rec.autos.simulators

> <snip>
> >>This is in
> >> large part because of the huge increase in Welsh-medium schooling.
> >> In fact, bilingualism is now compulsory in Welsh schools - every
> >> pupil must learn Welsh *and* English from ages 5 to 16. This
> >> policy of bilingualism is, in most areas, extremely popular.
> >> Making some localities a "Welsh-only" zone would be a disaster.

> >This sounds similar to what is being done to revive French in
> >Louisiana. I hate to sound cynical, but isn't true that most of
> >these measures usually come once a language has been so battered
> >that it's highly unlikely it will ever again reach a point where
> >engineers will use it to draft plans for bridges, mechanics to
> >change tires or doctors to perform surgery?
> <snip>

> I was going to leave this thread there, but I think I need to answer
> this point. Welsh's position is far, *far* healthier than that of
> French in Louisiana, and likely to remain so. About 20% of the Welsh
> population speak it, but the distribution is very variable. In Gwynedd
> in the north west, for example, it's well over 60%, and anyone
applying
> for a public sector job is required either to speak Welsh or to make a
> commitment to learn it within two years. And they're expected to use
> it regularly.

> In Llangefni, for example (the county town of Anglesey, a large island
> off the north-west coast for those that don't know), well over 80%
> speak it, and it is used every day. And in that part of Wales, you
*do*
> hear people (including young people) using Welsh for ordering
> takeaways, paying in cheques at the bank, and, yes, conversations
> between mechanics changing tyres.

> If you go to Caernarfon, the most Welsh-speaking large twon in Wales,
> you will hear both English and Welsh. But the English mostly comes
from
> visitors - the majority of locals speak Welsh as a first language.
> You'll hear a lot of Welsh spoken in the west of Wales - for example,
> Bangor, Bala, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion (Cardiganshire as was) -
> even as far east as Llandudno and Wrexham. In fact, in Ceredigion
there
> is now a successful bilingual *commercial* radio station (an important
> point, as people tend to assume Welsh always needs state subsidy).

> What I am trying to say is that Welsh *is* used as a first language
> across a lot of Wales for mundane everyday tasks, such as those you
> mention. Forty years ago, saying the language was dying was the
> accepted view. Not any more - I'm pleased to say that the "Pisgodyn a
> Sglodion" (Fish & Chips) signs are here to stay!

> Slightly interesting fact no. 263546: the revival in Welsh is
sometimes
> traced to a radio speech on the subject given in 1962. Is this the
only
> time radio has rescued a language?

> <snip>
> >I am very glad to hear this about Welsh.  Now, I am curious to know
> >if the areas where Welsh is resurgent are highly desireable areas
> >where people from other areas would have a tendency to move to or if
> >these are remote or slow-growth areas.

> This is the most encouraging thing of all. Welsh is now seen in much
of
> Wales as a "high-status" language, essential if you want to get the
top
> jobs (mostly in the public sector, but it's becoming a good interview
> plus point in the private sector too). Being able to say "Dw i'n
siarad
> Gymraeg" ("I speak Welsh") is seen as very positive - for example, the
> Welsh Assembly is bilingual both in theory and in practice, though
> admittedly not as much as it should be, as people tend to speak in
> English to get on the UK-wide TV news. If I moved to Wales, I would
> certainly learn Welsh properly - it's a good way to get on in life
> these days.

> In fact, probably the highest growth in Welsh usage in the current
> revival has been in Cardiff, where Welsh-medium schools are hugely
> oversubscribed. Until very recently, there were too few "new speakers"
> to make much of an impact, but on my occasional trips there, I'm
> increasingly hearing parents taking their kids to school chatting with
> them in Welsh, and the kids chatting amongst themselves in Welsh.

> >(The experience in North America has been that minority languages
have
> >survived longest in areas that attract few newcomers.)

> The interesting thing about Welsh is that there are two main
> strongholds of the language. Firstly, the remote rural areas, as one
> might expect; but secondly, the affluent urban areas (especially in
> Cariff), which are generally populated by incomers who want to make
> themselves part of the community, to differntiate themselves from
> England, and who see the language as the obvious way of doing so.

> So, the situation of Welsh is very interesting, because it's a rare
> case of a minority language which has a *higher* status than the
> majority language in much of the country. I don't think it will be a
> revival to rival Hebrew's (though that obviously was in very special
> circumstances), but I do think that its prospects are good.

> PS: That radio speech in 1962 was called "Tynged yr iaith" (Death of
> the language), and was given by Saunders Lewis. The only link I can
> find to it is below, but it's on the website of the pressure
> group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society), who
are
> somewhat strident in their Welshness, so the speech is given in the
> original Welsh only!