Surprisingly, there is no law declaring English the official language of the UK.
In fact, English is just the de facto official language of the UK, which means it is not legally sanctioned as official but spoken by the majority.
England and Scotland do not have any official languages. Northern Ireland’s official languages are English and Irish.
I’d known that about the US, but always assumed that England had English as the official language.
Mind you, the aristocracy and royalty spoke French for 200 years so I’m wondering whether English, or French come to that, was ever the official language.
It’s set by custom, rather than law. Languages drift and change. The church used to only use the Latin Bible. This left it inaccessible to most people.
Which version of English should have been locked in, by law? Latin? Old English? Middle English? International English?
The closest we came was “Queen’s English”. This was a semi standardised language and accent. It was mostly done to allow rich governors etc to not have issues talking to their staff. For reference, the BBC news was mostly done in Queen’s English for a long time. It was designed to be clear and distinct, and so excellent for radio news (as well as talking in the court, or ordering your native servants around). While it sounds formal and stilted, it’s very understandable for everyone. If you’ve tried to have a conversation with someone with a strong UK accent, you’ll understand the importance.
FYI, ‘pirate talk’ is actually mostly a Cornish accent. Add to that Scottish, Scouse, and London Cockney and you’ll understand why a common reference is useful.
Thank-you. Well put.