [[British English|English]] spoken with an Ulster Scots accent. The language was brought to [[Ireland]] by [[Scotland|Scottish]] planters from the 16th Century.

====Irish (Gaeilge)====
{{main|Irish language in Northern Ireland|Ulster Irish}}
{{further|Irish language}}
[[File:Bilingual welcome sign Newry.jpg|thumb|Bilingual sign (Irish and English) in [[Newry]]]]
Irish was the predominant language of the [[Irish people]] for most of their recorded history, and they brought their Gaelic speech with them to other countries, notably [[Scotland]] and the [[Isle of Man]] where it gave rise to [[Scottish Gaelic]] and [[Manx language|Manx]].

It has been estimated that the active Irish-language scene probably comprises 5 to 10 per cent of [[Ireland]]'s population.<ref>{{Citation | first = Suzanne | last = Romaine | contribution = Irish in a Global Context | title = A New View of the Irish Language | editor = Caoilfhionn Nic Pháidín and Seán Ó Cearnaigh | place = Dublin | publisher = Cois Life Teoranta | year = 2008 |isbn = 978-1-901176-82-7}}</ref> In the 2011 census, 11% of the population of Northern Ireland claimed "some knowledge of Irish" <ref name= "Census 2011" >Census 2011</ref> and 3.7% reported being able to "speak, read, write and understand" [[Irish language in Northern Ireland|Irish]].<ref name= "Census 2011" /> In another survey, from 1999, 1% of respondents said they spoke it as their main language at home.<ref name = "Survey-NorthernIreland" >Northern Ireland LIFE & TIMES Survey: [http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/MAINLANG.html What is the main language spoken in your own home?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610101441/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/MAINLANG.html |date=10 June 2011 }}</ref>
{{Further|Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022}}

===Cornwall===
{{main|Languages of Cornwall|Cornish English|Cornish language}}
{{further|Languages of England}}

[[Cornish language|Cornish]], a Brythonic Celtic language related to Welsh, was spoken in [[Cornwall]] throughout the Middle Ages. Its use began to decline from the 14th century, especially after the [[Prayer Book Rebellion]] in 1549. The language continued to function as a [[first language]] in [[Penwith]] in the far west of Cornwall until the late 18th century, with the last native speaker thought to have died in 1777.<ref name= "CelticLife" />

A revival initiated by [[Henry Jenner]] began in 1903. In 2002, the [[Cornish language]] was named as a historical regional language under the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]].<ref name= "autogenerated2" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Cornish gains official recognition|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2410383.stm|work=BBC News|access-date=17 March 2011|date=6 November 2002|archive-date=19 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919221009/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2410383.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The UN classes it as a critically endangered language.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-12-07 |title=Cornish language no longer extinct, says UN |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-11935464 |access-date=2022-10-25}}</ref>

===Principal minority language areas===
*Welsh: [[Gwynedd|North-West Wales]]: Percentage of speakers 69% (76% understand Welsh). Population: [[Gwynedd]] - 118,400 (2001 census)
*Scottish Gaelic: [[Na h-Eileanan Siar|Outer Hebrides]]: Percentage of speakers 61%. Population: [[Na h-Eileanan Siar]] - 27,400<ref name= "gro-scotland.gov.uk" >{{cite web|url=http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/population/estimates/mid-year/mid-2013/index.html |title=Mid-2013 Population Estimates Scotland |publisher=gro-scotland.gov.uk |access-date=7 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714182151/http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/population/estimates/mid-year/mid-2013/index.html |archive-date=14 July 2014 }}</ref> In the 2001 census, each island overall was over 50% Gaelic speaking – [[South Uist]] (71%), [[Harris, Outer Hebrides|Harris]] (69%), [[Barra]] (68%), [[North Uist]] (67%), [[Isle of Lewis|Lewis]] (56%) and [[Benbecula]] (56%). With 59.3% of Gaelic speakers or a total of 15,723 speakers, this made the Outer Hebrides the most strongly coherent Gaelic speaking area in Scotland.<ref name=Macpp>Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2004) {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20101207211745/http://www.linguae-celticae.org/dateien/Gaelic_1901-2001.ppt ''1901–2001 Gaelic in the Census'']}} (PowerPoint) Linguae Celticae. Retrieved 1 June 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.cnag.org.uk/munghaidhlig/stats/gspeakcensus01.php "Census 2001 Scotland: Gaelic speakers by council area" ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925054749/http://www.cnag.org.uk/munghaidhlig/stats/gspeakcensus01.php |date=25 September 2006 }} Comunn na Gàidhlig. Retrieved 28 May 2010.</ref>

