How come the Welsh have done a lot better preserving their own language

Spent a few days on business in Colwyn Bay, Llandudno and Conway, nice part of the world

 

Well done the Welsh!

I hope so, but I do not believe in that.

There you go:
http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/9_3_1.html


Percentage of Welsh speakers

 

I live right down on the south coast of Ireland theres a few Gaeltacht areas near me, I think its stronger in the western and southern regions of Ireland. Theres one area near me and all the road signs are in gaeilge people converse as gaeilge and all shops/pubs etc... have their signs as gaeilge for example "Kelly's Pub" would be "Tig Tabhairne O'Ceallaigh" also our national anthem, what ye Scots would call the soldiers song. I don't know the lyrics in English only as gaeilge

 

I didnt see it getting any better last year but the only way to improve how badly its thought is to stop with all the writing * and concentrate more on speaking the language. This will have to happen right from junior infants.

The fact is though you dont need irish to live a normal life here its not required, its more of a personal thing and if you live in a gaeltacht (I actually seen kids from a gaeltacht school being interveiwed saying that they speak irish in school so they dont get in trouble but speak english to their friends and family).

I'm a tad bitter towards the language because that * teacher I had in 5th and 6th year so at the minute I've no desire to go back and learn it.

 

I would love for us to be able to speak both Scot Gaelic and English.

 

That would be great. Everybody must speak English now, it is world language No1, people around the world speak it. In every country people speak English, but as the second language. It would be great if Irish and Scottish-Gaelic would be spoken in Ireland and Scotland as first language.

 

aye not to far from me, i live in a place called st asaph, you would of probably drove past it if you came in from england. I think the more west in wales you go the nicer it gets. Some lovely places to have camping trips by the west coast. I know for a fact there are some pubs that wont let people speak english in haha, but thats mainly in the really rural areas!

 

The Welsh weren't banned from speaking their own language by the UK (English Parliament) like we were in 1616 or 1872.

The Education Act 1872 forbade anyone in Scotland to speak Gaelic. Wich led to generations more of Gaels missing out on their own language. Children at school were beaten if they were caught speaking Gaelic.

In the words of former education minister Peter Peacock regarding the Gaelic Language Scotland Act 2005: "We have come a long way since the dark days of 1616 when an Act of Parliament ruled that Gaelic should be 'abolishit and removit' from Scotland."

 

Thank you for useful information. I hope this will change.

 

Ciamar a tha sibh an-diugh??? :icon_mrgreen:

 

too true, there is an irish speaking primary school in Cookstown that has appeared in the past 10 years and it seems to be picking up in popularity. There is the one in Coalisland too as far as I can remember that has been there as long as I can remember.

I know in school they always try to get you to learn Irish and it can be kept as a subject right up until you finish, its a shame its such a hard language to learn cause its one Ive always wanted to be able to speak fluently. IMO a person can take a lot of pride in being able to speak in their Native tongue

 

Theres a great one in Strabane too and one might be opening up in Castlederg. When I was at secondary school I was never givin the option to learn Irish. The only ones who had that chance were those in the smarter classes. I was in a lower class so I was forced to learn Spanish and French. Its all changed now for the better as anyone can have the option to learn it.

 

Few things..


As a nation we are 22% competant in Welsh...this can go from as high as 90% in Anglesey to about 5% in Monmouth...the main areas where Welsh is spoken as a realistic first language is in an area called Y Fro Gymraeg (a textbook word, never heard this said in real life)...this is in the map on the previous page the three darkest green counties (i live in the bottom darkest green county)

naturaly these are the least populated and the most nationalistic areas of Wales, where Union jacks, Torys, Many times an English man are not made to feel particularly welcome. Indeed these three counties are the only areas of Wales that were ever part of a truly independent and united Wales (the principality of Wales which won recognition from the English crown before being crushed under that * Edward I)

The other areas have always been under the power of lords ands dukes before English crown rule. These areas have never particularly been bastions of Welsh culture or Welsh language although with varying degrees. Lower Pembrokeshire for example is known as Little England and is like a different world language and culture wise.

Welsh was banned as a language when we officially became annexed to England in the Acts of Union 1536 by Henry VIII (who himself spoke welsh as a child as his father Henry VII was the first Welsh king of England). Since then the higher classes of Wales cast aside Welsh as they werent allowed to take official offices. In victorian era's there was the "Welsh not" implemented in schools by the English whereby whichever kid spoke a welsh word had to wear a piece of rope around their neck. whoever had it at the end of school day then got beaten. Welsh was literaly beaten out of the children. it has only made a real comeback since the 1960's with the rise of modern welsh nationalism and is growing by a few percentage each generation.

 

I am on Gaelic mailing lists on Facebook. The reports that I get are that Gaelic is increasing in popularity. The governments of Scotland and N.S. have been working together to promote the growth of Gaelic in the two countries. In eastern N.S., the victims of the Highland Clearances held on to the Gaelic language. It has been spoken
there for a few hundred years. In the early 1900's, for quite sometime, Gaelic was
spoken by nine out of ten people. They tried to get recognition from the government,
but were refused. Children of Gaelic speaking families were forced into English speaking schools, (partly because they had a British constitution). Migration to larger
urban areas, and the loss of soldiers in the two World Wars saw a decline in the language, but it never died. The government set an office of Gaelic affairs in the late 90's, and put up Gaelic road signs, and Gaelic is now taught in schools. At all levels.
They even have Gaelic immersion programs in some of them. (Like Gaelic medium education in Scotland). Gaelic was not included in the census, but this year's asked about it. Most of it is in the eastern region.

 

in partick you always hear the auld yins gabbing away in gaelic in the pub. i was thinking about classes as there is a fair amount of folk who speak it around here. know a few guys who speak irish too.

 

One interesting thing: When De Valera and lLoyd George met, De Valera spoke Irish Gaelic and Lloyd answered in Welsh. They did not understand each other, but, they did not understand each other anyway.