Welsh People who can't speak Welsh?

Question

Does it make you feel like a foreigner in your own country?

I'm Welsh but like many of my countrymen I don't speak the language. I don't come from a Welsh speaking area of Wales, my parents didn't speak it and my school didn't teach it (The Welsh Language Act came in too late for me. I had pretty much finished school by the time they made it a compulsory subject).

And I can't get an official job because of this! I'm a Welsh History Graduate but can't get a job working in Welsh History because I'm not bi-lingual!

Even if I went to night school to learn, I doubt I'd ever become bi-lingual. How can you learn a language to the extent of being bilingual when you're an adult? And don't really have anyone to practice with? Noone in my family or friends circle speaks Welsh either, and my BF is English so he sure as heck doesn't - he knows less than I do!

Harry -

I haven't "come" to hlive in Wales I have lived here all my life. I AM Welsh did you not read the question.

And the difference between speaking Spanish in Spain and Welsh in Wales is that in Spain you pretty much HAVE to speak Spanish to get by or you'll not be able to communicate with people. But hardly anyone I know in Wales actually speaks Welsh, English is the major language here, so you can actually get by without it - its a totally different thing.

Pennyless - I am NOT "Lazy" thank you. I have not had time to join a language class because of work and how am I supposed to become bilingual from a 1 hour a week class and noone to practice with I dunno.

Jake - my BF is English and the abuse he has come under for "daring" to move into Wales and set up home with a Welsh girl (me) and - horrors of horrors - have a child together - well you'd think he'd murdered someone.

Its seriously eroding my Welsh pride.

As for why the Welsh Assembly "conducts their business in English" its because thats the first language of most of its members, as indeed it is the first language of an awful lot of us here in Wales. Sorry, Plaid can say what they like but thats FACT.

I wish I had learned Welsh as a kid but I didn't. I was not given the chance.

Plaid are shite anyway, they worry more about the Welsh language than creating jobs and housing for Wales.

And to reiterate I have not "visited" Wales, I AM Welsh. Why do some people not read the question?

Dave - beleive me I have shown plenty of interest in "learning" the langage on my application forms and can pronounce Welsh very well. I know a few basic bits and pieces but can't converse as I don't know enough.

They won't accept anything less than 100% bilingual to work in a museum or any sort of local authority job.

Nos da i ti! (see I know that much!)

LFC - if you just asked me "Excuse me but who are you" you spelt it wrong.

I think its meant to be

"Escusodwch fi, ond, pwy dych chi?"

see I know some basic Welsh!

Answer 1

I can see why you are getting annoyed with some of the answers to your question, stating that you are lazy or by definition bigoted for not learning the Welsh language. These people have clearly not spent a great deal of time (if any) in Wales, nor do they demonstrate any knowledge of how the language system works there. I am not from Wales, but the North of England, however, my head office is in South Wales and I spend a great deal of time there and can sympathise with your dilema. Unfortunately I do not see an easy solution to this and feel strongly, and sadly, that this is the reason so many generations are now leaving Wales. I agree that it's easy enough to pick up a few phrases here and there to get by, but to become bi-lingual is nigh on impossible in adulthood. I'm sorry my answer is not any help to you, but be assured I can understand your dilema.
Best wishes
Mark x

Answer 2

I don't know much about Wales, but looking at the Equal Opportunities Commission's site, I see the following (for the commission's own staff, I think):

"A candidate unable to speak Welsh may be appointed to a post for which Welsh is considered essential, but where time can be allowed to learn the language. In these cases, learning the language to the required level of competence, within a reasonable agreed period, will be a condition of employment."

Have you considered enrolling on a Welsh programme (a intensive Welsh as a foreign language course, not a slow local authority evening course) and using this as strong evidence of a commitment to learn Welsh, a commitment in which you might reasonably expect to be supported by a potential employer? For Welsh to be mandatory where not essential is certainly discriminatory, but the legal solution would be a very dangerous path (talk informally to a lawyer?).

Again, if you've an indifferent degree, you might consider reading for an MA to give yourself an edge. If you could use Welsh-language source materials, you could use that as evidence that you are indeed equipped to work in Welsh history.

Incidentally, to what extent would Welsh be neccessary for academic historical research in Wales? If not at all, then are the jobs you are applying for all dealing with the public? Is that the excuse for the 'essential' fluency.

I'm afraid you're not alone - anywhere where a 'minority' language has become an issue, native inhabitants without that language find themselves at a disadvantage - Borat's Kazakhstan is a good example, where Kazakh (spoken by half the population)
has become more or less compulsory, despite the fact that everyone speaks Russian.

Good luck!