===British Sign Language===
{{Main|British Sign Language}}
British Sign Language, often abbreviated to BSL, is the language of 125,000 Deaf adults, about 0.3%<ref name= "ReferenceA" >{{cite web |title=The GP Patient Survey in Northern Ireland 2009/10 Summary Report |url=http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/gpps_ni_summary_report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212082658/http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/gpps_ni_summary_report.pdf |archive-date=12 December 2013 |access-date=21 November 2013 |publisher=Department of Health, Social Services, and Public Safety}}</ref> of the total population of the United Kingdom. It is not exclusively the language of Deaf people; many relatives of Deaf people and others can communicate in it fluently. Recognised to be a language by the UK Government on 18 March 2003,<ref name=hansard>{{cite web|title=Written Ministerial Statements|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030318/wmstext/30318m02.htm|work=Bound Volume Hansard – Written Ministerial Statements|publisher=House of Commons|access-date=21 November 2013|date=18 March 2003|archive-date=11 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111220700/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030318/wmstext/30318m02.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> BSL has the highest number of monolingual users of any indigenous minority language in the UK.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}
{{Further|British Sign Language Act 2022}}

===UK census===
Abilities in the regional languages of the UK (other than Cornish) for those aged three and above were recorded in the UK census 2011 as follows.<ref>{{cite web|title=NOMIS – Census 2011|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/qs207wa|access-date=28 July 2014|archive-date=25 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425151417/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/qs207wa|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Scotland's Census 2011 – Standard Outputs|url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html|access-date=28 July 2014|archive-date=1 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201210446/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service|url=http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/Theme.aspx?themeNumber=136&themeName=Census%202011|access-date=28 July 2014|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109175011/http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/Theme.aspx?themeNumber=136&themeName=Census%202011|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class= "wikitable sortable" style= "text-align:right"
!rowspan=3|Ability
!colspan=2|Wales
!colspan=4|Scotland
!colspan=4|Northern Ireland
|-
!colspan=2|Welsh
!colspan=2|Scottish Gaelic
!colspan=2|Scots
!colspan=2|Irish
!colspan=2|Ulster-Scots
|-
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
|-
|style= "text-align:left" | Understands but does not speak, read or write || 157,792 || 5.15% || 23,357 || 0.46% || 267,412 || 5.22% || 70,501 || 4.06% || 92,040 || 5.30%
|-
|style= "text-align:left" | Speaks, reads and writes || 430,717 || 14.06% || 32,191 || 0.63% || 1,225,622 || 23.95% || 71,996 || 4.15% || 17,228 || 0.99%
|-
|style= "text-align:left" | Speaks but does not read or write || 80,429 || 2.63% || 18,966 || 0.37% || 179,295 || 3.50% || 24,677 || 1.42% || 10,265 || 0.59%
|-
|style= "text-align:left" | Speaks and reads but does not write || 45,524 || 1.49% || 6,218 || 0.12% || 132,709 || 2.59% || 7,414 || 0.43% || 7,801 || 0.45%
|-
|style= "text-align:left" | Reads but does not speak or write || 44,327 || 1.45% || 4,646 || 0.09% || 107,025 || 2.09% || 5,659 || 0.33% || 11,911 || 0.69%
|-
|style= "text-align:left" | Other combination of skills || 40,692 || 1.33% || 1,678 || 0.03% || 17,381 || 0.34% || 4,651 || 0.27% || 959 || 0.06%
|-
|style= "text-align:left" | No skills || 2,263,975 || 73.90% || 5,031,167 || 98.30% || 3,188,779 || 62.30% || 1,550,813 || 89.35% || 1,595,507 || 91.92%
|-
|style= "text-align:left" | '''Total''' || '''3,063,456''' || '''100.00%''' || '''5,118,223''' || '''100.00%''' || '''5,118,223''' || '''100.00%''' || '''1,735,711''' || '''100.00%''' || '''1,735,711''' || '''100.00%'''
|-
|style= "text-align:left" | Can speak || 562,016 || 18.35% || 57,602 || 1.13% || 1,541,693 || 30.12% || 104,943 || 6.05% || 35,404 || 2.04%
|-
|style= "text-align:left" | Has some ability || 799,481 || 26.10% || 87,056 || 1.70% || 1,929,444 || 37.70% || 184,898 || 10.65% || 140,204 || 8.08%
|}

;Distribution of those who stated they could speak a regional language in the 2011 census.
Note: Scale used varies for each map.
{{Gallery
|width=325 | height=325
|File:Welsh speakers in the 2011 census.png|Welsh
|File:Scots speakers in the 2011 census.png|Scots
|File:Scots Gaelic speakers in the 2011 census.png|Scottish Gaelic
|File:Irish speakers in the 2011 census in Northern Ireland.png|Irish
|File:Ulster-Scots speakers in the 2011 census in Northern Ireland.png|Ulster-Scots
}}

==Status==
Certain nations and regions of the UK have frameworks for the promotion of their [[autochthonous language]]s.

