CILT author John Eversley took part in a discussion on BBC London this week celebrating the great variety of community languages spoken in the capital.

The discussion on Wednesday began with a caller who was hoping to learn Fante – part of the Akan family of languages – so that he could speak to his Ghanaian grandfather. This led to a lively conversation between presenter Robert Elms and guest John Eversley about the 233 languages spoken by London’s school children.

Eversley, co-author of Language Capital, described how his new book maps the languages spoken in London schools:

“We think it’s a fantastic story about the richness of London’s languages, who speaks them where and what we can do with it.... It’s really important that we’ve got this variety and we need to protect it.”

BBC London presenter Robert Elms was extremely enthusiastic about the topic, inviting John to come back another day to speak more about it. He said “I remember having a discussion with someone about this school in London where everyone spoke different languages and I said, What a fantastic resource!”

To listen to the whole discussion, go to the BBC London website and skip to 2.12.00.