Britain's parliament to allow debates in Welsh language for first time

[webfact]

Britain's parliament to allow debates in Welsh language for first time

Source: Xinhua 

 

LONDON, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Palace of Westminster is to become bilingual for the first time in history when debates are allowed to take place in Welsh, it was announced Wednesday.

 

It will enable members of the Parliament (MPs) to be given the chance to speak Welsh in parliamentary debates in the Palace of Westminster for the first time ever this year.

 

The British government, responding to a House of Commons committee report on the matter, confirmed it will bring forward measures enabling MPs to speak in Welsh when the Welsh Grand Committee meets in Westminster.

 

Full story: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-02/22/c_136077419.htm

 

-- Xinhua 2017-02-23

[Jonmarleesco]

From the home of the global language of business. Charlie will need to write some of his black spider memos in the language of his principality, then. 

[phantomfiddler]

It,s true, saw it on my Telly Welly :)

[ddavidovsky]

I thought we'd finished with the era of PC nonsense.  They can't speak English? Or do they insist on speaking Welsh just out of bloody-mindedness? It's impractical and inconsiderate to force everyone to listen to translations - and how are the public in the gallery to understand?

(And why are we getting this news from Xinhua?)

[oxo1947]

 

I would suspect that the 650 members of Parliament to be up in arms

 

Picture---Just another day in the UK parliament

[RandG]

Ludicrous more taxpayers money down the drain in the name of PC.

[blazes]

Is this a real picture or an "artist's impression"?

 

All the humans appear to be "women" (or wimmin or womyn, if you want to be PC)

Edited February 23, 2017 by blazes

[sandrabbit]

I'm Welsh and think this is stupid. The amount of money that is wasted in Wales by forcing everything to be bi-lingual is incredible. Approaching road junctions with multiple choices like a motorway junction is hard enough being Welsh and understanding abbreviations painted on the road let alone how bad it is for the rest of the UK and foreigners. Wales has the most expensive tv channel in the world S4C per population who understand Welsh so it creates legalised corruption  for the production companies. There are people who claim Welsh is their first language but I seriously doubt that in this day and age that there is anyone left who can't speak English as well.

[Baerboxer]

1 hour ago, sandrabbit said:

I'm Welsh and think this is stupid. The amount of money that is wasted in Wales by forcing everything to be bi-lingual is incredible. Approaching road junctions with multiple choices like a motorway junction is hard enough being Welsh and understanding abbreviations painted on the road let alone how bad it is for the rest of the UK and foreigners. Wales has the most expensive tv channel in the world S4C per population who understand Welsh so it creates legalised corruption  for the production companies. There are people who claim Welsh is their first language but I seriously doubt that in this day and age that there is anyone left who can't speak English as well.

 

There are about 7/800k Welsh speakers, which is stated as around 20/21% of the population (Source: Wiki). How many of those would claim Welsh as a first language? How many would claim Welsh as the only language?

 

Just wait to Leader Sturgeon finds out - be demands for Gaelic to be allowed even though it's use is far less than Welsh. Be all pepped up as if all Scots speak it. Then someone in Cornwall will start. Personally, I think the Geordies should be given foreign language status - can't understand a word they say!

[RuamRudy]

2 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

I'm Welsh and think this is stupid. The amount of money that is wasted in Wales by forcing everything to be bi-lingual is incredible. Approaching road junctions with multiple choices like a motorway junction is hard enough being Welsh and understanding abbreviations painted on the road let alone how bad it is for the rest of the UK and foreigners. Wales has the most expensive tv channel in the world S4C per population who understand Welsh so it creates legalised corruption  for the production companies. There are people who claim Welsh is their first language but I seriously doubt that in this day and age that there is anyone left who can't speak English as well.

Surely that is the cost of protecting the welsh cultural heritage? Should we all adopt estuary English and consign our heritage to the history books?

[steve187]

4 hours ago, oxo1947 said:

 

I would suspect that the 650 members of Parliament to be up in arms

 

Picture---Just another day in the UK parliament

are they the 'homeless' passing an afternoon off the streets.

[KBsinter]

2 hours ago, steve187 said:

are they the 'homeless' passing an afternoon off the streets.

And GORMLESS...............

[The Old Bull]

I was born in Liverpool but Welsh was my first language till I went to school. My mother claimed I learned English in three weeks. Although that was 70 years ago I still can understand most and speak some. S4C used to drive my old dad crazy as they use a hybrid Welsh part north and part south. Also I have some cards sent home by my mothers uncle from the first world war, they were all written in English, I think they had to be to pass the censors however I never heard him speak a word of English. When I used to go stay with my grandfather he would only speak to me in Welsh so any help the language gets to hang on is good by me.

[Grouse]

Can't we just sell them some vowels?

[roo860]

Next will be Urdu.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[i claudius]

Ime Welsh by birth,what a total waste, I was tought Welsh in school,that was the last time I spoke it

Sent from my ASUS_T00J using Tapatalk

[sandrabbit]

13 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

Surely that is the cost of protecting the welsh cultural heritage? Should we all adopt estuary English and consign our heritage to the history books?

Are you Welsh?. I could speak Welsh in primary school ( so simple Welsh). I live in Thailand and I'm very sure I could learn to speak Welsh again over the internet because it's not a modern language. It's not like Gaelic which is forced to survive it doesn't need the help it has at a high cost to survive. I think the cost of bi-lingualism  is too high when old people can't heat their homes and the Welsh assembly in Cardiff is a huge cost, just talk to the taxi drivers at Cardiff airport and what the am's thinks of themselves. When I lived in the UK I voted against devolution, we've just had another layer of government wasting money on expenses etc and saying do you know who I am?. The other thing and still for my friends in Wales is the 'elitism' that the Welsh speakers think they have. The powerhouse of Wales is between Swansea and Newport so mostly an English speaking area. I'm very proud of the culture but I won't defend it over peoples lives, I'm a fan of Carl Sagan who said think locally, your town, and think globally, your planet.

[sandrabbit]

15 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

There are about 7/800k Welsh speakers, which is stated as around 20/21% of the population (Source: Wiki). How many of those would claim Welsh as a first language? How many would claim Welsh as the only language?

 

Just wait to Leader Sturgeon finds out - be demands for Gaelic to be allowed even though it's use is far less than Welsh. Be all pepped up as if all Scots speak it. Then someone in Cornwall will start. Personally, I think the Geordies should be given foreign language status - can't understand a word they say!

The language in Cornwall is 'Welsh', same as in Bretagne France. Not exactly the same  but not far away.