* In [[Wales]], the [[Welsh Language Act 1993]] requires English and [[Welsh language|Welsh]] to be treated equally throughout the public sector. This was further enforced through the passing of the [[Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Mesur y Gymraeg (Cymru) 2011|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/mwa/2011/1/enacted/welsh|publisher=UK Legislation|access-date=21 November 2013|language=cy|archive-date=13 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113061021/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/mwa/2011/1/enacted/welsh|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/mwa/2011/1/enacted|publisher=UK Legislation|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=5 August 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805081906/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/mwa/2011/1/enacted|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In [[Scotland]], the [[Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005]] gave the [[Scottish Gaelic language]] its first statutory basis; and the [[Outer Hebrides|Western Isles]] region of Scotland has a policy to promote the language.
* In [[Northern Ireland]], the [[Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022]] will “provide official recognition of the status of the Irish language” (in addition to English), with [[Ulster Scots language|Ulster Scots]] as an officially recognised minority language.

The UK government has ratified the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] in respect of:
*Cornish (in Cornwall)
*Irish and Ulster Scots (in Northern Ireland)
*Manx (in the Isle of Man)
*Scots and Scottish Gaelic (in Scotland)
*Welsh (in Wales)

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<ref name=r1>[http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG&VL=1 List of declarations made with respect to treaty No. 148] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622194011/http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148 |date=22 June 2022 }}, European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Status as of: 17 March 2011</ref> for the higher level of protection (Section III) provided for by the Charter in respect of Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and [[Irish language|Irish]]. [[Cornish language|Cornish]], [[Scots language|Scots]] in Scotland and Northern Ireland (in the latter territory officially known as [[Ulster Scots language|Ulster Scots]] or [[Ullans]], but in the speech of users simply as Scottish 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<ref name=hansard /> of the United Kingdom.
[[File:Multilingual sign Department Culture Leisure Arts Northern Ireland.jpg|thumb|In Northern Ireland, the department responsible for culture displays official administrative identity in English, Irish and Ulster Scots]]
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 Commissioner (Comisiynydd y Gymraeg) is an independent body established to promote and facilitate use of the Welsh language, mainly by imposing Welsh language standards on organisations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.comisiynyddygymraeg.cymru/English/Commissioner/Pages/Aim.aspx|title=Comisiynydd y Gymraeg - Aim of the Welsh Language Commissioner|website=Comisiynyddygymraeg.cymru|language=en-us|access-date=25 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402181001/http://www.comisiynyddygymraeg.cymru/English/Commissioner/Pages/Aim.aspx|archive-date=2 April 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The [[Cornish Language Partnership]] is a body that represents the major [[Cornish language]] and cultural groups and local government's language needs. It receives funding from the UK government and the [[European Union]], and is the regulator of the language's [[Standard Written Form]], agreed in 2008.

=== Controversies ===
====Language versus dialect====
There are no universally accepted criteria for distinguishing ''[[language]]s'' from ''[[dialect]]s'', although a number of paradigms exist, which give sometimes contradictory results. The distinction is therefore a subjective one, dependent on the user's frame of reference.

[[Scottish Gaelic]] and [[Irish language|Irish]] are generally viewed as being languages in their own right rather than dialects of a single tongue, but they are sometimes [[mutually intelligible]] to a limited degree – especially between southern dialects of Scottish and northern dialects of Irish (programmes in these two forms of Gaelic are broadcast respectively on [[BBC Radio nan Gàidheal]] and [[RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta]]), but the relationship between Scots and English is less clear, since there is usually partial mutual intelligibility.

Since there is a very high level of mutual intelligibility between contemporary speakers of Scots in Scotland and in Ulster ([[Ulster Scots dialects|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 written forms have diverged in the 21st century. The government of the United Kingdom "recognises that Scots and Ulster Scots meet the Charter's definition of a regional or minority language".<ref name=r1/> 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''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Initial Periodical Report by the United Kingdom presented to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in accordance with Article 15 of the Charter|url=http://www.coe.int/T/E/Legal_Affairs/Local_and_regional_Democracy/Regional_or_Minority_languages/Documentation/1_Periodical_reports/2002_5e_MIN-LANG_PR_UK.asp|work=European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|publisher=Council of Europe|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050514210600/http://www.coe.int/T/E/Legal_Affairs/Local_and_regional_Democracy/Regional_or_Minority_languages/Documentation/1_Periodical_reports/2002_5e_MIN-LANG_PR_UK.asp|archive-date=14 May 2005|date=1 July 2002}}</ref>

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 [[vernacular]]s as a single language. Even British Sign Language is mistakenly thought of as a form of 'English' by some, rather than as a language in its own right, with a distinct [[grammar]] and [[vocabulary]]. The boundaries are not always clear cut, which makes it hard to estimate numbers of speakers.

