English has never been the only language in use over the British Isles , and it certainly is not now!

English has never been the only language in use over the British Isles , and it certainly is not now! Welsh is still used in Wales. Some Welsh people still speak it as their mother tongue , and it is widely taught in Welsh schools. Some people in Scotland and in Ireland still use a language that is related to Welsh. It is called Gaelic. These languages have a long history in these islands - longer than the history of English. In addition , people from

overseas have settled in England quite recently during this century. In some industrial cities , though not generally in Britain , you find groups of people who speak Polish , and other groups speaking the languages of the Indian subcontinent. A survey of North London schools in the early 1980' s found that nearly a third of the children spoke a language other than English at home.

The majority of the 55 million people living in England use English all the time. Standard English , that is , written English , is in use throughout Britain. Spoken English , however , sounds very different in different parts of the country. There is a story , a play. by the famous writer George Bernard Shaw , about a professor of English Language who can tell you someone' s address when he hears that person speak! That is exaggeration of course. Not even a Professor , who has studied the sounds of English all his life , can really do that. However ,it is true hat most people who have lived for a long time in Britain can tell a number of things about the people as soon as they speak! Usually we cannot tell the speaker' s address

, but we can guess the part of the country where the person comes from. We can tell how well educated he or she is too! If an international user of English , like anyone of you here , happens to meet speakers from , say , the North or the West of England , you may find them hard to understand. Unless you understand what is going on your confidence in your ability to use the language may be badly shaken.

36. Gaelic is related to Welsh. ()

37. Welsh is not taught in schools anymore. ()

38. One third of the 55 million people in England speak other languages besides English at home ()

39. Written English is in use throughout Britain but spoken English sounds different in different parts of the country. ()

40. Most people who have lived for a long time in Britain can tell how well educated a person is by the way he/ she speaks. ()