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Welsh--Thriving Or Just Surviving? | ||
Tags: Welsh | Endangered Language | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| tanya b Senior Member United States Joined 4769 days ago 159 posts - 518 votes  Speaks: Russian | Message 1 of 2 30 April 2012 at 1:23am | IP Logged |
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I have never been to Wales but I have met people from there, and I usually bug them with questions about the status of Welsh in their homeland. Usually they are not Welsh speakers themselves but they always have a story about a Polish miner or a Pakistani doctor who immigrated there and became fluent, but my impression is that, yes, Welsh is alive, but is on life support, even with small increases in the number of speakers.
I remember the longest conversation I ever had with a Welshman, and he stated that he goes back to Caerdydd every year for 3 months, and says that NO ONE there speaks Welsh and that it is just like any other British city (supposedly Llundain has the most Welsh speakers of any city). I realize that Welsh is more dominant in the rural areas, but just how interested is the everyday Welshman in preserving his language, independent of any government incentive to do so? I have been watching European news for the last 3 1/2 years, and aside from the usual stories about truffle smugglers or striking sanitation workers, there actually are a lot of news stories from Wales but there has never been even a passing reference to the Welsh language or Celtic languages in general. Can anyone out there give an update on the state of the Welsh language? I would also like to know what the best self-study program for southern Welsh is, and if there are any internationally famous fluent Welsh speakers. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Gosiak Triglot Senior Member Poland Joined 5117 days ago 241 posts - 361 votes Speaks: Polish*, English, German Studies: Norwegian, Welsh | Message 2 of 2 30 April 2012 at 10:27am | IP Logged |
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Bore da
Take a look at this thread : Cymraeg log and you'll find some of your answers. There is also a recent article on Welsh language with very interesting comments below -> Welsh is a wonderful gift (TixhiiDon found it) I spent one semester of my studies in Aberystwyth and heard Welsh almost every day, spoken by locals among themselves and Aber is not a typical rural town, it's a university town and a temporary home to hundreds of international students. Maybe it was a coincidence but all the Welsh students I met and befriended speak Welsh, some of them are bilingual, others are on conversational level but all of them are proud of Cymraeg and their culture. There is a group of Welsh language and history students that has created for themselves a Welsh-language-only enviroment, in their hall of residence they speak only Cymraeg. I'd never say that Welsh is on life support but it certainly needs more respect and appreciation. One of my friends told me that it is sometimes very hard to have a conversation in Welsh while being in a public place because when a Non-Welsh speaker approaches Welsh speakers switch into English, for courtesy sake. I recommend SaySomethingInWelsh free audio course and BBC - learn Welsh Pob lwc! Edited by Gosiak on 30 April 2012 at 10:54am 5 persons have voted this message useful |
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