Languages Spoken in Aberdeen City

Languages spoken in Aberdeen City

Briefing paper 2016/02

RESEARCH AND INFORMATION

Research and Information Briefing Paper 2016/02 (Published April 2016) Languages spoken in Aberdeen City This is one in a series of briefing papers that has been produced by the Research and Information team. It is intended that these papers will be used by Council services and, where appropriate, our Community Planning partners to assist policy development and wider service delivery. Some papers, including this one, may be of interest to a wider audience.

This paper looks at Languages spoken in Aberdeen City (including some information on Aberdeenshire for comparison). Available information on languages comes primarily from the Census which provides data on how well English is spoken by Aberdeen City’s population as well as what languages are used at home. The Census also provides additional information about the level of Gaelic language skills within Aberdeen City. Further information about languages used in Aberdeen City was provided by Aberdeen City Council translation services (InterTrans) and also by the Pupils Census.

For more information on these issues, please contact: Research and Information Team Office of Chief Executive Aberdeen City Council 1st Floor, Old Town House Broad Street Aberdeen AB10 1FY  01224 523322 [email protected]

Other briefing papers in this series have included the following topics:  Population Report, Aberdeen City and Shire  Population of Older People in Aberdeen  Migrant Workers in Aberdeen City and Shire

These papers, and other statistical reports, can be found in the ‘Stats and Facts’ section of the Aberdeen City Council website: www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/statsandfacts

We value your comments/feedback and would appreciate if you could provide your comments on this paper by clicking the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/research-feedback-form

Summary

 English is the main language spoken in Aberdeen City. At the time of the 2011 Census, 98% of Aberdeen City’s population reported speaking English well or very well.  36% of Aberdeen City’s population said they were able to speak Scots. Just under 2% of Aberdeen City’s population reported speaking Scots at home.

 Less than 1% of Aberdeen city’s population said they were able to speak Gaelic. The ability to speak Gaelic was most common in adults aged between 18 years and 50 years, and those with higher levels of educational qualifications.  While most people in Aberdeen City could speak English, over 12% said they used a language other than English or Scots at home.

 Following English, the most common language used at home was Polish with 3% of the population speaking Polish at home. Polish speakers were most common in the younger adult age groups (25 to 34 year age group).

 The 2011 Census recorded a total of 68 languages used in Aberdeen. The most common languages (other than English, Polish or other UK languages) were French, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, German and Arabic.

 Over 9% of the City’s population used an ‘other’ language at home. As with Polish, the highest numbers of people who used an ‘other’ language at home were in the younger adult age groups (20 to 39 years).  Users of languages other than English were unevenly distributed throughout the City. Proportions of people who spoke English only at home (based on intermediate zones) ranged from a high of 93.4% in Danestone to a low of 68.5% in Tillydrone.  In 2014/2015, a total of 3,291 requests were received by InterTrans (a service that provides translation, interpreting and communication support to users and providers of Aberdeen City Council’s services). This is an increase of almost 90% from 2011/2012 levels. The most common languages requested were Polish, Russian and Lithuanian.

 In 2015, 18% of pupils in publicly funded schools in Aberdeen City reported that English was not their main home language. The most common languages spoken at home (other than English) were Polish (7%), Malayalam (1%) and Arabic (1%).

 There were considerable differences between schools - at primary school level, the proportion of children who reported having English as their main language at home ranged from a high of almost 98% at Culter School to a low of 25% in St Peter’s RC School. At secondary school level, the proportion of pupils who reported English as their main home language ranged from a high of 96% at Cults Academy to a low of 72% at Torry Academy.  There has been a sharp rise in the number of school children whose main home language is not English. Since 2010 the numbers have increased by almost 60% from 2,422 in 2010 to 3,478 in 2015.

Languages Spoken in Aberdeen City

1. Background Information

Possibly the most comprehensive source of information relating to languages spoken in Aberdeen City comes from Census data. At the time of the 2011 Census, Aberdeen City had a total population of 222,793. The population in Aberdeenshire was 252,973. Scotland’s population was 5,295,403.

A number of factors are likely to influence what languages are spoken in a particular area, including the ethnic composition of the population, or an individual’s country of birth and length of residence in the UK. To provide context for the language profile, this section therefore gives a brief overview of these factors. This information is taken from the Area Profiles provided by the 2011 Census (and is therefore consistent with the time period that the language data is available).

1.1. Ethnicity At the time of the 2011 Census, 11.9% of households in Aberdeen City were composed of people who were not all in the same ethnic group category. This is slightly higher than the figure for Scotland as a whole (10.6%), but lower than the figure for Aberdeenshire which was 13.0% (see Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1: Percentage of households where not all persons are in the same ethnic group category, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland, 2011 Census

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Scotland

14 12

10 8 6

Percentage % 4 2 0 Percentage of households where not all persons are in same ethnic group category

Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/area.html

While Aberdeenshire had a higher proportion of households with mixed ethnicity, the ethnic composition of the population was less varied than in Aberdeen City. In Aberdeenshire, 82.2% of the population classified their ethnicity as ‘White – Scottish’, compared to 75.3% of Aberdeen City’s population. In Scotland the figure was 84.0%. Aberdeenshire also had a much higher proportion of people who classified their ethnicity as ‘White – other British’ at 12.3%, compared to 7.6% in Aberdeen City and 7.9% in Scotland as a whole. The total proportion of the population who were either ‘White – Scottish’ or ‘White – other British’ was 94.5% for Aberdeenshire, 91.9% for Scotland and 82.9% for Aberdeen City (see Figure 1.2).

