The Welsh Language Measure

How odd. I support Plaid Cymru's position and Alan in Dyfed opposes it. Usually it is the other way around!

Alan praises the Lib Dem's on Welsh Language policy and criticises Plaid – he is wrong.

Having been canvassed by Liberal Democrats in Aberconwy and having heard from family members resident in Cardigan about Lib Dem canvassing any support for the language by Lib Dems is obviously opportunist. Lib Dem supporters were using the Language Measure as an example of Plaid forcing the language on non Welsh speaking residents last May; now they are trying to say that the Measure doesn't go far enoughand that Plaid have welshed on the Welsh Language!

There is a failure in the devolution settlement. The Assembly has the right to legislate on the Welsh Language, but not on the Languages of Wales. A measure that says that English and Welsh are both official languages would be illegal; a statement that English and Welsh have equal legal status would be retrograde because the English language is NOT an official Language in England & Wales. It is our de-facto language. I don't think that a measure that made Welsh the de-facto language of Wales would be acceptable to the majority of Welsh people now.

I would like the Assembly to have the responsibility to legislate on all the languages of Wales and to be able to state, unambiguously, that Welsh, English and BSL are the official languages of Wales, all with equal validity, but it doesn't have that competency!

The problem isn't what the Measure includes, but how broad an Assembly Measure on the languages of Wales can be. The Plaid / Labour coalition has passed the best possible measure in support of the Welsh language that it is competent to pass.

If the Lib Dems don't think that the current Measure is good enough, they are in government on an UK level, they can ask their ministers to give further language competence to the National Assembly, in order to enable the Assembly to strengthen the Measure, but I won't hold my breath waiting for them to do so.

Wankers need a Welsh Language Act.

When I first saw this sign courtesy of Maes-e and Scymraeg, I laughed. My wife and my 12 & 13 year old kids laughed too.

The Welsh “translation” reads This is a Wank Away Zone!



Very funny on first seeing it!

But reflect a bit!

How would you feel if an English Language road sign was erected on your road, outside your children's school or on the way to your workplace declaring it to be a Wank-Away Zone?

I would suspect that most people, who saw such a sign, would be angry, very angry.

How would you feel if a pervert used such a sign to justify masturbating outside a school and got away with it, because of what the sign says?

This sign complies with the current Welsh Language Act, it complies with voluntary codes on use of the language in the private sector and is, therefore, a practical example of why a new and comprehensive Welsh Language Act is desperately needed!

Pum Punt?

Amongst the organisations that Heritage Minister Rhodri Glyn Thomas intends to bring under the Welsh Language Act are the Bank of England, about time too!

Services provided under the Act tend to be those that are most visible, signage, official documents etc. The most visible service provided by the Bank of England is issuing bank notes. Will including the bank under the terms of the act result in issuing bilingual bank notes. I do hope so!