≪Yet 75% of UK adults are unable to hold even a basic conversation in a second language. ≫
そのサイトの主は得意のスラッシュリーディングと直訳で 次のように解釈しています。
≪Yet/ 75% of UK adults/ are unable to hold even a basic conversation/ in a second language.
しかし/イギリスの大人の75%は/2 基本的な会話でさえ持つことができない。/
1 二番目の言葉(→第二外国語)で。≫
それで、a second languageとは 具体的には 次のどれを指すのでしょうか?
① an official language for most people of which it is not their native language but plays the role of their common language, such as English in India and Philippines
② a second foreign language studied in addition to English mainly in colleges and universities, such as Chinese or French in Japan
③ one of the international languages which are secondly most widely spoken in the world after English, such as French or Spanish
④ a foreign language that is individually the most familiar to British people, which is likely to be French, German, or Dutch,etc
⑤ a language which is conveyed neither by speech nor by writing, such as a sign language