====Hostility====
[[File:Unidentified irish mural.jpg|thumb|Mural in [[Belfast]] with [[Irish language|Irish]] phrase {{lang|ga|Slán Abhaile}} ( "Safe home" ) directed ironically at departing [[British Army|British soldiers]]. In modern Northern Ireland, the Irish language is closely tied with [[Irish republicanism]], despite being used historically by many Protestant and unionist communities.]]

In Northern Ireland, the use of Irish and Ulster Scots is sometimes viewed as 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. About 1% of Catholics claim to speak it, while 2% of Protestants claim to speak it. The disparity in the ratios as determined by political and faith community, despite the very large overlap between the two, reflects the very low numbers of respondents.<ref>{{cite web|title=1999 Community Relations|url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/USPKULST.html|work=Northern Ireland Life & Times|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=8 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108123922/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/USPKULST.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Across the two communities 0% speak it as their main language at home.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|title=1999 Community Relations MAINLANG|url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/MAINLANG.html|work=Northern Ireland Life & Times|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=10 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610101441/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/MAINLANG.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2:1 ratio would not differ markedly from that among the general population in those areas of Northern Ireland where Scots is spoken.

Often the use of the [[Irish language in Northern Ireland]] has met with the considerable suspicion of Unionists, who have associated it with the largely Catholic [[Republic of Ireland]], and more recently, with the [[Irish republicanism|republican movement]] in Northern Ireland itself. Catholic areas of Belfast have street signs in Irish similar to those in the Republic. Approximately 14% of the population speak Irish,<ref>{{cite web|title=1990 Community Relations USPKIRSH|url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/USPKIRSH.html|work=Northern Ireland Life & Times|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=20 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220090657/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/USPKIRSH.html|url-status=live}}</ref> however only 1% speak it as their main language at home.<ref name= "autogenerated1" /> Under the [[St Andrews Agreement]], the British government committed itself to introducing an Irish Language Act, and it was hoped that a consultation period ending on 2 March 2007 could see Irish becoming an official language, having equal validity with English, recognised as an indigenous language, or aspire to become an official language in the future.<ref>{{cite web|title=Irish language future is raised|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6177321.stm|work=BBC News|access-date=17 March 2011|date=13 December 2006|archive-date=15 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315193716/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6177321.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> However, with the restoration of the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]] in May 2007, responsibility for this was passed to the Assembly, and the commitment was promptly broken. In October 2007, the then [[Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure|Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure]], [[Edwin Poots]] MLA, announced to the assembly that no Irish Language Act would be brought forward. As of April 2016, no Irish Language Act applying to Northern Ireland has been passed, and none is currently planned.

Some resent Scottish Gaelic being promoted in the Lowlands. Gaelic place names are relatively rare in the extreme south-east (that part of Scotland which had previously been under Northumbrian rule)<ref>
{{cite book|title=The Oxford Companion to Scottish History|editor=Michael Lynch|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001}}
(p.482)</ref> and the extreme north-east (part of [[Caithness]], where [[Norn language|Norse]] was previously spoken).<ref>{{cite book |title=Viking revaluations: Viking Society Centenary Symposium 14-15 May 1992 |publisher=Viking Society for Northern Research |isbn=9780903521284 |pages=78 |citeseerx=10.1.1.683.8845 |year=1993 }}</ref>

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 language|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 [[Shetland dialect|Shetland]] and [[Orcadian dialect|Orcadian]] dialects of Lowland Scots, rather than their former tongue. Norn was also spoken at one point in [[Caithness]], apparently dying out much earlier than Shetland and Orkney. However, the [[Old Norse|Norse]] speaking population were entirely assimilated by the [[Gaels|Gaelic]] speaking population in the Western Isles; to what degree this happened in [[Caithness]] is a matter of controversy, although [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]] 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 official recognition. The dialects of northern England share some features with Scots that those of southern England do not. The regional dialects of England were once extremely varied, as is recorded in [[Joseph Wright (linguist)|Joseph Wright]]'s ''[[English Dialect Dictionary]]'' and the [[Survey of English Dialects]], but they have died out over time so that regional differences are now largely in pronunciation rather than in grammar or vocabulary.

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.

