How many languages spoken in Britain?

Answer 1

In Great Britain, the traditional languages are English, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish (which died out as a first language but which a few enthusiasts keep alive). Welsh is joint official language in Wales with English. Some people regard Scots, the Scottish dialect of English used as the official language of Scotland until the Seventeenth Century, as a separate language (with good reason: technically Scots is a descendent of the Northumbrian dialect of Old English while Literary English is a descendent of the Midland dialect). Romany, the Gypsy language, is also a traditional language, though it has (I believe) become mixed with English now.
So, five, arguably six in Great Britain.

As for other parts of the British Isles, Irish Gaelic (also known as Irish or sometimes Erse) is spoken in parts of Ireland, both North and South (I overheard an Irish girl cousin of mine swapping Irish words for Welsh words with a Welsh cousin at a funeral last week). At heart it is the same language as Scottish Gaelic, which the Scots brought with them from Scotland to Ireland in the eighth (?) century (Pictish and probably British were the original languages of Scotland). Shelta or Cant, a private language made from a mixture of Irish and English, is spoken by some travellers (or tinkers, a traditional group of Irish travelling people - see Perry Ogden's "Pavee Lackeen" for a glimpse of traveller life, though without Cant) and is regarded by some as an independent language, but it's rare.

So one, possibly two in Ireland.

Other parts of the British Isles: Manx in the Isle of Man between Great Britain and Ireland is no longer anyone's principle mother tongue, but may still be spoken. The Channel Islands have a particular French dialect, still just survivng. The Orkney Islands have Norwegian (they are just off the coast of Norway). [I'm wrong here - see David J's correction to my answer below - thanks David!]

So nine, arguably eleven traditional languages in the British Isles in total.

New languages - anything in London! In other places, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi are the principle Indian languages here. Polish everywhere. In Worcester there's some Italian still spoken by families of Italian prisoners-of-war who stayed here rather than return to Italy. In Sunderland, there's a community of Yemeni-Arabic speakers who moved here (I believe) in the days when Aden was a vital link in the communications of the Empire. And Chinese (especially the Cantonese dialect) is spoken in every city in Britain!

Answer 2

On the whole John L's answer is ok but the Orkneys are not particularly near to Norway and the old Scandinavian language spoken there called Norn (also spoken in the Shetlands) died out in the 18th century.Modern Norwegian is not spoken in the Orkneys except by Norwegian immigrants if there are any. A large number of often rather unlikely languages spoken in the United Kingdom is listed on the United Kingdom section of the Ethnologue website. One language not to forget is British Sign Language. Most countries have their own completely separate language for the deaf and the UK is no exception..

Answer 3

The indigenous languages are Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic (for Ulster), Manx, Cornish and English. Because of the influx of immigrants, many, many other languages are spoken by inhabitants.

Answer 4

English, Arabic, Gaelic, French, German...etc.

Answer 5

Do you mean `native` languages? Welsh and English are the only indigenous languages within UK. There are remnant languages in Cornwall, Isle of Man, and Scottish Islands, but are rarely heard, and the speakers are few if any!

Answer 6

English, Gaelic, Arabic, French, Chinese

Answer 7

I think you will hear a good sample of all the worlds languages just by walking down the street in London

Answer 8

There's English, Scottish(Celtic), Welsh(another Celtic) and Irish(also another Celtic).

Answer 9

native probably 4. english, welsh,gaelic and irish gaelic in nothern ireland. If you are talking non native then the skies your limit.

Answer 10

Too many