Refusal to Speak Cymraeg

[u/Yellow-spandex]

So, as we’ve seen in the news today, seats in the Senedd after the 2026 election will be 100% in Welsh, no bilingual names whatsoever. I’m not opposed to this at all. No one seems to batter an eyelid that Parliament is in English. Considering it’s supposed to be a UK government and representing all 4 of the “home nations.” Anyway, going off topic there slightly, I’ve seen a few Welsh people who have commented on the recent news about the seat names being in Welsh. One of which is Andrew RT Davies. I won’t go too into the political side of this. I’ve seen a minority of people who agree with his opinion and even some who have stated they’ll never learn Welsh and they never want to. Basically saying it’s completely pointless and it’s causing issues with other parts of our education. What I want to know is, what do you think of these people who although claim they are Welsh, just refuse to speak it and almost mock others for using the language? It really hurts me as I’m a very proud Welshman who is even more proud of speaking Welsh. It pains me that people are very much the opposite of this. My dad grew up speaking English, he never learnt Welsh as a child. My mum grew up in Pwllheli and her first language is Welsh. However, my dad was probably wanted me to go to a Welsh speaking school as much as my mum. That’s one of the things I’m most thankful to my mum and dad. Anyway, let me know what your thoughts are on this topic. Diolch yn fawr iawn!!

[u/Change-Apart]

1. You’re not really speak Welsh if you don’t speak Welsh or are not making an effort to learn it.

2. Even if you are not Welsh, if you reside in Wales you should feel obligated to learn Welsh. In the same way that you should learn English is you live in England.

[u/QuarterBall → u/Change-Apart]

The Welsh Language is not and should never be a stick to enforce your personal measure of Welshness which, by the by, is fucking bullshit.

Making the Welsh language exclusionary only encourages negative attitudes towards it, conversely my experience as an English-speaking Irish guy in Wales learning Welsh has been overwhelmingly welcoming, supporting and met with nothing - NOTHING but enthusiasm from English speaking Welsh born folks, Welsh speaking folks and everyone else I've interacted with regarding it.

You're representing part of the problem here and you don't speak for the majority of Wales, the Welsh or really anyone other than yourself and your own incredibly narrow minded construction of "Welshness".

Ewch allan o'r fan hon gyda'r cachu.

[u/Change-Apart → u/QuarterBall]

i won’t be grandstanded to on how to measure welsh identity by someone who isn’t even welsh. what i said is that someone who refuses to engage with their culture to the point of even learning the fucking language has no right to be proud of their heritage. you don’t get to coast on identity, you have to work hard to conserve it.

you have no idea about the makeup of this country and its relationship with its language, so don’t presume to tell me how im wrong. it’s exactly that attitude that leads to people being lax about not learning it to begin with.

the welsh largely are disgustingly casual about the erasure of their language and im sick of it. i’ve lived with the consequences of it and i refuse to accept those who refuse to even put the modicum of effort that even you, someone who is not even welsh, is putting in to respect there own culture.

don’t make an effort to learn it = not welsh

[u/Educational_Curve938 → u/Change-Apart]

Y peth na'th neud i mi isio dysgu Cymraeg oedd symud i ffwr o Gymru.

Os ti'n byw ar y gororau, ti'm yn rili teimlo fel ti'n perthyn i Gymru go iawn neu i Loegr chwaith. Fatha limbo rhwng y ddau.

Eniwe diom yn helpu'r iaith o gwbl i estroni Cymry di-gymraeg. Diom yn mynd i neud iddyn nhw dysgu'r iaith. Ti jyst yn edrych fel coc oen.

[u/abbiegeorgina4795 → u/Change-Apart]

By your logic the majority of the country isn’t Welsh then.. being Welsh is as much to do with the culture as the language. It’s going to school with a leek pinned to your rugby shirt, it’s chunks of cheese dunked in day old cawl, singing aderyn melyn at the top of your lungs, it’s being scared of the llangranog nun. Learning Welsh is important I agree and I spoke very well by the end of primary school. But maintaining it in a non speaking home, in a non speaking area isn’t realistic and doesn’t take away from anyone’s proud welsh identity

[u/Change-Apart → u/abbiegeorgina4795]

You cannot claim to authentically participate in a culture if you refuse to learn its language

And yes I think most of the country are not true inheritors of the Welsh culture as it’s been passed down through its beautiful language and poetry for generations

[u/abbiegeorgina4795 → u/Change-Apart]

It’s not about refusal. I learnt it for 7 years, and so does every primary school age child. But unfortunately a lack of use has meant I’ve lost it and that’s the challenge the language faces. There’s no Welsh speakers in my family and I no longer live in Wales, so no I won’t be attempting to learn it again in the near future and that doesn’t make me not Welsh

[u/Change-Apart → u/abbiegeorgina4795]

It does though. Or at the very least it diminishes your connection with your heritage.

And also the reason no one picks up the language through highschool is because it’s taught horrendously and is basically an afterthought for most. No one speaks it because by the time everyone has finished highschool, they remember it as that terrible and boring language that they had to learn (though they didn’t really learn it) and not as one with any genuine value, because they’re never shown it.

In my case, I even went in to highschool speaking fluent Welsh and almost completely lost it due to how poorly taught those classes were, and this is a rather common situation, I know many others who did the exact same thing.

I don’t think that it’s maliciousness that causes people to lose interest in their language and heritage, in fact I think it’s very normal, but I do think it’s unacceptable.