Read and do the exercises to learn about the languages of the British Isles.

Memorize the following words.

native – місцевий житель

the British Isles – Британські острови

Welsh – уельський, валійський

Gaelic – гельський

Manx – мова жителів острова Мен

Cornish – корнуольський, корнійський

dialect – діалект

localized version – варіант мови, якою розмовляють у певній місцевості

to contain – містити (в собі)

alternative – альтернативний

certain – певний

complete– повністю сформований

Match the Ukrainian equivalents to the English words and word-combinations.

  1. the British Isles
  2. to contain
  3. Welsh
  4. Manx
  5. dialect
  6. Gaelic
  7. alternative
  8. Cornish
  9. complete

a. діалект

b. корнуольський

c. альтернативний

d. Британські острови

e. містити

f. уельський

g. мова жителів острова Мен

h. гельський

i. повністю сформований

Write down the English equivalents.

Британські острови, уельський, гельський, мова жителів острова Мен, повністю сформований, корнійський, діалект, місцевий житель, варіант мови, якою розмовляють у певній місцевості, альтернативний, певний, містити.

Read the text.

It may surprise you to know that until a few centuries ago there were many natives of what we call the British Isles who did not speak English. The Western land of Wales spoke Welsh, in the farthest north and the islands of Scotland the language was Gaelic and a similar language Irish Gaelic was spoken in Ireland, Manx was the language of the Isle of Man, and Cornish that of the south-western top of Britain.

We are not talking about dialects (localized versions of a language) which often contain alternative words or phrases for certain things, but which are forms of English. Welsh, Gaelic, Manx and Cornish are complete languages with their grammar, poetry and stories – all that we call culture.

Answer the questions.

  1. Did natives of the British Isles speak English a few centuries ago?
  2. Where was Welsh spoken?
  3. Where was Gaelic spoken?
  4. Where was Irish Gaelic spoken?
  5. Where was Manx spoken?
  6. Where was Cornish spoken?
  7. What are dialects?
  8. Were Welsh, Gaelic, Manx and Cornish dialects or complete languages?
  9. What do we call culture?

 Complete the sentences, using the text.

  1. It may surprise you to know that until a few centuries ago on the British Isles there were ____________ who ____________.
  2. The Western land of Wales spoke ____________
  3. The farthest north and the islands of Scotland spoke ____________
  4. A similar language ____________ was spoken in ____________
  5. Manx was the language of ____________
  6. And the south-western part of Britain spoke ____________
  7. Welsh, Gaelic, Manx, and Cornish are not ____________ they are ____________ with ____________

Fill in the gaps, using the correct forms of the verbs in brackets.

  1. It may ____________ (to surprise) you to know that until a few centuries ago there ____________ (to be) many natives on the British Isles who ____________ (not to speak) English.
  2. The Western land of Wales ____________ (to speak) Welsh, the farthest north and the islands of Scotland ____________ (to speak) Gaelic and a similar language Irish Gaelic ____________ (to be spoken) in Ireland, Manx ____________ (to be) the language of the Isle of Man and the south-western part of Britain ____________ (to speak) Cornish.
  3. We ____________ (not to talk) about dialects which often ____________ (to contain) alternative words or phrases for certain things, but which ____________ (to be) forms of English.
  4. Welsh, Gaelic, Manx and Cornish ____________ (to be) complete languages.

Memorize the following information and be ready to write it down.

A few centuries ago on the British Isles there were many natives who did not speak English. Wales spoke Welsh, Scotland spoke Gaelic, Ireland spoke Irish Gaelic, Manx was the language of the Isle of Man and Cornish was spoken in the south-west of Britain.

They were not dialects. They were complete languages with their own grammar, poetry and stories – all that we call culture.

“England” – What Does It Mean?

The name England comes from the words ‘Angle Land’. The Angles were people who came from northern Germany in the 5 – 6th centuries. English people are sometimes called Anglo-Saxons. Another name sometimes used for England is ‘Albion’, appeared in the 1st century. ‘England’ is sometimes, wrongly, used in reference to the whole United Kingdom, the entire island of Great Britain.

England at first became a series of kingdoms, the strongest of which was Wessex (from West-Saxon). The names of several regions of England come from this period: the name Sussex comes from South-Saxon, Essex from East-Saxon, and East Anglia from East-Angle.

The English language is the main language spoken throughout England, although there are many different regional accents. It can be difficult to know how to spell or to pronounce some English words, because the language has been influenced by Greek, Latin, German (the language of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes), French (the Normans language), Gaelic (the Celtic language) and Danish (the language of the Vikings).