Wednesday 23 April 2008

La Drako Blekegas


…de Dylan Phillips:

Of the six Celtic languages that have survived until modern times, it is probably Welsh that today enjoys the strongest position of them all. At this time, over half a million people in Wales still speak Welsh, and with the advent of the Welsh National Assembly in 1999 it
was declared one of Wales’s two official languages.

Welsh-medium education is freely available throughout the country, it has its own radio and television service, and you can even buy a Welsh-language version of the famous BigMac in Wales—namely the Mac Mawr. What greater proof of the language's vitality could there possibly be?

However, behind the current comparatively healthy position of Welsh lies a tale of immense endeavour, perseverance, courage, sacrifice and sheer guts. Because less than fifty years ago, you'd easily have been excused for thinking that Welsh wouldn't survive to see the third millennium. So during my paper I'd like to examine the miraculous recovery the Welsh language has witnessed during the last half century, and the key part played in that recovery by civil disobedience...

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