Language Research

5. Costs: What does it cost in terms of money, time and government resources to police the country's language restrictions?

Updated (October 2002)

The Minister for Gaelic, Mike Watson on October 13, at the launch of “Mod at Largs”¹ festival, announced that resources for Gaelic have increased to £ 450,000 (€ 710,000). However, he made no statement on Executive backing for the Gaelic Language Act.

Another £ 70,000 (€ 110,000) are available for so much needed Gaelic teacher training course in Lewis, which will enable more people, particularly women to be trained and work as teachers. Minister Watson is convinced these activities together with other Executive initiatives already under way will contribute to overall aim to secure the future of the Gaelic language and culture.

Source: Eurolang News, Edinburgh, October 14, 2002, by Davyth Hicks, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=3870

¹ The yearly Mod is an itinerant annual festival of Gaelic culture. Affectionately termed the “Whisky Olympics” it is an opportunity for Gaels to gather and compete in songs, poetry and dancing.

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Updated (November 2002)

WELSH INITIATIVES TO TARGET YOUNG PEOPLE TO SAVE THE LANGUAGE

Two initiatives in the fight to save the Welsh language have been recently announced in Wales. The research showed that only 50 percent of parents where one speaks Welsh pass the language on their children. Another factor affecting the language is that many young Welsh-speakers leave a stronghold of the language in search of work and opportunities.

An extra £100,000 (158,700 Euro) was contributed to the Twf (Growth) Program recently by the Welsh Language Board, which has already received £500,000 (793,530 Euro) for the next three years. The aim of the program is to try and persuade young parents to transfer the language to their children. To achieve this, midwives are trained to discuss and hand out leaflets in hospitals noting the benefits of being bilingual.

“It is an extremely innovative project,” says Delyth Evans, a member of the National Assembly of Wales and adds: “No other country in the world has set up an initiative like this. A number of people responsible for the development of language policy in Ireland and Canada visited Wales and demonstrated huge interest in the Twf project. The idea of helping people to appreciate the merit and importance of language within the family unit is of fundamental importance if the Welsh language is to survive.”

In order to try and persuade young people to stay in the Welsh-speaking areas, Gwynedd Council set up the Llwyddo'n Lleol (Succeeding Locally) Conference. At the conference, Eurig Wyn, a member of the European Parliament, said that Wales could learn a lesson from the Scandinavian countries. Scandinavia and the Scottish island used the latest communication methods to ensure that people living in remote areas can receive their education without having to move away. The government of Sweden has gone as far as to offer tax incentives to young parents who will raise families in the designated areas. This has been fairly successful and shows how seriously the Swedish government takes this issue.

Source: Eurolang News, Bangor, October 28, 2002, by Dafydd Meirion, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=3900

WELSH ASSEMBLY DOUBLES ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE LANGUAGE BOARD

The amount of money received by the Welsh Language Board from the National Assembly of Wales has raised from £7 million (11,1 million Euro) to over £13 million (20,6 million Euro) for the next three years.

The extra money will be spent on strengthening the local language initiatives and community schemes.

Source: Eurolang News, Bangor, October 28, 2002, by Dafydd Meirion, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=3903

EXTRA £1.3M FOR WELSH-LANGUAGE PUBLISHING

The National Assembly of Wales has recently announced that the Wales Books Council is to receive an extra £1.3m (2 million Euro) over the next three years for the publication of Welsh-language books.

These funds will be used as a financial assistance to authors and to strengthen the infrastructure of the industry to boost Welsh-language publishing. It is important in a bilingual and literate country that people of all ages and all backgrounds have an access to a wide range of high-quality reading material in Welsh.

About 600 Welsh-language books are published annually, selling on average about 1,200 copies. According to the Books Council, which provided grants for nearly all these books, this compares well with other minority languages. The extra funding will allow publishers to offer authors up to £10,000 (15,600 Euro) to write a book where there is a gap in the market.

Source: Eurolang News, Bangor, November 5, 2002, by Dafydd Meirion, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=3913 

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Updated (December 2002)

THE WELSH LANGUAGE USED AS A TOOL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

A language initiative based in northwest Wales, aimed to persuade businesses to use the Welsh language, has received European funding. The European Union contributed with the sum £350,000 (552,000 Euro) and the remaining £250,000 (394,500 Euro) came from the local economic development company “Cymad,” the Welsh Language Board and the Wales Tourist Board.

Recent research shows that 60 percent of Welsh-speakers are more likely to support businesses where the language is spoken. Thus the money will be used to employ five full-time field officers for a period of three years, whose task will be to show businessmen the advantages of using the Welsh language while dealing with customers. Cultural activities and community-based organizations using the language will also receive support and steps will be taken to encourage young people to study and speak the language.

According Iddon Edwards, the co-coordinator of the local language initiative “Menter Iaith Gwynedd,” they hope that the scheme will make the language an integral part of the social and economic fabric of the region.

The areas where this scheme will be operating have the highest percentage of Welsh-speakers (73 percent according to the 1991 Census).

