Languages Of Northern Ireland
The de facto official language of the United Kingdom is English (British English), which is spoken as the primary language of 95% of the UK population. The Welsh language is also an official language in Wales, and is the second most spoken language in the United Kingdom, after English. Polish is the third most-spoken in England and Wales. In addition, there are several other living languages indigenous to the territory, various regional dialects, and numerous languages spoken by recent immigrant populations and those who have learned them as second languages.
Read more about Languages Of Northern Ireland: Statistics, Status, Immigrant Languages, Norman French and Latin, Languages of The Channel Islands and Isle of Man, Languages of British Overseas Territories
Famous quotes containing the words northern ireland, languages, northern and/or ireland:
“For generations, a wide range of shooting in Northern Ireland has provided all sections of the population with a pastime which ... has occupied a great deal of leisure time. Unlike many other countries, the outstanding characteristic of the sport has been that it was not confined to any one class.”
—Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)
“People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)
“Our ancestors were savages. The story of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a wolf is not a meaningless fable. The founders of every state which has risen to eminence have drawn their nourishment and vigor from a similar wild source. It was because the children of the Empire were not suckled by the wolf that they were conquered and displaced by the children of the northern forests who were.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Come, fix upon me that accusing eye.
I thirst for accusation. All that was sung.
All that was said in Ireland is a lie
Breed out of the contagion of the throng,
Saving the rhyme rats hear before they die.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)