Language Sovereignty in Wales

"Diolch," the boy thanks me as he passes where I've stepped off the trail to let his scooter through. I'm also offered cheese (caws) samples fully in Welsh at a market booth.

At the street fair, all the bands are singing in Welsh: programming for four stages across a full day.

Although most public signage is labeled in Welsh and English (Welsh first), the aisles in grocery stores are often labeled in Welsh only. That's what the locals speak.

We are in Wales, but I'm surprised and impressed. I know that in Ireland, children are taught Irish in schools, but they mostly speak English. I had expected the same here.

Not so. Both Ireland and Wales have complex and blood-soaked histories with England: resistance, revolt, pride in the monarchs, pride in military service in the British army, resentment, oppression, symbols, and plots. Though Ireland was more successful in its bid for political sovereignty from England's empire than Wales, the Welsh seem to have had a more successful program of language revitalization.

As with many other hostile takeovers, the Welsh language's decline was an intentional tactic of control by the ruling force. Wales was taken by England in the late 1200s by Edward I. Starting in the 1500s, under Henry VIII, use of the language was restricted by law, particularly in parliament and in the courts. This ensured a class distinction between people who could speak English, and those who couldn't.