Source: Eurolang News, Bangor, November 22, 2002, by Dafydd Meirion, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=3978

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PROVIDES EXTRA MONEY FOR WELSH

The National Assembly of Wales has announced that an additional sum of £27 million (42 million Euro) will be allotted to safeguard and expand the use of the Welsh language in the country. The goal of this initiative is to raise the number of Welsh speakers about 5 percent by 2011. This, if achieved, would mean that about 40 percent of the Wales population would have knowledge of the language.

The four main objectives of “Iaith Pawb” (Everyone's Language) are the normalization of bilingualism in national life, strengthening the language in the family and the community, providing opportunities to learn the language and ensuring consensus and goodwill for bilingualism. It also highlights the need for all ministers to share responsibility for the future of the language.

Extra money will be available for a range of bodies and projects (for the Welsh Language Board, the Welsh Books Council and the schemes to help local people buy houses in a competitive market and to provide Welsh teaching material for nursery schools). There will also be an extra funding for local language initiatives.

But these proposals were not universally welcomed. The pressure group “Cymuned” (Community) said that the proposals did not go far enough to ensure the survival of the language in its heartlands and to help it cope with the onslaught of English speakers' migration. On the other hand the Welsh Language Society was disappointed that a new language act that would compel the private sector to use more of the language was not mentioned.

Although there is an additional £9 million (14 million Euro) for Welsh language education, this sum will be spent mainly on nursery education. The Welsh teaching union UCAC criticized the fact that there is no follow-through from the nursery schools and no extra money to train teachers to teach in Welsh is allocated.

Source: Eurolang News, Bangor, November 28, 2002, by Dafydd Meirion, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=3983 

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Updated (January 2003)

MONEY SPENT ON THE WELSH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT, MAINLY IN ANGLICIZED AREAS

The Welsh Language Board has just announced that over £6 million (€9 million) will be spent on the language in the year 2002/3. This sum has increased of 35 percent compared to the last year. The Board receives the money from the National Assembly and its goal is to raise the number of Welsh speakers by 5 percent by 2011.

A large part of this money is aimed to broaden the base of the language and concentrates on the anglicized southern areas of Wales. The main beneficiaries are two new initiatives set up in south Wales¹ and Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin (the Welsh nursery school movement who's bulk of classes are also in the anglicized areas) receiving £1 million (€1,5 million) in order to teach the language at such an early stage.

The new initiatives build on the success of language teaching by offering extra curricular activities – clubs, concerts and trips, which are conducted in Welsh – give children an opportunity to become more fluent in the language. The only criticism of this method is that pupils revert to English when they leave the schoolyard.

The initiatives also establish classes to learn the language and meeting places in pubs and cafes, so the learners can practice their language skills. In some areas campaigns have been persuading businesses to use the Welsh language more often. When the learners will see the language in everyday situations, they will be keener to learn it.

In November 2002, the National Assembly announced that the sum of extra £27 million (€40 million) would be available over the period of three years for the language purposes. The Language Board will receive an extra £16 million (€24 million). Those £6 million (€9 million) recently announced are a part of that funding.

Source: Eurolang News, Bangor, January 14, 2003, by Dafydd Meirion, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=4032

¹ In Merthyr Tudful in the south Wales Valleys and in the Vale of Glamorgan near the capital Cardiff

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Updated (April 2003)

GAELIC ON THE AGENDA IN THE SCOTTISH ELECTION

The future of the Gaelic language has emerged as a significant issue in the campaign for these parliamentary elections, which shall be held in May 2003. All main political parties have committed themselves to back legislation giving a secure status to the language in the next session of Parliament.

The Labor Party leader, Jack McConnell promised to put the Gaelic Act on the statute book before this year's National Mod in October.

In 1999 elections, Labor promised to work towards a secure status for Gaelic, but instead the Gaelic Language Act, the Gaelic community in Scotland had to make do with the creation of a new Gaelic Development Board (Bòrd Gàidhlig na h-Alba). However, this time, Labor made a specific commitment in its manifesto, published in both English and Gaelic, to legislate for the language if they are re-elected in May.

“We recognize the importance of Gaelic as a unique part of Scotland's living national heritage. Through Bòrd Gàidhlig na h-Alba we will secure the future of Gaelic by introducing a national language plan and an action plan to guide the activities of a range of agencies supporting Gaelic. We will introduce a bill to provide for the secure status of the Gaelic language.”

Labor has also promised to invest in Gaelic-medium education, including the provision of more teacher training places, and to support other languages in Scotland.

“Scotland has many other languages. We will prepare a national language strategy to guide the development and support for all of them, including the sign language and ethnic languages.”

The Scottish Liberal Democrats, Labor's coalition partners in government for the past four years, say they will also bring forward a Languages Act although they do not specify for which languages they want to legislate. Instead the Liberal Democrats manifesto pledges to: 

• Introduce the Languages Bill in Scotland which will give councils and other public bodies a responsibility to draw up a languages plan which reflects the needs of communities

• Will place Bòrd na Gàidhlig on a more secure footing by making it a statutory body with responsibility for drawing up a Strategy for Gàidhlig

• As a part of a promise to extend foreign languages teaching in primary schools they want to provide teaching facilities in Gaelic and other minority languages where there is a demand.

