History of the Welsh language
Encyclopedia
The history of the Welsh language spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh
.
spoken by the ancient Britons
. Alternatively classified as Insular Celtic
or P-Celtic
, it probably arrived in Britain
during the Bronze Age
or Iron Age
and was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth
. During the Early Middle Ages
the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, evolving into Welsh and the other Brythonic languages
(Breton
, Cornish
, and the extinct Cumbric
). It is not clear when Welsh became distinct.
Kenneth H. Jackson
suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around 550, and labeled the period between then and about 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd
("Old North"), the Brythonic-speaking areas of what is now northern England
and southern Scotland
, and therefore been the ancestor of Cumbric
as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd, raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed.
from both Wales and Scotland
has been preserved in this form of the language. As Germanic
and Gaelic
colonisation of Great Britain proceeded, the Brythonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the south-west, speaking what would become Cornish
, and so the languages diverged. Both the Poetry of Aneirin (Canu Aneirin, c. AD 600) and the Poetry, or Book
, of Taliesin
(Canu Taliesin) were in this era.
, although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law
manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible, albeit with some work, to a modern-day Welsh speaker.
The famous cleric Gerald of Wales tells a story of King Henry II of England
. During one of the King's many raids in the 12th century, Henry asked an old man of Pencader, Carmarthenshire
, whether he thought the Welsh language had any chance:
.
's translation of the Bible
in 1588. Like its English counterpart, the King James Version
, this proved to have a strong stabilizing effect on the language, and indeed the language today still bears the same Late Modern label as Morgan's language. Of course, many changes have occurred since then.
. Early work by Welsh lexicographic
pioneers such as Daniel Silvan Evans
ensured that the language was documented as accurately as possible. Modern dictionaries such as the (the University of Wales
Dictionary), are direct descendants of these dictionaries.
The influx of English workers during the Industrial Revolution
in Wales from about 1800 led to a substantial dilution of the Welsh-speaking population of Wales. English migrants seldom learnt Welsh and their Welsh colleagues tended to speak English in mixed Welsh–English contexts. So bilingualism became almost universal. The legal status of Welsh was inferior to that of English, and so English gradually came to prevail, except in the most rural areas, particularly in north west and mid Wales. An important exception, however, was in the non-conformist churches, which were strongly associated with the Welsh language.
According to the 1911 census, out of a population of just under 2.5 million, 43.5% of the total population of Wales spoke Welsh as a primary language. This was a decrease from the 1891 census with 54.4% speaking Welsh out of a population of 1.5 million.
Plaid Cymru, The Party of Wales was founded at a 1925 National Eisteddfod meeting, held in Pwllheli
, Gwynedd
with the primary mandate of promoting the Welsh language.
on the Llŷn Peninsula
in Gwynedd
. The events surrounding the protest became known as Tân yn Llŷn (Fire in Llŷn). The UK government settled on Llŷn as the site for its new bombing school after plans for similar locations in Northumberland
and Dorset
were met with protests.
However, UK Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
refused to hear the case against the bombing school in Wales, despite a deputation claiming to represent half a million Welsh protesters. Protest against the bombing school was summed up by Saunders Lewis
when he wrote that the UK government was intent upon turning one of the 'essential homes of Welsh culture, idiom
, and literature
' into a place for promoting a barbaric method of warfare.
On 8 September 1936 the bombing school building was set on fire, and in the investigations which followed Saunders Lewis, Lewis Valentine
and D.J. Williams claimed responsibility. The trial at Caernarfon failed to reach a verdict and the case was sent to the Old Bailey
in London. The "Three" were sentenced to nine months imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs
, and on their release they were greeted as heroes by a crowd of 15,000 people at a pavilion in Caernarfon
.
, Plaid Cymru protested against the lack of Welsh language programmes in Wales and launched a campaign to withhold licence fees. Pressure was successful, and by the mid 1930s more Welsh language programming was broadcast, with the formal establishment of a Welsh regional broadcasting channel by 1937. However, no dedicated Welsh language television channel would be established until 1982.
According to the 1931 census, out of a population of just over 2.5 million, the percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales had dropped to 36.8%, with Anglesey
recording the highest concentration of speakers at 87.4%, followed by Cardigan
at 87.1%, Merionethshire
at 86.1%, and Carmarthen
at 82.3%. Caernarfon
listed 79.2%. Radnor and Monmouth ranked lowest with a concentration of Welsh speakers less than 6% of the population.
