Welsh

Welsh, the direct descendant of the Celtic langugae that was spoken througout most of Britain when the Anglo-Saxons invaded, has long been under threat from English.

In 1536, Wales became annected by England. Through the Union of England and Wales English became – until 1900 – the only language of law and administration and state education in Wales and the main language of commerce. Also economically, Wales drew closer to England. Social influences at work, too, were a potential danger to the language. Copying the English manners and being able to speak English has been important for social qualification and has also been an economic necessity for the gentry.

There has been no longer place for Welsh in the schools and Welsh as a literary language was in a state of decline. The growth of printing also ment danger to the Welsh language because books were printed in English and because of that there was a greater circulation of the English language.

The Act of Parliament in 1563 ment a great success for the Welsh language: The Bible and the Book of Common Prayers were translated into Welsh. This act marked a turning point in the history of the Welsh language.

In the early 17th century the Welsh gentry had suddenly turned their backs on their traditional culture. In the middle of this century Welsh had almost lost its former position in the Welsh households.In 1847, the Welsh language was deliberately locked away and far removed from the socio-realities of the day through Foster’s Education Act. In the more isolated parts of Wales a smaller gentry retained a knowledge of the language until the 18th century.

In the 19th century “English was the only language spoken by ladies and gentlemen” (W.Ogwen Williams 1964 :85)

Nevertheless, most people in Wales spoke Welsh at the start of the 20th century.In 1925, the Plaid Genedlaethol Cymry (National Party of Wales) had been established with the aim of saveguarding and promoting the interests of Welsh language and culture.