Do you want to improve your English? Or maybe brush up on your conversation skills or grammar? Learning English in the U.K can be a great learning opportunity and a once in a lifetime experience that will give you the skills to speak the most widely conversed language on the planet. English as a spoken language has three-times more non-native speakers than native speakers and has an interesting history with lots of fun facts regarding its origin and use.
English is first and foremost a Germanic language along with Icelandic, Faroese, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Frisian, Flemish, Dutch, Afrikaans, German, and Yiddish. However in its modern usage it it now a mix between both Germanic and the latin based Romance languages, and it borrows and uses words from both lineages.
In the U.K alone there are around 56 accent types, however visit any county within the U.K and you can tell a distinct difference in accent between towns just 5-10 miles apart. London has three distinguishable accents from the North to the South London accent and Cockney which has its own rhyming type of slang and vocabulary. Venture not even 100 miles out of London and there exists the Cornish language which is a revived Celtic language with about 300 fluent speakers left in the U.K today.
Head up north to Yorkshire and you will find remnants of dialects which still use words of Old Norse origin. They still use 2 person singular pronouns and adjectives “thou” “thee” and “thy” and you can still find words like “ta” for thanks and “hey up” which is used a common greeting and comes from the Swedish form of “”sey upp” which was originally a warning. Funnily enough even the Old Norse word “ars” has managed to find its way into vernacular usage used all over the U.K today; meaning of course posterior or backside!
Head to other countries in the U.K like Wales and Scotland and you will find completely different languages. Scots language which heavily influences Scottish slang and dialect is sometimes called “Braid Scots” and is one of three native languages spoken in Scotland today. The Welsh language is over 1400 years old and is a combination of the Celtic language and the language of the ancient Britons and has the longest place name in Europe: Llanfairpwllgwyngyll.
Not matter where you decide to learn English you will be gaining an understanding of a language rich in history no matter what region you are in. If you are interested in learning English in any of the following places: England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland then sign up for the free webinar on the 23rd of February where you will have the opportunity to see what is it like to study English in one of the 500 accredited language schools.
During this webinar you will learn:
- About what it’s really like to study English in the UK
- How to choose an English language course and school
- What you’ll experience inside & outside the classroom while studying English in the UK
- What current international students think about studying English in the UK
- What makes the UK such a wonderful place to study and live
You will get the opportunity to speak with three students who are currently learning English in the UK and get to ask any questions you may have regarding the programs. Simply fill out your details below to sign up for the free interactive event: [wufoo username=”web2present” formhash=”z1x3x1uz0vlwugv” autoresize=”true” height=”516″ header=”show” ssl=”true”]