In 1956, a private bill
sponsored by Liverpool City Council
was brought before the UK parliament
to develop a water reservoir from the Tryweryn Valley
, in Meirionnydd
in Gwynedd. The development would include the flooding of Capel Celyn
(Holly Chapel), a Welsh-speaking community of historic significance. Despite universal and bi-partisan objections by Welsh politicians (35 out of 36 Welsh MPs
opposed the bill, and one abstained) the bill was passed in 1957. The events surrounding the flooding highlighted the status of the language in the 1950s and 1960s.
was taken. Lewis was responding to the 1961 census, which showed a decrease in the number of Welsh speakers from 36% in 1931 to 26% in 1961, out of a population of about 2.5 million. Meirionnydd, Anglesey, Carmarthen, and Caernarfon averaged a 75% concentration of Welsh speakers, but the most significant decrease was in the counties of Glamorgan
, Flint
, and Pembroke
.
Lewis' intent was to motivate Plaid Cymru
into more direct action promoting the language, however it led to the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) later that year at a Plaid Cymru summer school held in Pontardawe
in Glamorgan
.
was passed, giving some legal protection for the use of Welsh in official government business. The Act was based on the Hughes Parry report, published in 1965, which advocated equal validity for Welsh in speech and in written documents, both in the courts and in public administration in Wales. However the Act did not include all the Hughes Parry report's recommendations. Prior to the Act, only the English language could be spoken at government and court proceedings.
government Home Secretary announced in September 1979 that the government would not honour its pledge to establish a Welsh language television channel, much to widespread anger and resentment in Wales, wrote Dr. Davies.
In early 1980 over two thousand members of Plaid Cymru pledged to go to prison rather than pay the television licence
fees, and by that spring Gwynfor Evans announced his intention to go on hunger strike
if a Welsh language television channel was not established. In early September 1980, Evans addressed thousands at a gathering in which "passions ran high," according to Dr. Davies. The government yielded by 17 September, and the Welsh Fourth Channel (S4C
) was launched on 2 November 1982.
in Wales
with regard to the public sector
.
The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542
had made English the only language of the law courts and other aspects of public administration in Wales. Although the Welsh Language Act 1967
had given some rights to use Welsh in court, the Welsh Language Act 1993 was the first to put Welsh on an equal basis with English in public life.
The act set up the Welsh Language Board
, answerable to the Secretary of State for Wales
, with the duty to promote the use of Welsh and to ensure compliance with the other provisions. Additionally, the act gave Welsh speakers the right to speak Welsh in court proceedings under all circumstances. The previous act had only given limited protection to the use of Welsh in court proceedings. The act obliges all organisations in the public sector providing services to the public in Wales to treat Welsh and English on an equal basis; however it does not compel private business to provide services in Welsh: that would require a further Language Act.
Some of the powers given to the Secretary of State for Wales under this act were later devolved to the National Assembly for Wales
(Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru), but others have been retained by Westminster.
at Llanelli
, Cynog Dafis
, Plaid Cymru AM, called for a new Welsh language movement with greater powers to lobby for the Welsh language at the Assembly, UK, and EU levels. Dafis felt the needs of the language were ignored during the first year of the Assembly, and that in order to ensure the dynamic growth of the Welsh language a properly resourced strategy was needed. In his speech Dafis encouraged other Welsh language advocacy groups to work more closely together to create a more favourable climate in which the use of Welsh was "attractive, exciting, a source of pride and a sign of strength". Additionally, Dafis pointed towards efforts in areas such as Catalonia
and the Basque country
as successful examples to emulate.
Lord Elis-Thomas, former Plaid Cymru president, disagreed with Dafis' assessment, however. At the Urdd Eisteddfod, Lord Elis-Thomas said that there was no need for another Welsh language act, citing that there was "enough goodwill to safeguard the language's future". His comments prompted Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg and many others to call for his resignation as the Assembly's presiding officer.
