Advertisement

This South Asian Language Is The Most Spoken Foreign Language In London

The study highlights that six out of the top 10 languages spoken after English in London are from outside Europe.

This South Asian Language Is The Most Spoken Foreign Language In London
London's linguistic diversity varies across boroughs.

A study by City Lit, an adult education college and charity, reveals that Bengali is the most commonly spoken foreign language in London. A survey conducted in 2019 indicates that 311,210 London residents mainly speak a foreign language at home. On the contrary, less than one in 10 English-speaking people can speak a second language fluently.

The survey by the City Lit has ranked Bengali, Polish, and Turkish as the top foreign languages spoken in London's diverse linguistic fabric. Interestingly, six of the 10 most spoken languages after English come from outside Europe, being Bengali, Gujarati, Panjabi, Urdu, Arabic, and Tamil. The four European languages in the top 10 are Polish, Turkish, French, and Portuguese.

Also Read | This London Woman Has Turned Out To Be Allergic To Her Own Menstrual Cycle

This percentage of linguistic diversity varies greatly between certain boroughs. In Barking and Dagenham, Lithuanian occupies the leading position among foreign languages in use, being spoken by about 3% of the population; in Havering, this figure is equal to 0.43%.

Also Read | Indian Student In UK Develops Revolutionary Carbon-Extracting Biomaterial

Bengali is twice as common in the next two boroughs, Tower Hamlets and Newham, where it comes in as the second most common language spoken by 18% and 7% of residents, respectively. 

Also Read | Air India Cabin Crew Member Assaulted In Her London Hotel Room

In Redbridge, Urdu is the most commonly spoken foreign language, used by 4% of the population. This City Lit survey, devised as a celebration of London's cultural diversity, provides a snapshot of the capital's multilingualism.

Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world

Follow us:
Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com