UK Census 2021 Explained 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Welsh Language (Cymraeg)

Welsh Language in Wales Census Results Explained (Cymru) | The UK government recently released the results from its 2021 census for England and Wales. How much is Welsh still spoken in Wales? What is the status of the Welsh language today? I'll break down the graphs and data about the current state of Cymraeg to answer those questions and more.

Chapters:
0:00 - Current status of Welsh in Wales
0:35 - Confusing questions & statistics
2:15 - Language correlated to age
4:14 - Welsh in regions of Cymru
6:06 - Is Welsh in trouble?
9:34 - A Welsh statistician's perspective...
11:46 - Welsh OUTSIDE of Wales??

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#SpeakWelsh #Cymraeg #Welsh

[theveganpolyglot]

There is a lot of Welsh spoken where I live (Gwynedd), but it's frightening how quickly it disappears once you go to other places in Wales. Bob lwc i chdi efo'r Cymraeg.

[dannywithington]

Something I noticed regarding Welsh speakers in England...
When completing the 2011 Census, the question regarding language asked something along the line of "what is your main language". Whilst I'd consider myself conversant in Welsh, it isn't my main language, so I won't be included in the figures. I'd hazard a guess, there's a lot of other people who fall into this category, and the number of Welsh speakers in England is significantly higher than the data suggests.

[muniku_]

I am a Ukrainian refugee who is now in Wales learning Cymraeg, so it's true that other people come to Wales and learn Welsh)

[ZadenZane]

I think they're doing the right thing in Wales. If they can pass the language on to children who become fluent speakers even when Welsh is not spoken at home those children might hopefully grow up and have Welsh speaking children where Welsh is the language of the home. When I went to school in the 1980s it was still a rarity to find fluent second language speakers of Welsh but now there seems to be loads of them!

[DrTinkle]

I am from south Wales and I am learning welsh. The issue with getting new adult learners on board, is the perceived commitment needed. If people used apps to learn welsh for just 15 mins a day (not everyone can commit to classes) then we'd see far greater numbers speaking welsh in the future. Learning welsh isn't that difficult in my opinion, it's a marathon not a sprint.

[johnw]

Plenty of welsh speakers like myself have had to move out of the countryside to find work in English cities. Plenty of people like myself want to return when houses in the Welsh countryside become affordable.

[jacobparry]

Questions surrounding the language really are poorly worded. I remember being 11, just starting secondary school when the 2011 census was being conducted, and being asked in a survey whether I could, 'Speak Welsh well'. Despite being fluent in the language and speaking it daily at home and in school, I didn't feel that I spoke it as well as my peers, so I answered, 'No'.

That being said, we can't put all the blame on questions. More needs to be done to not only teach the language, but also to keep people speaking it, whether that's through new schemes, creating spaces where people feel comfortable and confident using the language, or boosting Welsh media; video games, TV, social media etc. Things that appeal to the younger generations.

*also, to clarify, the survey I mentioned above wasn't the census, just a school-wide survey.

[aledmorgan]

Hi interesting insight 👍. Just an observation as a first language speaker with children attending a Welsh medium secondary school. They have friends who have a similar educational standard in Welsh, however iv noticed there is a huge difference between them in the confidence and likelihood of using the language outside school in an informal environment. I fear that the emphasis of keeping the language alive is focused on education as opposed to a wider community based approach

[andrewjennings]

Good video. Will you do a similar one for Gaelic?

[Mandobird]

This is a grim picture. Not only has the absolute number of Welsh speakers decreased, but it's also decreased the most in Y Fro Gymraeg (Welsh-speaking heartland, where the everyday language is Welsh)!

[robjmilligan]

Diolch Carl! Llawer o bobl'ma siarad/deall dim ond tipyn bach o Gymraeg. Mae'n rhan integral o ein diwylliant ni.

Lots of people speak/understand just a little bit of Welsh. It's an integral part of our culture.

[ioanstokowski]

Can't remember if I messaged you before. I'm American of Welsh descent living in NC and learning Welsh primarily with Duolingo thus far. Would be nice to try communicating and putting what I'm learning to use. If you have time; I know you're busy and have new family. If interested I'll give you an email.

[Anonymous-syor]

I don’t really speak much welsh but I can offer understand general context in conversations ether in person or via welsh media, like you said they way they asked people was far too restrictive and binary, as a person like myself wouldn’t be recognised

[tombartram]

Mae Cymraeg wedi dirywio'n ofnadwy yn y trefi rownd Rhydaman a Crosshands yn y 30 blynedd diwethaf. Bron neb yn siarad Cymraeg erbyn nawr 😢😢

[Joy-]

Dechreuais i ddysgu Cymraeg y llynedd. Dw i'n gallu siarad Cymraeg tipyn bach nawr. Gobeithio bydda i'n siarad Cymraeg yn rhugl yn y dyfodol.
Gobeithio bydd mwy bobl yn dysgu a siarad Cymraeg.

I'm an international student in Caerdydd. I'm learning. But unfortunately it's not easy for we newcomers to realise the importance of Welsh. We tend to assume English is enough. It's a shame. It took me years to realise I should learn Welsh. I really hope Welsh could thrive.

[ayangdidi]

Comparing Welsh language situation and Breton language shows clearly that the situation in Brittany is appaling bad : 20000 young people altogether learning the Brezhoneg. A poor radio broadcasting, a worse TV offer and pratically nothing in the daily environnment. Yhe realoty is that french goverment does it's best to destroy the Breton language prrtending that a strong breton speaking area is a danger for the " Unicity of french Republic" and it gives the way to separatism !
So seen from Brittany the Welsh situation is a magnet for us, we Breton native or not speakers.
Croeso- Kenavo.

[jameshumphreys]

I had a friend who went to a Welsh medium school but never spoke Welsh to her family or not I'm aware of.
I think material could be better in term for fluency.

[Thomas_Aotearoa]

Why dont they just use the language scale like C1 C2 B1 B2 A1 A1 and just have a descriptor underneath describing what level of fluency is associated with that level.

[starinvader]

fel person o'r wlad. Rwy’n credu mai’r siaradwyr Saesneg sy’n achosi’r gostyngiad, gan eu bod yn dal i dawelu wrth ymgartrefu yn ein gwlad a ddim hyd yn oed yn trafferthu siarad. mae angen i fy nghronfa arian gael gafael, a dylai adeiladu wal i'w cadw allan, yn ogystal â tholl bwth i hybu ein heconomi

[Bernaren]

I used to be called by my English name Dick Hard but now I prefer the ancient Welsh version of my name!