According to the 2001 census the number of Welsh speakers in Wales increased for the first time in over 100 years, with 20.5% in a population of over 2.9 million claiming fluency in Welsh. Further, 28% of the population of Wales claimed to understand Welsh. The census revealed that the increase was most significant in urban areas, such as Cardiff
with an increase from 6.6% in 1991 to 10.9% in 2001, and Rhondda Cynon Taff
with an increase from 9% in 1991 to 12.3% in 2001. However, the number of Welsh speakers declined in Gwynedd
from 72.1% in 1991 to 68.7%, and in Ceredigion
from 59.1% in 1991 to 51.8%. Ceredigion in particular experienced the greatest fluctuation with a 19.5% influx of new residents since 1991.
The decline in Welsh speakers in Gwynedd and Ynys Môn may be attributable to non-Welsh-speaking people moving to North Wales, driving up property prices to levels that local Welsh speakers cannot afford, according to former Gwynedd county councillor Seimon Glyn of Plaid Cymru.
Glyn was commenting on a report underscoring the dilemma of rocketing house prices outstripping what locals could pay, with the report warning that "...traditional Welsh communities could die out..." as a consequence.
Much of the rural Welsh property market was driven by buyers looking for second homes for use as holiday homes, or for retirement. Many buyers were drawn to Wales from England because of relatively inexpensive house prices in Wales as compared to house prices in England. The rise in home prices outpaced the average earned income in Wales, and meant that many local people could not afford to purchase their first home or compete with second-home buyers.
In 2001 nearly a third of all properties sold in Gwynedd were bought by buyers from out of the county, and some communities reported as many as a third of local homes used as holiday homes. Holiday home owners spend less than six months of the year in the local community.
The issue of locals being priced out of the local housing market is common to many rural communities throughout Britain, but in Wales the added dimension of language further complicates the issue, as many new residents do not learn the Welsh language.
Concern for the Welsh language under these pressures prompted Glyn to say "Once you have more than 50% of anybody living in a community that speaks a foreign language, then you lose your indigenous tongue almost immediately".
Plaid Cymru had long advocated controls on second homes, and a 2001 task force headed by Dafydd Wigley recommended land should be allocated for affordable local housing, called for grants for locals to buy houses, and recommended that council tax on holiday homes should double, following similar measures in the Scottish Highlands
.
However the Welsh Labour-Liberal Democrat
Assembly coalition rebuffed these proposals, with Assembly housing spokesman Peter Black
stating that "we [cannot] frame our planning laws around the Welsh language", adding "Nor can we take punitive measures against second home owners in the way that they propose as these will have an impact on the value of the homes of local people".
In contrast, by autumn 2001 the Exmoor National Park authority in England began to consider limiting second home ownership there, which was also driving up local housing prices by as much as 31%. Elfyn Llwyd
, Plaid Cymru's Parliamentary Group Leader, said that the issues in Exmoor National Park were the same as in Wales, however in Wales there is the added dimension of language and culture.
Reflecting on the controversy Glyn's comments caused earlier in the year, Llwyd observed "What is interesting is of course it is fine for Exmoor to defend their community but in Wales when you try to say these things it is called racist..."
Llwyd called on other parties to join in a debate to bring the Exmoor experience to Wales when he said "... I really do ask them and I plead with them to come around the table and talk about the Exmoor suggestion and see if we can now bring it into Wales".
By spring 2002 both the Snowdonia National Park
(Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
(Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) authorities began limiting second home ownership within the parks, following the example set by Exmoor. According to planners in Snowdonia and Pembroke applicants for new homes must demonstrate a proven local need or that the applicant had strong links with the area.
It seems that the rise of Welsh nationalism
rallied supporters of the language, and the establishment of Welsh television and radio found a mass audience which was encouraged in the retention of its Welsh. Perhaps most important of all, at the end of the 20th century it became compulsory for all schoolchildren to learn Welsh up to age 16, and this both reinforced the language in Welsh-speaking areas and reintroduced at least an elementary knowledge of it in areas which had become more or less wholly Anglophone. The decline in the percentage of people in Wales who can speak Welsh has now been halted, and there are even signs of a modest recovery. However, although Welsh is the daily language in many parts of Wales, English is universally understood.
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
.
