Welsh language

Welsh (Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] ^ⓘ or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ]) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina).^[7]

Welsh

[kəmˈraːiɡ]

United Kingdom (Wales, England), Argentina (Chubut Province)

Welsh

Wales: 538,300
(17.8% of the population of Wales in 2021, including both L1 and L2 speakers)
England: 110,000 (2001, estimated)^[1]
Argentina: 1,500–5,000^[2]^[3]
Canada: <3,885 (L1)^[4]
Australia: 1,737 ^[5]

Indo-European

Celtic
- Insular Celtic
  - Brittonic
    - Western Brittonic
      - Welsh

Common Brittonic

Old Welsh
- Middle Welsh

Wales (United Kingdom)

Argentina (Chubut Province)

Welsh Language Commissioner (2012–present)
Welsh Language Board (1993–2012)

cy

wel (B)
cym (T)

cym

wels1247

Welsh

50-ABA

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It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British",^[8] "Cambrian",^[9] "Cambric"^[10] and "Cymric".^[11]

The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales.^[12] Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd,^[13] with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being de facto official.

According to the 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills.^[14] Other estimates suggest that 896,300 people (29.2%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in December 2023.^[15] Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount.^[16] 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly.^[16]

The Welsh government plans to increase the number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased.^[17] Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO.^[18]

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Languages of Wales 1750–1900

1750

1800

1850

1900

confirms the official status of the Welsh language

creates a new system of placing duties on bodies to provide services through the medium of Welsh

creates a Welsh Language Commissioner with strong enforcement powers to protect the rights of Welsh-speaking people to access services through the medium of Welsh

establishes a Welsh Language Tribunal

gives individuals and bodies the right to appeal decisions made in relation to the provision of services through the medium of Welsh

creates a Welsh Language Partnership Council to advise Government on its strategy in relation to the Welsh language

allows for an official investigation by the Welsh Language Commissioner of instances where there is an attempt to interfere with the freedom of Welsh-speaking people to use the language with one another

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Vocabulary[edit]

Welsh supplements its core Brittonic vocabulary (words such as wy "egg", carreg "stone") with hundreds of word lemmas borrowed from Latin,^[119] such as (ffenestr 'window' < Latin fenestra, gwin 'wine' < Latin vinum). It also borrows words from English, such as (silff 'shelf', giât 'gate').

, the Gwynedd dialect

Gwyndodeg

, the Powys dialect

Powyseg

, the Dyfed dialect

Dyfedeg

, the dialect of Gwent and Morgannwg^[126]

Gwenhwyseg

Association of Welsh Translators and Interpreters

English and Welsh

Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion

Languages in the United Kingdom

List of Welsh-language media

List of Welsh films

List of Welsh-language authors

List of Welsh-language poets (6th century to c. 1600)

List of Welsh people

List of Welsh areas by percentage of Welsh-speakers

Welsh literature

Dal Ati

St Benet's, Paul's Wharf

Welsh Language Board

Welsh placenames

Welsh Tract

(A language invented by J. R. R. Tolkien for his legendarium – a body of literary works, mostly set in Middle-earth. The language was strongly influenced by Welsh.)

Sindarin

J.W. Aitchison; H. Carter (2000). Language, Economy and Society. The changing fortunes of the Welsh Language in the Twentieth Century. Cardiff. University of Wales Press.

J.W. Aitchison; H. Carter (2004). Spreading the Word. The Welsh Language 2001. Y Lolfa.

Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011: available in and **English.

Welsh

Welsh Language Commissioner

Welsh language at Omniglot

Welsh Language Board: The Vitality of Welsh: A Statistical Balance Sheet, August 2010

from the Welsh Assembly Government (accessed 10 January 2009)

Link for Welsh language statistics

(Newport) from the Office for National Statistics

Example knowledge of Welsh (KS25) data

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Welsh language

Welsh

Pronunciation

Region

Ethnicity

Speakers

Early forms

Dialects

Official language in

Recognised minoritylanguage in

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[75]

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Vocabulary[edit]

Gwyndodeg

Powyseg

Dyfedeg

Gwenhwyseg

Association of Welsh Translators and Interpreters

English and Welsh

Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion

Languages in the United Kingdom

List of Welsh-language media

List of Welsh films

List of Welsh-language authors

List of Welsh-language poets (6th century to c. 1600)

List of Welsh people

List of Welsh areas by percentage of Welsh-speakers

Welsh literature

Dal Ati

St Benet's, Paul's Wharf

Welsh Language Board

Welsh placenames

Welsh Tract

Sindarin

Welsh

Welsh Language Commissioner

Welsh language at Omniglot

Welsh Language Board: The Vitality of Welsh: A Statistical Balance Sheet, August 2010

Link for Welsh language statistics

Example knowledge of Welsh (KS25) data

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Recognised minority
language in