Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, the progressive language rights’ organisation in Wales, has proposed a radical shift in the teaching of the language in Welsh schools. From Wales Online:
“A row has blown up over a plan by language activists that would see all pupils in Wales having at least a third of the school curriculum taught in Welsh.
In its submission to a Welsh Government review of second language Welsh education, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg say: “Depriving anyone of the essential skill of the ability to communicate and discuss their work in Welsh is an educational failure.
“The Government should announce the intention of abolishing ‘second language Welsh’ immediately and ensure instead … an immediate move to a system where every pupil receives a proportion of their education through the medium of Welsh, as well as studying the language as a subject, so they are able to work through the medium of the language.”
Robin Farrar, chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, added: “It’s unfair that only a minority of young people have the opportunity of having Welsh medium education at the moment, depending on parental choice and a postcode lottery.
“We should aim for every pupil to be fluent and able to use the language in day-to-day life, so the term ‘second language’ is no longer appropriate…”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “The review group is considering the curriculum and assessment methods, as well as training for Welsh second language practitioners. The group will report back with recommendations in the autumn.”
A spokeswoman for Welsh Language Commissioner Meri Huws said: “The Commissioner is pleased that the Welsh Government is looking in detail at how the Welsh language is introduced as a second language in schools. The Commission will respond fully to the Government’s report on its findings when it is published later this year.””
In fact a very similar recommendation was made by an international panel of linguists and education experts to the Irish government, arguing that the effective teaching of Irish in schools must be accompanied by a broader range of subjects taught partially or wholly through the Irish language. That advice was effectively ignored by the Fine Oibre coalition despite the Irish government seeking it in the first place. Instead Fine Gael and Labour have ramped up their discriminatory policies towards Irish-speaking children and communities and treat the indigenous language of the island of Ireland as an inconvenience to the national education system (and the so-called Irish state itself).
Meanwhile in Québec, as reported by CTV News, a small group of anglophone extremists have taken to the streets to protest the Francophone nation’s language equality laws:
“A couple of hundred demonstrators assembled outside of Premier Pauline Marois’ downtown office Sunday afternoon to rally around speakers such as Howard Galganov and former Equality Party leader Keith Henderson.
Galganov, a hardliner activist who led an English-rights movement in Montreal in the 90s before moving to eastern Ontario, was clad in a leather Freedom Riders biker jacket and riled up the crowd with such phrases as “Canada needs Quebec like it needs a hole in the head.”
Galganov, who once fought for Canadian unity, made no apologies for his anti-Quebec comments.
“We’re at that point in our history where Canada would do far better without Quebec and maybe Quebec would be better without Canada,” he said.
Some in the audience said they were uncomfortable with the divisive comments and didn’t agree with the entire contents of the colourful rant.
The language rights rally was hosted by Jimmy Kay, a local salesman who made a documentary called Angryphone.
The rally not only targeted Bill 14, but also other language-related issues that have intensified since the Parti Quebecois came into power.”
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
we can thank another fine gael son of britannia for the fact that we aren’t an irish speaking nation state http://www.rte.ie/tv/whodoyouthinkyouare/outline_ivan-yeats.html
‘Meeting up with Professor John Coolihan at the National Archives, Ivan was able to go through original Department of Education records from the time. It transpired that his Grandfather’s stance (that Irish was not a useful language for his daughter to learn) came at exactly the same time that the new Fianna Fail government were laying down the law to make Irish a cornerstone of the new Free State. Ivan’s grandfather’s appeal was seen as a constitutional test case, and a real face-off against the minister of the day, Thomas Derrig. Eventually, the judge sided with Ivan Sr., declaring the Minister’s opinion that Irish was the language of the future as “a pious hope”.’
thanks for that bit of planter largesse 😦
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True enough. We would be the “Israel” of north-western Europe and the Celtic world but for that judicial block. Of course it could have been overcome had the will been there but it reflected the reality of an Anglo-Irish state not an Irish one.
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As usual, Cymdeithas wasting their time, so they don’t have to take any real risks and speak out about the actual problem, ie. mass migration of non-sepakers into the heartlands, and speakers out of the heartlands. I’m not saying focusing on education is useless in and of itself, but in the Welsh case it’s like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound.