The Scottish National Party, the main opposition party in the last Parliament, is promising to build on Mike Russell's Gaelic Language Bill, which ran out of parliamentary time at the end of the last session, and to legislate not only for Gaelic but also for Scots. Its manifesto, published in a number of languages, including Gaelic says that the Scottish National Party:

“Will introduce a Languages Act giving a secure status for the Gaelic and Scots languages and encouraging community languages. We will build on the Gaelic Language Bill, the hearings on which have brought forward many positive suggestions for change.”

“We will establish Bòrd Gàidhlig na h-Alba in statute and strengthen its ability to persuade public and private bodies to consider creatively their attitude to the language. We will introduce measure to insist the learning of Gaelic, including the learning of Gaelic as a second language in schools and adult learning.”

The Scottish Conservatives, who have published a summary of their manifesto in Gaelic, make no specific commitment to a Language Act promising instead: 

• To ensure that the Gaelic language and culture continues to receive a healthy level of funding

• To support the language by putting the Gaelic Board on a statutory basis

Among the other parties, the Scottish Socialist Party is promising to provide Gaelic language lessons for all children and adults who wish to learn the language and to give Gaelic and Scots equal legal status with English. Their manifesto states that they will support a Gaelic Language Act, covering education, broadcasting and public bodies.

The Scottish Green Party says it will enable all schools to offer languages reflecting Scotland's cultural and ethnic diversity, including the Gaelic, British sign language, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi, and Chinese languages. Although the Green Party's manifesto is not available in Gaelic, it does include a single sentence in this language without an English translation – “S e cùis mhòr glèidhteachas cultair a tha ann an adhartachadh na Gàidhlig¹” (believed to be a historical reference to the Scottish king Kenneth Mac Alpin).

Source: Eurolang News, Edinburgh, April 14, 2003, by Alex O'Henley, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=4206

¹ The progression of Gaelic is of a great importance in the preservation of culture.

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Updated (August 2003)

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT IMPROVES ITS GAELIC SERVICES

The Scottish Parliament expanded and improved its Gaelic services in June by appointing a new Gaelic Information Officer. Currently there are two officers, the Gaelic Information Officer and the Gaelic Outreach Officer (the post created in November last year), both located within the Participation Services Team.

The tasks of the officer are the following: 

• To develop, organize and deliver a visits program to the Parliament through the medium of Gaelic

• To provide information and enquiry services for Gaelic speakers and learners

• To manage and assure the quality of the Gaelic translations within the Parliament

• To prepare parliamentary information and guidance materials, including the materials for the Parliament's Gaelic web pages at www.scottish.parliament.uk/gaidhlig To work with the Head of Participation Services and the Gaelic Outreach Officer to develop a policy and a model for the Parliament's services to Gaelic speakers

As for the other post, the Gaelic Outreach Officer builds links between the Parliament and Gaelic speakers, through working closely with Scotland's Gaelic community and Gaelic media.

Source: Mercator News, August 2003, http://www.ciemen.org/mercator/index-gb.htm 

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Updated (September 2003)

PUBLIC MEETINGS TO BE HELD TO FORMULATE CORNISH LANGUAGE STRATEGY

In 2002, Cornish was included in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and this step encouraged the development of the language. The British government asked the Cornwall Council to form a strategy, which would reflect the needs and aspirations of the Cornish language and to set out an action plan to guide its development.

The general public will also have a chance to participate in this discussion as a series of six public meetings has been organized in each district council area. They will be the first official meetings ever to discuss the language. Both Cornish speakers and non-speakers are invited because the future of the language, which is a part of Cornwall's heritage, should concern everyone. These meetings are an opportunity to express how people feel about the language, its importance to Cornwall and their experience with it.

Kowethas An Yeth Kernewek (the Cornish Language Fellowship) estimates there are around 400 fluent Cornish speakers, with several thousand speaking Cornish at conversational level.

The Cornwall Council knows that the language will not gain the official status. It is all about letting the language grow at its own pace and supporting it as a part of Cornwall's heritage.

People do not have to be afraid of the language because it is not a threat though some may see it as a political tool. The situation is different in Wales where the ability to speak Welsh is necessary for obtaining some jobs.

The strategy is hoped to be in place by April 2004.

Source: Eurolang News, Penygroes, September 24, 2003, by Dafydd Meirion, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=4396

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Updated (February 2004)

LACK OF MONEY HINDERS TEACHING OF WELSH

According to Ioan Talfryn, a director of Popeth Cymraeg1 (Welsh Unlimited) centered in anglicized northeast Wales, they would have doubled the number of people learning Welsh if they had had more money from the Welsh Assembly.

Mr Talfryn compared the situation with the other countries where more money is available for this goal. In New Zealand £21 million is available to teach 11,000 Maori students and in the Basque Country between £22 and 25 million is available for 40,000 Basque learners. However, in Wales, there is less than £4 million available for this purpose (25,000 learners). Compared to other countries, the expenditure on teaching Welsh to adults is woefully inadequate.

People who move into the Welsh-speaking area usually want their children to study at Welsh medium schools, but they also need to have a chance to learn the language.

