The Welsh language

Wales has a very strong Celtic culture. Many Celtic languages have almost disappeared, but Welsh is still used. Until 1825 about 80 per cent of the population spoke Welsh. During the nineteenth century there were fewer Welsh speakers, because many English and Irish workers moved to South Wales and Welsh people moved to the cities where less Welsh was spoken. At school, children were punished for speaking Welsh.

Recently, there has been more interest in Welsh. It is now spoken as a first language by more than 20 per cent of the population. It is used as a first language in more and more schools and it is studied as a second language in all other schools in Wales.

Welsh is recognised as a minority language by the EU and Wales receives money to help its language stay alive. There are television and radio stations with Welsh-language programmes, even soaps.

To understand how different Welsh is from English, compare these lines from the Welsh national anthem with their English translation:

   Gwlad! Gwlad! Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad;

   Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau,

   O bydded i'r hen iaith barhau.

   Homeland! I am devoted to my country;

   So long as the sea is a wall to this beautiful land,

   May the ancient language remain.

1

a  Wales is a Celtic country. Name one other Celtic country.

b  What do you know about Celtic people and Celtic culture?

2

a  Do any people in your country speak a different language from yours?

b  Welsh is a different language from English, not a dialect of English. How is a dialect different from a language?

c  Compare the situation in Wales with a region in your country.

Michael Vaughan-Rees, Geraldine Sweeney, Picot Cassidy: In Britain; Cornelsen Verlag, 2000, page 86