Origins
Welsh evolved from British, the Celtic languageCeltic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
spoken by the ancient Britons
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
. Alternatively classified as Insular Celtic
Insular Celtic languages
Insular Celtic languages are those Celtic languages that originated in the British Isles, in contrast to the Continental Celtic languages of mainland Europe and Anatolia. All surviving Celtic languages are from the Insular Celtic group; the Continental Celtic languages are extinct...
or P-Celtic
P-Celtic and Q-Celtic
There are two main competing schemata of categorisation of Celtic languages. The older P-Celtic/Q-Celtic hypothesis links Gaulish with Brythonic as P-Celtic and links Goidelic with Celtiberian as Q-Celtic. The difference between P and Q languages is the treatment of Proto-Celtic *kw, which became...
, it probably arrived in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
during the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
or Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
and was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
. During the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, evolving into Welsh and the other Brythonic languages
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
(Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
, Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
, and the extinct Cumbric
Cumbric language
Cumbric was a variety of the Celtic British language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North", or what is now northern England and southern Lowland Scotland, the area anciently known as Cumbria. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the other Brythonic languages...
). It is not clear when Welsh became distinct.
Kenneth H. Jackson
Kenneth H. Jackson
Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson was an English linguist and a translator who specialised in the Celtic languages. He demonstrated how the text of the Ulster Cycle of tales, written circa AD 1100, preserves an oral tradition originating some six centuries earlier and reflects Celtic Irish society of the...
suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around 550, and labeled the period between then and about 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd
Hen Ogledd
Yr Hen Ogledd is a Welsh term used by scholars to refer to those parts of what is now northern England and southern Scotland in the years between 500 and the Viking invasions of c. 800, with particular interest in the Brythonic-speaking peoples who lived there.The term is derived from heroic...
("Old North"), the Brythonic-speaking areas of what is now northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
and southern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and therefore been the ancestor of Cumbric
Cumbric language
Cumbric was a variety of the Celtic British language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North", or what is now northern England and southern Lowland Scotland, the area anciently known as Cumbria. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the other Brythonic languages...
as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd, raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed.
Old Welsh
The next main period, somewhat better attested, is Old Welsh ; poetryPoetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
from both Wales and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
has been preserved in this form of the language. As Germanic
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
and Gaelic
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
colonisation of Great Britain proceeded, the Brythonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the south-west, speaking what would become Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
, and so the languages diverged. Both the Poetry of Aneirin (Canu Aneirin, c. AD 600) and the Poetry, or Book
Book of Taliesin
The Book of Taliesin is one of the most famous of Middle Welsh manuscripts, dating from the first half of the 14th century though many of the fifty-six poems it preserves are taken to originate in the 10th century. The manuscript, known as Peniarth MS 2 and kept at the National Library of Wales,...
, of Taliesin
Taliesin
Taliesin was an early British poet of the post-Roman period whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin...
(Canu Taliesin) were in this era.
Middle Welsh
Middle Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the MabinogionMabinogion
The Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
, although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law
Welsh law
Welsh law was the system of law practised in Wales before the 16th century. According to tradition it was first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales; as such it is usually called Cyfraith Hywel, the Law of Hywel, in Welsh...
manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible, albeit with some work, to a modern-day Welsh speaker.
The famous cleric Gerald of Wales tells a story of King Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
. During one of the King's many raids in the 12th century, Henry asked an old man of Pencader, Carmarthenshire
Pencader, Carmarthenshire
Pencader is a small village in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire, and is part of the Community and Parish of Llanfihangel-ar-Arth. It is located around 5 km south-east of Llandysul and 10 km south-west of Llanybydder....
, whether he thought the Welsh language had any chance:
- Never will it be destroyed by the wrath of man, unless the wrath of God be added, nor do I think that any other nation than this of Wales, or any other tongue, whatever may hereafter come to pass, shall on the day of the great reckoning before the Most High Judge, answer for this corner of the Earth.
Early Modern Welsh
Modern Welsh can be divided into two periods. The first, Early Modern Welsh ran from the early 15th century to roughly the end of the 16th century and was the language used by Dafydd ap GwilymDafydd ap Gwilym
Dafydd ap Gwilym , is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Dafydd ap Gwilym (c. 1315/1320 – c. 1350/1370), is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Dafydd ap Gwilym...
.
Late Modern Welsh
Late Modern Welsh began with the publication of William MorganWilliam Morgan (Bible translator)
William Morgan was Bishop of Llandaff and of St Asaph, and the translator of the first version of the whole Bible into Welsh from Greek and Hebrew.-Life:...