Although the language classes are in great demand at the moment, more cannot be organized simply because there is a ceiling on funding. If ELWa (the body responsible for higher education in Wales) had doubled the amount of funding coming for Welsh to around £7-8 million, the courses could have been organized the whole year.

Since the first language center in northwest Wales (Canolfan Iaith Nant Gwrtheyrn) was established in 1978, 25,000 people have learnt Welsh there but with extra funding this figure could increase substantially because the courses would be cheaper.

The Welsh Assembly, which funds ELWa, held a review on the teaching of Welsh to adults, and ELWa is currently considering the findings. In 2003, the Welsh Assembly Government published Iaith Pawb (Welsh for All), where the aim to double the number of Welsh-speakers by 2011 was presented.

Source: Eurolang News, Penygroes, February 16, 2004, by Dafydd Meirion, http://www.eurolang.net/news.asp?id=4406

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Updated (June 2004)

AN OFFICER APPOINTED TO PROMOTE WELSH LANGUAGE MUSIC WORLDWIDE

The Welsh Language Board has partly funded a post to promote Welsh language music, both within Wales and on the international scene. A new Welsh Language Officer working for the Welsh Music Foundation said that his priority at the moment is to talk to everyone involved in the Welsh language scene and then form a strategy for the future.

The Welsh Music Foundation was established to promote music in Wales, and Mr Brychan has been appointed to further the Welsh language scene. He will not promote bands and gigs but will support various companies involved in the Welsh language music scene.

Source: Eurolang News, Abergele, April 19, 2004, by Huw Morgan, http://www.eurolang.net/news.asp?id=4518

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Updated (October 2004)

THE WELSH LANGUAGE FESTIVAL FACES SERIOUS FINANCIAL CRISIS

It is possible that the National Eisteddfod of Wales might have to curtail its activities and lay off some staff. The festival has been running at a loss for a number of years when bad weather and foot-and-mouth disease caused little attendance at the event. Since 1998 the Welsh Language Board has also cut its annual grant by £100,000.

This year the Eisteddfod visited Newport in the anglicized southeast and a lower number of visitors and less local fundraising led to a loss of £200,000. By the end of August, the Eisteddfod was £300,000 in debt thus being in the worst crisis in 124 years.

Although at the end of this year's Eisteddfod the Archdruid (the Ceremonial Head of the festival) appealed for contributions of £200,000 from individuals, up to now only about half of this sum has been raised¹. This means that the Eisteddfod has difficulty in paying its debts, and it is possible that it might have to sell its assets, estimated at £250,000 mostly in stocks and shares. Some of the twenty-one staff members will probably lose their jobs.

To secure its future, the Eisteddfod asked the National Assembly for a grant of £300,000 and promised to incorporate certain changes into its program to attract more people. However, some activists are worried that due to these changes the festival could liberalize the Welsh-only rule. The Eisteddfod officials rejected such concerns and assured to keep up with the traditions, which make the festival unique.

The Minister of Culture and Language, Alun Pugh, said they would save the Eisteddfod, the event so characteristic for Wales. Nevertheless the Assembly cannot give the festival a blank cheque. Both sides have to be involved in this process. It is also expected to save some money in the visual arts exhibition, drama and in the activities for young people (around £200,000 annually).

Source: Eurolang News, Abergele, October 2, 2004, by Huw Morgan, http://www.eurolang.net/news.asp?id=4770

¹ The Welsh Language Board offered an extra £40,000 and the festival was able to draw a further £80,000 supposed to receive next year.

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Updated (December 2004)

END OF THE LINE FOR THE WELSH LANGUAGE BOARD

In July 2004, the National Assembly of Wales announced that the bodies with responsibilities for economic development, education and tourism would be abolished in 2006. At the beginning of December the assembly reported that the Welsh Language, Board, established in 1994, will be also abolished, however, in 2007. This is part of the Labor dominated Assembly Government's aim to reduce the number of semi-official bodies.

This move stirred up different reactions throughout Wales. While the opposition parties have condemned it, the language pressure groups still can not reach an agreement whether it is good for the language or not. Some of them warned that the demise of the Board would make the language a "political matter" as it had been before.

The language pressure group¹ Cymuned is afraid that the future of the Welsh language will be decided entirely by the Labor Party. On the other hand, many language activists see this as an opportunity to attack the Labor Party who they perceive not to be totally committed to the language, although it established the Language Board. They say that from 2007 onwards the party will not be able to "hide" behind the Language Board if it will not do enough for the language.

According to Dafydd Morgan Lewis from the Welsh Language Society (Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg), one should look at this as a new opportunity to establish a language council, which would be more representative than the previous one. Besides, the position of a language ombudsman, a language planning body and a center for standardizing terms should be launched.

Many working in the field of language revival have accepted that there is nothing they can do to change the Assembly Government's decision. All they can hope for is that the expertise that the Board had gained over the years will not now be lost.

The Assembly Government is convinced that at present there is no need to keep the Language Board as the Iaith Pawb (Language for All) has been established. To ensure that an appropriate government department implements this plan an independent regulator will be appointed soon.

