Sports Direct reintroduce Welsh Not.

The Welsh Not or Welsh Note or Welsh stick was a punishment used in some schools in Wales in the 19th and possibly early 20th century to dissuade children from speaking Welsh. It was represented as a piece of wood, inscribed with the letters "WN", that was hung around the necks of children who spoke Welsh during the school day.

The "not" was given to any child overheard speaking Welsh, who could pass it to a different child if they were overheard speaking Welsh. By the end of the day, the wearer of the "not" would be punished. The purpose of the "not" was to discourage pupils from speaking Welsh, at a time when English was considered by some to be the only suitable medium of instruction. Headmasters were required to seek the approval of parents before implementing a "Welsh not" policy. There is strong evidence of use of the Welsh Not in schools prior to 1870, however it was never official government policy.


Now according to posters on twitter






was taken at the store in Bangor, says that English is the official language of the company and that it should be used at all times.

If this story is true then  as far as Welsh is concerned it is ilegal.

As Nation Cymru points out.

The Welsh Language Measure 2011 states that if a person feels that someone has interfered with their right to use the Welsh language, they can ask the Welsh Language Commissioner to investigate it.“This can include situations where someone says that a person shouldn’t use Welsh (verbally or in writing) with another person who also wants to use it,” it says.

A spokesperson for Sports Direct told Golwg 360 that the sign was more relevant in their shops in England than in Wales.

“It has come to our attention that some members of staff are speaking to each other in languages other than English while carrying out their duties,” the sign says.“This includes any personal conversations that may be taking place during work time.“Staff who fail to adhere to this company policy may be subject to disciplinary process.”

So this does not seem a wind up

I find the whole speak English or face the sack implications from this offensive to speakers of other languages than English.

Would the company take action against a worker who speaks the language of a customer whose English is poor communicating in that Language.

But it is clearly appalling that in 2017 that in 2017 we are told by a company that we can't use our own language in our place of work.

Sports Direct should apologise now and make it clear that there is no ban on the use of Welsh in their stores.

Indeed they should go further and scrap the whole speak English or face the sack altogether.

This is a face of Brexit that is unpleasant to say the least.