Welsh language policy

The Welsh language policy must be about the only example of high and permanent public expenditure in which there is no time-frame, no objective target and no objective monitoring of progress towards a target. Taking those parts of Wales where only 5% or fewer can manage a few sentences what would be the target after say 20 years and several hundred million pounds? 7%? And what of the non-official financial costs - to the businesses of Wales for example? And what of the intangible costs - for example the discrimination in favour of less able candidates when it comes to recruitment and promotion?. No language should die but there are better ways of ensuring that Welsh lives on as a cultural treasure and not in the form of cod language. The obsession with compulsory Welsh is a displacement activity to avoid facing up to the real threats to the country's future, and a comfort blanket for the zealots. Wales deserves better.

It makes no sense at all, Drysfa. I think that this experiment of aggressive promotion of the Welsh language will turn out to be a costly mistake, just as is the disastrous 'government' in Cardiff Bay. I note the Assembly is seeking the devolution of more power even though it does not have a mandate for the law-making it is already implementing. None of this nonsense will improve the lives of the ordinary Welsh person.

S4C's viewing figures, as checked by the Broadcasting Research Board (BARB), make interesting reading. Fewer than 1 in 5 programmes had more than 10 K viewers and 196 of 890 programmes were zero rated as to viewers. It just shows the real demand for Welsh TV, given the wide choice of channels. £120 million per year of unwanted programmes, makes little sense in the present economic climate, do you not agree ?

Interesting to read in todays Western Mail that the Welsh Language Board has defended giving £68,000 of public money to a group (Rhieni dros Addysg Gymraeg, ie., RhAg – Parents for Welsh-Medium Education) that organised a protest outside the Assembly Government’s tent at the National Eisteddfod. Of course the Welsh Language Board is funded by the Assembly to the tune of £13m per annum. I think sensible people would question this unnecessary drain on the public purse.

The "Free" Eistedffodd tickets (20 thousand in total), were paid for by the WAG, i.e. you and I. According to the Western mail, only 17 thousand people attended over the weekend, less than last year, they noted ! Poor old Bryn Terfel, wasn't so lucky, having to cancel due to poor ticket sales in these austere times. I guarantee that had his tickets had the same consideration, many would be changing hands at a tidy profit to sellers ! A large percentage of the visitors to the Maes, are relatives of participants, forced to spend large sums of money on accommodation etc,. competing in what is essentially, a closed competition, due to the language barrier.

Interesting analogy Neilyn. So every man , woman and child in Wales is contributing around £200 per year to prop up the Welsh language. Do you really think that is justified to placate a few thousand language terrorists ? Imagine if this stealth tax were collected on a door to door basis, annually. I confidently predict the imagined enthusiasm for Welsh, would be confined to your struggling Eistedfodd ! Just remember to greet these taxpayers, on your collection round, in the language that the majority will understand., and be prepared for a stream of good old English vernacular !

£500 million?

That's £3.21/week a head. The price of a pint.

Just to put it in perspective.

BBC Wales reported Eisteddfod record attendance of 25,000 on Sunday!
The devil is in the detail. 20,000 tickets were free!
Regarding the 'English knot.' Yes, we are seeing children leave Ysgol Casnewyyd and joining other local primary's because they have been punished for speaking English. Equally parents are concerned their children are unable to read and write in English.
The language of heaven is costing the earth!
With the cuts in funding health, social services, education and the elderly which are inevitable.
The people of Wales should be told how much the Welsh language is costing. Unfortuntately, we will never be told, because, conveniently, no one at Welsh Assembly Government can or will tell us what it costs! An estimate that has not been refuted is £500 million pounds a year.
How many new schools, hospitals or nursing homes would that build a year!
What industry could be attracted to Wales with this level of support?
Oh, I forgot, new industry does not want to set up in Wales, because they fear the additional costs of bilingual provision and the impeding costs that the new measures will bring!
Ask your Assembly member ' What does the Welsh Language Cost?' Be prepared for silence!

Headlines of Daily Post; Scrap Trident to secure funding for S4C. Now think of this for a moment, when every tin pot dictator sees his chance to invade, we'll be able to bombard them with Pobol y cwm, at high volume. Sure makes me sleep easier !

Drysfa,

I'm relieved to find you've suddenly deflected talk of violent confrontation with an attempt of sorts at humour. Very wise.

By the way, if you're Welsh or have chosen to move to Wales to live why don't you just learn the language instead of complaining about, as you see it, the 'parochial stance' of S4C, the ONLY Welsh language televsion channel available? (although apparently you can't even tolerate that).

Is it because, I wonder, you're too 'parochial' yourself?

Or perhaps you just find it easier to moan about something you feel should be part of your life, but isn't?

Having dozens of language terrorists descending on your business premises , at a moments notice, for some perceived breach of language etiquette, that is my interpretation of threatening !
S4C funding is nothing short of a fraudulent scandal ! Under the guise of protecting the language, they concentrate solely on Welsh speaking subjects, thus depriving their audiences of a balanced realistic take on the country we all live in. The consequence of this parochial stance, is to make programs that will not be shown UK wide, hence preventing coverage for the many diverse and wonderful projects being undertaken here, simply because the originators do not speak Welsh !

Nice to see you back, Drysfa.
So - the UK government is reducing funding for S4C - about time too. The statistics speak for themselves:
- 101.647m DCMS grant in 2010
- 2.1% share of all viewers in Wales in 2009
- Weekly reach of 549,000 viewers in Wales in 2009
and some of that 2.1% include rugby viewers who turn the sound off. In times of economic stringency, it makes sense to reduce funding when there is so little demand for it.