After the announcement, the Language Board issued the following statement: "The Board has contributed enormously towards the reviving of the language over the last decade and this is reflected in the 2001 Census figures where an increase in the number of Welsh speakers was recorded. The Board wants assurances that it will be possible to support the momentum under any new regime. The Board will discuss fully with the Assembly Government the process of transferring its responsibilities and duties, and the method of regulating language plans in general".

Source: Eurolang News, Abergele, December 4, 2004, by Huw Morgan, http://www.eurolang.net/

¹ Aran Jones, the group's chief executive.

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Updated (June 2005)

TEACHERS TO BE RELEASED FROM THE CLASSROOM TO LEARN WELSH 

The National Assembly of Wales allocated the sum of £2 million for teachers who would like to improve their Welsh language skills. These teachers can get three months off work to study the language so they could teach their subjects through the medium of Welsh. 

In some areas of the country, there is insufficient number of teachers who use Welsh as the language of instruction, especially for such subjects as Mathematics and Science. 

The Assembly has not yet released the full details of the project, but it is expected that about 160 teachers and lecturers will start on the courses in January 2006. Those who already speak some Welsh will begin in order to gain more self-confidence in the language and become fully bilingual. The goal of the project is that every non-Welsh-speaking teacher in Wales will be given an opportunity to follow such a course to enable them to teach their subjects through the medium of Welsh. 

Every child in Wales, up to the age of 16, is taught Welsh in school. In some schools even other subjects are taught in Welsh and there are also schools, both in the Welsh speaking heartlands and in English speaking areas, where all or nearly all the subjects are taught through the medium of Welsh. 

Moelwen Gwyndaf, general secretary of the Union of Teachers in Wales (Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru), said that generally they welcomed the Assembly's scheme; however, they also emphasized that extra money for its implementation has to be allotted. Schools themselves do not have means to cover the expenses connected with this project. 

Ms Gwyndaf believes that after the three-month course teachers will be able to use Welsh as the language of instruction. Another advantage is that they will have plenty of opportunities to practice the language. 

There are not enough teachers that could teach through the medium of Welsh, particularly at secondary level and in English-speaking areas. In the capital Cardiff, one successful scheme is already in existence. "Athrawon bro" (peripatetic teachers) teach Welsh to other teachers. 

Source: Eurolang News, Penygroes, May 28, 2005, by Dafydd Meirion, http://www.eurolang.net/news.asp?id=5039

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Updated (July 2005)

THE CORNISH LANGUAGE TO RECEIVE £240,000 FROM THE UK GOVERNMENT 

In the middle of June 2005, the UK government announced that it would provide up to £240,000 of funding over the next three years to support Cornish language regeneration. It is the first time the language has received any central government funding. 

This government's endorsement for the Cornish Language Strategy is developed in response to the official recognition of this language by the UK government in 2002. 

Since Cornish is part of country's history, its culture and identity, it should be nurtured. The Cornish Language Strategy provides a realistic and reasonable vision of its development over the next 25 years. The Cornwall Council, alongside voluntary language organizations, plays the leading role in this strategy work. 

A key action will be to appoint a dedicated Language Strategy Coordinator to develop detailed implementation plans and start to work. 

Eric Brooke, the Executive Member for Community Services in the Cornwall Council, believes that over the coming years Cornish will become more accessible to its learners. 

Source: Eurolang News, Brussels, June 15, 2005, by Davyth Hicks, http://www.eurolang.net/news.asp?id=5064

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Updated (October 2005)

FINANCIAL SECURITY FOR WELSH LANGUAGE FESTIVAL 

After the body representing local authorities agreed to give the Wales' premier cultural festival an annual grant, the future of one of the largest festivals of this kind in Europe looks more secure. 

The festival is held every year in August and alternates between north and south Wales. In 2007, it was supposed to be held in Flintshire, in the anglicized northeast of the country; however, due to the county's financial difficulties it was not given a high priority in terms of financial support. Local authorities usually contribute to each Eisteddfod with the sum of at least £300,000¹. 

Liverpool, nominated for the award "the European City of Culture" for 2008, offered to stage the National Eisteddfod in 2007, and to contribute to it also financially but since this city is in England, there is a great deal of hostility to this idea in Wales. An alternative is not to organize the Eisteddfod in 2007 at all. 

Over the last few years the festival, due to bad weather, the foot and mouth outbreak and the fact that it had visited non-Welsh speaking areas, was plagued by the lack of money. This resulted in debts of £300,000. However, this year it was held in Welsh-speaking northwest Wales and made a profit of £120,000 (and another £125,000 was raised). Thus its financial situation has greatly improved, though there is no assurance that this trend will continue in the future². 

Now, after a meeting with the Minister having responsibility for the language in the Assembly, the Welsh Local Government Association, representing twenty-two local authorities, has agreed to contribute the sum of £300,000 a year to the Eisteddfod, rather than to let the festival rely on the contributions from host local authorities. This means that the festival can visit anglicized areas, where, under the old system, the local authorities might not have contributed enough, without fear of loss. 

At the end of September Eisteddfod officials presented their plans for modernizing the festival and the report on its financial situation to the members of the Assembly's Cultural Committee. However, some supporters³ of the Eisteddfod have expressed worries that not too much pressure should be made on the festival to appeal to non-Welsh speakers, though its Welsh-only policy is written in its constitution and cannot be changed easily. 

