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Tongue tied
By Mukul Devichand
Analysis, Radio 4
Extreme reaction: How one dissenter was treated Wales has been enjoying a revival of its native tongue, driven chiefly by those in rural areas. Now a new awareness is growing in the industrialised south, but some - including native Welsh speakers themselves - fear it could foster division and resentment.
On a crisp Welsh morning, I followed a man into a quiet country lane before he felt it safe to start our anonymous interview. We weren't discussing mafia activity or official secrets. He was a public sector worker in Wales. The subject was language policy in the workplace. His opinion was that policies to promote the Welsh language had gone too far.
"To be seen as being the Welsh speaker in a particular environment will give you career bonuses," he says. "I object to this, I really don't like it at all."
This, from a Welsh speaker himself. But in Wales, such antipathy to the native tongue can be seen as tantamount to heresy.
There's a real mood of national pride among the Welsh, crystallised in the renewed vigour behind efforts to revive their ancient language. The devolved Welsh Assembly Government now wants to extend its control over language policies - a move that could see parts of the private sector being regulated.
Dissent taboo?
But does the fact he sees his dissent as taboo point to a wider unease about the forces driving the Welsh revival?
People start to feel they are starting to disappear into a faceless mob
Aran Jones The south Wales valleys where I grew up are predominantly English speaking, with a working class culture shaped by migrants from across Europe who came to work in the coal mines. It's here that many are now discovering a sense of national identity by learning the Welsh language.
"It is our right to speak our own language," says one learner at an adult education centre in Caerphilly.
"It's our identity, it's who we are," says another.
Their passion for Welsh isn't driven by state policies or the allure of public sector jobs. They've come to see learning the language as a fundamental part of being Welsh.
This increasing sense of national confidence is in many ways heartening. These areas took a particular hit after coal mining collapsed during the 1980s when Britain embraced global markets. The misery is fresh in people's minds.
What is new is how the Welsh language has increasingly become the focus of this sense of identity. But does it bear any relation to the language politics of rural Wales?
Heartland indifference
In Ysgubor Goch, a council estate in Caernarfon in the far north-west of Wales, the townsfolk are 88% Welsh speaking and there's a history of militancy around the Welsh language. Yet what's surprising is how removed some of the locals are from the current language revival.
Since legislation in the 90s, Welsh has become highly visible "There's a bit of a resurgence in the language," says one man. "Especially down in the south, where it's becoming more fashionable."
The twinkle in his eye shows he's pleased about this. But he also seems bemused. After all, in his view it hadn't made much difference in Ysgubor Goch. "It's always been strong in this area," he says.
Identity politics
It seems the Welsh learners of the south are leading the linguistic revival, rather than those in areas that naturally speak Welsh. This made sense when set against the other recurring theme in my travels - the search for identity and roots.
"People start to feel they are starting to disappear into a faceless mob," says Aran Jones, of Welsh language rights group Cymuned, which argues that the flow of English incomers should be discouraged.
"You get some people saying that's not who I want to be." And so to stand out from the crowd, they learn Welsh.
His politics is at the extreme end of Welsh language preservation. Yet he has spent most of his life abroad and only learnt Welsh in his 30s.
Some have compared what's happening in Wales to the identity politics of other stateless European nations, like Catalonia and the Basque region in Spain. The argument is that globalisation and the fragmentation of traditional nation states - like Britain - means people are now rediscovering their local histories and languages as a way to give their lives meaning.
Career advantage?
There's much to commend this positive take on what's happening. But why are some critics of the Welsh revival afraid to speak out?
Mukul Devichand and Aran Jones discuss the future of Welsh The state is a huge employer in Wales and there are varying levels of Welsh language compliance for workers - from fluency down to not speaking the tongue at all. I spoke to several public sector workers who are upset about the way language policies work, but who are afraid to speak publicly.
One English-speaking civil servant, who asked to remain anonymous, says dissenting from such policies doesn't necessarily mean being anti-Welsh language. Nevertheless, he sensed there is a growing divide among those who do don't speak Welsh, with an inference that Welsh speakers are at a career advantage.
"Welsh people who live in Wales, regardless what language they speak, would like Welsh to be promoted," he says.
What worries him and others is that in the public sector, workers feel they have been shut out of the debate about the linguistic revival.
"Because it's a legal issue, because it's an issue that people have to comply with, it becomes a difficult issue to engage with and to empathise with," he says.
Two languages
What's at stake is what bilingualism will mean in future. Will it:
- ensure a place for the Welsh language, or
- eventually mean everyone speaking Welsh alongside English?
"What we will see, and what the evidence shows us we will see, is a wholesale transformation," says Meri Huws, chair of the publicly funded Welsh Language Board.
"The young people are going through the bilingual schools of South East Wales, a very traditional non-Welsh speaking area. They will become, over time, users. Over the next 30 years we will see a transformation in the nature of Welsh society."
It's an ambitious plan, in a country where 70% still don't speak, read or write Welsh. But her vision for Wales does enjoy a democratic legitimacy which the anonymous voices say they lack. Their counter argument is that what they feel is an atmosphere of self-censorship and even fear does not make for a healthy debate of national values.