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What is wrong with the Welsh......

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Mr davies!

i like welsh! i think i'd like to live in wales. and i like it that people speak welsh. we have to do english for GCSE, even though some people don't want to. i know welsh isn't necessary to live but it is to keep wales as wales, not western england.

(despite my username, i'm not welsh)

Reply 22

Jely1945

gah she is being unbelievably short sighted.

Reply 23

rsp

I'm Welsh and I speak the language fluently and attend a Welsh Medium School and have done so since reception. I truly find some of the comments made on this thread and made by Mr Davies hurtful at the very least. I did not have the choice to go to a Welsh school when I was 3 obviously but I am very grateful for my parents for making that decision. I am proud to speak the language of my country just as if I or anyone else moved to a country such as France or Latvia I would expect people to make an effort to learn the language.
A lot of people here says there is no point learning Welsh as it is a dying language however the number of children attending welsh Language schools is on the increase. Becasue of this increase Welsh schools get more funding (because of the per head bases) and therefore the quality of facilities and teaching in these schools is on the rise.
As you can see I am perfectly capable of righting decent English and my Welsh is also of a fluent standard.
When children learn Welsh, and when I have learnt it, you don't only learn words, you learn the skills of translating and improved comprehension . The universities I have had interviews for took a keen interest in the fact that I can use Welsh as a fluent language and it has helped me get a lot of part time work. After university and training I may decide to come back home where Welsh will be a great support for me when working in the Health sector.
Yes I am happy to be Welsh and support the Language and the countries traditions. However I have nothing against the English or any other nationality, as someone who forefathers came here after escaping from the Holocaust I despair at the idea of being called racist or affiliated with a party such as BNP just because i think it should be compulsory to learn a beautiful historical language.

Reply 24

Harrimusic

Speaking as someone who is Welsh and who has spoken welsh from a young age, I would like to say that her complete small-mindedness about the welsh language makes me sick.
I enjoyed studying welsh, and although I don't study it anymore I am glad I can speak it and it has helped me get some jobs in the area that I live in.
People like Maureen Boyardy is one of the few reasons I detest the welsh because they assume that the welsh have a one-up on everyone else because of our language.
I went to a completely welsh school in year 7 where they threatened me with detention because I spoke English. Needless to say, I moved in year 8.
I do think that the welsh should learn to speak welsh and study the language in school, but whether they want to carry on that study is their choice. It is exactly the same as studying English lit and lang at GCSE, as I have 2 welsh gcses, (lit and lang).
Her outlook on the welsh is wrong, and although there is a very strong sense of nationalism in the country, there are also a lot of people who live in wales but yet hate welsh, so people argue about why they live here.
People need to see the full picture before they can make a judgement on the welsh, and Maureen had obviously had a very close-minded upbringing.

Reply 25

abc:)

Hahaha MR DAVIES!!!!!!!

I don't agree with her but regardless of my opinion she doesn't get her point across very well at all. She needs to learn some arguing skills :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 26

cgraham15

Learning Welsh is one of the most important things in Wales. 60 years ago the government of the UK was attempting to exterminate the language. My great gran only spoke Welsh until she was 7, and then of course Westminster thought it would be a good idea to abolish one of the oldest languages in Europe. It's excellent it's making a comeback.

Reply 27

silverbolt

Original post by Pixxy_

That woman sounds mental. However, I don't see the problem in teaching Welsh or at least giving children the option to learn Welsh. I think it's sad for a language to die but it is probably too late to save it. I wish I had been taught some Irish at school.

Unless its changed drastically in Ireland since the 1990s when i grew up there - its compulsary in Irish schools as well.

And i think it should be taught (referring to both welsh and irish) but then i think heritage should be preserved, to allow the richness of a culture to die away for some sake of a PC world one-ness is ludicrous. Languages from other small countries serve no purpose outside of their borders yet there is no reason for it to be allowed to die away.

However forcing it down a persons throat is one of the surest ways to get them to run away from it. By all means teach them to the youngest but then allow them to make up thier own mind once they hit secondary school and preparing for thier Junior cert

Reply 28

Snagprophet

Original post by Calanon

To all the people saying Welsh is useless because only the Welsh speak it, what about other countries in Europe? For example, Latvia. Only Latvians speak Latvian, nobody had a go at them for defending their language against Russian.