's translation of the Bible
Welsh Bible
Bible translations into Welsh have existed since at least the 15th century, but the most widely used translation of the Bible into Welsh for several centuries was the 1588 translation by William Morgan, as revised in 1620...
in 1588. Like its English counterpart, the King James Version
King James Version of the Bible
The Authorized Version, commonly known as the King James Version, King James Bible or KJV, is an English translation of the Christian Bible by the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611...
, this proved to have a strong stabilizing effect on the language, and indeed the language today still bears the same Late Modern label as Morgan's language. Of course, many changes have occurred since then.
19th century
The language enjoyed a further boost in the 19th century, with the publication of some of the first complete and concise Welsh dictionariesDictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
. Early work by Welsh lexicographic
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
pioneers such as Daniel Silvan Evans
Daniel Silvan Evans
Daniel Silvan Evans was a Welsh scholar and lexicographer.He was born at Fron Wilym Uchaf, Llanarth, Ceredigion. Having started to preach to the Independent congregation of which he was a member, Evans decided at a relatively young age, to train for the ministry...
ensured that the language was documented as accurately as possible. Modern dictionaries such as the (the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
Dictionary), are direct descendants of these dictionaries.
The influx of English workers during the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
in Wales from about 1800 led to a substantial dilution of the Welsh-speaking population of Wales. English migrants seldom learnt Welsh and their Welsh colleagues tended to speak English in mixed Welsh–English contexts. So bilingualism became almost universal. The legal status of Welsh was inferior to that of English, and so English gradually came to prevail, except in the most rural areas, particularly in north west and mid Wales. An important exception, however, was in the non-conformist churches, which were strongly associated with the Welsh language.
20th century
By the 20th century, the numbers of Welsh speakers were shrinking at a rate which suggested that the language would be extinct within a few generations.According to the 1911 census, out of a population of just under 2.5 million, 43.5% of the total population of Wales spoke Welsh as a primary language. This was a decrease from the 1891 census with 54.4% speaking Welsh out of a population of 1.5 million.
Plaid Cymru, The Party of Wales was founded at a 1925 National Eisteddfod meeting, held in Pwllheli
Pwllheli
Pwllheli is a community and the main market town of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It has a population of 3,861, of which a large proportion, 81 per cent, are Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plaid Cymru was founded. It is the birthplace of Albert Evans-Jones -...
, Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
with the primary mandate of promoting the Welsh language.
Tân yn Llŷn 1936
Concern for the Welsh language was ignited in 1936 when the UK government settled on establishing a bombing school at PenyberthPenyberth
Penyberth was a farmhouse at Penrhos, on the Llŷn Peninsula near Pwllheli, Gwynedd, which had been the home to generations of patrons of poets, but destroyed in 1936 in order to build a training camp and aerodrome for the RAF....
on the Llŷn Peninsula
Llŷn Peninsula
The Llŷn Peninsula extends into the Irish Sea from north west Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the modern county and historic region of Gwynedd. The name is thought to be of Irish origin, and to have the same root Laigin in Irish as the word Leinster...
in Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
. The events surrounding the protest became known as Tân yn Llŷn (Fire in Llŷn). The UK government settled on Llŷn as the site for its new bombing school after plans for similar locations in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
and Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
were met with protests.
However, UK Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
refused to hear the case against the bombing school in Wales, despite a deputation claiming to represent half a million Welsh protesters. Protest against the bombing school was summed up by Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis was a Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic, and political activist. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and a founder of the Welsh National Party...
when he wrote that the UK government was intent upon turning one of the 'essential homes of Welsh culture, idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
, and literature
Literature of Wales (Welsh language)
After literature written in the classical languages literature in the Welsh language is the oldest surviving literature in Europe. The Welsh literary tradition stretches from the 6th century to the twenty-first. Its fortunes have fluctuated over the centuries, in line with those of the Welsh...
' into a place for promoting a barbaric method of warfare.