==Immigrant languages==
[[File:Brick Lane street signs.JPG|thumb|'[[Brick Lane]]' street sign in English and Bengali, [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]], London]]
[[File:Southall station sign.jpg|thumb|Sign in English and Punjabi at [[Southall railway station]], [[Southall]], London]]
[[File:Nelson Duke Streets Liverpool Chinatown.jpg|thumb|Bilingual street signs in [[Chinatown, Liverpool]], Merseyside]]
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. Current school censuses collect information on over 300 language categories.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Department for Education |title=School census codes |url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/find-a-school-census-code#language |website=gov.uk |access-date=February 23, 2023}}</ref> Data on the total number of languages entered onto national census forms in 2021 (England and Wales and Northern Ireland), and 2022 (Scotland) is not yet published but write in data in 2011 covered over 600 languages and categories.<ref>{{cite web |title=Variables and Classifications (2011) |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011census/2011censusdata/2011censususerguide/variablesandclassifications |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=February 23, 2023}}</ref>

Many [[Black British|Black Britons]] speak English as their first language. Their ancestors mostly came from [[West Indies|the West Indies]], particularly Jamaica, and generally also spoke English-based creole languages,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bagley |first1=Christopher |year=1979 |title=A Comparative Perspective on the Education of Black Children in Britain |journal=Comparative Education |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=63–81 |url=http://pdfserve.informaworld.com/947445_751311283_746335513.pdf |doi=10.1080/0305006790150107 }}{{dead link|date=March 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> hence there are significant numbers of Caribbean creole speakers (see below for Ethnologue figures). A large proportion of the [[Black British]] population, especially African-born immigrants speak French as a first or second language.

[[British Asians]] speak dozens of different languages, and it is difficult to determine how many people speak each language alongside English. The largest subgroup of British Asians are those of [[Punjabi people|Punjabi]] origin (representing approximately two thirds of direct migrants from South Asia to the UK), from both [[India]] and [[Pakistan]], they number over 2 million in the UK and are the largest Punjabi community outside of [[Indo subcontinent]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Ballard|first=Roger|title=Desh Pardesh: The South Asian Presence in Britain|year=1994|publisher=C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd|isbn=1850650918|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74ZVFb37zuIC&pg=PA20|access-date=12 October 2016|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727133813/https://books.google.com/books?id=74ZVFb37zuIC&pg=PA20|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Punjabi language]], with [[Punjabi dialects and languages|its dialects]], is currently the third most spoken language in the United Kingdom.

