X-Cc: Multiple recipients of list WELSH-L To: Multiple recipients of list WELSH-L In-Reply-To: <199409291606.MAA10691@info.census.gov> On Thu, 29 Sep 1994, sec wrote: > If it is true that Welsh culture is more securely > preserved by the preservation of the Welsh language...does it not also > follow that the more Welsh things and places that can either keep or > retrieve their Welsh names, the more solid the language becomes? > S.E. Cook I think the sign-painting actions of the Cymdeithas yr Iaith Cymraeg underscore the feeling that the use of Welsh place names wherever and whenever possible is of benefit to the language. Welsh names alongside English names on signs certainly made the language more visible and remind the English (and English speakers from other countries) that the Welsh culture is alive and that Wales is not just another English county (or counties). When I lived in England in the late-80s, where I was studying Welsh history and geography, I answered many questions from fellow Americans about the Welsh language. Most of these questions arose from having seen Welsh place names on road signs (or the ubiquitous "Croeso i Gymru"). In this situation, the historical origins of the Welsh name were not important; the fact that the Welsh have a separate language and culture were important, and in the end, they learned a little bit more about Britain. Certainly, much of their interest in the language was sparked by the seemingly overabundant use of consonants, and what appeared to be unpronounceable words (reminds me of a question posed by a fellow hiker in the Brecon Beacons to our guide: "How do you pronounce B-w-l-c-h?" "Exactly as it's spelled," was his reply.) Anyway, I'd like to think that it was the continuing presence of the language in the landscape in the form of place names that at least sparked some, if not all, of my fellow North Americans' questions and interest. Mike Ratcliffe