Figure 1.2: Proportion of population who classified their ethnicity as ‘White – Scottish’ or ‘White – other British’, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland, 2011 Census

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Scotland

96 94 92

90 88 86 84 Percentage % 82 80 78 76 % White - Scottish or other British

Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/area.html

The lower proportion of ‘White – Scottish’ and ‘White – Other British’ ethnic group categories in Aberdeen City compared to Aberdeenshire and Scotland as a whole, translates to a higher proportion of the population in the City being represented in other ethnic group categories. Almost 5% of Aberdeen City’s population classified themselves as ‘White – Other’, 4.3% as Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British and 3.2 % as ‘White – Polish’. Figure 1.3 presents percentages of the population in different ethnic group categories for Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland.

Figure 1.3: Percentage of population in specific ethnic group categories, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland, 2011 Census

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Scotland

2 Percentage %

0 % White - Irish % White - Polish % White - Other % Asian, Asian % Other ethnic Scottish or Asian groups British

Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/area.html

1.2. Country of birth

Scotland’s Census also collects information on ‘country of birth’. At the time of the 2011 Census, 75% of Aberdeen City’s population reported Scotland as their country of birth. This figure was lower than that of either Aberdeenshire (80.5%) or Scotland (83.3%) – see Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4: Percentage of the population who have Scotland as their country of birth, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland, 2011 Census

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Scotland

84 82

80 78 76

Percentage % 74

72 70 Scotland

Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/area.html

Figure 1.5 below shows percentages of the population by country of birth (excluding Scotland) for Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland. As can be seen from the figure, the percentage of the population born in England was higher in Aberdeenshire (12.1%) than in either Aberdeen City (8.1%) or Scotland (8.7%). However, Aberdeen City had a much higher percentage of people born in Other EU countries (6.4%) and Other countries (8.9%) than both Aberdeenshire and Scotland. For all three areas, the percentage of the population born in Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland was less than 1%.

Figure 1.5: Percentage of population by country of birth (excluding Scotland), Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Scotland

10 8 6

4 Percentage % 2 0 % England % Wales % Northern % Republic of % Other EU % Other Ireland Ireland countries (inc countries UK part not specified)

Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/area.html

1.3. Length of residence in the UK

At the time of the 2011 Census, 15.9% (35,436 people) of Aberdeen City’s population was born outside the UK. The respective figures were 5.9% (15,047) for Aberdeenshire and 7.0% (369, 284) for Scotland.

Figure 1.6 below shows how long those born outside the UK had been resident in the UK. As can be seen from the graph, Aberdeen City had a higher proportion of people who have been resident in the UK for a relatively short time, than had either Aberdeenshire or Scotland. In Aberdeen City more than 60% of those born outside the UK had been living in the UK for less than 5 years, compared to 40% in Aberdeenshire and 44% in Scotland.

Figure 1.6: Length of time resident in the UK (for all those born outside the UK), Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland, 2011 Census.

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Scotland

45 40

30 25 20

15 Percentage % 10 5 0 % Resident in UK for % Resident in UK for 2 % Resident in UK for 5 % Resident in UK for less than 2 years years or more but less years or more but less 10 years or more than 5 years than 10 years

Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/area.html

2. Languages spoken

Information about the languages that people use is collected in the Census in a number of ways. The first of these looks at how well people speak English.

2.1. Speaks English

According to the 2011 Census, 97.6% of the population of Aberdeen City (aged 3 years and over) spoke English ‘well’ or ‘very well’. This was broadly similar to the corresponding figures for Aberdeenshire (98.2%) and for Scotland as a whole (98.6%). In Aberdeen City, 2.4% of the population were reported as not speaking English well or not speaking English at all. The figures for Aberdeenshire and Scotland were 1.8% and 1.4% respectively.

Table 2.1: Proficiency in spoken English in population aged 3 years and over, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland, 2011 Census Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Scotland (n = 215,597) (n = 243,826) (n = 5,118,223) % % % % Speaks English well or very well 97.6 98.2 98.6 % Does not speak English well 2.0 1.5 1.2 % Does not speak English at all 0.4 0.3 0.2 % Able to speak Gaelic 0.8 0.6 1.1 % Able to speak Scots 35.5 48.8 30.1 Source: Scotland’s Census, 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/area.html

The Census also asked people if they were able to speak Gaelic and Scots.

Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language, descended from Old Irish, which is one of the national languages of Scotland. It is also commonly known as Scots Gaelic or Gáidhlig. In both Aberdeen City (0.8%) and Aberdeenshire (0.6%), less than 1% of the population reported being able to speak Gaelic – slightly lower than the average for Scotland of 1.1% (see Table 2.1 above).

The Scots Language Centre defines Scots as the collective name for Scottish dialects known also as 'Doric', 'Lallans' and 'Scotch' or by more local names for example 'Buchan', 'Dundonian', 'Glesca' or 'Shetland'. In Aberdeen City, 35.5% of the population reported that they were able to speak Scots. This is higher than the figure for Scotland as a whole (30.1%), but considerably lower than the figure for Aberdeenshire where almost half (48.8%) of the population reported being able to speak Scots (Table 2.1 above).

2.2. Uses language other than English at home

In Aberdeen City, 14.5% (31,262) of people aged 3 years and over reported using a language other than English at home. The figure was slightly lower in Aberdeenshire at 9.9% (24,162). Both of these were higher than the rate for Scotland which was 7.4%. Figure 2.1 shows the number of people and language spoken at home (other than English) for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.