On 8 September 1936 the bombing school building was set on fire, and in the investigations which followed Saunders Lewis, Lewis Valentine
Lewis Valentine
Lewis Edward Valentine was a Welsh politician, Baptist pastor, author, editor, and Welsh-language activist.-Early life:Valentine was born in Llanddulas, Conwy, the son of Samuel Valentine, a limestone quarryman, and his wife Mary...
and D.J. Williams claimed responsibility. The trial at Caernarfon failed to reach a verdict and the case was sent to the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
in London. The "Three" were sentenced to nine months imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is a Category B men's prison, located in the Wormwood Scrubs area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in inner west London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....
, and on their release they were greeted as heroes by a crowd of 15,000 people at a pavilion in Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
.
Broadcasting in Welsh and 1931 census
With the advent of broadcasting in WalesBBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales is the BBC's national radio station broadcasting to Wales in the English language. Operated by BBC Wales, it began broadcasting on 12 November 1978 following the demise of the old "Radio 4 Wales" when BBC Radio 4 became a national network and moved from medium wave to long wave...
, Plaid Cymru protested against the lack of Welsh language programmes in Wales and launched a campaign to withhold licence fees. Pressure was successful, and by the mid 1930s more Welsh language programming was broadcast, with the formal establishment of a Welsh regional broadcasting channel by 1937. However, no dedicated Welsh language television channel would be established until 1982.
According to the 1931 census, out of a population of just over 2.5 million, the percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales had dropped to 36.8%, with Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
recording the highest concentration of speakers at 87.4%, followed by Cardigan
Cardigan, Ceredigion
Cardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Mid Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire. It is the second largest town in Ceredigion. The town's population was 4,203...
at 87.1%, Merionethshire
Merionethshire
Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
at 86.1%, and Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
at 82.3%. Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
listed 79.2%. Radnor and Monmouth ranked lowest with a concentration of Welsh speakers less than 6% of the population.
The flooding of Capel Celyn 1956
Private bill
A private bill is a proposal for a law that would apply to a particular individual or group of individuals, or corporate entity. If enacted, it becomes a private Act . This is unlike public bills which apply to everyone within their jurisdiction...
sponsored by Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Joe Anderson.-Domain:...
was brought before the UK parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
to develop a water reservoir from the Tryweryn Valley
Afon Tryweryn
For the flooding of the Tryweryn Valley, see Llyn Celyn.The Tryweryn is a river in north Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after joins the river Dee at Bala. It is one of the main tributaries of the Dee and has been dammed to form Llyn Celyn...
, in Meirionnydd
Meirionnydd
Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a cantref, a district and, as Merionethshire, a county.-Kingdom:...
in Gwynedd. The development would include the flooding of Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn was a rural community to the north west of Bala in Gwynedd, north Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and The Wirral with water for industry...
(Holly Chapel), a Welsh-speaking community of historic significance. Despite universal and bi-partisan objections by Welsh politicians (35 out of 36 Welsh MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
opposed the bill, and one abstained) the bill was passed in 1957. The events surrounding the flooding highlighted the status of the language in the 1950s and 1960s.
Tynged yr Iaith and the 1961 census
In 1962 Saunders Lewis gave a radio speech entitled (The Fate of the Language) in which he predicted the extinction of the Welsh language unless direct actionDirect action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
was taken. Lewis was responding to the 1961 census, which showed a decrease in the number of Welsh speakers from 36% in 1931 to 26% in 1961, out of a population of about 2.5 million. Meirionnydd, Anglesey, Carmarthen, and Caernarfon averaged a 75% concentration of Welsh speakers, but the most significant decrease was in the counties of Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
, Flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
, and Pembroke
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
.
Lewis' intent was to motivate Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
into more direct action promoting the language, however it led to the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) later that year at a Plaid Cymru summer school held in Pontardawe
Pontardawe
Pontardawe is a town of some 5,000 inhabitants in the Swansea Valley in south Wales...
in Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
.
Welsh Language Act 1967
With concern for the Welsh language mounting in the 1960s, the Welsh Language ActWelsh Language Act 1967
The Welsh Language Act 1967 , is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which gave some rights to use the Welsh language in legal proceedings in Wales and gave the relevant Minister the right to authorise the production of a Welsh version of any documents required or allowed by the Act...
was passed, giving some legal protection for the use of Welsh in official government business. The Act was based on the Hughes Parry report, published in 1965, which advocated equal validity for Welsh in speech and in written documents, both in the courts and in public administration in Wales. However the Act did not include all the Hughes Parry report's recommendations. Prior to the Act, only the English language could be spoken at government and court proceedings.
