Welsh road signs ,Does anyone use the Welsh language

alison99_2

Are bilingual signs a waste of money?

Of course they are, all signs in Wales should be in Welsh only.

Seriously though, I'm not a Welsh speaker myself, but I sent my children to a Welsh school because I don't want our national language to die out, so I think the signs should stay and Welsh should play a bigger part in our children's education.

cardibach_2

I live in Welsh speaking West Wales and have noticed that when driving from England the signs start out with the English on top and the Welsh underneath. The closer I get to home the order changes to Welsh on top and English underneath. I think all signs should remain bi-lingual where Welsh is in common use but whether it is worth the cost nearer the border is debateable.
By the way through the summer I get asked at least once a week where the Welsh equivilant of a town is, sometimes when they are there already and not all the ones asking are non Welsh!:rotfl::rotfl:

luxor4t

My family are Welsh, but speak/ have spoken English for several generations.

Normally I grumble about bi-lingual billing, signs etc ... but get highly patriotic when somebody from another country (ie England) complains!!!

Old_Git

luxor4t wrote: »

My family are Welsh, but speak/ have spoken English for several generations.

Normally I grumble about bi-lingual billing, signs etc ... but get highly patriotic when somebody from another country (ie England) complains!!!

I am not from England so I will continue to [STRIKE]complain [/STRIKE] pass comment

eira

I'm bilingual but I did have older relatives who spoke little English. When I went to university there were undergrads whose first language was Welsh.
People are entitled to information in a language that they can understand-I go places now where there is information in a multitude of languages but not in Welsh.

When I was an undergrad I did some vac work in local cafes and some less than honest employers had a field day because the mainly Welsh speaking staff had insufficient grasp of English to know their rights.

Dedicated though I am to sensible expenditure of money some things transcend the rule of the dollar and the pound

moo2moo

The funniest ones have to be the Ar Werth signs on houses. You drive down a street in one direction and the houses are Ar Werth. Drive up the same street in the opposite direction and they're all For Sale. Took me ages to figure that one out.

Worse still is having children in Wales with the misfortune of a cockney farther and a yorkshire lass as a mother. Some of their pronunciations can be a bit off. My father for instance was delighted when they referred to him as Taid (grandfather), he later repeated this to a welsh collegue at work but prononuced it as turd, the nickname has stuck and his office now call him the turd but didn't let on for ages why they couldn't say it with a straight face.

moggylover

luxor4t wrote: »

My family are Welsh, but speak/ have spoken English for several generations.

Normally I grumble about bi-lingual billing, signs etc ... but get highly patriotic when somebody from another country (ie England) complains!!!

I'm one of those damned Saes invaders:D , I really do not mind the signs at all (although think from my travelling backwards and forwards days that they should be one way around or t'other all the way through Wales as they can be downright confusing otherwise). I do, however, object to the bills - because of the waste of money AND paper. Would it not be more sensible to ask each customer which they would prefer and then just send that .

I also get annoyed at the local Urdd - who insist on sending paperwork out inviting your children to attend this or that, but with no English translation on it at all for those parents who are not Welsh speakers:mad: . I understand that they are very much interested in promoting the Welsh Language - but this sort of inconsideration just puts my back up. Both my sons speak Welsh, and the eldest is going to the Welsh Medium secondary already and hopefully little un will join him there (so not anti the language) but I do like to be able to read and clarify for myself:o .

[Deleted User]

Yes, a waste of money as far as i'm concerned. Whilst we're on the subject of wastes of money...everything we get from the council is dual language. Personally i think it's something you should be able to opt into, no-one i know in my area reads the info in Welsh anyhow. Not even going to mention all that waste paper!

Sorry off topic a little there.

eira

Try using the 'dual/multi language' issue 'is a waste of money' in any other multi-ethnic context.


And yes the Urdd are at best impolite in not sending information out in two languages .

ajuk

It's like there some sort of pretence that there are actually welsh people who can't speak English.