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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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I'm in the back of a car returning from Wales, sneakily posting on fab.
The Welsh language; it's on signposts everywhere but does anybody actually speak it?
It's a bit like holiday Spanish with an Indian accent, it all comes from the the throat. I only cleared my throat at the bar today and I was charged for 3 pints and a packet of Wotsits. I ain't coming here with a chesty cough again.
Do you people from Wales actually speak Welsh? |
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"Yes they do
Is it taught in schools, universally?
Are there any areas where it's used as the first language?
Genuine questions."
Yes it’s taught in Schools
North West Wales is mainly where it’s used as a first language
Universally, no I don’t think it’s spoken on Mars, Saturn or the Milky Way |
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Yes it is, it's taught in schools and is compulsory to GCSE level.
It's taught as full immersion, Welsh as the predominant language or in an English streamed school with Welsh as a second language like French or German.
There are distinct areas where Welsh is used on a daily basis, but that's mainly in the West and north west, or more rural areas.
Nearer the border you'll find that it's far less common.
As an incomer to Wales I do speak a little, but it's not used locally to where I live in the North East.
Both my kids are taught with Welsh as a second language, but don't use it outside of school.
It is very favourable to speak Welsh if you're in the public sector, though, and it's difficult to progress in certain areas unless you're fluent |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Yes it is, it's taught in schools and is compulsory to GCSE level.
It's taught as full immersion, Welsh as the predominant language or in an English streamed school with Welsh as a second language like French or German.
There are distinct areas where Welsh is used on a daily basis, but that's mainly in the West and north west, or more rural areas.
Nearer the border you'll find that it's far less common.
As an incomer to Wales I do speak a little, but it's not used locally to where I live in the North East.
Both my kids are taught with Welsh as a second language, but don't use it outside of school.
It is very favourable to speak Welsh if you're in the public sector, though, and it's difficult to progress in certain areas unless you're fluent"
 Diolch |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Yes they do
Is it taught in schools, universally?
Are there any areas where it's used as the first language?
Genuine questions."
Yes its taught in schools ..its compulsory..
Lots of people where i live speak it as a first language .. i live in north east wales |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"
It's a bit like holiday Spanish with an Indian accent, it all comes from the the throat. I only cleared my throat at the bar today and I was charged for 3 pints and a packet of Wotsits. "
 |
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By *cgkcCouple
over a year ago
Hitchin |
Interesting language that I neither speak nor understand.
But I was doing some work with the Welsh Government some years back, overseeing the production a lot of Welsh language content. Well, the arguments we had about correct spellings of words! It was as if the language didn't have a dictionary.
As for audio and video content, this voice is too North, this one too west. We eventually realised we needed to cast people who had a 'presenter Welsh' accent.
It's a proper big deal. |
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"Interesting language that I neither speak nor understand.
But I was doing some work with the Welsh Government some years back, overseeing the production a lot of Welsh language content. Well, the arguments we had about correct spellings of words! It was as if the language didn't have a dictionary.
As for audio and video content, this voice is too North, this one too west. We eventually realised we needed to cast people who had a 'presenter Welsh' accent.
It's a proper big deal. "
There's Gog Welsh, Taff Welsh and so on (That's North and South)
A lot of dialects... you'll actually find signs spelled differently across the region 
The best was, though,
when officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.
Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated".
• Cyclists between Cardiff and Penarth in 2006 were left confused by a bilingual road sign telling them they had problems with an "inflamed bladder".
• In the same year, a sign for pedestrians in Cardiff reading 'Look Right' in English read 'Look Left' in Welsh.
• In 2006, a shared-faith school in Wrexham removed a sign which translated the Welsh for staff as "wooden stave".
 |
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By *a LunaWoman
over a year ago
South Wales |
It’s had a resurgence.
Lots more Welsh speaking Schools seem to be popping up.
I can speak it but not fluently as it wasn’t taught until Comprehensive School in my day, and it’s quite tricky to learn.
I always thought it was spoken fluently in North Wales but the one time i went there everyone spoke with a Liverpool accent  |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I was in a town in north Wales once and the locals told me.. There are Polish students living there who can speak Welsh fluently but can't speak any English.
The town was 98% Welsh speaking. |
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"It’s had a resurgence.
Lots more Welsh speaking Schools seem to be popping up.
I can speak it but not fluently as it wasn’t taught until Comprehensive School in my day, and it’s quite tricky to learn.
I always thought it was spoken fluently in North Wales but the one time i went there everyone spoke with a Liverpool accent "
The Deeside area of Flintshire and coast of Denbighshire do sound a bit scouse
There was a large influx from over the water during WW2 as evacuees and also for the heavy industries of the area, steelworks etc. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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The Welsh have put outstanding effort into retaining and making their language flourish once more over the last hundred years. They could teach the Irish and Scots a thing or two about keeping an ancient language current and available to all citizens.