Hunger strike for S4C
Following the defeat of the Welsh Assembly Yes Campaign in 1979, and believing Welsh nationalism was "in a paralysis of helplessness," the UK ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government Home Secretary announced in September 1979 that the government would not honour its pledge to establish a Welsh language television channel, much to widespread anger and resentment in Wales, wrote Dr. Davies.
In early 1980 over two thousand members of Plaid Cymru pledged to go to prison rather than pay the television licence
Television licence
A television licence is an official licence required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts...
fees, and by that spring Gwynfor Evans announced his intention to go on hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
if a Welsh language television channel was not established. In early September 1980, Evans addressed thousands at a gathering in which "passions ran high," according to Dr. Davies. The government yielded by 17 September, and the Welsh Fourth Channel (S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
) was launched on 2 November 1982.
Welsh Language Act 1993
The Welsh Language Act 1993 put the Welsh language on an equal footing with the English languageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
with regard to the public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
.
The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542
Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542
The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 were parliamentary measures by which the legal system of Wales was annexed to England and the norms of English administration introduced. The intention was to create a single state and a single legal jurisdiction; frequently referred to as England and Wales...
had made English the only language of the law courts and other aspects of public administration in Wales. Although the Welsh Language Act 1967
Welsh Language Act 1967
The Welsh Language Act 1967 , is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which gave some rights to use the Welsh language in legal proceedings in Wales and gave the relevant Minister the right to authorise the production of a Welsh version of any documents required or allowed by the Act...
had given some rights to use Welsh in court, the Welsh Language Act 1993 was the first to put Welsh on an equal basis with English in public life.
The act set up the Welsh Language Board
Welsh Language Board
The Welsh Language Board is a statutory body set up by the UK Government as part of the Welsh Language Act 1993. It is now an Assembly Sponsored Public Body...
, answerable to the Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
, with the duty to promote the use of Welsh and to ensure compliance with the other provisions. Additionally, the act gave Welsh speakers the right to speak Welsh in court proceedings under all circumstances. The previous act had only given limited protection to the use of Welsh in court proceedings. The act obliges all organisations in the public sector providing services to the public in Wales to treat Welsh and English on an equal basis; however it does not compel private business to provide services in Welsh: that would require a further Language Act.
Some of the powers given to the Secretary of State for Wales under this act were later devolved to the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
(Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru), but others have been retained by Westminster.
21st century
In a speech at the 2000 National EisteddfodNational Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...
at Llanelli
Llanelli
Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
, Cynog Dafis
Cynog Dafis
Cynog Glyndwr Dafis is a Welsh politician and member of the Plaid Cymru party. He was a school teacher and researcher before entering politics.-Education:...
, Plaid Cymru AM, called for a new Welsh language movement with greater powers to lobby for the Welsh language at the Assembly, UK, and EU levels. Dafis felt the needs of the language were ignored during the first year of the Assembly, and that in order to ensure the dynamic growth of the Welsh language a properly resourced strategy was needed. In his speech Dafis encouraged other Welsh language advocacy groups to work more closely together to create a more favourable climate in which the use of Welsh was "attractive, exciting, a source of pride and a sign of strength". Additionally, Dafis pointed towards efforts in areas such as Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
and the Basque country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
as successful examples to emulate.
Lord Elis-Thomas, former Plaid Cymru president, disagreed with Dafis' assessment, however. At the Urdd Eisteddfod, Lord Elis-Thomas said that there was no need for another Welsh language act, citing that there was "enough goodwill to safeguard the language's future". His comments prompted Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg and many others to call for his resignation as the Assembly's presiding officer.
2001 census and second home controversy
In the 1991 census, the Welsh language stabilised at the 1981 level of 18.5%.According to the 2001 census the number of Welsh speakers in Wales increased for the first time in over 100 years, with 20.5% in a population of over 2.9 million claiming fluency in Welsh. Further, 28% of the population of Wales claimed to understand Welsh. The census revealed that the increase was most significant in urban areas, such as Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
with an increase from 6.6% in 1991 to 10.9% in 2001, and Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taf, or RCT, is a county borough in the South Wales Valleys of Wales. It consists of 3 valleys: the Rhondda Valley, Cynon Valley and Taff-Ely Valley...
with an increase from 9% in 1991 to 12.3% in 2001. However, the number of Welsh speakers declined in Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
from 72.1% in 1991 to 68.7%, and in Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
from 59.1% in 1991 to 51.8%. Ceredigion in particular experienced the greatest fluctuation with a 19.5% influx of new residents since 1991.
