United Kingdom

Since the United Kingdom does not have a formal constitution, it follows that English cannot be recognised by it. Nonetheless, even if it is not officially proclaimed as such (except in certain very old laws dating back to the Middle Ages), it is the de facto official language by virtue of its being the language of the British government and administration. It is spoken by 94% of the population and, despite having little formal legal recognition, it is mentioned in important legal and regulatory texts: the 1981 law on British nationality, the law on nationality, the 2002 law on immigration and asylum rights, the 2002 law on education, to name but a few of the more recent occurrences.

In the same way, a “sufficient understanding of the English language” is stipulated as a condition for obtaining British nationality in a 2005 text. It is, however, interesting to note that this is a regulatory text and that the relevant legislative text, the 2002 law on nationality, immigration and asylum rights, speaks only of “a sufficient understanding of the British way of life” and a “sufficient understanding of a language” without specifying further. It is also interesting to note that in the 1981 law on British nationality, although English is explicitly mentioned, it is given equal status with Welsh and Scottish Gaelic : it is only necessary to be able to master one of these three languages to meet the criteria for naturalisation.

Since 1997 for Scotland and 1998 for Wales and Northern Ireland, new powers have been devolved by central Government to these three countries, permitting them to develop and implement autonomous linguistic policies. Wales is an interesting case in point. Since 1993, the law on the Welsh language ensures that, in principle at least, Welsh and English have equal status.

I – ENGLAND

The only region to not have benefited from a devolution of powers and specific statues, England is governed by legislation adopted for the United Kingdom by the British Parliament. There is very little legislation concerning the status and usage of the English language.

Parliamentary institutions
In the British Parliament, English is the sole language used in debates as well as in the drawing up and promulgation of laws.

Justice
Procedures are in English, but, in criminal proceedings a translation or interpretation service is available to those who do not speak or do not understand English.

Administration
English is the language of use, but a large number of ministerial services and administrations, particularly in local government, publish brochures in minority languages. This is required by equal opportunities policies. Similarly, the Departments for Education and Employment publish information brochures aimed at parents who speak a minority language. The Department for Health has published a number of brochures on the subjects of pregnancy, maternity services and cot death, written in such a way as to allow non-English speaking immigrant populations access to national, regional and local services in their native language.

Some local authorities have chosen to print entirely bilingual signage (English/Urdu or English/Somali, for example) in areas where the majority of inhabitants do not speak English.

World of work
There is no regulatory legislation concerning languages. The fact that English is the language of use means that it is the language required for most jobs. All economic activities take place in English except in ethnic businesses of Indo-Pakistani origin where Hindi, Urdu, Sindhi etc. are used. The United Kingdom Government has committed to not limiting the use of minority languages in documents relating to economic life, and specifically in contracts of employment, without reasonable cause.

Advertising
This is not subject to any law or regulation. Advertising campaigns can run in languages other than English without the need to provide a translation. There are a number of bilingual signs but they are a matter of choice rather than the implementation of regulations.

Education
Compulsory education (from five to 16 years) is founded on a collection of programmes (the National Curriculum), which must be taught in English. This is the case throughout the United Kingdom except in Wales, where the language of teaching may be either English or Welsh. The primary concern of authorities in England is to ensure that all pupils have a good understanding of the English language. Lessons in a language other than English are permitted, but only if at least equal time is devoted to lessons in English. According to official statistics, some 200 different native languages are represented in British schools and it is possible to find up to 60 in the same school.

Children whose native language is not English receive linguistic support alongside their studies to enable them to attain the minimum level of understanding and expression to follow their course. Anyone wishing to undertake teacher training, whether British or of any other nationality, must prove a level of competence in English which is at least equal to the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) English qualification.

Foreign nationals who decide to follow an English course run by a State-approved service provider can get their tuition fees paid for by the State, as long as they have held a residence permit for at least three years.

The conferral of British nationality is subject to sufficient mastery of the language, and there is an ongoing debate on this issue. However, the linguistic integration of foreign nationals is not a priority. A working group was set up in September 2002 to propose a reform to the naturalisation exam. In its report, entitled ‘Living in the United Kingdom’, which it submitted a year later, it proposed giving all foreign nationals the right to learn English, however long they had been in the country and whether or not they sought British citizenship, in the interests of improving integration.

In addition, in its report on controlling immigration in February 2005, the Home Office proposed making residence permits subject to passing an English language test.

The United Kingdom is a signatory to the 2001 European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages. As such, it recognises the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance where linguistic diversity is concerned, whether this be for Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic or any other ‘ethnic minority’ language.

To improve the integration of ethnic minorities, the United Kingdom works to provide a translation of all documents relating to economic and social life.

