If you haven’t actually met me in person, you would not know that I am a very passionate Welsh girl who loves everything from the picturesque views of the Valleys to the lushes locks of my sweetheart whom I hope will give me hope this summer in Azerbaijan, Joe Allen.
It is pretty evident through conversations that I will bring up something associated with Wales regardless of the context. To put it in perspective, my nickname in my university group chat was “You drowned a village.” As I frequently made my fellow housemates aware of Capel Celyn in North Wales (If you are unaware of the story – It was a village drowned to provide water supplies to Liverpool). That sort of mentality to always mention Wales doesn’t stem from arrogance. It stems from continuously being barraged with diminishing language that perpetuates that the Welsh are of a lower economic or educational standard.
I only bring this up, as the Welsh language for many years is always a point of discussion. On Friday 21st of February, a Sky News interview involving presenter Isabel Webster and travel writer and language enthusiast, Alex Rawlings, to discuss “Mother Language day”. The interview involved one moment which is unfairly an assassination on Wales, and too often continues to happen by people in public positions, which eventually, is overlooked.
Webster proceeded to ask Rawlings about the languages he speaks, followed by
“What is the most pointless language?...People in my ear just said Welsh.”
The anger this generates is unfathomable. I cannot put the words into context in how I feel towards this ignorant, insensitive, and quite frankly, narrowminded remark.
I use the word hypocritical, as I have experienced many discussions through living outside of Wales (In Liverpool) for the last four years. And, I found that the comments were a regularity in people diminishing Wales’ position through attacking the language. The ideology behind “pointless language” stems from the arrogance associated with the same mentality that people within the UK avoid learning other languages because “Ohh well everyone speaks English.” The irony in that lackluster mentality is genuinely astounding.
The elitist mentality (Is what I like to refer to it as), comes from the historic colonialism roots that created the “British” Empire. Adam Prices’ Book “Wales the first colony and the last” dives further into the argument, but the title remains true. Wales was the first country to become apart of the Kingdom of England. I regularly was told to “Get over it” at university considering it occurred almost 1000 years ago. Yet, that is the infuriating matter. It happened over 1000 years ago, yet there is no respect in the way in which our traditions, culture, and language are viewed?
It seems somewhat hypocritical that as a society, we become selective in the matters we are for and against. We each promote equality, diversity, and inclusivity, yet, when it comes to the Welsh language it is laughed at, crumpled, and tossed to the side.
Regular comments are made regarding how “Pointless” the language is since a limited number of people speak it, however, they fail to accept that imposed sanctions and punishments established by the English to eradicate the Welsh language were enforced by schools up until the 1960s, and, the Welsh language was only “given” equal recognition as late as 1993. Therefore, yes, it might not be the most widely spoken but, it is growing again. The only matter stopping Welsh people (And others) from learning, is Katie Hopkinsesque comments that spout and promote hatred through falsified opinions masking as facts.
If you don’t want to learn Welsh or you don’t see the point, that is fine. But don’t force your lack of understanding and present it as a matter of fact when it is far from the truth.
I was born in Glasgow and raised in Blaenau Gwent from the age of 10. I did not have an opportunity to attend a Welsh school due to the lateness of my move to Wales. However currently, at 23-years-old I am proud to be learning a language, and more importantly, the Welsh language.
Diolch yn fawr.