Figure 2.1: Number of people using language other than English at home, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, 2011 Census

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire

25000

20000 15000 10000

5000 Numberofpeople 0 Gaelic British Sign Scots Polish Other language

Source: Scotland’s Census, 2011, Table DC2119SC, Available at http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html

As can be seen in the above chart, only a relatively small number of people in both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire reported using Gaelic at home – 405 people in Aberdeen City and 194 people in Aberdeenshire. Numbers of people using British Sign Language were higher at 563 for Aberdeen City and 418 for Aberdeenshire.

In Aberdeenshire, the most common language other than English used at home was Scots, with 13,495 people (5.5% of the population aged 3 years and over) in Aberdeenshire saying they spoke Scots at home compared to 4,178 people (1.9%) in Aberdeen City. Figure 2.2 shows the number of people who use Scots at home by age group for both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. This figure emphasises the higher number of Scots speakers in Aberdeenshire and it also shows the higher number of Scots speakers in the older age groups for both areas.

Figure 2.2: Number of people who use Scots at home, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, 2011 Census

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire

1500

1000

500

Numberofpeople 0

3 to 4 to 3 9 to 5

25 to 29 to 25 69 to 65 10 to 14 to 10 17 to 16 19 to 18 24 to 20 34 to 30 39 to 35 44 to 40 49 to 45 54 to 50 59 to 55 64 to 60 74 to 70 79 to 75 84 to 80 85 and over and 85

Source: Scotland’s Census, 2011, Table DC2119SC, Available at http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html

In Aberdeen City, the most common language other than English used at home was Polish. At the time of the Census, 6,263 people in Aberdeen City spoke Polish at home – equivalent to 2.9% of the population aged 3 years and over. In Aberdeenshire, the figure was 2,787 (1.1%). Figure 2.3 shows the age breakdown of those who use Polish at home for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. As can be seen, and in contrast with the pattern of Scots speakers, the highest numbers of Polish speakers in both areas are in the younger adult age groups (25-29 years and 30-34 years) – with numbers of Polish speakers tailing off in the older age groups. While there are few Polish speakers in the older teenage age groups (15-19 years), the graph also highlights the number of school-age children who speak Polish.

Figure 2.3: Number of people who use Polish at home, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, 2011 Census

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire

2000

1500

1000

500 Numberofpeople

3 to 4 to 3 9 to 5

16 to 17 to 16 10 to 14 to 10 19 to 18 24 to 20 29 to 25 34 to 30 39 to 35 44 to 40 49 to 45 54 to 50 59 to 55 64 to 60 69 to 65 74 to 70 79 to 75 84 to 80 85 and over and 85

Source: Scotland’s Census, 2011, Table DC2119SC, Available at http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html

Aberdeen City also had a higher proportion of people who used ‘Other’ languages at home compared to Aberdeenshire. In Aberdeen City, 9.2% (19,853 people) of the population aged 3 years and over used ‘Other’ languages compared to 3.0% (7,268 people) of the population aged 3 years and over in Aberdeenshire. Figure 2.4 shows the age breakdown of those who used ‘Other’ languages at home for both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. As can be seen from this chart, in some respects the pattern of ‘Other’ language use in Aberdeen City is broadly similar to that for use of Polish, in that highest users of ‘Other’ languages are again those in the younger adult age groups. However, here the number of ‘Other’ language users peaks in the 20-24 age group. In Aberdeenshire the number of users of ‘Other’ languages at home is considerably lower than Aberdeen City with the highest numbers being in the 30-34 year and 35-39 year age groups. As with Polish, there are few older teenagers who use ‘Other’ languages, but a relatively high number of school-age children who speak ‘Other’ languages at home.

Figure 2.4: Number of people who use ‘Other’ languages at home, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, 2011 Census

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire

3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000

Numberofpeople 500

3 to 4 to 3 9 to 5

10 to 14 to 10 17 to 16 19 to 18 24 to 20 29 to 25 34 to 30 39 to 35 44 to 40 49 to 45 54 to 50 59 to 55 64 to 60 69 to 65 74 to 70 79 to 75 84 to 80

85 and over and 85 Source: Scotland’s Census, 2011, Table DC2119SC, Available at http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html

2.3. Language use by intermediate zone, Aberdeen City Table 2.2 gives a summary of language data by intermediate zone for Aberdeen City (based on 2011 Census). There is considerable variation between different areas of the City; so while most areas have a very high proportion of the population who ‘speak English well or very well’ or who use ‘English only’ at home, there are other areas where proportions are less high, or where relatively high proportions use a language other than English at home. To allow ease of comparison, the shaded areas in the Table columns highlight the main areas of difference between intermediate zones (where there is no shading in the column, the percentages are broadly similar across all intermediate zones).

Out of the 47 intermediate zones in Aberdeen City, there were 5 where less than 95% of the population reported speaking English well or very well - Tillydrone (90.0%), Torry West (92.2%), Woodside (93.2%), Torry East (93.5%) and Heathryfold and Middlefield (94.4%). While the proportion of people who could speak Gaelic was low (approximately 1%) in all intermediate zones, the distribution of Scots speakers was slightly more varied, with 7 intermediate zones where the proportion of people who could speak Scots was greater than 45%. There were 11 intermediate zones where less than 80% of the population spoke English at home with the lowest being Tillydrone (68.5%). There were 7 intermediate zones where more than 5% of the population spoke Polish at home, with the highest proportion of Polish speakers being in Tillydrone (17.5%). There were 17 intermediate zones where more than 10% of the population spoke an ‘Other’ language at home, with the highest proportion being in Old Aberdeen (23.4%). The use of Scots, Gaelic and BSL at home was relatively low in all intermediate zones with little variation between different areas.

