General Presentation

Abstract

If the person in the street were asked what are the RLs of Britain, the answer would probably include Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic (or ‘Irish’). Some may add Cornish, which they may think is extinct. Others may add Manx, although the Isle of Man is not strictly speaking part of the United Kingdom. All of these are Celtic languages. Some, particularly if living in Scotland, may add Scots, a collateral language of English. Finally, they may add the form of French spoken in the Channel Islands, which, again, like the Isle of Man, is not part of the United Kingdom.