Census figures issued last week showed a decline in the number of people speaking Welsh. And Labour leader Ed Miliband suggested that it should be a requirement that public sector workers be proficient in English if they are dealing with the public.BBC Wales Sunday Supplement posed the question – what if that was extended to Welsh? Should Miliband’s law be extended to English speakers who move to west Wales?
Presenter Vaughan Roderick spoke to Glyn Davies, Conservative MP for Montgomeryshire and a former Welsh learner of the year, and shadow Welsh Minister Nia Griffiths, the Llanelli MP.
First, he asked Simon Thomas AM, Plaid Cymru’s spokesman on the Welsh language, whether Welsh speakers are too polite about telling people they need to fit into the community.
See: BBC (Wales)
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Local time: 01:19
немецкий => английский
Rolls on the floor, laughing.... has he ever been to Wales? I doubt if there has ever been such an intense, aggressive, racist, xenophobic attempt to impose an extinct language on an unwilling population in the whole of European history. "Polite" is not a word that immediately springs to my mind when thinking of Welsh language campaigners.
Великобритания
Local time: 01:19
иврит => английский
....this must be the hardcore linguist in me, but the death of a language should not be allowed to occur for fear of appearing "unpleasant" (racist, xenophobic etc.).
The surpression of other languages, especially English (or at the very least relegating them to a lower status in society) is a necessa... See more
....this must be the hardcore linguist in me, but the death of a language should not be allowed to occur for fear of appearing "unpleasant" (racist, xenophobic etc.).
The surpression of other languages, especially English (or at the very least relegating them to a lower status in society) is a necessary evil if Welsh is to stand a chance.
All is not fair in language wars. ▲ Collapse
Local time: 01:19
немецкий => английский
..being presumably beating up English students in the street simply for being English? This has happened to both myself and my son over a span of twenty five odd years. If Welsh language campaigners wish to appear credible they must first stop being thugs. I won't hold my breath.
Steve K.
Великобритания
Local time: 01:19
иврит => английский
They can't all be tarred with the same brush, surely.
*To clarify: when I said "cracking a few eggs" I meant just "putting a few people's noses out of joint"...in the figurative sense, not the literal... See more
They can't all be tarred with the same brush, surely.
*To clarify: when I said "cracking a few eggs" I meant just "putting a few people's noses out of joint"...in the figurative sense, not the literal one! ▲ Collapse
Канада
Local time: 20:19
испанский => английский
+ ...
Obviously beating is not the solution, but it is also clear that there needs to be even more emphasis on Welsh teaching if the language wants to survive; and the steps taking in the 90s certainly saved the language. It's comparable with Québec being surrounded by English, although Québecois obviously has a healthier status than Welsh. I myself will take a Welsh course next January.
Испания
Local time: 02:19
Член ProZ.com c 2005
английский => испанский
+ ...
Every time I hear about measures (paid by all) to preserve a language (only used and valued by a few), I cannot help but thinking that languages seem to have more rights than individuals.
Sounds a bit like when some talk about the "rights of the people". I immediately feel my wallet to make sure it is still there.
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