Table 2.2: Language use by intermediate zone, Aberdeen City, 2011 Census All Speaks people English Can Can Language other than English used at home aged 3 well or speak speak British English and very Gaelic Scots Gaelic Scots Sign Polish Other only Intermediate Zone over well Language n % % % % % % % % % Cove South 3158 99.4 0.5 41.5 93.2 0.1 2.6 0.1 0.4 3.6 Kincorth, Leggart & Nigg South 4644 98.4 0.6 45.5 90.9 0.1 2.6 0.4 1.4 4.7 Culter 4694 99.1 0.5 37.6 91.4 0.0 2.5 0.1 0.6 5.4 Cults, Bieldside & Milltimber E 5932 98.8 0.6 21.3 86.9 0.3 0.9 0.1 0.3 11.6 Cove North 3565 98.1 0.4 42.1 93.0 0.1 1.5 0.4 1.7 3.3 Kincorth, Leggart & Nigg North 3943 98.3 0.5 46.1 91.1 0.1 2.6 0.4 2.1 3.8 Cults, Bieldside & Milltimber W 3911 98.7 0.4 24.6 87.8 0.2 1.4 0.2 0.5 9.9 Garthdee 5069 98.0 0.6 39.1 86.5 0.1 2.3 0.3 2.4 8.3 Braeside, Mannofield, Br. & SeS 3679 99.5 0.8 34.3 91.3 0.5 2.3 0.1 0.6 5.3 Ferryhill South 4612 98.4 1.3 30.9 86.9 0.4 1.8 0.2 1.6 9.2 Braeside, Mannofield, Br. & SeE 4264 98.8 0.9 31.2 89.0 0.3 1.5 0.1 0.9 8.2 Torry West 5476 92.2 1.1 40.3 77.0 0.1 2.4 0.6 11.1 8.9 Braeside, Mannofield, Br. & SeN 4419 99.0 0.9 28.7 89.5 0.4 1.4 0.1 0.2 8.4 Hazlehead 4805 98.6 0.4 34.3 91.5 0.1 1.7 0.2 0.8 5.7 Torry East 4401 93.5 0.8 42.5 81.6 0.1 2.1 0.7 9.1 6.5 Ferryhill North 4753 98.4 0.9 28.3 83.9 0.1 1.5 0.2 1.8 12.5 West End South 5949 98.1 0.8 26.2 84.2 0.2 1.1 0.2 1.9 12.4 City Centre 6381 98.1 1.1 26.9 77.9 0.2 1.6 0.2 3.6 16.5 West End North 3409 98.7 0.7 22.7 88.2 0.4 0.9 0.1 0.2 10.3 Summerhill 3772 98.2 0.7 40.9 88.3 0.2 1.8 0.5 1.4 7.9 Rosemount 5676 97.3 1.0 27.8 79.6 0.4 1.4 0.2 2.8 15.7 Hanover 7227 97.7 1.1 27.6 79.6 0.2 1.7 0.3 3.2 15.1 Midstocket 4449 98.3 0.7 28.0 86.5 0.2 2.3 0.2 0.5 10.3 George Street 6696 97.3 1.3 28.8 78.1 0.4 1.1 0.1 4.1 16.3 Mastrick 4623 98.3 0.4 44.6 90.9 0.0 2.1 0.4 1.8 4.9 Ashgrove 3590 97.5 0.6 30.2 79.3 0.2 1.8 0.1 3.2 15.4 Sheddocksley 4755 98.5 0.3 44.3 91.8 0.1 2.5 0.6 1.0 4.0 Stockethill 5165 97.7 0.7 41.3 84.9 0.1 2.5 0.4 2.0 10.1 Froghall, Powis & Sunnybank 5557 96.5 1.3 26.4 75.2 0.3 1.4 0.1 5.2 17.8 Cummings Park 3424 98.4 0.5 45.7 91.5 0.0 2.1 0.2 1.3 4.9 Northfield 5291 97.9 0.6 49.2 91.0 0.1 2.2 0.4 2.0 4.3 Seaton 5448 95.9 1.1 30.9 76.0 0.2 1.6 0.3 7.5 14.4 Hilton 5697 98.0 0.8 37.2 84.0 0.2 2.6 0.4 2.4 10.3 Heathryfold & Middlefield 5052 94.4 0.8 40.1 81.5 0.0 1.8 0.5 9.8 6.4 Kingswells 5145 98.2 0.5 31.9 88.0 0.3 1.6 0.2 0.6 9.4 Tillydrone 4227 90.9 0.9 35.8 68.5 0.1 1.8 0.2 17.5 12.0 Old Aberdeen 4331 97.2 1.3 23.6 70.7 0.3 1.0 0.3 4.3 23.4 Woodside 3814 93.2 1.2 36.2 76.6 0.3 1.7 0.4 10.8 10.2 Bucksburn South 3169 98.3 0.5 46.5 91.6 0.1 3.0 0.4 1.9 3.1 Danestone 3920 99.0 0.5 36.3 93.4 0.2 1.4 0.1 0.4 4.4 Balgownie & Donmouth West 3504 99.1 0.5 45.6 91.6 0.2 3.4 0.2 1.3 3.3 Balgownie & Donmouth East 2639 98.3 0.6 43.2 89.0 0.2 2.9 0.2 1.2 6.6 Bucksburn North 4419 98.7 0.5 47.1 92.4 0.1 3.2 0.2 1.0 3.2 Oldmachar East 4782 98.6 0.4 37.8 90.8 0.2 1.9 0.3 0.3 6.6 Oldmachar West 4194 99.1 0.6 41.3 91.7 0.2 2.3 0.1 0.7 5.0 Denmore 2824 97.6 0.7 38.9 90.4 0.1 1.9 0.1 0.5 7.0 Dyce 5239 98.7 0.6 45.1 91.8 0.1 3.4 0.4 1.0 3.3 Source: Scotland’s Census, 2011, Table KS206SC Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html