Source: Eurolang News, Penygroes, October 1, 2005, by Dafydd Meirion, http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2466&Itemid=1&lang=en 

1. The whole Eisteddfod costs about £3m.

2. The main source of funding comes from ticket sales and trade stands, about 12 percent comes from contributions from the National Assembly and the Welsh Language Board and about 11 percent from a host local authority.

3. the former Archdruid Robyn Lewis and the Plaid Cymru member of the Assembly Elin Jones  

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Updated (January 2006)

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE TO BRIDGE GAELIC TV FUNDING GAP 

A longstanding funding dispute between the UK Government and the Scottish Executive as to who should foot the bill for a Gaelic TV channel has been on the move. In order to break the deadlock over a new TV channel, the Executive has announced to fill the funding gap and agreed to raise its contribution to Gaelic broadcasting by £3 million per year to enable the creation of a Gaelic digital television channel by 2007. 

The Gaelic community has widely criticized the sum of money contributed by the UK Government Department of Culture, Media and Sport¹ and the commercial Scottish and Grampian TV², which is likely insufficient to establish even a basic service. While the final funding package will enable the creation of the channel, the community thinks that it is to be enough for screening the Gaelic programs only for a few hours per week. Nevertheless, it is not enough to allow the channel to be broadcast on both digital terrestrial television and digital satellite. Unless the channel is available on both platforms, a large number of Gaelic speakers will be unable to view it. 

It is understood that following this move final negotiations are now taking place between the Gaelic broadcasting agency and the BBC as to the level of the BBC's final financial contribution. 

Source: Eurolang News, Glasgow, December 30, 2005 by Martainn MacLeòid

http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2554&Itemid=1〈=en 

1. A one-off payment of £250,000 as their contribution to the establishment of a channel

2. They would make a contribution of £1.2 million to the proposed channel over 3 years  

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Updated (June 2006)

WELSH GOVERNMENT CALLS FOR USE OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE IN EUROPE 

Following the decision made by EU Foreign Affairs Ministers to give citizens the possibility to use additional languages in relations with the EU institutions, the Welsh Assembly Government and other officials 

First, they have to resolve practical issues, finalize the practicalities with interpreters and translators at the EU institutions and then to move forward - ask the UK Government to negotiate on behalf of the Assembly. 

If the negotiations were successful, the Welsh language may soon be officially recognized and used within the EU institutions. It will mean that Welsh could be used in speeches at the Council of Ministers and plenary sessions of the Committee of Regions as well as in correspondence to these institutions. 

The Minister for Culture, Welsh language and Sport, Alan Pugh, said that this is another positive step forward. He pointed out that the Welsh language is one of the oldest languages in Europe so it is right that Welsh citizens should be able to correspond with the EU in either of their national languages, and that their language can be used in the Committee of the Regions and the Council as well. 

Source: Eurolang News, June 28, 2006 by Davyth Hicks http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2669&Itemid=1&lang=en

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Updated (July 2006)

WELSH GOVERNMENT WILL KEEP THE WELSH LANGUAGE BOARD 

It was announced two years ago that the Welsh Assembly Government would take over the Welsh Language Board¹ in an attempt to reduce the number of agencies in order to improve accountability. 

The plans had been criticized because the government failed to announce how the work of the Board would be undertaken after 2007 as they wish to keep a tighter control of it and to avoid possibility of having to give further statutory rights to Welsh speakers. 

However, on 4 July 2006, Alun Pugh, the Welsh Minister for Culture, announced that taking control over the Board would not take place before the Assembly elections in May 2007. 

Source: Eurolang News, July 5, 2006 by Huw Jones http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2677&Itemid=1&lang=en 

1. It was established in 1990 in order to encourage the use of Welsh with statutory powers to ensure that public bodies prepared language policies to detail how they would be treating Welsh and English on an equal basis.  

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Updated (January 2007)

BRITISH GOVERNMENT HAS RELEASED A CONSULTATION DOCUMENT ON THE IRISH LANGUAGE ACT 

The Government has published a consultation document on the Irish Language Act for Northern Ireland, which means a step toward fulfilling its promise to enact it. In regard to the released paper and a long-standing call from the Irish speaking community in Northern Ireland for legislation on Irish, the Culture Minister said that legislation to protect a minority indigenous language is not a novel idea as it is well established in other parts of the UK. She added that this paper sets out a number of approaches on which views are welcome. Furthermore, the Minister stressed that there is nothing in this paper what suggests that the use of Irish will be imposed on any individual or any sector of society in Northern Ireland. 

The consultation paper sets out the following four main approaches to Irish language legislation: 

1. A rights-based approach;

2. Prescribed duties on public bodies;

3. A language scheme approach; or

4. A combined approach  

The legislation in Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland are largely based on the language scheme approach. This involves public bodies drawing up a language scheme showing what services they are going to make available through the target language. The legislation in Wales and Ireland also contain aspects of the other approaches described. 

The Minister stressed that the Government does not prefer any particular approach. 