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Some truth in that. I believe a good initiative has been pursued in Gwynedd towards accommodating English-speaking newcomers by providing increased Welsh language classes to attract them in Welsh-speaking communities and “catch-up” classes for children in local schools?
I presume that sort of thing needs a wider application?
Of course the most urgent need for the Welsh-speaking heratlands is jobs, jobs, jobs – but through the medium of Welsh. Cymdeithas needs to step out of the strictly language rights issue and also think in terms of supporting existing communities in socio-economic terms. These are all inter-related. The same applies to Ireland.
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Yeah, Gwynedd is the only part of Wales with decent language policies, though the same population movements are very much in motion there too. The real tragedy are Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, where what is happening is essentially wholesale population replacement advancing at a steady pace, coupled with largely non-existant language policy. Of course, not that Pembrokeshire or Conwy are doing much better. Looking at heartland area census data for language throughout the last few decades is heartbreaking. I admire Cymdeithas activists’ passion and effort, but it’s ultimately useless, when Wales has the 2nd highest percentage of foreign-born residents in Europe(well, not formally foreign, but you know what I mean), mostly living in the heartlands. Not sure if Cymdeithas are in collective denial about all this, or if they’re too afraid to raise some noise about it.
You’re definitely right about jobs and economy, but things would have to improve quickly to salvage something, at least in Wales (I’m not as familiar with the nuances of the Irish situation). Communities are disintegrating and the politicians don’t really inspire optimism. Even mentioning this subject is probably the greatest taboo in Welsh society. And there’s lots of money in building overpriced houses all over rural Wales, I don’t see it stopping anytime soon, especially since the locals are mostly quiet. Well, there was Cymuned, but that was years ago. Not sure if there’s any hope of change on that front either, considering that factor you often write about – ie. the conditioning all minority-language speakers go through at the hands of the majority culture.
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We have a very similar situation here with traditional Irish-speaking communities collapsing under the weight of incoming English or non-English speaking families and individuals who refuse to partake of the indigenous language and culture of the area. The most egregious example of recent years was the (very nearly successful) legal attempt by a dozen non-Irish families and one Irish family who settled in a Gaeltacht region in Munster and who tried to force the local Irish-speaking school to teach their children in English because they didn’t want them speaking Irish. Such unapologetic racism is unfortunately far too common in Ireland by both Irish English-speakers and non-Irish English speakers. The “Educate Together” schools’ movement which largely caters for non-nationals has a dire record on Irish language teaching but no one is willing to tackle that problem, despite repeated official recognition of the issue. The situation in mainstream English-medium schools is hardly much better. In both cases children who should call Ireland home are being deprived of an essential element of their Irishness – the indigenous language of their island-nation.
The way to protect and grow Welsh-speaking communities is by placing an emphasis on the primacy of the language locally, as in Québec. That can only come through regulation and initiatives to encourage language use and adoption. Economic support must underpin that as well along with ensuring that young people aren’t driven out of the area by exorbitant house prices raised by outside demand.
Those issues are political. Where is Plaid in all this?
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Oh yeah, I remember the Munster case! I remember being surprised and disappointed at the time, because I always believed the Gaeltacht, being an officially recognised entity, would be better protected from that sort of thing than Y Fro. Seems like recognition is not all that much help, unfortunately. I think a lot of people try to frame this as an immigration issue, and make it sound like those who are worried about the demographic processes taking place are xenophobic, but it’s a completely different issue. Demographic processes in minority language heartlands take place in a completely different context. It’s not a question of xenophobia at all.
Yes, that’s a very good question. Where is Plaid? Personally I have my doubts as to how important a factor Plaid will be in the future. Welsh language heartlands are Plaid heartlands too. A hunge influx of people with not much interest in Welsh nationalism or even Welsh culture*, combined with the disillusionment of Welsh-speakers don’t bode well for Plaid. Which makes Plaid’s actions (or lack thereof) very curious indeed.
* many incomers do of course take an active interest, but many, many don’t, and it’s the overall effect that counts most in the end
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