Linguistic situation in the UK as a reflection of national identity

The article is devoted to the national identity problem in the United Kingdom. The problem is considered in terms of the linguistic situation in the country, in particular, by analyzing the relations between the English language and the languages of national minorities in different historical periods. The author compares the Great Britain’s language politics of the 19th century with that of the 20th - 21st centuries. Their goals were found to be completely opposite to each other. That’s why the author puts forward and attempts to justify the assumption that the reason for the linguistic situation changes in the country is the change of the national identity idea. The author argues that the growing role of supra-state structures is pushing European states toward globalization. It leads to a blurring of the national identity boundaries and to the unification of the entire European population. It is said in detail that, being unwilling to lose their national uniqueness and to intermingle with other European nations, the British turn to the culture and languages of regional people in order to broaden the concept of national identity. As a result, the English formula is replaced by the British one, in other words, by a conjunction of all national values, whose carriers reside in the United Kingdom.