It's a major part of their identity, at least 20% of the have a comand of the language. I'm sure most bilingual Welsh people reading this post will be laughing at you rather than with you OP about your observations of the phonetics and placement of their language in their country.
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"It’s had a resurgence.
Lots more Welsh speaking Schools seem to be popping up.
I can speak it but not fluently as it wasn’t taught until Comprehensive School in my day, and it’s quite tricky to learn.
I always thought it was spoken fluently in North Wales but the one time i went there everyone spoke with a Liverpool accent "
The only place I noticed a scouse accent was in Wrexham. They didn't think it though, but I swear they sounded like people from Liverpool. |
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Aprox a tenth of population speak Welsh as first language... In gwynedd (North West Wales)... If u work for council you must be bilingual..
As with England there are varients of accents... And a very little known fact is that North East Welsh accent actually believe it or nor spreads across the border for Aprox 30 miles... So people's accents in that zone are actually Welsh...!!!!!!
So 'la put that in your pipe and smoke it |
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"I always liked the football trivia question:
Who was the last Welsh speaker to score a goal at the old Wembley stadium??"
Going to take a punt on whoever kicked a penalty in the famous "Scott Gibbs last minute try Rugby International at Wembley" when national stadium was being rebuilt.. |
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"Apparently Welsh is spoken in Argentina  "
Patagonia
There's a thriving community and cultural exchanges between the countries.
It was ironic during the Falklands that the British soldiers came across Jones'in the Argentinian forces |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I'm not completely fluent but I can hold a conversation and chat with my pals .
It's one of the oldest European languages and there is a resurgence in spoken Welsh.
Schools now compulsory teach the Welsh language. Two generations ago speaking Welsh was banned in schools and children punished for speaking Welsh. Google the "Welsh Not".
Thankfully things Have changed , its a beautiful sing song language , we have our own culture and traditions .
Us Gogs (Gogledd Cymru, North Wales) in the North have different words to those down south.
Yes Welsh is alive and well especially here in North West Wales  |
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"Last time I checked it was 2% of the population in Wales but that was years ago i reckon its more now "
Except when somebody who doesn't speak it comes along. Then it goes up to 100% and they haven't learned any other languages. |
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The Cornish were given minority status a few years back and there is now a drive to push the language (it was speak Cornish week last week). The last native speaker is of some debate with the last true native dying around 1914 although Dolly Pentraeth is officially the last native speaker (died 1777).
The road signs now have to be in Cornish and I believe they teach it in some schools.
Like the Welsh language I think it's good that people try to keep something unique and beautiful alive |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I spend a lot of time in west Wales & its spoken a lot down there,especially in the more rural areas. I was in Carmarthen a while ago & a young mother was comforting her three year old daughter in welsh after she'd fallen over. I've tried to learn welsh but didn't get very far. |
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"I spend a lot of time in west Wales & its spoken a lot down there,especially in the more rural areas. I was in Carmarthen a while ago & a young mother was comforting her three year old daughter in welsh after she'd fallen over. I've tried to learn welsh but didn't get very far."
Awww bechod |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I spend a lot of time in west Wales & its spoken a lot down there,especially in the more rural areas. I was in Carmarthen a while ago & a young mother was comforting her three year old daughter in welsh after she'd fallen over. I've tried to learn welsh but didn't get very far.
Awww bechod "
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I'm sure most bilingual Welsh people reading this post will be laughing at you rather than with you OP about your observations of the phonetics and placement of their language in their country.
"
Most of them have probably got a sense of humour though and won't take it too seriously. Coming from where I do, I know a little about dialect derision.
It was a genuine question though; I did wonder if the sign posts were a bit of tokenism as all I heard today were people who sounded like they were from the Black Country. There's some really good replies on this thread though and I would never take the piss out of anybody for keeping their local dialect and traditions going.
Apart from Morris dancers.
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"I always liked the football trivia question:
Who was the last Welsh speaker to score a goal at the old Wembley stadium??
Going to take a punt on whoever kicked a penalty in the famous "Scott Gibbs last minute try Rugby International at Wembley" when national stadium was being rebuilt.. "
That was a conversion
But it was Argentinian Gabriel Batistuta |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I'm sure most bilingual Welsh people reading this post will be laughing at you rather than with you OP about your observations of the phonetics and placement of their language in their country.
Most of them have probably got a sense of humour though and won't take it too seriously. Coming from where I do, I know a little about dialect derision.
It was a genuine question though; I did wonder if the sign posts were a bit of tokenism as all I heard today were people who sounded like they were from the Black Country. There's some really good replies on this thread though and I would never take the piss out of anybody for keeping their local dialect and traditions going.
Apart from Morris dancers.
