Though English is undoubtedly the main language throughout the United
Kingdom and is spoken by almost everyone (with the possible exception
of some immigrants), other languages include Welsh, Irish, Gaelic,
Scots and believe it or not, Cornish, which is probably only spoken
fluently by about 200 people in southwest England. But even in the
areas where these different languages are spoken, English remains
in everyday use, so visitors need not worry about possible problems
in communicating.
The most common other language in the United Kingdom is Welsh, which
is widely spoken throughout Wales, with over 500,000 people (nearly
20% of the Welsh population), professing a knowledge of the language,
according to the 1991 census. The traditional Welsh heartland areas
are in the north and west of the country, while a significant number
of Welsh speakers are also found in the industrial and coastal cities
of South Wales, where the majority of the population is concentrated.
By virtue of the fact that Northern Ireland is officially regarded
as part of the United Kingdom, the Irish language is a recognised
tongue in Britain. Though not very widely spoken in Northern Ireland,
the 1991 census revealed that over 100,000 people had some knowledge
of the language, with about 6% of these claiming fluency.
Similar in nature to the Irish language, Gaelic is spoken in all parts
of Scotland, with the main concentrations in the Western Isles, Skye,
Lochaber, Sutherland, Argyll and Bute, Ross and Inverness, while there
are also speakers in the major cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
And though Gaelic has no statutory legal status, the 1991 census revealed
over 60,000 speakers throughout Scotland.
Spoken in a variety of different dialects, the Scots language is widespread
and is found (albeit sometimes in pockets) throughout Dumfries and
Galloway, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, the Lothians, Fife, Stirlingshire,
Perthshire, Angus, Aberdeenshire, Buchan, Moray and the Isles of Shetland
and Orkney. Though Scots has no legal status, it was estimated that
there were almost 1.5 million speakers in 1996.