2.4. Range of languages used, Aberdeen City

The 2011 Census recorded a total of 68 languages used in Aberdeen. Table 2.3 lists the top 10 languages (other than English) used at home for Aberdeen City’s population. Apart from Polish and Other UK languages (including Scots), the most common languages used at home were French and Chinese. A full list of all languages used at home in Aberdeen City is given in Appendix 1. Table 2.3: 10 most common languages used at home, Aberdeen City, 2011 Census Number of people (aged Language* used at home 3 years and over) Polish 6263 Other UK language (including Scots) 4770 French 1417 Chinese 1123 Russian 994 Spanish 988 German 928 Arabic 913 Malayalam 724 Yoruba 714 Source: Scotland’s Census, 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/cde/CT_0116_2011.xlsx *(Full information on what is included in each of the language categories can be found on the above link.)

2.5. Speaks Gaelic Further information on the use of the Gaelic language was made available by National Records of Scotland who produced two reports which provide additional analyses of Census data. (Full reports available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/analytical-reports).

The Census asked people to report on their Gaelic skills – asking whether they could understand, speak, read or write Gaelic. Table 2.4 presents a summary of this information for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.

In Aberdeen City, there were 3,174 people (aged 3 years and over) who reported having some skills in Gaelic (1.5% of the City’s population aged 3 years and over). Of these, 835 could speak, read and write Gaelic, while 840 people said they could understand spoken Gaelic but could not speak, read or write it. Overall, in Aberdeen City, more men (1,636) than women (1,538) reported having some level of skill in Gaelic. However, a higher number of women (502) than men (435) reporting having the most comprehensive level of skill (i.e. speaking, reading and writing). In Aberdeenshire the number of people who reported having some level of skill in Gaelic was lower than in Aberdeen City – 2,721 compared to 3,174 (1.1% of Aberdeenshire’s population aged 3 years and over). Again, a higher number of men (1,391) than women (1,330) had some skills in Gaelic, although a higher number of women (388) than men (340) reporting being able to speak, read and write Gaelic.

Table 2.4: Number of people with different skills in the Gaelic language, males and females (aged 3 years and over), Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, Census 2011 Understand Reads Speaks, Speaks and Speaks but spoken and/or Total reads and reads but does not Gaelic but writes but Some skills population writes does not reads or does not does not in Gaelic Gaelic (1) write Gaelic write Gaelic speak, read speak or write Gaelic number number number number number number Aberdeen City Male 106,426 435 71 306 642 182 1,636 Female 109,171 502 75 247 558 156 1,538 Total 215,597 937 146 553 1,200 338 3,174 Aberdeenshire

Male 120,629 340 87 278 554 132 1,391 Female 123,197 388 75 237 516 114 1,330 Total 243,826 728 162 515 1,070 246 2,721 Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html#additionaltab Table AT_234_2011 - Gaelic language skills by sex, 2011 (1) Includes a small number of people who responded that they could speak and write but not read Gaelic.

Figure 2.5 shows the breakdown of skill level for Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland. To allow direct comparison between the three areas, figures are given as a percentage of all those with some level of Gaelic skill. As can be seen from the chart, a slightly different pattern of skills is apparent between Scotland as a whole and both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. The largest single group (37.2%) for Scotland is those who can speak, read and write Gaelic, while for both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire the largest group is composed of those who understand, but do not speak, read or write Gaelic – 37.8% for Aberdeen City and 39.3% for Aberdeenshire. Overall, Scotland has a larger proportion of people who include speaking Gaelic as one of their skills – 66% for Scotland compared to 52% for both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.

Figure 2.5: Percentage of people (aged 3 and over) by skill level in Gaelic, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Scotland, Census 2011

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Scotland

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5

Percentage ofGaelic Users 0 Speaks, reads and Speaks and reads but Speaks but does not Understands but does Reads and/or writes writes Gaelic (1) does not write Gaelic read or write Gaelic not speak, read or but does not speak write Gaelic Gaelic

Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html#additionaltab Table AT_234_2011 - Gaelic language skills, 2011 (1) Includes a small number of people who responded that they could speak and write but not read Gaelic.

2.5.1. Speaks Gaelic by Age At the time of the Census in 2011, in Aberdeen City a total of 1,642 people spoke Gaelic. For Aberdeenshire the total number of Gaelic speakers was 1,408. (Please note: these figures include all people, not just those aged 3 years and over, and so do not precisely match totals from Table 2.4 above.)

Figure 2.6 gives the breakdown of Gaelic speakers by age group for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. Numbers of Gaelic speakers in the younger age groups (0 to 2 years, 3 to 4 years, 5 to 11 years and 12 to 17 years) are very similar in the two areas. Similarly, for both areas, the highest number of Gaelic speakers was in the 35 to 49 year age group (364 in Aberdeen City and 368 in Aberdeenshire). However, either side of this peak, the pattern is different for the two areas. In Aberdeen City there are many more Gaelic speakers in the younger adult age groups (18 to 24 years and 25 to 34 years), while in Aberdeenshire the number of Gaelic speakers is relatively low in these age groups and higher in the older age groups (50 to 64 years and 65 years and over). Over two- thirds (67.8%) of Gaelic speakers in Aberdeenshire are aged 35 years and over, compared to only half (49.9%) of those in Aberdeen City.

