Language

The Celts spoke Celtic which survives today in the form of Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic. Less than a quarter of all Welsh people (600,000, out of 2,800,000) speak Welsh. Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic are still spoken, although they have suffered more than Welsh from the spread of English. However, all three languages are now officially encouraged and taught in schools.

English developed from Anglo-Saxon and is a Germanic language. However, all the invading peoples, particularly the Norman French, influenced the English language and you can find many words in English which are French in origin. Nowadays all Welsh, Scottish and Irish people speak English (even if they speak their own language as well), but all the countries have their own special accents and dialects, and their people are easily recognizable as soon as they speak. Occasionally, people from the four countries in the UK have difficulty in understanding one another because of these different accents. A southern English accent is generally accepted to be the most easily understood, and is the accent usually taught to foreigners.

Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White: Spotlight on Britain; Oxford University Press, 1985, page 3

The English come from England, the Scots from Scotland, the Welsh from Wales and the Irish from Ireland. Think of as many European countries as you can. What are the people called? What language do they speak?