UNITED KINGDOM
Language
Language
Popular destinations UNITED KINGDOM
| England | Northern ireland | Scotland |
| Wales |
Language
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of four countries; England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. TheWorldOfInfo has chosen to deal with each individual country.
Map of countries where English is the official languagePhoto: Eddo CC 3.0 Unported no changes made
The English language belongs to the Germanic languages, a large group within the Indogerman language family, to which almost all languages of Europe belong. Within the Germanic languages one can distinguish three subgroups: the Northern (including Norwegian, Danish and Swedish), the Continental (including German and Dutch) and the Western, to which English belongs. Read more about the Language of England
Traffic Sign in Welsh and EnglishPhoto: Still ePsiLoN (CC BY 2.0) no changes made
Welsh has been equated with English as an official language since 1967, and is spoken by about 20% of the population, mainly concentrated in the rural areas of the northwest, where about 60% of the population still speak Welsh. One of the longest place names in the world is:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
Read more about the Language of Wales
A bilingual street sign in Northern IrelandPhoto: Nogger at English Wikipedia CC 3.0 Unported no changes made
English is the main language in Northern Ireland. After all, most inhabitants are descendants of English and Scottish settlers who colonized Northern Ireland in previous centuries. The English spoken here has a typical local accent. Gaelic (Irish) is still spoken here and there by the Catholic people, although the many Gaelic place names in Northern Ireland suggest otherwise. Read more about the Language of Northern Ireland
Gaelic RBS LogoPhoto: Chandres CC 3.0 Unportedno changes made
The official language is dominated by its own form of Standard English, also known as Standard Scots. Nevertheless, Scotland historically belongs to four language spheres. Read more about the Language of Scotland
Sources
TheWorldOfInfo.com/northern-ireland
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles
Last updated April 2024Copyright: Team The World of Info