Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
olence ranking less than half that of Scotland (which, by the way, is a fraction of that of
the USA). Some commentators have suggested that despite high levels of poverty and
deprivation, these figures speak favourably to the relative cohesion of Welsh society.
Welsh Language Woes
Although support for the Welsh language has strengthened in recent years and other
minority cultures look to Wales as a shining example, in reality the threat to the language
is acute. These days more people are learning Welsh as a second language and all school
children are required to study Welsh up to the age of 16, but pressure on Welsh as a living
first language remains.
It's thought that right up until the 1870s, more people in Wales could speak Welsh than
could speak English. Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the proportion of the popula-
tion who could speak Welsh dropped from 20.5% to 18.6%.
Economic hardship in Welsh-speaking rural areas in Mid, West and North Wales has
resulted in a drift to urban centres. At the same time, large numbers of non-Welsh speak-
ers have been moving in, changing the cultural dynamic of rural Wales in a very short
time. Historically, few of these migrants have learnt the Welsh language or become in-
volved in local traditions, and their presence inflates house prices and forces local people
out.
During the rise of nationalism from the 1960s to 1980s, opposition to the English 'in-
vaders' rose steadily and anti-English slogans and graffiti were common. A radical under-
ground organisation, the Sons of Glyndŵr, went even further, firebombing English-owned
holiday homes. Today, with the advent of the Welsh Assembly, the focus has shifted to-
wards education and the strengthening of the language's official status.
Yet for the first time in the 2011 census, the number of Welsh speakers in Ceredigion
fell below 50%, leaving Gwynedd and the Isle of Anglesey as the only counties where a
majority of people can still speak the ancient mother tongue.
The United Kingdom?
Scotland's decision to hold an independence referendum poses interesting questions for
Wales and its own status within the UK. While there is no immediate likelihood of Wales
following suit, Plaid Cymru (which holds 17% of the seats in the Welsh Assembly) has in-
dependence as one of its key goals. In the run-up to the Scottish referendum, Plaid Cymru
leader Leanne Wood has called on the UK Government to fast-track further devolution of