Figure 2.6: Number of Gaelic speakers by age group, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, Census 2011

Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire

400

350 300 250 200 150 100

50 Number ofGaelic speakers 0 0 to 2 3 to 4 5 to 11 12 to 17 18 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 49 50 to 64 65 and over Age groups (years)

Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html#additionaltab Table AT_236_2011 - Gaelic language skills by age, 2011

2.5.2. Gaelic skills by highest level of qualification

Table 2.5 shows Gaelic language skills by highest level of qualification for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire (all people aged 16-74 years). In both areas, the number of people with any level of Gaelic skill was greatest in those whose highest qualification was Level 4 (degree level and above/or equivalent). In Aberdeen City, almost half (47.2%) of those who reported any Gaelic skill were qualified to Level 4, and in Aberdeenshire the figure was 38.5%.

Table 2.5: Gaelic language skills by highest level of qualification(1), Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, All people aged 16-74 years, 2011 Census Reads Understands Speaks, Speaks and Speaks but and/or but does not reads and reads but does not writes but speak, read Total writes does not read or does not or write Gaelic (2) write Gaelic write Gaelic speak Gaelic Gaelic * number number number number number Number (%) Aberdeen City No qualifications 74 14 64 90 20 262 (9.2) Level 1 102 26 73 172 34 407 (14.2) Level 2 202 20 79 150 66 517 (18.1) Level 3 84 16 65 129 31 325 (11.4) Level 4 361 60 210 558 160 1,349 (47.2) Total 823 136 491 1,099 311 2,860 (100.0) Aberdeenshire No qualifications 101 25 68 140 25 359 (15.6) Level 1 129 27 78 195 42 471 (20.5) Level 2 73 11 76 117 23 300 (13.0) Level 3 59 13 58 134 20 284 (12.4) Level 4 248 67 134 335 100 884 (38.5) Total 610 143 414 921 210 2,298 (100.0) Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html#additionaltab , Table AT_252_2011 - Gaelic language skills by highest level of qualification, 2011. (1) For full definition of qualification levels see table on link. (2) Includes a small number of people who responded that they could speak and write but not read Gaelic. *May not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Figure 2.7 shows the data for Aberdeen City graphically. The chart clearly highlights that any type of Gaelic language skill is much more common in those with Level 4 qualifications. Figure 2.7: Gaelic language skills by highest level of qualification (1), Aberdeen City, All people aged 16-74 years, 2011 Census

No qualifications Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

600

500

400

300

200

Numberofpeople 100

0 Speaks, reads and Speaks and reads but Speaks but does not Understands but does Reads and/or writes writes Gaelic (2) does not write Gaelic read or write Gaelic not speak, read or write but does not speak Gaelic Gaelic

Source: Scotland’s Census 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/data-warehouse.html#additionaltab , Table AT_252_2011 - Gaelic language skills by highest level of qualification , 2011. (1) For definition of qualification levels see Table on link.

3. Other sources of information about languages in Aberdeen City

The data from the Census is useful in that it provides a comprehensive picture of languages used in Aberdeen City and covers the whole population of the city. However, Census data is limited in that it is now relatively dated (almost 5 years since the Census date – 27th March 2011) and changes to the population (e.g. through in/out migration) are likely to have had an impact on languages used in Aberdeen City. Other sources of data are therefore useful to provide a more up-to-date view. This section will present information provided by the Council’s translation service and also from the Aberdeen City Pupil Census.

3.1. InterTrans Service ‘InterTrans’ is a service that provides confidential translation, interpreting and communication support services to users and providers of Aberdeen City Council's services. The service aims to offer improved access to users of council services whose first language is not English and / or have other communication needs. A point of note with this data is that it relates only to those who contact the service and so will not necessarily reflect the full requirement level for the services provided.

Table 3.1 shows the number of requests received by the service each year from 2011/12 to 2014/15. In 2014/15 the service received a total of 3,291 requests, of which 1,566 were internal requests and 1,703 were external requests. The total number of requests received per year has increased every year over this period, with the total number of requests in 2014/2015 (3,291) being almost double the number received in 2011/2012 (1,737).

Table 3.1: Number of requests received each year by InterTrans Service, 2011/12 to 2014/15 Total Financial Internal External Unclassified number of Comments Year request Requests requests requests 2011/2012 1064 609 65 1737 Increased by 418 requests 2012/2013 1401 707 47 2155 from previous year Increased by 1093 requests 2013/2014 1835 1375 38 3248 from previous year Increased by 43 requests 2014 /2015 1566 1703 22 3291 from previous year Source: InterTrans Service, Aberdeen City Council

Figure 3.1 presents trends for the number of requests from 2011/12 to 2014/15. This figure highlights the substantial rise in the total number of requests received each year – in particular the sharp increase which took place between 2012/13 and 2013/14 when the number of requests rose by 1,093 from the previous year. This new higher level of requests remained in 2014/15. However, while yearly levels of both internal and external requests were higher at the end than at the start of the period, there has been an interesting reversal with the number of external requests now exceeding the number of internal requests.

Figure 3.1: Trends for numbers of requests (total, internal and external) received by InterTrans Service, 2011/12 to 2014/15

Total number of requests Internal request External Requests

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

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500

0 2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014 /2015

Source: InterTrans Service, Aberdeen City Council

3.1.1. Languages requested The table below shows the top 10 languages that were requested for each financial year. Polish remains the most commonly requested language in Aberdeen City, with the number of requests almost doubling in the four year period - from 898 requests in 2011/12 to 1,610 requests in 2014/15. In each year, Russian and Lithuanian were the next most commonly requested languages. The number of requests for both languages also increased over the period, with the requests for Russian more than tripling from 158 requests in 2011/12 to 480 requests in 2014/15.

