May 20 2010 by David Williamson
THE Commission which runs the National Assembly has been warned it could face legal action if it abandons written translations of debates from English into Welsh.
The recommendation by an independent panel that a fully-translated record of proceedings should no longer be published yesterday sparked outrage.
Welsh Language Society, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, has said it will consult lawyers and may launch a legal challenge to proposals the Assembly Commission has accepted. A protest will be held outside the Senedd on Saturday.
Society chair Menna Machreth said: “It’s a disgraceful decision. The Assembly’s claims that they’re trying to create a bilingual society are a sham: they’re not treating the Welsh language equally.
“English will end up being the only official language of business in the Assembly. They’re leaving Welsh on the sidelines. What hope is there for the future of the language if even our politicians don’t take it seriously?”
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Tags: Welsh
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Page last updated at 10:59 GMT, Thursday, 29 April 2010 11:59 UK
A proposed Welsh language law could cost energy companies millions of pounds and lead to increased costs for customers, a major supplier has said.
Scottish Power will tell Assembly Members it could lead to set-up costs of £1.5m and an ongoing annual bill of more than £500,000.
Under the Welsh Language Measure, energy companies would have to adopt set standards to promote Welsh.
Scottish Power welcomes in principle the measure, due for scrutiny later.
The measure proposes a powerful new commissioner who would be able to force companies such as electricity, gas and telecoms providers to adopt set standards for Welsh language services to the public.
It has been hailed by the assembly government as a highly significant piece of legislation designed to promote and safeguard the Welsh language.
Scottish Power, which will give evidence on the potential impact of the measure on its sector, says that it has a strong track record of Welsh language provision and welcomes the measure in principle if the standards are “reasonable” and would not adversely affect its ability to provide a good value service.
But the company added: “There are some scenarios which could lead to many hundreds of thousands of pounds of costs associated with administrative changes, particularly within our energy retail business, due to the complexity of the systems that manage customer contact.
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Tags: Welsh
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13:25 GMT, Thursday, 4 March 2010
A proposed new law on the Welsh language has been published by the assembly government.
The assembly government says it would place duties on some firms to provide Welsh language services.
Firms in areas such as telecoms, gas and electricity would face sanctions, including fines, if they fail to meet language service delivery standards.
It would also establish the post of a language commissioner and would replace the Welsh Language Board.
As well as public sector bodies, the Welsh language measure will bind certain specified organisations in the private sector to provide services in Welsh, including gas, water and electricity suppliers, bus and railway services, sewerage services and telecommunications.
The language commissioner would replace the Welsh Language Board and work to promote and facilitate the use of Welsh and equality between Welsh and English.
The measure, which would also confirm official status for the Welsh language, has been hailed as “an important and historic step” in strengthening Welsh by First Minister Carwyn Jones.
He said: “The proposed measure provides us with some of the tools we need to ensure that the Welsh language can continue to prosper into the 21st Century alongside the English language.”
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Tags: Welsh
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Jul 22 2009 by Sion Barry, Western Mail
THE Welsh Language Board has appointed Emma Pugh and Marc Thomas as business support officers to help businesses develop their use of Welsh, and give a structure to their use of the language.
Ms Pugh, 25, from Swansea, joined the Welsh Language Board in 2006, but now takes up a new role in the expanding private sector and business team. After graduating from Swansea University in 2005, her previous roles include those with Menter Iaith Abertawe and Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin. In her new role she will work with businesses in the South West of Wales.
Mr Thomas, 29, joins the Welsh Language Board from City and Guilds Wales. Originally from Carmarthen, he graduated from Gloucester University in 2002 and has since worked with businesses and organisations on various business marketing and community development projects. He has also worked for Antur Teifi, Urdd Gobaith Cymru and WRW Construction.
Source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business-in-wales/appointments/2009/07/22/emma-pugh-and-marc-thomas-bring-business-support-to-welsh-language-board-91466-24208316/
Tags: Welsh
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WELSH speakers are more likely to be able to master the difficult Klingon language beloved of all Star Trek fans.
Computer expert Alex Greene of Wrexham, one of a select group of people who can speak Klingon fluently, believes that’s because the creators drew on several languages, including Welsh, for the intergalactic dialect.
The 46-year-old Star Trek fan said: “I do believe that if you can speak Welsh, you have an advantage where Klingon is concerned as some sounds are similar such as ‘ll’ and ‘ch’.”
Alex began learning the language in 1986 and took a year to master its intricacies.
He added: “Star Trek is one of my hobbies. My other hobby is languages.
“I have always enjoyed foreign languages, listening to them and communicating with them. Up to 1986 it had been French, Japanese and Esperanto.
“Then a trained linguist came up with an actual working grammar for the Klingon language for one of the Star Trek movies.
“It was designed so that actors could easily learn a couple of lines for a script. But later a Klingon dictionary was published. I picked up a copy and learned Klingon as a fun challenge.”
Now recognised as one of the world’s foremost experts on the language Alex teaches Klingon to others.
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Tags: Klingon, Welsh
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Jun 29 2009 by Martin Shipton, Western Mail
BILINGUALISM is killing the Welsh language in its own heartlands, an academic has claimed.
Instead of helping Welsh to survive, the increasing prevalence of simultaneous translation facilities is having the opposite effect, says Dr Richard Glyn Roberts, a lecturer in the School of Gaelic and Celtic Studies at University College Dublin.
In a thought-provoking chapter in a new book about Wales published by the University of West Brittany, Dr Roberts – writing in French – argues that bilingualism amounts to little more than a gesture which paradoxically confirms the predominance of English.
Dr Roberts states: “The reality is that in a great number of meetings, the interpreter has nothing to do because Welsh speakers insist on speaking English in the presence of non-Welsh speakers – a fact that surprises no-one in view of the socio-cultural weight of the English language.
“One example will suffice to illustrate the growing cost of bilingualism.
“In December 2006 at Caernarfon, I was present as the translator at a meeting of 18 health professionals, of whom nine were Welsh speakers and nine non-Welsh speakers.
“In spite of the equality of numbers, everyone spoke English. Numerical equality; linguistic inequality. That is easily understood, because the Welsh speakers speak English as fluently, or nearly as fluently, as the non-Welsh speakers, and they feel frustrated at being obliged to speak via an interpreter.
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Tags: Bilinguism, English, Translation, Welsh
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Page last updated at 07:11 GMT, Thursday, 15 January 2009
A bid by the assembly government for more powers over the Welsh language will be published this month.
But it is understood that the UK government’s Welsh Secretary has reservations, warning it could face a difficult time in Parliament.
There is thought to be particular concern over the possibility of Whitehall departments being fined for not making sufficient use of Welsh
Delays in the proposals have led to tension between Labour and Plaid Cymru.
Issues
Correspondence seen by BBC Wales indicates fundamental issues around the use of Welsh have been the subject of intense discussions between the Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy, First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Attorney General Baroness Scotland.
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Tags: Welsh
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