"Irish speakers have been pushing very hard to have this document released so that a full consultation process can be completed and the Irish Language Bill introduced at Westminster in March 2007," said Janet Muller, continuing that they have read the consultation document with interest and have already voiced strong concern over the lack of any reference to broadcasting. She pointed out that broadcasting is one of the key areas in which threatened languages must be protected and promoted. The fact that the British government has still chosen to make no proposals regarding provision in the Irish Language Act in relation to broadcasting could undermine confidence in the consultation process. Provision already exists in law for broadcasting in Welsh, where there is a Welsh-language TV station, for Scottish Gaelic in Scotland and for Irish in the south. Therefore, it is quite extraordinary that this major issue for Irish speakers has been left out of the document. 

Bearing in mind this issue, Janet Muller stated that the British government must promise, not only that they will fulfill the commitment to enact the Irish Language Act, but also that broadcasting will be included in the provisions of the Act. 

In recent months, POBAL has brought Irish language and Human Rights organizations together to plan a series of actions in support of the Irish Language Act. This has included the collection of 800 signatures for an advertisement in daily newspapers, an online petition to show support for the Irish language Act, and an international conference on language legislation. 

Another positive factor influencing the progress towards this act is the increased status that Irish now has at the EU level compared with the comparatively low legal status that the language has in the north of Ireland, under UK jurisdiction. Currently Irish in the north only has protection at the Part III level of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. 

According to the Consultation document, "there are approximately 168,000 people in Northern Ireland with varying degrees of ability in the use of Irish, with some 4,000 children being educated through Irish medium education. This figure, from the 2001 census, represents nearly a 1% increase in the 1991 figure of 144,003." 

The Minister concluded that responses to the consultation will be carefully considered and the consultation period will last until 2 March 2007. Their aim is to ensure that legislation can be taken forward quickly thereafter in line with the St Andrews Agreement. 

Source: Eurolang News, January 9, 2007 by Davyth Hicks

http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2792&Itemid=1&lang=en 

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Updated (March 2007)

CROSS BORDER DEVELOPMENT OF IRISH MEDIUM EDUCATION 

A new project, "Gaelscolaíocht Éireann", aimed at the development of Irish-medium education on a cross border basis, has been officially launched. The project will coordinate the growth and development of Irish-medium education in the six counties of Northern Ireland and six border counties in the Republic of Ireland. 

The impetus for this project comes from the increased responsibilities on government to promote positively the Irish language and Irish-medium education as a result of commitments and institutional change following from the Good Friday Agreement and the introduction of the Irish Language Act in the Republic of Ireland. 

It will function as a Steering Committee with members drawn from all of the principal stakeholders in Irish-medium education. The Steering Committee will look at ways to promote Irish-medium education in the 12 counties involved, as well as trying to coordinate future growth in these counties. 

Other aims of the Gaelscolaíocht Éireann are: 

• To bring together the key representative bodies in Irish-medium Education (IME);

• To exchange information on policy and practice;

• To encourage good models of strategic service delivery;

• To enhance local service delivery by engaging regional and local stakeholders in the process.

The initiative will convene a forum of all the relevant partners, which will add another level of discussion and coordination. 

Seán Ó Coinn, CEO of Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (the IME body in Northern Ireland) welcomed the setting up of the project: "We are promoting the same language, facing identical challenges and have the same vision and goals, so it makes perfect sense to do as much of this as possible together." 

Similarly, Bláthnaid Ní Ghréacháin, CEO of the Gaelscoileanna Teo (IME body in the South of Ireland) believes that this initiative creates a valuable platform for the key stakeholders to come together to share information and to discuss best practice. 

While it will be a cross-border partnership, GSÉ recognizes the different policy contexts of Irish-medium education on both sides of the border. 

Moreover, the "Gaelscolaíocht Éireann" project received funding under the Special European Union Programming Body (SEUBP) Measure 5.2, aimed at improving cross-border relations. The project leaders really appreciate this support. 

Source: Eurolang News, March 22, 2007 by Eoghan O Neill http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2850&Itemid=1&lang=en 

GAELIC TELEVISION CHANNEL IS TO BE LAUNCHED BY THE END OF THE YEAR 2007 

The Scottish Executive have confirmed that they will contribute a further £ 3.1million per annum towards Gaelic television to enable the new broadcasting service to become a reality. A new digital Gaelic television channel is to be launched by the end of the year 2007 following agreement on a funding package. 

The channel will initially broadcast 1.5 hours a day; the program will be supplemented with repeats and archive material. Further, new programming will include a television news service, which is currently lacking in Gaelic. 

Up to now, Gaelic programmes have been relatively few in number and scattered across different channels with many being shown in late-night slots. The new Gaelic broadcasting service will increase the number of Gaelic shows and allow their broadcasting at more appropriate times. 

Announcing the funding increase, Minister for Culture, Patricia Ferguson MSP, stated: "Gaelic digital television should have a significant impact on the status and the use of language, boosting the confidence of Gaelic native speakers and learners. It will also build artistic and technical skills and extend economic opportunities". 

Even though most Gaelic speakers have welcomed the announcement of establishing a new channel, they have also expressed some concerns of its availability. 

When the station begins operation later this year, it will only be available on digital satellite and digital cable. Activists warn that unless the service is available on digital terrestrial television (Freeview), a large number of Gaelic speakers will be unable to view it. 

