5.1. English spoken

Culture counts

FLAGS OF THE TOP ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

The United Kingdom

Find out more about the Union Jack in section 5.2

UK flag

Imagen de Zscout370 en Wikimedia. Licencia CC

The United States of America

Find out more about the Stars & Stripes in section 5.3

USA flag

Imagen de Zscout370 en Wikimedia. Licencia CC 

Ireland

Irish flag

Imagen de Skopp en Wikimedia. Licencia CC

Canada

Canada flag

Imagen de Djameson1983 en Wikimedia. Licencia CC

 Australia

Australia flag

Imagen de Ian Fieggen en Wikimedia. Licencia CC

New Zealand

New Zealand flag

Imagen de Marc Mongenet en Wikimedia. Licencia CC

South Africa

South Africa flag

Imagen de Frederick Brownell en Wikimedia. Licencia CC

 

SPEAK

Imagen cortesía de UVIc

In pairs, look at the flags above and answer the following questions:

  1. Which English-speaking countries have the colours red, blue and white in their flags?
  2. What colours can you find in the South African flag?
  3. What colour is the Irish flag?
  4. What colour is the Canadian flag?

Reading Activity

READ and LISTEN at the same time.

  • In the United States of America, English is the national language. 80% of the population speak only English at home. Spanish is the second most common language.
  • Canada's two official languages are English and French. English is the mother tongue of 59.7% of the Canadian population, while French is the mother tongue of 23.2%. More than 85% of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec.
  • South Africa has eleven official languages. Though English has a large role in public and commercial life, it is nevertheless only the fifth most-widely spoken home language.
  • English and Irish are the official languages of Ireland, with English being the dominant one. Most public notices and print media are in English only. The Polish language is one of the most widely spoken languages in Ireland after English and Irish.
  • In Australia, English is the national language. Australian English has a unique accent and a small number of unique terms. Grammar and spelling are largely based on those of British English. English is the only language spoken at home for close to 79% of the population.
  • In New Zealand, the two official spoken languages, English and Māori, are also the most widely used; English is spoken by 98% of the population and Māori by 4.1%.

 

Adapted from:http://www.learning-english-online.net/areas/cultural-studies/english-speaking-countries/

Do it yourself

Question

Now answer the following questions:

1. For American people, the second most important language is:

Answers

Spanish

English

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Question

2. In Canada, the majority of people speak:

Answers

English

French

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Question

3. English is the most important language in South Africa.

Answers

True

False

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Question

4. In Ireland,

Answers

English is more important than Irish.

Irish is more important than English.

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Question

5. Australian English is similar to:

Answers

British English

American English

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Question

6. In New Zealand, the majority of people speak:

Answers

Māori

English

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