Among [[British Pakistanis]], [[Pahari-Pothwari]] (and particularly ''Mirpuri'') is the most spoken language. Since it is a spoken language lacking a standardised form, [[Punjabi language|Standard Punjabi]] ([[Majhi dialect|Majhi]]) and [[Urdu]] is also used by the community in the media and literature.<ref>{{Cite journal| last = Hussain| first = Serena| date = 2015| title = Missing From the 'Minority Mainstream': Pahari-speaking Diaspora in Britain| journal = Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development| volume = 36| issue = 5| pages = 483–497| issn = 0143-4632| doi = 10.1080/01434632.2014.953539| s2cid = 55100616}}</ref> The Punjabi language movement considers it to be a dialect of [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]].<ref>{{Cite book| last = Shackle| first = Christopher| author-link = Christopher Shackle| title = Pakistan in Its Fourth Decade: Current Political, Social and Economic Situation and Prospects for the 1980s| chapter = Language, Dialect and Local Identity in Northern Pakistan| location = Hamburg| series = Mitteilungen des Deutschen Orient-Instituts| volume = 23| date = 1983| publisher = Deutsches Orient-Institut| pages = 183|editor1= Wolfgang-Peter Zingel |editor2=Stephanie Zingel-Avé Lallemant}}</ref> There have been efforts by numerous initiatives to document and gain recognition for the language, particularly in wake of the [[2021 United Kingdom census]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thewire.in/culture/what-india-can-learn-from-uk-pahari-speakers-efforts-to-preserve-their-linguistic-heritage|author=Sharma, Vishal|title=What India Can Learn From UK Pahari Speakers' Efforts to Preserve Their Linguistic Heritage|date=20 April 2021|website=[[The Wire (India)]]|access-date=15 June 2021|archive-date=1 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501171422/https://thewire.in/culture/what-india-can-learn-from-uk-pahari-speakers-efforts-to-preserve-their-linguistic-heritage|url-status=live}}</ref> Institutions such as the [[National Health Service]] (NHS) have started to provide Pothwari translation services throughout the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hgs.uhb.nhs.uk/foi-4970-translation-and-interpreting/|title=FOI 4970 Translation and Interpreting|date=24 Jan 2017|website=[[University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust]]|access-date=15 June 2021|archive-date=16 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043323/https://hgs.uhb.nhs.uk/foi-4970-translation-and-interpreting/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Equality and Diversity Service Users Annual Compliance Report 2016|chapter-url=https://www.candi.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/Equality%20and%20Diversity%20Annual%20Compliance%20Report%202016%20-%20Part%20two.pdf|chapter=18. Volunteers Service: Languages|volume=2|publisher=[[Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust]]|access-date=15 June 2021|archive-date=16 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043142/https://www.candi.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/Equality%20and%20Diversity%20Annual%20Compliance%20Report%202016%20-%20Part%20two.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Predominantly people of [[British Bangladeshi|Bangladeshi origin]] in the UK speak [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]], which is mostly a spoken language with no standard form, and is also generally considered as a dialect of [[Bengali language|Bengali]].<ref name=gesis>Comanaru, Ruxandra; D'Ardenne, Jo (2018). ''The Development of Research Programme to Translate and Test the Personal well-being Questions in Sylheti and Urdu''. pp.16. Köln: GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften. Retrieved on 30 June 2020.</ref><ref>Chiara Meluzzi, Martin J. Ball, Rajend Mesthrie (2023). The Routledge Handbook of Sociolinguistics Around the World. pp 40. Retrieved on 2024-09-12.</ref> Recent Italian-Bangladeshi migrants to the UK mostly speak standard Bengali (including other dialects).<ref>Francesco Goglia (2021). "Italian-Bangladeshis in London: Onward Migration and Its Effects on Their Linguistic Repertoire." MDPI. Retrieved on 2024-09-12.</ref> Standard Bengali is used by the community as a whole particularly in media.<ref name=Ofsted>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/content/download/1465/10377/file/Achievement%20of%20Bangladeshi%20heritage%20pupils%20(PDF%20format).pdf |title=Achievement of Bangladeshi heritage pupils |publisher=Ofsted |access-date=8 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305103934/http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/content/download/1465/10377/file/Achievement%20of%20Bangladeshi%20heritage%20pupils%20%28PDF%20format%29.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Sylheti had been enlisted as part of the list of native languages spoken by students in British schools,<ref>[https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/heritage/2017/06/22/british-schools-enlist-sylheti-syllabi British schools enlist Sylheti in their syllabi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112002905/https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/heritage/2017/06/22/british-schools-enlist-sylheti-syllabi/ |date=12 November 2020 }} Dhaka Tribune. 12 July 2017. Retrieved on 10 August 2020.</ref> and some institutions such as the [[National Health Service]] (NHS) provide Sylheti translation services.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simard |first1=Candide |last2=Dopierala |first2=Sarah M |last3=Thaut |first3=E Marie |year=2020 |title=Introducing the Sylheti language and its speakers, and the SOAS Sylheti project |url=http://www.elpublishing.org/docs/1/18/ldd18_01.pdf |journal=Language Documentation and Description |volume=18 |pages=10 |access-date=16 October 2020 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920103433/http://www.elpublishing.org/docs/1/18/ldd18_01.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Most common immigrant languages===
According to the 2021 census, English or Welsh was the main language of 91.1% of the residents of England and Wales. Among other languages, the most common were as follows.{{Cn|date=September 2024}}
# [[Polish language|Polish]] 611,845 or 1.1% of the population
# [[Romanian language|Romanian]] 471,954 or 0.8%
# [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] 290,745 or 0.5%
# [[Urdu in the UK|Urdu]] 269,849 or 0.5%
# [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] 224,719 or 0.4%
# [[Spanish language|Spanish]] 215,062 or 0.4%
# [[Arabic language|Arabic]] (with [[Varieties of Arabic]]) 203,998 or 0.4%
# [[Bengali language|Bengali]] (with [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]] and [[Chittagonian language|Chatgaya]]) 199,495 or 0.3%
# [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] 188,956 or 0.3%
# [[Italian language|Italian]] 160,010 or 0.3%
# [[Tamil language|Tamil]] 125,363 or 0.2%
# [[French language|French]] 120,259 or 0.2%
# [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] 119,656 or 0.2%
# [[Chinese language|Chinese]] 118,271 or 0.2%
# [[Turkish language|Turkish]] 112,978 or 0.2%
# [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] 111,431 or 0.2%
# [[Russian language|Russian]] 91,255 or 0.2%
# [[Persian language|Persian]] 87,713 or 0.2%
# [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] 87,356 or 0.2%
# [[Greek language|Greek]] 76,675 or 0.1%