Digital satellite is available throughout Scotland and it is the only option currently available in many areas of the Highlands and Islands. In other areas, however, digital terrestrial television is favored by many people, as it is cheaper and easier to install, requiring only a one-off payment of around £ 30 and being compatible with existing television aerials. Digital satellite by contrast requires a one-off payment of £ 150 and the installation of a satellite dish. In addition to the inconvenience and cost, many of those living in flats, rented accommodation and in conservation areas are simply not permitted to erect satellite dish. 

The Gaelic Media Service have stated that their aim is for the Gaelic television station to become available on digital terrestrial television when the analogue television transmissions are switched off and more capacity becomes available for it. However, this will not happen until 2010 - 2011 in most parts of Scotland. 

Concerning the problem, a language policy specialist, Wilson McLeod, thinks that it is extremely unfortunate that the service will only be made available via satellite. In addition, he notes: "The Government and regulators have had at least six years in which to come up with a workable Gaelic digital channel. This service will involve significant additional expenditure but is likely to bring only very limited benefits to the Gaelic community. Steps should be taken to make sure that the digital channel is available via digital terrestrial from the very start." 

Source: Eurolang News, March 26, 2007 by Màrtainn MacLeòid http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2854&Itemid=1&lang=en

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Updated (November 2007)

CLOSING OF WELSH-MEDIUM VILLAGE SCHOOLS 

A proposal by the Gwynedd Council to close 29 primary schools and create 8 new ones in rural areas has raised protests amongst parents in this most Welsh-speaking area of Wales. The local authorities argue that they face increasing costs and declining numbers of pupils and; therefore, closing or merging village schools is the solution to this problem.

Parents, members of the local communities, and language campaigners argue that schools are often a village's only resource and a pillar of the Welsh language. Many fear that losing a village school would “kill a Welsh way of life”.

In contrast, a new report from the Institute of Welsh Affairs has suggested that closing schools can strengthen the status of the Welsh language. The report is based on research on recently closed schools in the rural areas of Powys and Penfro and has revealed that no one thinks the reorganization has had a negative impact on the position of Welsh in this area.

At the same time, urban areas, not so heavily populated by Welsh-speakers, have seen a remarkable growth in the number of schools with Welsh as the language of instruction over the years. For instance, in southeastern Wales the Welsh-medium schools are full up while new ones are being opened to meet the growing demand.

Source: Eurolang News, November 26, 2007 by Huw Jones http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2994&Itemid=1&lang=en" 

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Updated (December 2007)

INCREASING DEMAND FOR WELSH-MEDIUM SCHOOLS IN CARDIFF 

Cardiff has seen an unprecedented increase in demand for Welsh-medium education while there are surplus places in English medium schools.

Therefore, the Cardiff Council is planning to invest a 13 million pounds to ensure there are enough places for all those who wish to receive their education through the medium of Welsh while at the same time eliminating surplus school places in English medium schools.

To meet the urgent record demand for places, the Council established three Welsh-medium starter classes in the city in September this year at temporary locations within Oakfield Primary School, St Mellons; Holy Family Primary, Fairwater and at Ninian Park Primary, Grangetown for a period of two years. Furthermore, the Council Executive has also approved recommendations from the cross-country Schools Sub-Committee – a group established to explore the options for reorganizing schools across the city – to hold public consultation on proposals as the reorganization continues to progress.

The consultation period for affected schools will run from 21 January until 20 March 2008 with a series of exhibitions, drop-in sessions, public meetings and leaflets planned to inform those directly affected by the proposals. Information will be available on the Council's website and in the Council's monthly newspaper Capital Times.

The findings of the consultation will be published in Summer 2008. The Executive will then decide whether to proceed to issue statutory notices on any of the proposals, which will result in a further period of consultation prior to a final decision being taken in Winter 2008.

Source: News Wales, December 20, 2007 http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Education&F=1&id=12861 

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Updated (June 2008)

FUNDS FOR THE WELSH LANGUAGE PUBLISHING

The decision not to grant funds to help establish the first-ever Welsh language daily newspaper Y Byd was strongly criticized at the beginning of this year. Just recently, the Welsh government has announced that the “Golwg” (View) company will receive more than € 750,000 over the next three years to promote Welsh language publishing in print and on-line.

A campaign to establish a daily Y Byd started in 2002 and over the years a considerable sum of money was donated by the public. They planned to collect around 5,000 subscribers and receive € 800,000 of government funding.

At the same time, several companies expressed their interest in grants to launch a new project and they were disappointed when the Welsh government announced that it was not possible to give such a large sum of money and that any public subsidies would have to be open to tender.

Nevertheless, an official panel has recently decided to allocate money to a small independent company, which publishes a weekly magazine “Golwg”, because “it offered the most complete and balanced initiative exploiting the potential of the new technology to the full and reinforcing existing print provisions”.

The company's aim is to develop their website to provide news services in Welsh and to popularize the use of Welsh on-line since its presence there is not as strong as might be expected.

Source: Eurolang News, June 3, 2008 by Huw Jones http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3064&Itemid=1&lang=en

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