At least Latvia has the decency of being an independent country.

Reply 29

Kaiser MacCleg

Original post by Carter78

It's quite clear that an immigrant from say, Mexico, arriving in the UK with no grasp of the English language will find their situation much more difficult. The ability of local services to communicate with this immigrant and for the immigrant themselves to find work would obviously be much more complicated due to a language barrier. Hence why a grasp of English is necessary for an immigrant if they wish to create a successful life in the UK.

An English speaking person moving to Wales would not encounter the same difficulties.

My original point was in reply to geetar, who said that any English person who calls for immigrants to learn English is derided as a fascist. I disagree. I would think the vast majority of English people would want immigrants moving to England to learn English, and I agree - they should, both from the point of necessity and out of respect for their adopted home. I used the example of Cameron calling for the same to try and illustrate my point.

I agree that for an English person moving to Wales, Welsh is hardly a necessity. However, I don't think it is unreasonable to suggest that if they move to a majority Welsh language community they should at least make an effort to learn the language out of respect for the community and with a view to safeguarding the language's future.

Reply 30

James4d

Original post by rsp

As you can see I am perfectly capable of righting decent English

Not to criticise your English or anything, but this did make me smile :rolleyes:

Reply 31

rsp

Original post by James4d

Not to criticise your English or anything, but this did make me smile :rolleyes:

Ha oops sorry :redface:

I am known for my typos

Reply 32

Kaiser MacCleg

Original post by Carter78

However there is no necessity for doctors or teachers to have to be able to speak it. It took me between 1-2 years to achieve absolute fluency in German, a language that is quite similar to English. I imagine it would take considerably longer to achieve a level of fluency in Welsh.

How long would it take for a doctor to learn enough Welsh to be able to do their job in the language? I imagine that most medical terms are in English anyway (please correct me if Im wrong), so it would be totally redundant for a perfectly good doctor to be forced to spend a few years of their private time learning a language that would not enhance the level or quality of their care.

Don't worry, I absolutely agree. Only a very small minority of public sector positions in Wales actually require knowledge of the Welsh language, and that's the way it should - and has to - stay.

Reply 33

Scumbaggio

Not really directly related but I received a letter the other day with what I assume was the same message in English and Welsh stamped on it.

Why the hell am i getting welsh on letters sent to an English address?

Reply 34

L i b

Original post by Scumbaggio

Some UK-wide government departments have a bilingual approach to English and Welsh - essentially as Welsh (unlike, say, Cornish or Scots Gaelic) has a more firm claim to being an official language.

I think the DWP especially likes putting a bit of Welsh on its documents. Which is a bit funny if you live in Shetland or somewhere like that.

Everything!!

Original post by Classical Liberal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18254869

Pretty funny.

Surely the question should be what is wrong with tory MP's?

Reply 37

iolo.15

And why on earth should we speak English as a first language? Welsh is our language, just like French is the language of France, and Slovak is the language of Slovakia. English should've stayed in England, and the English shouldn't have tried to take over the world. Our language never died, and never will, because we love our language, and it will stay that way. There's nothing wrong with Welsh, so take your imperialistic ignorant opinions somewhere else because they're wrong.

Reply 38

iolo.15

Original post by Kaiser MacCleg

Don't worry, I absolutely agree. Only a very small minority of public sector positions in Wales actually require knowledge of the Welsh language, and that's the way it should - and has to - stay.

You're a racist and a xenophobe. Wales should have it's language back. I'm fuming with imperialist scumbags like you. Welsh will and must not stay as a minority.

Reply 39

iolo.15

Original post by Snagprophet

At least Latvia has the decency of being an independent country.

Yet another xenophobe! How many of these ignorant and deluded trolls will I see today? We might not be ready for independence, but remember, Latvia only gained independence in 1991, and here's another example. Faroese is only spoken in the Faroe Islands, and they're not independent. Surely you must have brain damage to be such a racist? I honestly hope your little smug tory face gets crushed by a bunch of sheep.