England

===Language===
{{further|Languages of the United Kingdom|English language in England}}
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|-
!Language
!Native speakers
<small>(thousands)</small><ref>[http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/QS204EW/view/2092957699?cols=measures QS204EW – Main language], [[Office for National Statistics]] 2011 Census. Retrieved 21 July 2015.</ref>
|-
|[[English language in England|English]]
|46,937
|-
|[[Polish language|Polish]]
|529
|-
|[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
|272
|-
|[[Urdu]]
|266
|-
|[[Bengali language|Bengali]]
|216
|-
|[[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
|212
|-
|[[Arabic]]
|152
|-
|[[French language|French]]
|145
|-
|-
|[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
|131
|-
|[[Welsh language|Welsh]]
|8
|-
|[[Cornish language|Cornish]]
|0.6
|-
|Other
|2,267
|-
!Population
|'''51,006'''
|}

[[English language|English]], today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated in what is now England, where it remains the principal tongue. According to a 2011 census, it is spoken well or very well by 98% of the population<ref name="CensusEnglish">{{Cite web |title=QS205EW – Proficiency in English |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/QS205EW/view/2092957699?cols=measures |access-date=20 July 2015 |website=[[Office for National Statistics]] 2011 census |quote=Out of the 51,005,610 residents of England over the age of three, 50,161,765 (98%) can speak English "well" or "very well"}}</ref> and is widely spoken around the world.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mujica |first=Mauro E. |date=19 June 2003 |title=English: Not America's Language? |work=The Globalist |location=Washington DC |url=http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=3229 |access-date=1 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117232711/http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=3229 |archive-date=17 January 2008}}</ref>

[[English as a second or foreign language|English language learning and teaching]] is an important [[Economics|economic activity]]. There is no [[United Kingdom legislation|legislation]] mandating an [[official language]] for England,<ref>{{Cite web |title=English language history |url=http://www.yaelf.com/history.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213214406/http://www.yaelf.com/history.shtml |archive-date=13 February 2010 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=Yaelf}}</ref> but English is the only language used for official business. Despite the country's relatively small size, there are many distinct [[Regional accents of English speakers#England|regional accents]].

Cornish died out as a community language in the 18th century but is being revived,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government Offices for the English Regions |author-link=Government Offices for the English Regions |title=Cornish language |url=http://www.gos.gov.uk/gosw/culturehome/heritage/cornish/?view=Standard |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112123830/http://www.gos.gov.uk/gosw/culturehome/heritage/cornish/?view=Standard |archive-date=12 January 2016 |access-date=22 September 2009 |publisher=gos.gov.uk}}; {{cite web |title=The Cornish Language Development Project&nbsp;– Evaluation&nbsp;– Final Report, page 20 |url=http://www.magakernow.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=d9bd1b63-0135-47b1-8edf-4a5e9358da06&version=-1 |publisher=Hywel Evans, Aric Lacoste / ERS |access-date=5 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007054626/http://www.magakernow.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=d9bd1b63-0135-47b1-8edf-4a5e9358da06&version=-1 |archive-date=7 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and is now protected under the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=South West&nbsp;– Cornish Language |url=http://www.gos.gov.uk/gosw/culturehome/heritage/cornish/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013095206/http://www.gos.gov.uk/gosw/culturehome/heritage/cornish/ |archive-date=13 October 2008 |access-date=17 September 2009 |publisher=Government Office South West}}</ref> It is spoken by 0.1% of people in [[Cornwall]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=On being a Cornish "Celt": changing Celtic heritage and traditions |url=http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/cornishcom/documents/OnbeingaCornishcelt.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920093455/http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/cornishcom/documents/OnbeingaCornishcelt.pdf |archive-date=20 September 2009 |access-date=1 February 2009 |publisher=[[University of Exeter]]}}</ref> and is taught to some degree in several primary and secondary schools.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Cornish: They revolted in 1497, now they're at it again |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-cornish-they-revolted-in-1497-now-theyre-at-it-again-1782535.html |work=The Independent |location=London |access-date=17 September 2009 |first=Emily |last=Dugan |date=6 September 2009 |archive-date=19 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819072618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-cornish-they-revolted-in-1497-now-theyre-at-it-again-1782535.html |url-status=dead }}; {{Cite web |year=2009 |title=Cornish in Schools |url=http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=336 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007054858/http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=336 |archive-date=7 October 2013 |access-date=5 October 2013 |website=Cornish Language Partnership}}</ref>

[[State school]]s teach students a [[second language]] or [[third language]] from the ages of seven, most commonly French, Spanish or German.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lipsett |first=Anthea |date=26 June 2008 |title=Number of primaries teaching foreign languages doubles |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/jun/26/schools.uk2 |access-date=23 September 2009}}</ref> It was reported in 2007 that around 800,000 school students spoke a [[foreign language]] at home,<ref name="Paton" /> the most common being [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Urdu]]. However, following the 2011 census data released by the [[Office for National Statistics]], figures now show that Polish is the main language spoken in England after English.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Booth |first=Robert |date=30 January 2013 |title=Polish becomes England's second language |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jan/30/polish-becomes-englands-second-language |access-date=30 January 2013}}</ref> In 2022, [[British Sign Language]] became an official language of England when the [[British Sign Language Act 2022]] came into effect.<ref>{{cite news |title=British Sign Language gets official status after 19 years of campaigning |url=https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-05-06/were-finally-recognised-british-sign-language-gets-official-status |access-date=14 June 2023 |work=ITV News |date=6 May 2022}}</ref>