To think that if it was France & French no one would care about a name change but because it’s Welsh…

[Letshaveablackcelebration2022]

Welsh is trending on Twitter because a lot of people don’t like the fact that the Brecon Beacons will revert to its Welsh name https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/17/brecon-beacons-relaunches-with-welsh-name-bannau-brycheiniog-as-picture-of-hope-for-future

People also kicked off when Snowdon also reverted to its Welsh name Yr Wyddfa

Aibu to really not understand the issue. I am Welsh and a Welsh speaker. It makes sense to me to call place names by their Welsh names and not by their anglicised versions if you want to protect a language and culture. Which we do.

Noone would bat an eyelid if in France their decided to only use French names. We drive in France and get by without English alternatives. So what exactly is the problem with Wales doing the same?

I don’t care either way but I would then not put up with eye rolls or remarks if I (somewhat) mangled the Welsh pronunciation.

@Tarantullah i mean Wales is not england. Scotland is not England. All seperate countries in a union that we aren’t apparently allowed to leave

It’s madness… of course they should have the Welsh names

Who's funding it? Welsh or English taxpayers?

Breton?

@mumda 🙄 YAWN.

@BunnyFun , the word is cwnt or cont, not cwunt, assuming you meant the see you next tuesday word.

This.

Only about 17% of Welsh people speak Welsh so you certainly can't compare it with France and French.

@Willyoujustbequiet as already said, because Welsh has been historically oppressed for centuries 🙄

I'm sure it was a joke!

Which makes it all the more important to promote the language (which is still recovering from English oppression).

It's in decline according to the census and ONS.

Actually the lowest number of speakers ever so you're wrong I'm afraid.

and scrapping its logo of a fiery greenhouse gas-emitting beacon as it launches a plan designed to tackle issues in the park created by the climate and biodiversity emergencies.

This bit is pure virtue signalling though. I'm evangelical about the environment, but I've never taken that to the extent of "graphics depicting fires are bad for the planet". If the WG really cared about climate change, they wouldn't have ordered two-coach diesel trains for North Wales, they would have ordered hybrids which were long enough to carry everyone trying to use them.

We had a referendum in Scotland in which we voted to remain part of the UK so don’t speak for us, thanks. What’s stopping Wales from holding an indy ref if you’re all being held against your will?

Another visitor (also from England) was complaining to me that the road signs were confusing as they had two languages on - in fact they found "all the signs everywhere confusing" because of this.

God knows how they manage overseas.

Easy, they stay within their all-inclusive resort, having a full English for breakfast in order to get the true taste of Spain.

@ChocChipHandbag , but not so funny if you speak Welsh.

To those saying the French are happy to use French names for everything, as PPs have suggested, there are plenty of areas (Brittany, the Basque Country, Alsace-Lorraine, Catalonia, Provence, Langue D’Oc) where the local languages have considerable support and use, including schools which use them.

That's not what the OP is suggesting though.

She's equating using the Welsh term for Brecon Beacons with the French using French terms to describe French places, which would be a relevant comparator if most French people spoke English as their main language and traditionally referred to French places using English place names.

In that case, French is the “coloniser” language, so it’s a false equivalence.

That proper made me lol!

The irony.

The only post I've read disregarding Welsh identity was yours - to your fellow Welsh who disagreed with you.

It's been actively encouraged for many years now and yet is still in decline.

It could well be that more people simply prefer English.

I don't necessarily disagree. I feel the same about my local dialect Northumbrian/Scots. We should cherish our heritage.

However you can't police language. If the vast majority of Welsh people prefer English then that is their choice. Encourage by all means but not try to force.

Why would spoken Welsh be in decline nowadays? I thought all Welsh children were taught it at school?

Is it because once they leave school they stop using it? Is that why it is failing to become the common tongue ?

I'm all for language thriving, not just surviving in little pockets here and there.
I totally approve place names all being in their native language.

I don’t think it’s a case of preference, it’s a case of upbringing.

I would prefer to be able to speak Welsh but, despite it being my Grandmother’s first language, I was not brought up speaking it. I’ve been making an effort to learn it as an adult (and recently had my first, somewhat stunted, Welsh language conversation with said Grandmother).

Polls show that a two-thirds majority of Welsh people who cannot speak Welsh wish that they could, and that the Welsh government’s language-promotion policies are generally popular (a majority want schools to be bilingual, for example).

Unfortunately, restoring a language isn’t as easy as flipping a switch, but that doesn’t mean that Welsh people ‘prefer English’.

And I don’t know what you mean by ‘policing language’ - who’s doing that?