Uncle's reaction to education discussion

[Krankopi]

Family gathering in Southern England over Xmas with extended family and we drove over from West Wales where we've lived for past 18 months. I'm chit chatting to aunt and catching her up on our lives and tell her about plans for DS education.

Our DS turns 3 next year and we're opting to send him to a Welsh-speaking pre-school from September and then if all goes well to Welsh speaking primary school.

The school is very good, recent investment and a few neighbours whose kids go there really rave about it. I studied French at uni and have very open attitude to other language so think it would be great opportunity for DS to be bilingual From young age.

If there were any unforeseen issues and it doesn't work out then there are English speaking primaries and secondaries in area also.

Uncle overheard the conversation and chimed in 'but you're not Welsh!' and 'it's a dead language'. I attempted to explain benefits of bilingualism, fact our area has quite a lot of Welsh speakers and DS will grow up there etc but fell on deaf ears and he really went for it at that point.

He seemed properly offended by the whole thing as if we were somehow betraying our roots (we're English and DS also born in England). It was completely ridiculous. He then proceeded to insult the Welsh, their language before aunt told him to cool it and convo moved on.

His opinion about DS education is irrelevant but thinking back to his reaction has really angered me. It wasn't just that he didn't agree, his blood seemed to really boil. He is a bit of a little Englander type who voted for Brexit so I shouldn't be surprised but I can't understand how someone could take such offense to going to Welsh school in Wales.

The more I think about it, the more I want to say something to him to put him in his place. I find his attitude disgraceful and I'm so close to writing or calling to give him piece of my mind. AIBU? Should I just forget the whole thing?

Maybe making my point another way will work better, like writing next years Xmas card in Welsh.

1. it won’t make a difference where they choose to live in the long term. Their English levels will be as good as anyone else’s
2. it can be tricky to help with homework but schools will often send it home bilingually and fully support parents in helping their child.
3. why would they be an outsider for play dates? They can speak English
4. parents evenings are in the language of the parents choosing. Mine are always in English as are reports. I don’t fully understand every word of school plays And nor does my mum but it makes no difference to us, we love to watch them on stage

I‘M welsh and live in wales. My children attended English medium schools. I wish they were bilingual to help in the job market as so many occupations now call for the welsh language.

The welsh have never had free uni education, or not for any longer than the english had it (i.e. before tuition fees were introduced). When I started in the mid 2000s you had a reduction if you were welsh and stayed in wales for uni but that ended ages ago too.

Strangely people don't seem to apply the 'a minority language not spoken anywhere else' argument to other small european countries - nobody suggests than someone living in Malta or Iceland shouldn't bother learning the native language and 'just speak english' yet more people speak welsh than either of those. It's very normal for welsh primary schools to have parents who don't speak it/are learning and schools are set up to help with this - if children from non-welsh speaking families aren't taught it then how are move people ever going to learn it? Or should it just die out?

Lives in Wales now. Just a thought ...

If your son decides to stay in Wales as an adult, a lot of jobs require Welsh speaking as an essential especially in education and healthcare.

I think you've made an excellent decision to help him.

And he can win at hide and seek/sardines because his cousins can't hoodwink by speaking in Welsh and making plans-still bitter 48 years later.

( My mum made the choice to send me to the English Medium school) I'm still upset.

1. Whether your child be seen as an ‘outsider’ when play dates etc come up

🙄

@Nineteendays
I’m sure that will be helpful for the OP and others making decisions.

why would you assume that OP hasn't already done all of these things? If nothing else she will have almost definitely spent more time looking into it than the uncle.
But yes nice 'Nadolig Llawen' card to him next year 🐲

But it's not like there's a handy French speaking school round the corner. It's send him to an English speaking school and have him only know one language, or the Welsh medium one where he'll get to know an additional one.

Who knows what language may be useful to him in future but having learnt one that MAY be useful can't be a bad thing.

It's brilliant he will be learning Welsh, and I believe it's important for people to learn Welsh if they live here (I am learning). It's certainly not a dead language here in the north, and many, many jobs require basic Welsh.

Immersion is an excellent way to learn at a young age, and your son is so young he will learn to speak without an accent too - amazing gift to give him!

To all the people wondering if the child will be left out at play dates etc, as the family are in West Wales, Welsh will be most children's FIRST language. I think in Ceredigion it's the first language of 70% of the population and rising.

And it's not only spoken in Wales. It's also spoken in Patagonia.

Being bilingual helps you access more languages. It helps develop pattern recognition, understanding of language and grammatical structures, and improves cognitive flexibility- so it would make it easier to learn other languages.

I am currently sitting here with three people who were taught in a Welsh medium school and have all gone on to work in jobs which require languages. Other languages. One of them is a translator- she translates two other languages into English (NOT Welsh).

Your uncle, and some of the people on this thread, is confidently spouting rubbish.

@1offnamechange and @OneMoreTime23

I was trying to be helpful.
My child was excluded at infant school and it continues to impact her.
I therefore think everyone should think very carefully about the decisions they make, and I’m not going to just agree with the OP.
FWIW I think the treatment of languages in the English system is really disappointing.
Anyway I’m going to celebrate NY now.

Please once your son is old and verbally fluent enough teach him to address his uncle exclusively in Welsh.
Your idea sounds great. Just make sure that when he is a teenager that he gets used to writing formally and academically in English as well as Welsh. My friend took all her GCSEs and A Levels in Welsh and while she was fluent in English too, struggled with formal essays at uni.

I think it's a fantastic opportunity for your son. I have a family member who learned a Celtic language and was poo-pooed by many. They now have a fantastic very highly paid job as a translator. Your uncle is an idiot. But you know that.

Why? How on earth does it harm anyone to learn an additional language?

The ignorance! and how condescending!
I bet you have never come to wales (don’t bother 🤣)
Just an FYI but the welsh language is extremely important if you want to have a job in wales because guess what we speak welsh (not mandarin) …i can’t get over the stupidity and ignorance

I'm gobsmacked by some of these replies.

I'm also jealous. If there was a foreign speaking nursery and primary school near me I'd definitely send DC to it! I don't even mind what language it was. I wish I had been brought up bilingual! Sadly I've looked and there's nothing like that near me.

It's shocking how @Alcyoneus and some other posters don't even bother to read the thread.
People growing up in Wales, learning Welsh 'trendy middle class'. LOL.
I admire the Welsh btw for keeping their language going. It's sad to see the decimation of Scots and Gaelic.

Actually you are entirely wrong. Speaking Welsh is a big advantage for any public sector job in Wales. Presumably the op would like her son to be able to remain in Wales and not have to leave for career reasons. It may not be middle class and trendy but lots of people do like their children and grandchildren to live near them

"He is a bit of a little Englander type who voted for Brexit so I shouldn't be surprised"

when people make sweeping statements like this, its puzzling, i mean how can someone being an englander and brexit suddenly explain all the persons views on different subjects, etc for an accurate perspective on there views then surley thats case by case, not just oh they voted brexit as if that somehow gives full analysis.,

@Krankopi

personally id value latin more as a language

@Mirabai , Never said it was. Speaking Welsh won’t make other languages easier no, unless it’s Cornish or Breton or the Goidelic Celtic languages.

I'm a mother tongue Welsh speaker and was educated in Welsh medium schools.
Being bilingual has certainly helped me learn other languages, including non-european ones.
It's given me a better ear & tongue for different sounds in other languages for a start.

@EmporiumHawkins , OP's DC won't be living in a Latin-speaking community.
I don't think there are any Latin-medium primary schools in the UK.

Clic | Stori'r Iaith | Elis James (s4c.cymru)
There are English subtitles available

It's fascinating.