§ 2. Welsh Cultural Nationalism 

1. What are the symbols of Welsh identity? 

Where Scottish nationalism has been mainly a political movement, Welsh nationalism has been expressed primarily in cultural terms. The national flag, with its fine dragon, is regularly displayed, the Welsh national anthem played and sung. The language, eisteddfodau, and in the 1960s and 1970s the dominance of the Welsh in international rugby football were the symbols of Welsh identity and pride.

The Welsh are very proud of their ancient ancestry and of their lan­guage. They do not forget that they were Christians with a literature of their own when the Anglo-Saxons were heathens and little better than savages. 

2. Why are the Welsh proud of their language? 

In ancient times Welsh poets, or bards, wandered from one castle or village to another singing their poems. The great age of the bards was the 12^th century.

Prose romances were composed in Wales at the same time as in France and England. The finest romance collection in Welsh is the Mabinogion. Some of these go back to very ancient folklore. Others are translated from French. Curiously enough, the legends of Arthur, most famous of Welsh heroes, were all taken from English and French sources. The Welsh lan­guage is well adapted to literary purposes. It never lost its individuality but has gone on developing through the ages. 

3. Since what time has there been increased interest in Welsh?

At the 1981 census 19 per cent of the whole population claimed that they could speak Welsh, as compared with 29 per cent in 1951. In the past thirty years there has been a serious attempt to revive the language. The Welsh Language Act of 1967 said that all official documents should be in both languages, and most road signs are printed in English and Welsh. Since the 1960s there has been in­creased interest in Welsh. At secondary schools almost 50 per cent of all pupils learn Welsh as a first or second language.

All over Wales children in the counties' schools are required to spend some time learning Welsh, though many of them do not remember much be­yond the correct pronunciation of place names like Troedyrhiw and Cwmrhydyceirw. Anyone can claim a right to speak Welsh in a court of law, or to use it in academic examinations. Many official jobs are reserved for people who have at least some ability to speak Welsh. Since 1982 there has also been an independent fourth TV channel broadcasting mainly in Welsh. Such efforts have slowed the decline but are unlikely to prevent it, since they promote Welsh as an academic language, known by many but only used by a few. Welsh remains a functional language among 500.000 people in northwest and mid- Wales, but could almost disappear from daily use by 2010. 

4. What are the peculiarities of the Welsh language? 

Welsh as a Celtic language belongs to a separate subfamily of the Indo-European  languages and is as unlike English as English is unlike Italian or Belorussian. In its present form it has a highly developed sys­tem of verb forms. Its nouns, however, have only one case. The sound system of the Welsh language also differs considerably from that of English. In pronouncing Welsh names Englishmen usually replace the Welsh vowels or consonants by similar English ones. The writing system is simpler than that of English because, with few exceptions, a letter or group of letters always corresponds to the same sound and a sound is always expressed by the same letter or group of letters.

Although not many Welsh words are well-known in England, the word ‘eisteddfod’ is understood by almost everybody. This is the Welsh name for a competition where people meet to dance, sing and read poems. (The 800-year old National Eisteddfod, a festival of Welsh music and poetry dating from the 12 century, is held each year with official help.) Usually, only Welsh is spoken and in recent years they have attracted people who wish to protest against the influence of English on the Welsh language and culture 

5. What cultural divide can be found in Wales? 

The survival of the Welsh language is a good deal more important than it may initially seem, for it is the most notable way in which the Welsh keep their special identity. The cultural divide between Anglo-Welsh and Welsh Wales a century ago has been replaced by new divides [by David McDowall]: 1. ‘Welsh-speaking Wales’, those parts of Western Wales which still retain the Welsh language as a living culture. It is only in Welsh-speaking Wales that Plaid Cymru candidates have been elected to Westminster. 2. ‘Radical Wales’, the southern industrial valleys of Wales, where Welsh is no longer spoken but Welsh identity is still expressed through dissent, by voting for Labour within the wider Context of Britain. 3. ‘English Wales’, the far south-west tip (Pembrokeshire) and a broad belt of Wales adjacent to England, which has been heavily settled by the English, and where about half the population no longer think of themselves as Welsh. It is only in English Wales that the Conservative Party remains a significant po­litical force. 

Questions:

1. Why do we call Welsh nationalism ‘cultural’?

2. What century is called the great age of the bards? Why did the bards prefer Welsh to English and French?

3. In the past 30 years there were serious attempts to revive the lan­guage. What were they? Were the attempts successful?

4. Why is the Welsh language difficult to understand for an Englishman? 

Additional Reading                     The Welsh Eisteddfodau   

No country in the world has a greater love of music and poetry than the people of Wales. Today, Eisteddfodau are held at scores of places throughout Wales, particularly from May to early Novem­ber. The habit of holding similar events dates back to early history, and there are records of competitions for Welsh poets and musicians in the twelfth century. The Eisteddfod sprang from the Gorsedd, or National Assembly of Bards. It was held occasionally up to 1819, but since then has become an annual event for the encouragement of Welsh literature and music and the preservation of the Welsh language and ancient national customs.

 The Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales is held annually early in Au­gust, in North and South Wales alternately, its actual venue varying from year to year. It attracts Welsh people from all over the world. The pro­gramme includes male and mixed choirs, brass-band concerts, many chil­dren's events, drama, arts and crafts and, of course, the ceremony of the Crowning of the Bard.

 Next in importance is great Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod, held early in July and attended by competitors from many countries, all wear­ing their picturesque and often colourful national costumes. It is an event probably without parallel anywhere in the world. There are at least twenty-five major Eisteddfodau from May to November.

In addition to the Eisteddfodau, about thirty major Welsh Singing Fes­tivals are held throughout Wales from May until early November.