Welsh is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa.
The Welsh Language Society is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every aspect of their lives. The chair of the Welsh Language Society since October 2023 is Joseff Gnagbo.
English, in various dialects, is the most widely spoken language of the United Kingdom, but a number of regional and migrant languages are also spoken. Regional indigenous languages are Scots and Ulster Scots and the Celtic languages, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and, as a revived language with few speakers, Cornish. British Sign Language is also used. There are also many languages spoken by immigrants who arrived recently to the United Kingdom, mainly within inner city areas; these languages are mainly from continental Europe and South Asia.
The Welsh Language Board was a statutory body set up by Her Majesty's Government under the Welsh Language Act 1993. It was an Assembly Sponsored Public Body. It began its life under John Walter Jones, and its last chief executive was Meirion Prys Jones, with Meri Huws acting as chair.
The Welsh Language Act 1993 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which put the Welsh language on an equal footing with the English language in Wales.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1981 to Wales and its people.
Ysgol Llanhari is a Welsh-medium school for 3-19 year olds situated in the village of Llanharry, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.
The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors. Established in 1992, the awards are currently administered by Literature Wales, and supported by the Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government and the Welsh Books Council.
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf is a Welsh-medium coeducational secondary school in Llandaff North, a district in the north of Cardiff, Wales; it is the largest of its kind in the country. Of the three Welsh-medium secondary schools serving Cardiff, it was the first to be established; the others are Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr and Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern. As of 2017, 36% of pupils came from Welsh-speaking homes.
Welsh-medium education is a form of education in Wales in which pupils are taught primarily through the medium of Welsh.
Tynged yr Iaith was a radio lecture delivered in Welsh by Saunders Lewis on 13 February 1962. Reaction to it brought about a major change in the politics of Wales. Historian John Davies has said that the lecture was "the catalyst" for the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, and the start of a period of direct-action agitation to enhance the status of the Welsh language. Its direct effect on the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg is described in a history of that society. It has been said that "of all the memorable phrases coined in the twentieth century none has greater resonance for the Welsh speaker than Tynged yr Iaith. .. which still haunts or inspires champions of the native tongue on the cusp of the new millennium". It had the unintended effect of establishing language agitation as a movement separate from the mainstream of nationalist politics. The burgeoning effects from the initial stimulus of Tynged yr Iaith were listed by Gwyn Williams:
The history of the Welsh language spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh.
Simon Brooks is a Welsh academic and writer.
The languages of Wales include the Welsh language, which is an official language of Wales, and English, which is also considered an official language in Wales. The official languages of the Senedd are also Welsh and English. According to the 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 17.8% and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills.
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin is a Welsh-medium school in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is situated near the village of Croesyceiliog, about 11⁄4 miles (2 km) south of Carmarthen. Myrddin, the Welsh name of the legendary figure Merlin, is traditionally associated with the town of Carmarthen, and Bro Myrddin means "Myrddin's country ".
Welsh-language literature has been produced continuously since the emergence of Welsh from Brythonic as a distinct language in around the 5th century AD. The earliest Welsh literature was poetry, which was extremely intricate in form from its earliest known examples, a tradition sustained today. Poetry was followed by the first British prose literature in the 11th century. Welsh-language literature has repeatedly played a major part in the self-assertion of Wales and its people. It continues to be held in the highest regard, as evidenced by the size and enthusiasm of the audiences attending the annual National Eisteddfod of Wales, probably the largest amateur arts festival in Europe, which crowns the literary prize winners in a dignified ceremony.
The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 is an act of the National Assembly for Wales that established several provisions with regard to Welsh as an official language of Wales. The Act notably established the Welsh Language Commissioner role.
Meri Huws is a Welsh academic and public official and formerly the Welsh Language Commissioner. Born in Carmarthenshire, she was educated at Ysgol Bro Gwaun, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where she studied law and politics, and the University of Oxford, where she studied to be a social worker. She was the head of the Lifelong Learning Department at Bangor University, and deputy vice-chancellor.
Aled Rhys Roberts was a Welsh Liberal Democrat politician from Rhosllanerchrugog, Wrexham. Roberts was a Member of the Welsh Assembly (AM) for the North Wales Region from 2011 to 2016. Before his election to the assembly, he was a councillor and the leader of Wrexham County Borough Council. He served as the Welsh Language Commissioner from 2019 until his death in 2022.
The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales is a Welsh Government officer, overseeing an independent advisory body of the same name. The position was created following the passing of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, effective on 30 September 2015, with the aim of promoting and facilitating sustainable development.
