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Calls for everyone in England to speak English
A UK government official says everybody should speak English in England. Due to the unprecedented pace and scale of immigration for decades, people who live in England not speak English as usual. The community in England has been divided because of the poor English. Most of the people who not speak English in UK are women. The official thinks that these no English speaking people will have a risk from discrimination. She says everybody of working age and school age should to speak one language. But opponents say that situation makes UK as a multicultural country, and government shouldn’t force people to learn English if they don’t want.

Question: The government said 770,000 people in England speak no English or hardly any. What’s the meaning of “hardly any”?

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Calls for everyone in England to speak English
A UK government official says everybody should speak English in England. Due to the unprecedented pace and scale of immigration for decades, people who live in England don’t speak standard English. Communities in England have been divided because of the poor English. Most of the people who do not speak English in UK are women. The official thinks that these non-English speaking people will be at risk of discrimination. She says everybody of working age and school age should all speak the same language. But opponents say the existence of many different languages makes UK a multicultural country, and the government shouldn’t force people to learn English if they don’t want.

Question: The government said 770,000 people in England speak no English or hardly any. What’s the meaning of “hardly any”?

Vocabulary

Hardly – not quite; only just; almost not; barely:

eg: We had hardly started before the boss made us quit.

Hardly any -not much, almost nothing

eg: I drank hardly any beer, but I still feel drunk.