==Second or additional languages==

Throughout the UK, many citizens can speak a second or even a third language from secondary school education, primary school education or from private classes. A 2006 survey found that 23% of the UK population self-reported that they could hold a "basic conversation" in French, 9% in German and 8% in Spanish.<ref name= "ec.europa.eu" >{{Citation|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf|title=Europeans and their languages|publisher=European Commission|year=2006|access-date=5 July 2008|page=13|archive-date=14 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414102658/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/languages-for-the-future-report.pdf|title=Which languages the UK needs most and why|access-date=20 October 2017|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010043237/https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/languages-for-the-future-report.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In the same survey, 38% of UK citizens reported that they could speak (well enough to have a conversation) at least one language other than their mother tongue, 18% at least two languages and 6% at least three languages. 62% of UK citizens cannot speak any second language.<ref name= "ec.europa.eu" /> These figures include those who describe their level of ability in the second language as "basic".<ref name= "ec.europa.eu" />

Language teaching is compulsory in all English schools from the ages of 5 or 7. Modern and ancient languages, such as French, German, Spanish, Latin, Greek, Urdu, Mandarin, Russian, Bengali, Hebrew, and Arabic, are studied.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239042/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Languages.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=10 June 2020 |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127013030/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239042/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Languages.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Language teaching is compulsory from the ages of 11 or 12 in Scotland and Wales.

==Law French and Latin==
[[File:Wallsend platfom 2 02.jpg|thumb|The signs at [[Wallsend Metro station]] are in English and Latin as a tribute to Wallsend's role as one of the outposts of the Roman empire.]]

[[Law French]] is still used in the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Houses of Parliament]] for certain official business between the clerks of the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] and the [[House of Lords]], and on other official occasions such as the dissolution of Parliament.

Latin is also used to a limited degree in certain official mottoes, for example ''[[Nemo me impune lacessit]]'', legal terminology (''[[habeas corpus]]''), and various ceremonial contexts. Latin abbreviations can also be seen on British coins. The use of Latin has declined greatly in recent years. However, the [[Catholic Church]] retains Latin in official and quasi-official contexts. Latin remains the language of the [[Roman Rite]], and the [[Tridentine Mass]] is celebrated in Latin. Although the [[Mass of Paul VI]] is usually celebrated in English, it can be and often is said in Latin, in part or whole, especially at multilingual gatherings. It is the official language of the [[Holy See]], the primary language of its [[public journal]], the ''[[Acta Apostolicae Sedis]]'', and the working language of the [[Roman Rota]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Moore|first=Malcolm|title=Pope's Latinist pronounces death of a language|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1540843/Popes-Latinist-pronounces-death-of-a-language.html|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=28 January 2007|access-date=16 September 2009|archive-date=26 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826081734/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1540843/Popes-Latinist-pronounces-death-of-a-language.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

At one time, Latin and Greek were commonly taught in British schools (and were required for entrance to the [[ancient universities]] until 1919, for Greek, and the 1960s, for Latin<ref>{{cite journal|title=Bryn Mawr Classical Review 98.6.16|journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review |url=http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/1998/98.6.16.html|access-date=21 November 2013|archive-date=14 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614040810/http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/1998/98.6.16.html|url-status=live}}</ref>), and A-Levels and Highers are still available in both subjects.

==Extinct languages==

===Cornish===
{{Main|Cornish language}}

Cornish became extinct as a first language in the late 18th century, ceasing to have any fully competent speakers by 1800.<ref name=CelticLife>{{cite web|title=THE HISTORY OF THE CORNISH LANGUAGE|url=https://celticlife.com/the-history-of-the-cornish-language/|website=CelticLife International|access-date=8 March 2018|archive-date=10 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710211630/https://celticlife.com/the-history-of-the-cornish-language|url-status=dead}}</ref> Its cultural legacy has continued within Cornwall.<ref name=intocornwall>{{cite web |title=Cornish Language and Place Names in Cornwall |url=https://www.intocornwall.com/features/cornish_language.asp |website=intoCornwall.com |access-date=10 July 2019 |archive-date=11 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711020222/https://www.intocornwall.com/features/cornish_language.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

There are small numbers of second-language speakers of revived varieties of Cornish, and these appear in the table of living languages in this article. Many people therefore regard the Cornish language not as "extinct" but as "critically endangered" or by other similar terms.

===Norn===
{{Main|Norn language}}

A [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]] once spoken in the [[Shetland Islands]], [[Orkney Islands]] and [[Caithness]]. It is likely that the language was dying out in the late 18th century, with the reports putting the last Norn speakers in the 19th century.<ref>Glanville Price, ''The Languages of Britain'' (London: Edward Arnold 1984, {{ISBN|978-0-7131-6452-7}}), p. 203</ref> [[Walter Sutherland (Norn)|Walter Sutherland]] from Skaw in Unst, who died about 1850, has been cited as the last native speaker of the Norn language. The remote islands of [[Foula]] and [[Unst]] are variously claimed as the last refuges of the language in Shetland, where there were people "who could repeat sentences in Norn, probably passages from folk songs or poems, as late as 1893".<ref>Price (1984), p. 204</ref> Fragments of vocabulary survived the death of the main language and remain to this day, mainly in place-names and terms referring to plants, animals, weather, mood, and fishing vocabulary.