The decline in Welsh speakers in Gwynedd and Ynys Môn may be attributable to non-Welsh-speaking people moving to North Wales, driving up property prices to levels that local Welsh speakers cannot afford, according to former Gwynedd county councillor Seimon Glyn of Plaid Cymru.
Glyn was commenting on a report underscoring the dilemma of rocketing house prices outstripping what locals could pay, with the report warning that "...traditional Welsh communities could die out..." as a consequence.
Much of the rural Welsh property market was driven by buyers looking for second homes for use as holiday homes, or for retirement. Many buyers were drawn to Wales from England because of relatively inexpensive house prices in Wales as compared to house prices in England. The rise in home prices outpaced the average earned income in Wales, and meant that many local people could not afford to purchase their first home or compete with second-home buyers.
In 2001 nearly a third of all properties sold in Gwynedd were bought by buyers from out of the county, and some communities reported as many as a third of local homes used as holiday homes. Holiday home owners spend less than six months of the year in the local community.
The issue of locals being priced out of the local housing market is common to many rural communities throughout Britain, but in Wales the added dimension of language further complicates the issue, as many new residents do not learn the Welsh language.
Concern for the Welsh language under these pressures prompted Glyn to say "Once you have more than 50% of anybody living in a community that speaks a foreign language, then you lose your indigenous tongue almost immediately".
Plaid Cymru had long advocated controls on second homes, and a 2001 task force headed by Dafydd Wigley recommended land should be allocated for affordable local housing, called for grants for locals to buy houses, and recommended that council tax on holiday homes should double, following similar measures in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
.
However the Welsh Labour-Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
Assembly coalition rebuffed these proposals, with Assembly housing spokesman Peter Black
Peter Black (Welsh politician)
Peter Black is a Welsh Liberal Democrat politician, and Member of the Welsh Assembly for the South Wales West Region.-Background:...
stating that "we [cannot] frame our planning laws around the Welsh language", adding "Nor can we take punitive measures against second home owners in the way that they propose as these will have an impact on the value of the homes of local people".
In contrast, by autumn 2001 the Exmoor National Park authority in England began to consider limiting second home ownership there, which was also driving up local housing prices by as much as 31%. Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd, PC is a Welsh barrister and politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, representing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in the House of Commons from 1992 to 2010 and Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2010...
, Plaid Cymru's Parliamentary Group Leader, said that the issues in Exmoor National Park were the same as in Wales, however in Wales there is the added dimension of language and culture.
Reflecting on the controversy Glyn's comments caused earlier in the year, Llwyd observed "What is interesting is of course it is fine for Exmoor to defend their community but in Wales when you try to say these things it is called racist..."
Llwyd called on other parties to join in a debate to bring the Exmoor experience to Wales when he said "... I really do ask them and I plead with them to come around the table and talk about the Exmoor suggestion and see if we can now bring it into Wales".
By spring 2002 both the Snowdonia National Park
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
(Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales.It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline...
(Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) authorities began limiting second home ownership within the parks, following the example set by Exmoor. According to planners in Snowdonia and Pembroke applicants for new homes must demonstrate a proven local need or that the applicant had strong links with the area.
It seems that the rise of Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism emphasises the distinctiveness of Welsh language, culture, and history, and calls for more self-determination for Wales, which may include more Devolved powers for the Welsh Assembly or full independence from the United Kingdom.-Conquest:...
rallied supporters of the language, and the establishment of Welsh television and radio found a mass audience which was encouraged in the retention of its Welsh. Perhaps most important of all, at the end of the 20th century it became compulsory for all schoolchildren to learn Welsh up to age 16, and this both reinforced the language in Welsh-speaking areas and reintroduced at least an elementary knowledge of it in areas which had become more or less wholly Anglophone. The decline in the percentage of people in Wales who can speak Welsh has now been halted, and there are even signs of a modest recovery. However, although Welsh is the daily language in many parts of Wales, English is universally understood.