"
It's the same in parts of Ireland. People talk in english but most at least understand a significant amount of written Irish. All place names in the Republic are signposted in both languages. A practical reason for this is that most english placenames are anglasized versions of gaelic (irish) placenames. The english version means nothing, but the irish word that make up a place name gives the reader an idea of the etymology of that place...eg 'Kildare' might sound like a challenge to murder, but in it's original irish of Cill Dara it means 'The Oak Wood Church' . It's even practical for overseas visitors. Even though the won't 'Magh Chromtha' means the ' Raised Plain ', at least they will assume the it means something other than 'The Chamber of the Raincoat' when they pass through the town of Macroom. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Last time I checked it was 2% of the population in Wales but that was years ago i reckon its more now "
This is from Google..According to the 2011 census, 19% (562,000) of Welsh residents three years old or over reported being able to speak Welsh. 77% (431,000) of them were able to speak, read and write the language. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Welsh speaker here, living in England.
There are more predominatly Welsh speakers in the North, Flint area, down to mid Wales.
I can assure you that Welsh is far from a dead language.
I was at Townhouse, and was chatting to some guys about history and heritage of the surrounding areas.
We got onto Wales, never let on I was Welsh. This woman joined in the convo, started slating the Welsh, before announcing she spoke it.
So she was asked if she could translate some sentences! Well not sure wtf she was speaking but it certainly was not Welsh!!!!
Oh my word, how insulted did I feel! First she was slagging of the Welsh people, then she was bastardising my language!! However I smiled at the arrogance.
Stood up, turned to her and said to her (in Welsh) "if you are going to speak my language then speak it properly" her face was a picture! |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Welsh speaker here, living in England.
There are more predominatly Welsh speakers in the North, Flint area, down to mid Wales.
I can assure you that Welsh is far from a dead language.
I was at Townhouse, and was chatting to some guys about history and heritage of the surrounding areas.
We got onto Wales, never let on I was Welsh. This woman joined in the convo, started slating the Welsh, before announcing she spoke it.
So she was asked if she could translate some sentences! Well not sure wtf she was speaking but it certainly was not Welsh!!!!
Oh my word, how insulted did I feel! First she was slagging of the Welsh people, then she was bastardising my language!! However I smiled at the arrogance.
Stood up, turned to her and said to her (in Welsh) "if you are going to speak my language then speak it properly" her face was a picture! "
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I'm in the back of a car returning from Wales, sneakily posting on fab.
The Welsh language; it's on signposts everywhere but does anybody actually speak it?
It's a bit like holiday Spanish with an Indian accent, it all comes from the the throat. I only cleared my throat at the bar today and I was charged for 3 pints and a packet of Wotsits. I ain't coming here with a chesty cough again.
Do you people from Wales actually speak Welsh?"
Yes they do. I've lived in Wales a long time, west Wales and it's spoken a quite s lot. Its taught in school also. I lived in Wales for over 20 years...never managed to grasp it. Diolch |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I know like 5 people who speak it fluently and I've lived her 15 years pointless language mate"
Not in the North of Wales it isn't, whole communities still speak Welsh, and are very proud of it |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I know like 5 people who speak it fluently and I've lived her 15 years pointless language mate
Not in the North of Wales it isn't, whole communities still speak Welsh, and are very proud of it "
Exactly north Wales is prob 0.000001% of the population lol |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I know like 5 people who speak it fluently and I've lived her 15 years pointless language mate"
Not so pointless when they don't want the Saesneg arbenigol to understand. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I know like 5 people who speak it fluently and I've lived her 15 years pointless language mate
Not so pointless when they don't want the Saesneg arbenigol to understand."
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I know like 5 people who speak it fluently and I've lived her 15 years pointless language mate
15 years! Ble rydych chi'n byw!?? "
Nid mewn lle sy'n gwerthfawrogi ei threftadaeth mae'n ymddangos. Abertawe?
Anwybodaeth Saesneg
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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And it is boring when people discover you speak Welsh as all I get is 'wow, I can only say 'araf' and 'how do you pronounce that big long named place with the train station! I never bother to reply, just tell them the locals know it as Llanfair, or Llanfairpwll |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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My daughter is fluent. We lived in a village where it was very much alive, so when we moved recently we opted for the Welsh speaking school in the next village, to the English speaking one down the road, her decision. She’s in yr 3 and very proud of speaking it.
I grew up in England, so not much call for it, but learning again now, so I can converse with her- of a sorts, I’m rubbish at it, which she finds hilarious x Viv x |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I know like 5 people who speak it fluently and I've lived her 15 years pointless language mate
15 years! Ble rydych chi'n byw!??
Nid mewn lle sy'n gwerthfawrogi ei threftadaeth mae'n ymddangos. Abertawe?
Anwybodaeth Saesneg
"
Abertane seisnigedig....mae dinas Dulyn yr un mor seisnigedig
Diolch I Loerg |
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