The UK language is English, spoken by 95% of the population. In addition, English has become the most widely spoken language internationally and, therefore, has become a mandatory requirement in most jobs. It is actually the second most widely spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese.

Below you have an index with all the points that we are going to deal with in this article.

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What is the language of the UK? What accents and dialects does it have?

UK Language: British English

It is estimated that more than 95% of the British population are monolingual speakers of English. The language of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is considered a dialect of the English language. It is also the language spoken in Ireland.



British English has characteristic features that differentiate it from other dialects, such as American English or Australian English. At the national level, that is, within the United Kingdom, rather than dialects, we speak of differentiated regional accents.

La english writing it is based, like Spanish, on the Latin alphabet without additions, except when using words taken from other languages ​​that incorporate special characters or signs (eg German or French). The modern writing of English by the existence of a large number of contractions. These are some examples:

  • They are = They're
  • I am = I’m
  • could not = Couldn't
  • it will = It'll
  • [...]

British English is different from American English in several ways, especially the pronunciation of some words, the intonation, and the spelling of certain terms. For example, while the verb realized belongs to British English, it is written Realize in American English.

In fact, there is a widespread myth that British English is the best English in the world, mainly because it is more formal. However, this is not true and it is a dialect question, so one is not better than the other, but simply different.

On the other hand, its regional accents are, in most cases, very strong and different from the so-called standard english, BBC English or RP (received pronunciation), which many consider to be the correct english.

However, this standard English is only spoken on radio and television, so that the inhabitants of the United Kingdom always have distinctive features that associate them with a specific region. Below we show you the dialect variants that exist in the United Kingdom.

The history of the English language dates back to 1512 B.C. English at this time, spoken by the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians and possibly the Franks, is known by the name of proto-english. Then many words from Latin were incorporated, such as cheese o cook.

cockney

The most prominent and most widespread London accent throughout this city is that of the dialect cockney, especially spoken in the area of East End, that is, the east of London.

For foreign tourists, this accent is often very difficult to understand, as it requires being used to hearing it. Traditionally this accent was considered the accent of the London working class and today young people are said to speak their own slang or slang when they use it.

Scouse

El scouse is an accent of Liverpool, more specifically the county of Merseyside. This dialect of English is characterized by being very nasal and because the speed when speaking is very fast.

It is also characterized by the lengthening of certain words that in British English are not so long, as well as by shortening others.

Like the cokney, the scouse is an accent that is very difficult for foreigners and for those who are not used to it, even native citizens of other regions of the United Kingdom. In addition, it has its own idiomatic expressions and set phrases, which makes understanding even more difficult.

Geordie

Geordie is the dialect par excellence of the North West of England, especially of communities like Ryver Tyne (Tyneside), in Newcastle upon Tyneas well as Gateshead.

This dialect, like Scouse, has its own terminology, such as the verb gan Which is equivalent to go (ir in English) or nobody for nobody (nobody).



In many cases, these words are the written adaptation of the pronunciation of words from standard English.

Mancunian

The mancunian, also known as Manc, is a dialect of British English used in Manchester. This term is also used to designate the inhabitants of Manchester.

This accent is easily distinguishable from other accents in the north of the United Kingdom mainly by the phenomenon of vowel overshooting, compared to the more "flattened" sounds of other neighboring accents.

brummie

Like mancunian, the term brummie not only refers to the accent, but also to the inhabitants of Birmingham.

Furthermore, the term brum refers to the connection that exists with the city and is used locally. This accent can vary even within Birmingham and generally in the West Midlands.

English courses in England

The language of Great Britain has become the most widely spoken on a world scale and the main means of communication in bilateral meetings, due to the economic, political, military and, above all, cultural influence of the United Kingdom and the United States.

Below we show you which are the main English-speaking countries in the world:

Given its influence, today the English language is used as a second language of compulsory education in education systems almost all over the world, especially in Europe. In this way, it is considered that it gives cultural superiority to those who learn it and is especially valued in the curriculum vitae of those who seek employment.

Thus, millions of people from all over the world travel each year to London or any other city in the UK to study English in England or any other British nation, as the best way to learn the language is to mix with native speakers of it.

Therefore, you can find numerous Summer courses taught by British academies, agencies, schools or universities aimed at foreign English learners of any age.

Numerous scholarships and English courses abroad subsidized by the government or other local entities are also offered to promote the learning of this language. An example is the scholarship for conversation assistants abroad offered by the Ministry of Education of Spain.

It is intended for university students or graduates in Hispanic or English Philology or Translation and Interpreting and, in addition, have completed a master's degree in teaching Spanish as a foreign language (although the latter is not an essential requirement) willing to work as Spanish assistants in the UK or other foreign country.

Other languages ​​of Great Britain

Apart from English, there are three other languages ​​spoken in the United Kingdom, which come from the family of the celtic languages: Welsh, Irish and Gaelic.

These dialects of English became a minority after the Anglo-Saxon invasions of the British Isles. Welsh, Irish and Gaelic are the only languages ​​of the Celtic branch that are still preserved in the United Kingdom. Here's where in the UK each is spoken:

  • Scottish Gaelic: called dayhlig This language has been spoken in Scotland since the 60.000th century. It is very similar to Irish Gaelic and Manx spoken on the Isle of Man. Today, it is the language of about XNUMX people in Scotland, especially in the northern regions. .
  • scots or scottishConsidered the language of Scotland, this Germanic language is spoken in the Scottish Lowlands, as well as in some areas of Northern Ireland and the border with the Republic of Ireland. It is not the same as the Scottish Gaelic we talked about earlier, but an independent language considered by 64% of Scots as the same language as English.
  • Welsh: Welsh or Welsh It is spoken in Wales and used by 22% of the population. It is used especially in the northern part of the country and is a compulsory subject in the country's colleges and institutes.
  • Irish Gaelic: Modern Irish Gaelic is originally from Ireland and, within the UK, is spoken in Northern Ireland. It is the native language of approximately 20.000-80.000 people today, especially citizens of rural western areas.

These are languages ​​from the Indo-European family whose original speakers were the Celtic peoples, that is, indigenous communities of Central and Western Europe.

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