Recent changes
The national strategy for languages (Languages for all), published in 2002 by the Department for Education, continues to guide linguistic policy in the United Kingdom. Its main aims were not questioned by the Dearing report, which served only to flesh them out and complete them:

• recentring linguistic policy on young children: it will be compulsory for all children to begin learning a modern foreign language at the age of seven from 2010 (this will form part of the National Curriculum);

•  languages offered will not be limited to European languages but take into account specificities of the community; plurilingualism in immigrant populations will be supported. The languages on offer will therefore be more diverse;

• emphasis is placed on motivating students rather than forcing them. Continuing to learn a foreign language after the age of 14 will be optional but encouraged;

• the need to renew teaching practices and curricula is affirmed.

A National Languages Manager has responsibility for ensuring that these directions are followed.

II - WALES

Since 1993, Wales has held on principle that the Welsh and English languages are of equal status. 580,000 people, around 21% of the population of Wales, speak Welsh. A specific body with responsibility for promoting the use of the Welsh languages reports directly to the Welsh National Assembly.
 

In July 2006, the Welsh Government published a ‘Declaration on bilingual services’ which referred to the services provided by the Parliamentary Assembly. The administration will respond in Welsh to a letter written in Welsh and in English to a letter written in English. On the telephone, staff will answer in the language used by the caller. All documentation is bilingual. Those applying for public sector jobs are at an advantage if they can express themselves in both languages.

All public services in Wales must draw up and implement Welsh language programmes. The 1993 law on the Welsh language defines those organisations which should be considered to be public. This list is regularly updated by amendments to the law.

A specific body has been created with responsibility for promoting and facilitating the use of Welsh. The Welsh Language Board, an official organisation financed entirely by the State and run by a committee selected by the Secretary of State for Wales, reports directly to the Welsh National Assembly.

In 2007, the Welsh Language Board had a budget of 13.4 million pounds sterling.

Media
Welsh is beginning to make its presence felt in the worlds of education, culture and media by means of a large network of audiovisual resources. Since 1982, the channel S4C broadcasts Welsh language programmes 30 hours a week and 12 hours a day on the digital network. The national radio station BBC Radio Cymru broadcasts 120 hours of programmes in Welsh per week.

As far as the written press is concerned, there are four weekly newspapers and four magazines published in Welsh, but no daily newspapers. The Western Mail occasionally publishes articles in Welsh, but no more than about 1% of its content.

Teaching
Welsh language is an integral part of the national teaching curriculum established by the 1988 Education Act.

From primary school, pupils can receive their education in Welsh if their parents request it. Legally, such a request cannot be refused; at the very least, teaching must be offered half in English and half in Welsh.

Since 1990, it has been compulsory to learn Welsh from the ages of seven to 14, and, since 1999, between the ages of 14 and 16 too. Schools which offer Welsh language teaching in more than six disciplines are considered to be ‘Welsh-speaking’ and others as offering Welsh language teaching as a ‘second language’. Around 25% of children attend a ‘Welsh-speaking school’, even if most of these do not speak Welsh at home.

Higher education establishments are authorised to teach in Welsh, but very few do. Around 1.5% of all classes are in Welsh.

III - SCOTLAND

English is the native language for 98% of Scots. A very small number still speak Scottish Gaelic (around 1.3%).

The numbers of students who learn Gaelic are still limited but continue to grow. 2,000 children currently learn Gaelic at primary school, 3,000 at secondary school and 1,200 in post-secondary education.

The 2005 law on the Gaelic language gives the Bord the right to demand of specific education authorities that they offer Gaelic language programmes.

Foreign language teaching
Although it is no longer compulsory for foreign languages to be taught, pupils in most schools learn a foreign language from the age of six and a large majority choose to take a foreign language at Standard Grade level (the equivalent of the GCSE).

Nonetheless, the recent fall in numbers of students choosing to study a foreign language at Higher Grade (A Level) has provoked a debate on the usefulness of the system and the absence of any compulsory teaching.

Media
With the exception of one magazine and local newspapers, the press and media in general are in English. A number of daily newspapers do contain a Gaelic page or column.

The 1996 law on radio broadcasting aims to increase the number of Gaelic language broadcasts. The BBC-radio nan Gaedheal and four television channels, including the BBC, currently broadcast Gaelic language programmes.

IV – NORTHERN IRELAND

English is the de facto official language of Northern Ireland, even though there is no official statute conferring that status.

However, the Belfast Agreement of 1998 specifies that the signing parties recognise “the importance of respect for cultural diversity…particularly for Irish, Ulster Scots and the languages of the various ethnic communities.”

Since 1999 and the Northern Ireland peace agreement on north-south cooperation, two bodies have been created to promote the Irish and Scottish Ulster languages.

These provisions still create no particular statute for the minority languages, as is the case with Welsh in Wales, and, to a lesser extent, with Scottish Gaelic in Scotland.

With very rare exceptions, English is the only language used in administration, the justice system, economic life and education.

It is worth noting that the BBC broadcasts around 150 hours of Irish language radio but only three to four hours of Irish language television per year.

(2009)