Table 3.2: InterTrans Service, most commonly requested languages, 2011/12 to 2015 2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 No. of No. of No. of No. of Language Language Language Language requests requests requests requests Polish 898 Polish 890 Polish 1531 Polish 1610 Lithuanian 175 Russian 382 Russian 418 Russian 480 Russian 158 Lithuanian 148 Lithuanian 262 Lithuanian 304 Latvian 78 Bengali 141 Mandarin 186 Mandarin 147 Bengali 64 Mandarin 123 Bengali 135 Latvian 125 BSL 54 BSL 82 Latvian 105 Cantonese 88 Mandarin 39 Cantonese 58 BSL 74 BSL 73 Cantonese 37 Latvian 55 Cantonese 61 Bengali 50 Romanian 31 Thai 24 Portuguese 50 Arabic 46 Spanish & Romanian & Hungarian 29 24 44 Romanian 45 Turkish Hungarian Source: InterTrans Service, Aberdeen City Council

3.2. School Pupils – Main home language

Information on language spoken at home is collected each year in the Pupil Census. The most recent Pupil Census was undertaken in September 2015 (Census Day 16th September 2015). In Aberdeen, a total of 22,262 pupils were included in the Census – 13,354 from primary schools, 8,753 from secondary schools and 155 from special schools.

Table 3.3 shows the four languages most commonly reported as main language at home across all school sectors (primary, secondary and special schools). Overall, 82.3% (18,321) of school pupils reported English as their main home language. The proportion with English as their main home language was higher in secondary schools (85.8%) than in either primary schools (80.0%) or specials schools (80.0%). The next most common main home language was Polish with 6.8% (1,508) of all Aberdeen City’s pupils reporting this as their main home language. Again there were differences between sectors with 7.8% of pupils in primary schools having Polish as their main home language compared to 5.2% in secondary schools. Malayalam and Arabic were the next most common languages overall. In each case less than 1% of pupils reported these as their main home language.

Table 3.3: Most commonly reported main language at home, Aberdeen City School Pupils, 2015

English Polish Malayalam Arabic

Sector Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Primary 10,687 80.0 1,040 7.8 139 1.0 141 1.1

Secondary 7,510 85.8 458 5.2 69 0.8 62 0.7

Special 124 80.0 10 6.5 - - 2 1.3

Total 18,321 82.3 1,508 6.8 208 0.9 205 0.9 Source: Pupil Census 2015, Aberdeen City Council

A total of 93 languages were identified in the Pupil Census as being the main language at home for Aberdeen City pupils. Table 3.4 lists the languages most commonly reported (by more than 50 pupils) as the main language at home across all school sectors.

Table 3.4: Languages most commonly reported as main language at home, Aberdeen City School Pupils, 2015

Language Number of pupils Percentage of all pupils

English 18,231 82.3 Polish 1,508 6.8 Malayalam 208 0.9 Arabic 205 0.9 Russian 166 0.7 Urdu 148 0.7 Lithuanian 125 0.6 Latvian 114 0.5 Bengali 113 0.5 Spanish 91 0.4 French 84 0.4 Hungarian 79 0.4 Romanian 72 0.3 Nepalese 58 0.3 Cantonese 57 0.3 Tamil 55 0.2 Scots 53 0.2 Portuguese 51 0.2 Yoruba 51 0.2 Source: Pupil Census 2015, Aberdeen City Council

Pupils who reported having a language other than English as their main language at home were unevenly distributed across the City, with some schools having a relatively high proportion of pupils who used a language other than English at home, while in other schools the proportion was much lower. At primary school level, the proportion of children who reported having English as their main language at home ranged from a high of 97.5% (Culter School) to a low of 25.0% in St Peter’s RC School. At secondary school level, the corresponding figures ranged from a high of 95.7% at Cults Academy to a low of 72.4% at Torry Academy.

Table 3.5 shows the primary schools with the lowest proportion (below 70%) of pupils who were recorded as having English as their main language at home. It also gives percentages for the top four overall other languages used at home (Table 4.2 above). In most cases, the main ‘other’ language was Polish, with the exception to this being Holy Family RC primary school were the most common language other than English was Malayalam. As can be seen from the table, the two primary schools with (by far) the lowest proportion of pupils whose main language at home is English are RC primary schools. The table also shows the total number of languages (other than English) spoken by pupils at each school, giving an indication of the diversity of ‘home’ languages used by pupils. Of the

19 schools in the Table, Sunnybank School has the highest number of ‘home’ languages with 25 different languages being used by pupils who attend this school.

Table 3.5: Primary Schools with the lowest proportion of pupils whose main language at home is English, Aberdeen City, 2015

Main language at home Total* School English Polish Russian Malayalam Arabic languages % % % % % number St Peter’s RC School 25.0 62.9 0.8 0.0 0.0 15 Holy Family RC Primary School 38.4 18.1 0.0 35.5 0.0 9 Sunnybank School 53.6 12.8 1.4 0.0 2.8 25 Hanover Street Primary School 54.9 18.1 2.0 0.0 1.0 23 Kittybrewster School 55.5 21.3 3.3 0.0 4.4 21 Seaton Primary School 56.2 22.9 4.3 0.0 0.5 16 Gilcomstoun Primary School 60.0 11.6 0.9 0.0 8.9 22 Riverbank School 66.1 20.2 3.1 0.0 0.0 16 Walker Road School 63.4 22.1 1.6 0.2 0.2 18 Source: Pupil Census 2015, Aberdeen City Council *Total number of languages spoken by pupils at home (excluding English)

Table 3.6 shows the secondary schools in Aberdeen City with the lowest proportion (below 80%) of pupils whose main home language is English. It also gives percentages for the top four overall other languages used at home (Table 4.2 above). In all cases, Polish was the next most common language spoken at home. The table also shows the total number of ‘home’ languages spoken by pupils at each school. So, while out of the four schools in the table Aberdeen Grammar School had the highest proportion of English speakers, it also had the greatest diversity in terms of other languages spoken by pupils who attend the school.

