Montmorency wrote:
The Guardian recently published this:
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/short ... sh-reviews
Now I don't take the article seriously - it's a daily "joke" column, although to be fair, the Welsh they reproduced in it seemed accurate as far as I could tell. What is more worrying is some of the anti-Welsh comments. Have a look. They were balanced by opposing comments, but you can see that feeling is strong, in both directions. This is one reason why I think the future of Welsh is by no means secure, even though of course I wish it well.
Yes, it's a humorous article and I can actually see Trip Advisor's point of view. They only permit languages which they are able to moderate, and Welsh is a minor player in global terms.
But some of the anti-Welsh-language comments from the public were very disappointing. Some people seem to resent the language just because it exists, yet how can you object to a group of people using their own indigenous language within their own country?
Modern life dictates that Welsh people also need to know English in order to participate in UK affairs but I see no reason why both languages can't co-exist. I've been to Wales a few times, I don't speak Welsh but I've never been made to feel unwelcome because my native language happens to be English. So why should anyone object to the presence of the Welsh language?
I used to think that the tale about "walking into a pub in Wales and they all immediately switched to Welsh" was one that got jokingly bandied about without anyone actually believing it. But no, I've heard people make this claim in earnest.