Editing Western Europe (section)

==Languages==
{{See also|Languages of Europe|Indo-European languages|List of Indo-European languages}}
Western European languages mostly fall within two [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] families: the [[Romance languages]], descended from the [[Latin language|Latin]] of the [[Roman Empire]]; and the [[Germanic languages]], whose ancestor language ([[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]]) came from southern [[Scandinavia]].<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9106055|title=Europe|year=2007|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=10 June 2008}}</ref>
Romance languages are spoken primarily in the southern and central part of Western Europe, Germanic languages in the northern part (the [[British Isles]] and the [[Low Countries]]), as well as a large part of [[Northern Europe|Northern]] and [[Central Europe]].<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica" />

Other Western European languages include the [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] group (that is, [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Scottish Gaelic]], [[Manx language|Manx]], [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]] and [[Breton language|Breton]]<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica" />) and [[Basque language|Basque]], the only currently living European [[language isolate]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Basque language|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Basque-language|access-date=16 June 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

Multilingualism and the protection of regional and minority languages are recognised political goals in Western Europe today. The [[Council of Europe]] [[Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities]] and the Council of Europe's [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] set up a legal framework for language rights in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/european-charter-regional-or-minority-languages/a-word-from-the-chair |title= A Word from the Chair of the Committee of Experts|last=Oszmiańska-Pagett |first=Aleksandra  |date=January 2022 |website= |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=10 November 2023 |quote=}}</ref>