Saturday 29 December 2012

So you can't even by a pint of Milk in Welsh in Pwllhelli!



After the census result showed a fall of 3.6 percent  of those who can spel Welsh and 4.6 of those who can read and write the Language the reality of this problem has been brought home home when Dr Robyn Lewis, a former Archdruid of literary group the Gorsedd, told the Cambrian News he felt "humiliated" after Police officers were called to the store merely because he "wanted to be spoken to in his own language."

The ruckus occurred at the Spar in Pwllheli, after the 83-year-old was told to pay £58.62 for his groceries. He told the BBC he was shocked to hear the amount spoken in English rather than the Welsh number "pum-deg-wyth punt, chwedeg-dau".

The Archdruid was aggravated further when a police officer arrived, who also had no knowledge of Welsh . So a  backup was called the situation was resolved: i through the Welsh Language

Dr Lewis told the BBC:

 "It was sorted out by me being given another Welsh-speaking cashier whom I spoke entirely in Welsh.
"I paid and left. Honour was satisfied.
"All I wanted was an answer in my own language, in my own country."


The manager of the Spar, Conrad Davies, told Cambrian News:

 "The customer was not happy so we had to call the police as he refused to pay for his goods.
"The situation was completely blown out of proportion and left our member of staff extremely upset."
But it even seems that the cashier may have spoken fluent Welsh. If the situation was blown out of proportion it was when the manager called the police

Lets  be clear this was in  "Pwllheli" .If you can't use Welsh in Pwllheli where can you ? And if you can't expect to speak to a Police Officer in the Language you  brought up in on the The Llŷn Peninsula  then there is a serious problem in how to encourage the everyday use of the Welsh Language in its very heartland.

The Spar in Pwllhelli have shown that we need to ensure that in Y Fro Gymrarg  at the very least Welsh Speakers can use that Language naturally in their every day. lives

Robyn Lewis has shown us a glance the extent of the problem affecting Welsh Speakers in its very heartland if you can't pop unto a shop and use the Language in its very heartland  then the decline will be accelerated as it was in the South Wales Valleys after the first world war.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tell us something new. Dr Lewis has only highlighted it. Try and get a Welsh service in a Spar in Ceredigion or Carmarthenshire.

maen_tramgwydd said...

The hatred towards (and ignorance of) the Welsh Language and Wales is almost beyond belief, if one goes by the readers' comments, not only to the Mail story but on other websites too.

I wholeheartedly agree that people who live in Y Fro Gymraeg should be able to live their daily lives in Welsh. However, I think that Dr Lewis was a little unwise to have provoked an incident in the circumstances as reported, giving unnecessary ammunition to those who detest Wales and our native language. I also understand and sympathise with his frustration.

Quite how to address the language issue effectively is a far more complex matter. Goodwill, education and persuasion have to feature highly.

Anonymous said...

I've said this before and I'll say it again - the Daily Mail should be reported for incitement to racial hatred. You can only see just how well the incitement works from the vitriol directed at us in the comments sections. We're too easy going in Cymru by a country mile.

Anonymous said...

Why is this all in English and not Welsh???

glynbeddau said...

Because I am a Monoglot Rnglish speaker but I see no reason why this should prevent me from supporting the language and its use.