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Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many [quantify] Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within a single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching). [49]
People also ask
Does Wales speak English?
Where is Welsh spoken in Wales?
Is Welsh a minority language?
Can I speak Welsh If I'm not living in Wales?
- There are a lot more Welsh speakers in the south. Many people from the south of Wales tend to think than Welsh speaking is a big thing in the north but not in the south.
- An earlier form of Welsh used to be spoken in Scotland. Edinburgh is now the capital of Scotland and the seat of the Scottish Parliament but if you’re Welsh you can stand at the top of Edinburgh castle and feel quite at home.
- There are almost as many Welsh speakers alive today as there have even been at any point. The narrative around the Welsh language tends to be that it’s in steep decline, and is dying off.
- The ‘unique’ sounds in Welsh aren’t that unusual. The ‘Ll’ sound that appears in so many Welsh place names might be considered by many to be unique to Welsh but it actually appears in a few other languages – but nowhere near Wales!
Welsh remains the predominant language in many parts of Wales, particularly in North Wales and parts of West Wales, though English is the predominant language in South Wales.
Depends what you mean. Everyone uses Welsh words, every day, if you include things like place names. But according to the latest statistics (2021 census), around 538,000 people speak Welsh - that’s around 17.8% of the population. The Annual Population Survey reported that 29.7% of people aged
- Cwtch or cwtsh /kʊtʃ/ Today, cwtch is arguably one of the most recognised “Welsh” words. Meaning an affectionate cuddle, or a small storage space, it has overtaken “lush” or “tidy” to be the most championed word of Welsh English speakers today.
- Scram /skræm/ Usually said of cats and children, the sharp word “scram” (to scratch with nails) is the perfect example of the opposite of enregisterment – speakers simply aren’t aware that it is a feature associated with their region.
- Drive, the /dreɪv, ðə/ Referring to a bus or taxi driver as “drive” is something that many associate with modern Welsh English culture, and it is even regarded as a necessity by some to say “Cheers, drive” when alighting a vehicle.
- Brammer or blemmer /brɑːmə/ /blemə/ Parry’s 1968-1982 dialect survey first recorded brammer and blemmer being used in urban centres such as Abergavenny and Newport.
Feb 2, 2002 · For the majority of people living in Wales, English is their first and only language. This was not always so. Only a couple of centuries ago, Welsh was the language of most of Wales, apart from a few Englishries such as South Pembrokeshire and the Gower peninsula. Welsh was even spoken in some parts of Herefordshire at one time.
Jan 15, 2010 · Only a fifth of the population of Wales is able to speak the language. Apart from some very young children, everyone who speaks Welsh in Wales can also speak English. However, in terms of endangered languages Welsh is very much a success story.