===Kentish Sign===
{{Main|Old Kentish Sign Language}}

Unrelated to both [[BANZSL|Banzsl]] [[British Sign Language]], [[Northern Ireland Sign Language|Northern Irish SL]] and [[French Sign Language family|Francosign]] [[Irish Sign Language|Irish SL]], the [[sign language]] spoken in [[Kent]] was a unique [[village sign language]] that fell into disuse and was superseded by BSL in the 17th century. There are weak rumours that [[Martha's Vineyard Sign Language]], (one of [[American Sign Language|ASL]]'s substrate languages) descended through Kentish signers, though proper evidence has not yet been substantiated.

===Pictish===
{{Main|Pictish language}}

[[Pictish]] was probably a [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]] language, or dialect, spoken by the [[Picts]], the people of northern and central [[Scotland]] in the [[Early Middle Ages]], which became extinct c.900 AD. There is virtually no direct attestation of Pictish, short of a limited number of [[toponymy|geographical]] and [[anthroponymy|personal names]] found on monuments and the contemporary records in the area controlled by the Kingdom of the Picts. Such evidence, however, points to the language being closely related to the [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic language]] spoken prior to [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|Anglo-Saxon settlement]] in what is now southern Scotland, England and Wales. A minority view held by a few scholars claims that Pictish was at least partially non-Indo-European or that a non-Indo-European and Brittonic language coexisted.

===Cumbric===
{{Main|Cumbric}}

Cumbric was a [[variety (linguistics)|variety]] of the [[Common Brittonic]] language spoken during the [[Early Middle Ages]] in the ''[[Hen Ogledd]]'' or "Old North" in what is now [[Northern England]] and southern [[Scottish Lowlands|Lowland]] [[Scotland]].<ref name= "CelticCulture" >{{cite book|last= Koch|first= John T.|title= Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&q=515&pg=PA515|publisher= ABC-CLIO|year= 2006|isbn= 9781851094400|pages= 515–516|access-date= 19 July 2021|archive-date= 9 July 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210709191622/https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&q=515&pg=PA515|url-status= live}}</ref> It was closely related to [[Old Welsh]] and the other [[Brittonic languages]]. Place name evidence suggests Cumbric speakers may have carried it into other parts of northern England as migrants from its core area further north.<ref>James, A. G. (2008): 'A Cumbric Diaspora?' in Padel and Parsons (eds.) ''A Commodity of Good Names: essays in honour of Margaret Gelling, Shaun Tyas'': Stamford, pp. 187–203.</ref> It may also have been spoken as far south as [[Borough of Pendle|Pendle]] and the [[Yorkshire Dales]]. Most linguists think that it became extinct in the 12th century, after the incorporation of the semi-independent [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]] into the [[Kingdom of Scotland]].

==Scripts==

{{Static row numbers}}
{| class= "wikitable sortable static-row-numbers"
! Official{{Clarify|date=March 2024}} script!! Scheduled languages
|-
| [[English alphabet|English]] || [[English language|English]], [[Scots language|Scots]], [[Ulster Scots dialect|Ulster Scots]], [[Manx language|Manx]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]]
|-
| [[Gaelic type|Gaelic]] || [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Scottish Gaelic]]
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|United Kingdom|Languages}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*[[British Overseas Territories#Languages]]
*[[Literature in the other languages of Britain]]
*[[Regional accents of English speakers]]
*[[British English]]
*[[British literature]]
*[[Languages of the European Union]]
*[[European languages]]
*[[Celtic languages]]
*[[History of the Scots language]]
*[[Gaelic road signs in Scotland]]
*[[Beurla Reagaird]]
*[[Polari]]
*[[Pidgin English]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Notes==
:D.{{note|d}}England: 110,000 (estimated speakers in 2001) with 8,200 first language speakers (2011 census); Scotland and Northern Ireland: 1,000 (estimated speakers in 2001)

==External links==
* [http://www.bl.uk/soundsfamiliar Sounds Familiar?] — Listen to examples of regional accents and dialects across the UK on the British Library's 'Sounds Familiar' website (uses Windows Media Player for content)

==Further reading==
*Trudgill, Peter (ed.), ''Language in the British Isles'', Cambridge University Press, 1984, {{ISBN|0-521-28409-0}}

{{Languages of the United Kingdom}}
{{Languages of Europe}}
{{United Kingdom topics}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Languages Of The United Kingdom}}
[[Category:Languages of the United Kingdom| ]]
[[Category:Demographics of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of literature in the United Kingdom]]