The language movement and the Welsh Language Acts
After Saunders Lewis warns in 1962 that Welsh will die without action, a campaign of protest wins bilingual signs, Welsh-medium schools, the S4C television channel and, by 2011, official status for the language.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- A History of Wales — John Davies, Penguin (2007)
- Welsh language, Wales: Census 2021 — Office for National Statistics, ONS (2022)
- Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers — Welsh Government, Welsh Government (2017)
On 13 February 1962 the writer Saunders Lewis gave a BBC radio lecture, Tynged yr Iaith, “The Fate of the Language”, predicting that Welsh would die as a living language by the end of the century unless people used “revolutionary methods” to defend it. That year Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, the Welsh Language Society, was founded, and its campaigns of sit-ins, sign-painting and civil disobedience transformed the status of Welsh.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- A History of Wales — John Davies, Penguin (2007)
The Welsh Language Act 1967 gave Welsh “equal validity” in some legal settings. Campaigners painted out English-only road signs until bilingual signs became standard. When the Conservative government dropped its promise of a Welsh-language television channel, Gwynfor Evans threatened in 1980 to fast to death; the government gave way, and S4C began broadcasting on 1 November 1982. The Welsh Language Act 1993 required public bodies to treat Welsh and English equally, and the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave Welsh official status and created a Welsh Language Commissioner. Welsh-medium schools, the first of which opened in 1939, spread throughout Wales, and Welsh became a compulsory school subject to sixteen.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- A History of Wales — John Davies, Penguin (2007)
The picture today is mixed. In the 2021 census 538,000 people aged three and over, 17.8%, said they could speak Welsh, down slightly on 2011; it remains the majority language in Gwynedd and Anglesey, while numbers are growing in Cardiff. Surveys produce higher estimates. The Welsh Government’s strategy, Cymraeg 2050, aims for a million speakers by 2050.
- Welsh language, Wales: Census 2021 — Office for National Statistics, ONS (2022)
- Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers — Welsh Government, Welsh Government (2017)
Welsh survived only because people were willing to protest, break the law and go to prison for it, and it still needs strong protection, especially in the Welsh-speaking heartlands threatened by second homes and out-migration of the young.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- A History of Wales — John Davies, Penguin (2007)
Many non-Welsh-speaking Welsh people support the language and send their children to Welsh-medium schools, but some feel excluded from jobs that require Welsh, or that money and attention are spent on a minority language at the expense of other needs.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- Welsh language, Wales: Census 2021 — Office for National Statistics, ONS (2022)
Why it matters today
Bilingual road signs, Welsh-medium schools in every county, S4C and a Welsh Language Commissioner are the fruits of this movement, and they make Wales feel different from England the moment you cross the border. The question of how to keep Welsh alive as a community language, while welcoming newcomers and not alienating the English-speaking majority, remains one of the most sensitive in Welsh life.