Answer 3

hi,

sorry to hear that you feel this way. for govt jobs welsh is an advantage, but not necessary for all jobs, or even teaching jobs. what about high school history? you can teach that, and most schools are still english language, especially in the south.

i am from and english speaking area but did go to welsh school and growing it was me that felt like the weirdo and teachers at school knew that we copping flak for being different.

you CAN become bilingual. I'm pretty much there with french but it's darned hard work and you have to throw yourself into it. there's loads of help in wales, from night school to immersion courses (which i recommend). as for people to practice with - once you have a good, basic knowledge and can follow everyday conversations, go out on a limb and join a welsh speaking choir or something - there's lots you can do.

first step is to take that first step - get the basics under your belt and just keep plodding away and just accept that this will take YEARS!

as for being a foreigner in your own land - come on! there has been an explosion in biliguism over the last 20 years (i went home yesterday (live in england these days) and passing through cardiff central station i noticed that all the tannoy announcements are now bilingual - brilliant!) and this is a GOOD THING, end of story. a 1/3 of young people are now welsh speakers and this no will only grow. but everyone will still speak english too, so don't feel bad!

Answer 4

I am surprised that Welsh language is mandatory for a job in Welsh history. Maybe if you were to show an interest in learning the language, you might increase your chances of success.

Presumably, having lived in Wales and studied Welsh history, the difficult part of Welsh (spellings and pronounciation) should be quite easy for you to learn. The rest is not too dificult. If anyone doubts this, try learning Japanese.

You might try spending some time watching SC4, you will probably be surprised at just how much you already understand.

Nos da

Answer 5

Don't be put off by these people pulling you down, Wales is a unique case, its like the tail wagging the dog with only a small percentage of the population telling the rest what to do. I bought a small shop in Wales that had been on the market for nearly a year, and the abuse that I got for 'stealing' it from the welsh was terrible. Later on I was voted onto the local council and saw the prejudice first hand. I'm glad that you share my view.

Answer 6

that's a problem I've heard before and it must feel abit weird, not speaking the native language because it's the second language. the only thing I can think of is to try and practice it in whatever spare time you have, fall asleep with the language in your ears via earphones or have someone in to just chat to you in welsh, listen to radio. When I lived in germany I started off by reading the local papers with a dictionary, but it was the radio and telly that helped the most. However it wasnt an overnight thing, it took time to be able to be fluent enough. Good luck anyway.

Answer 7

Mary Jones and the first
major worldwide Bible society
Mary Jones was born Dec. 16, 1784 in the Welsh village of Llanfihangely Pennant. From an early age, Mary longed to have a Bible in her own language that she could read.

Mary’s dilemma was that it was well-nigh impossible for a Welsh child from a dirt-poor family to afford a Bible. Bibles were scarce and expensive in 18th century Wales. Nevertheless, over the years Mary scrimped and saved enough money from doing odd chores for neighbors to buy a Bible. Mary was now around 16 years old.

Mary’s odyssey

She heard that a Rev. Thomas Charles in the town of Bala had some Welsh Bibles for sale. Bala was some 25 miles (40 kilometers) from her home. She gathered her savings and trudged the miles across the hills to Bala to find the minister.

Rev. Charles was forced to give Mary some rather bad news. Every copy of the Bible he had was already sold. Yet, he was moved by the diligence she had shown in seeking a Bible and handed her his last copy, which he had put away for another buyer.

Mary’s goal of obtaining her own Bible and her meeting with Rev. Charles set in motion the creation of a truly international Bible society.1 Rev. Charles presented the need for more copies of the Scriptures in Welsh at a meeting of the Religious Tract Society in December 1802.

Answer 8

My bro-in-law is learning welsh with some welsh class thingy he is also welsh born but not taught it... he has made a few friends thru this group and they get together to practise in between lessons and whenever they communicate with each other they do it in welsh, personally i think it is a really difficult language to learn. but the welsh classes may be the way forward and if i remember rightly they are either a nominal charge or no charge

Answer 9

What a wonderful excuse to move!

Go and live somewhere where they value your talents.

You can go anywhere in the EU as a right - in reality you don't have to go further than cross the Severn bridge.

Bon voyage and happy new job!

Or you might prefer to stay where you are and start a business. Then you make the language rules. You have so many choices - it's exciting.

Good Luck.

Answer 10

dont agree with spanish comment there are lots of english in spain, so you could brush up on english there.

i am Scottish and don't speak gaelic, I never got it at school either. Maybe free course for adults should be available. in Wales and Scotland.

By the way I am visiting Abedare at xmas to see some mates, I heard it is lovely there!