Table 4.4: Secondary Schools with the lowest proportion of pupils whose main language at home is English, Aberdeen City, 2015 Main language at home Total* School English Polish Russian Malayalam Arabic languages % % % % % number Torry Academy 72.4 15.6 1.9 0.0 0.6 16 Harlaw Academy 74.0 11.3 1.2 1.1 1.0 36 St Machar Academy 74.4 11.3 1.4 0.5 0.4 33 Aberdeen Grammar School 76.7 4.7 0.8 2.3 2.5 39 Source: Pupil Census 2015, Aberdeen City Council *Total number of languages spoken by pupils at home (excluding English)

Table 4.5 shows the numbers of pupils in all publicly funded schools in Aberdeen City whose main language is not English, Gaelic, Scots, Doric or British Sign Language from 2010 to 2015. Over this period numbers have increased by almost 60% from 2,422 in 2010 to 3,478 in 2015.

Table 4.5: Number of pupils whose main language is not English, Gaelic, Scots, Doric or British Sign Language, Aberdeen City, 2010 to 2015

Aberdeen City

2010 2,422 2011 2,596 2012 2,868 2013 3,215 2014 3,478 2015 3,872 Source: Pupil Census Supplementary Data 2010 to 2015, Main home language of pupils in publicly funded schools, available at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus

Summary and Conclusions

English is the main language spoken in Aberdeen City. Although most people in the city (98%) speak English well or very well, Aberdeen City is also home to an extensive range of other languages with 12.1% of people in Aberdeen City using a language other than English, Scots, Gaelic or British Sign Language at home. According to the 2011 Census, the most common language (other than English) spoken at home in Aberdeen City was Polish. The high numbers of Polish speakers in 20-40 year age range is consistent with recent economic migration patterns in Aberdeen City and Scotland. Speakers of ‘Other’ languages were also predominately in the younger adult age groups – highest in the 20-24 year group. As well as economic migrants/international workforce, this is likely to reflect the number of international students studying in Aberdeen (almost a quarter of the population of Old Aberdeen use a language other than English at home). While the use of Gaelic was relatively limited, Gaelic skills were also more common in the young adult age groups and those with the highest level of educational qualifications.

Users of languages other than English are unevenly distributed across the city. Some areas of the Aberdeen City have relatively high concentrations (more than 20%) of people who did not use English at home – in Tillydrone, for example, more than 30% of residents did not use English at home. Similarly, some schools have relatively high proportions of pupils whose main home language is not English. Identifying where other language users live can be useful in planning specific resources and services which may be required for people whose first language is not English.

The increase in requests for translation services, particularly external requests which have almost tripled since 2011/2012, together with the increase in the number of school pupils for whom English was not the main home language, suggests that the number of non-English speakers has increased since the time of the 2011 Census. It is likely that much of this increase will be due to ongoing migration into the city. (Information on the inflow of migrant workers is available in a separate briefing paper “Migrant workers in Aberdeen City and Shire”, available on http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/tourism_visitor_attractions/tourists_visitors/statistics/stt_Home.asp.)

Appendix 1: Language used at home, people aged 3 years and over, Aberdeen City, Census 2011 Number of people (aged Language used at home 3 years and over) Total 215,597 English only 184,335 Polish 6,263 Other UK language (including Scots) 4,770 French 1,417 All other Chinese 1,123 Russian 994 Spanish 988 German 928 Arabic 913 Malayalam 724 Yoruba 714 Sign Language 680 Lithuanian 656 Urdu 616 Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya) 584 Hindi 552 Igbo 510 Cantonese Chinese 456 Dutch 436 Tamil 421 Latvian 390 Italian 381 Portuguese 351 Northern European Language (non-EU) 339 Malay 328 Hungarian 324 Any other Nigerian language 322 Nepalese 311 Persian/Farsi 292 Romanian 263 Thai 256 Tagalog/Filipino 253 All other languages 246 Czech 236 Punjabi 224 Telugu 217 Slovak 214 South Asian Language (all other unless included elsewhere) 188 Greek 181 Danish 178 Mandarin Chinese 168 Bulgarian 164

Turkish 143 Finnish 124 Marathi 122 Swedish 120 West/Central Asian Language (all other unless included elsewhere) (4) 118 Korean 103 Afrikaans 83 African language (all other unless included elsewhere) (13) 83 Gujarati 76 Shona 76 Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian (19) 66 Sinhala 65 Japanese 61 Akan 58 Pashto 46 Any other European Language (EU) (unless included elsewhere) (17) 46 Estonian 44 Vietnamese 42 Swahili/Kiswahili 39 Maltese 37 East Asian Language (all other unless included elsewhere) (9) 32 Hebrew 26 West African language (all other unless included elsewhere) (12) 25 Ukrainian 20 Amharic 15 Kurdish (2) 11 Albanian (18) 10 Source: Scotland’s Census, 2011, Available at: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/cde/CT_0116_2011.xlsx *(Full information on what is included in each of the language categories can be found on the above link.)

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