S4C

[hitony]

Curious to know, what areas of Wales is Welsh exclusively spoken?

The further west you go it is more widely spoken and more so up in north wales, but it is a stupid language as there are many words that dont have a welsh translation.
[MENTION=268]Superphil[/MENTION] in Maesteg they can't speak "Dribble" let alone welsh!! when god had a dump he left it on the floor and named it Maesteg

 

[Mackenzie]

Give BBC Alba a try as well for an alternative source of sonorous-but-incomprehensible Celtic language kicks, plus some really poor Scottish League football with Gaelic commentary.

Absolutely this!

I haven't a clue what is going on but the language is amazing.

 

[Mackenzie]

Welsh is taught at all primary schools in Wales (up until the second year of high school I believe), the trendy parents send their kids to Welsh medium schools. There seems to be a real effort being made here to get the language spoken more widely.

 

[pasty]

SGORIO! Love it.

 

[Superphil]

The further west you go it is more widely spoken and more so up in north wales, but it is a stupid language as there are many words that dont have a welsh translation.
[MENTION=268]Superphil[/MENTION] in Maesteg they can't speak "Dribble" let alone welsh!! when god had a dump he left it on the floor and named it Maesteg

I know what you mean, I did all the signage on a new school there a few years ago, it was like going back in time. That said though, I was quite surprised that the kids spoke welsh, not just for my benefit, they spoke it all about the place, and slipped Into English just like that. Sadly German, or Spanish, or Cantonese would probably stan them in better stead for their futures, but if they can learn 2 languages, then a third should be a doddle.

 

[hitony]

Welsh is taught at all primary schools in Wales (up until the second year of high school I believe), the trendy parents send their kids to Welsh medium schools. There seems to be a real effort being made here to get the language spoken more widely.

God knows why? welsh is about as much use as a chocolate teapot, all 3 of my kids were taught welsh, a waste of learning time IMO, and as for the dual language signage, a complete waste of money!

Watching a welsh person speak welsh is like watching Sir Les Patterson speaking!

 

[Stat Brother]

I've spent half the afternoon watching Flemish TV.
If you think Welsh is indecipherable, you ain't heard nuffin yet.

 

[hitony]

I know what you mean, I did all the signage on a new school there a few years ago, it was like going back in time. That said though, I was quite surprised that the kids spoke welsh, not just for my benefit, they spoke it all about the place, and slipped Into English just like that. Sadly German, or Spanish, or Cantonese would probably stan them in better stead for their futures, but if they can learn 2 languages, then a third should be a doddle.

Maesteg is only about 8 miles from Bridgend, and yes you are correct German, Spanish etc would benefit them more.

 

[Stat Brother]

Maesteg is only about 8 miles from Bridgend, and yes you are correct German, Spanish etc would benefit them more.

But isn't it impossible to leave Maesteg

 

[Mackenzie]

God knows why? welsh is about as much use as a chocolate teapot, all 3 of my kids were taught welsh, a waste of learning time IMO, and as for the dual language signage, a complete waste of money!

Watching a welsh person speak welsh is like watching Sir Les Patterson speaking!

Some jobs in Wales require you to have some Welsh language. A mate of mine applied to be in the mounted police, didn't have Welsh so she didn't get an interview. Similar with any BBC Wales jobs, must be others too.

I agree though, it all seems a bit of a waste of time since everyone who speaks Welsh can speak English.

 

[glasfryn]

God knows why? welsh is about as much use as a chocolate teapot, all 3 of my kids were taught welsh, a waste of learning time IMO, and as for the dual language signage, a complete waste of money!

Watching a welsh person speak welsh is like watching Sir Les Patterson speaking!

this
only thing is we are paying the welsh to learn a language that we don't(want) to understand
its a made up language although some of it is ancient(most of which even the welsh don't understand)

ENGLISH is the language of the UK

END OF

 

[Lord Bracknell]

its a made up language although some of it is ancient(most of which even the welsh don't understand)

A couple of mates of mine have done very nicely out of the Welsh language.

One won a prize for inventing the Welsh word for brassiere - which is quite an achievement, given that English manages quite well without an English word for the same thing.

The other got a senior job with Gwynedd County Council, where Welsh was the main language used in public - despite the fact that he came from Bethnal Green and spoke English with a cockney accent. He took the trouble to learn the language well enough to use it at council meetings, but he never lost the cockney accent. I gather they rather liked this in Caernarfon.

 

[Superphil]

this
only thing is we are paying the welsh to learn a language that we don't(want) to understand
its a made up language although some of it is ancient(most of which even the welsh don't understand)

ENGLISH is the language of the UK

END OF

Welsh is known as the British Tongue, Cambrian, Cambric, or Cymric, and is apparently more English than the language we call English. Our English is a hotch pitch of Germanic, Gaul, Prussian and Latin, the words Welsh and Wales are Germanic, as is the word English.