As someone who is far from fluent in Cymraeg (I’m barely even able to hold a conversation in my mother tongue) I almost feel unqualified to be writing an article about the Welsh language. But then, that’s probably the exact reason why I should be writing this.
My mam’s first language is Cymraeg, but as my dad (who is English) doesn’t speak the language it was never spoken at home, other than when mam was speaking to Nain or Taid.
Growing up in north east Wales, I never really saw the importance of it nor did I appreciate it. Don’t get me wrong, I have always loved hearing it and seeing it on our road signs etc – I always knew
I was home when I could see the Clwydian mountains and Cymraeg road signs and even though I didn’t understand a lot of the words, I have always found comfort in seeing it around me.
However, as I have gotten older I’ve become acutely aware of how much culture and history I have missed out on by being unable to speak Cymraeg and have recently started learning again, spurred on by the fact that my daughter is being educated in a Welsh language school (as will my son come September) and that aged 5 she is far more confident and proficient in using the language than I am, although I converse with her yn Cymraeg as much as I can and learn from her on a daily basis.
Two things to note here; firstly that I stated I have recently started learning again, and secondly, that I believe confidence in ability is a big problem, not just for me, but many learners of the language.
I did my GCSEs in 2000, and I was among the last secondary school pupils in Cymru to have had the choice to opt out of studying Welsh at GCSE level. Foolishly I opted out, thinking that I would be able to learn from my mam (although that never came to fruition, for a multitude of reasons) and instead studied French and German.
As I grew older and became more involved with politics, especially the struggle for independence, and learnt more about our history and the suppression of Cymraeg, I started wanting to learn again, and about 10 years ago I enrolled on to a beginner’s course at Glyndwr University.
Although I was doing well, circumstances changed; I became homeless and had to choose between going to an evening class or finding somewhere warm and dry to sleep. Learning Cymraeg had to be shelved.
Since then I have developed a fierce love of the language, and although I am a long way away from being fluent (although thanks to my daughter, the “Say Something In Welsh” app, the help of good comrades and the recent story of Geordan Burress, I am more determined than ever to get there) I will always defend our language from those who belittle or mock it.
I have also begun to look at what can be done to promote the language and encourage people like myself to not only learn it, but also use it in daily life. I use it on a daily basis, although it’s only in small ways; I always say “nos dawch” to my children at bed time as opposed to “good night”, I try to say “diolch” to bus drivers and customers in work instead of “thank you”, I say “dwi’n caru ti” to my partner rather than “I love you”. Although only small, they are things I feel confident in saying, even though I know so much more than that.
As I have already said, confidence is a major contributing factor, especially for someone who is a perfectionist to a fault. But there’s a lot more to the state of the Welsh language than the confidence of individual learners.
It seems an almost weekly, if not daily occurrence now that the language is attacked and ridiculed by all manner of people. From the Sun’s scathing headline after it emerged that Geordan Burress, a woman from the USA had taught herself the language, Omid Djalili’s pathetic attempts at “humour” and KFC workers in Bangor being told they can’t communicate in their own language.
If only there was some sort of legislation in place to protect our language.
Oh, that’s right, I forgot. There is.
On the face of it, the Welsh Language Act 1993 is a good thing, and admittedly the protections it affords have gone some way to preserving the language, but it’s clearly not enough.
As I previously stated, I opted out of doing Welsh at GCSE level. After 2000, it became mandatory for all pupils in Cymru to study Welsh at GCSE level. On paper, this sounds brilliant, but the reality is that someone who studies Welsh as a second language at GCSE level will leave secondary education with the conversational ability of a 5 year old who has Welsh as their first language.
It is tokenistic at best, put in place simply to try and placate the likes of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, who fought and protested for language rights, leading to the formation of the first Welsh Language Act in 1967.
While the current language act has given Cymraeg “equal status”, the attitude to the language by the British state, and even some “Welsh” people, is one of derision and mockery.
"It is blindingly obvious that in order for Cymraeg to not only survive, but flourish once again we need to be an independent nation and implement radical changes that will actively put the language at the forefront of everyday life. To quote Tolkien;
"Welsh is of this soil, this island, the senior language of the men of Britain; and Welsh is beautiful".
It is time it was treated with the respect it deserves.
Yr Aflonyddwch Mawr calls for a new Welsh Language Act that does just this; not a tokenistic piece of legislation to keep us quiet, but an Act that will actually, tangibly see the language being not only equal, but becoming the official first language of the Welsh state and promoted as such."
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