211 Responses to “Clwyd West”

1. Doktorb

   Few friends and I went camping in and around Porthmadog. Welsh speakers all over the place, except us. We soon learned which pubs were more suited to English speakers and stayed there instead

   December 12th, 2012 at 9:58 am
2. Shaun Bennett

   “as someone who speaks no welsh but who visits wales a fair few times a year – which i’d hedge to bet is more frequently than yourself – i’d like to ask in what way are people who don’t speak welsh discriminated against in wales?”

   Firstly Tim, I’m not sure why you need to turn it into a competition about how often we visist Wales.
   Neither am I quite sure what would give you the impression that I don’t visist often.
   Since we have a caravan in North Wales, its probably safe to bet that we go there a fair few times a year as well.

   Secondly, how can you argue that there is no disccrimination? You can’t work for a local authority in Wales unless you are a Welsh speaker. Case closed?

   And in some cases, the majority have to glance over sentences of gobledigook before getting to an English translation, in areas where Welsh is put first.

   In elections, why should the majority have to wait to hear the result while returning officers go through the whole thing in Welsh first? For a short time, election results in some constituencies seem to be a secret that the English only speakers have to ait to be ‘let in on’.

   And on roads, putting Welsh first is downright dangerous, because people often don’t have time to look down loads and loads of nonsense before you get to the bit you need to see.

   The Welsh people continue to vote with their feet. Despite a long period of active nudginig and discrimination-including forcing children to learn it in schools, Welsh speakers fails to increase.
   That speaks volumes about it.

   December 12th, 2012 at 10:03 am
3. Tim Jones

   To be honest I wasn’t aware that understanding Welsh was compulsary for people working in local government in Wales – but I can see the logic behind it given that it’s in Wales

   But to be fair there’s plenty of jobs up and down the UK where you have to understand a lanaguage other than English to get them – so I don’t think you can argue that English people are discrimated against – just that speaking Welsh in Wales is advantageous, which given that it’s the national language makes sense

   There is a degree of not welcoming outsiders in some of the more remote parts of North Wales – one of my father’s friends from the South who was staying at the family home in Llandudno for a holiday, returned from the pub a few miles outside the town with a black eye after getting into a scuffle with a few locals – and given he was a clergyman it was unlikely he threw the first punch

   December 12th, 2012 at 10:31 am
4. Pete Whitehead

   ” just that speaking Welsh in Wales is advantageous, which given that it’s the national language makes sense”

   Its not much of a national language if 80% of people can’t speak it

   December 12th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
5. LBernard

   From a historical and cultural point of view I do admire the fact that a small minority of people in Wales still speak Welsh. I don’t see anything wrong in Welsh children learning it in school either. I do think that when it comes to signs and the like, English should dominate bearing in mind Wales is a part of the UK. I also disagree with having to speak Welsh to get a job in local government.

   December 12th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
6. Joe R

   I would rather Welsh would survive and bear them no ill will, but it is a doomed language already. People who speak Welsh as a first language are dwindling due to migration elsewhere, death of old welsh speakers and low birth rates in the rural west and north.

   If you teach children Welsh in areas like Cardiff and Monmouth, their parents aren’t going to speak Welsh (was Welsh ever spoken in south-east wales), so the kids wont speak it as a living language, they’ll forget it in the same way we have all forgotten French following our GCSEs / O levels.

   I’m not relishing in the destruction of Welsh like Shaun, but in the “free market” of languages Welsh is a non-starter. Its the British Leyland of languages, uncompetitive without subsidy and a bit pointless. They may as well learn latin or proto-indoeuropean.

   December 12th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
7. Mike Homfray

   Lets actually talk about the facts rather than the fevered imaginations of our fringe right wing friends.

   It is not compulsory to speak Welsh to work in local government in Wales

   December 12th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
8. LBernard

   “It is not compulsory to speak Welsh to work in local government in Wales”

   Thanks Mike. I did think it seemed a bit odd

   December 12th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
9. THE RESULTS

   The funny thing about Welsh is that itseems to be that the language has its own channel S4C- No-one like Scotland or Nsorthern Ireland soes.

   December 12th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
10. Joe R

    Yes (Scotland) does. Not heard of BBC Alba?

    htttp://www.bbc.co.uk/alba/

    December 12th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
11. Andy JS

    David Jones may be in a spot of bother:

    “Cabinet minister: Gay couples cannot provide safe environment for children

    The Welsh secretary David Jones has said gay couples “clearly” cannot provide a “warm and safe environment” in which to raise children”:

    ht tp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21472004

    February 15th, 2013 at 5:16 pm