Do Plaid lack vision for Welsh language?
Last week, an internal review within Plaid Cymru suggested the party should adopt an English language name. Following on from the disappointment in the Welsh election last year, the idea is that the proposed name of the Welsh National Party would be more appealing to voters who can’t speak Welsh. The party would therefore be refocused on Welsh independence and try to win the same kind of support at the Scottish National Party.
However, I think this shows just how far off-course Plaid have gone, and how the party’s leadership is failing to acknowledge that Wales has a very different political context to Scotland. My fear is that the party has become so addicted to growth it may actually put the Welsh language movement at risk by trying to appeal to everyone in Wales rather than maintain the party’s core ideology and aims.
I have met a number of Welsh speakers over the last couple of years who still vote for Plaid but who express a lot of dissatisfaction with what the party has become. Promotion of the Welsh language was, along with political independence, one of the core principals of the party when it was founded.
I have also been surprised recently at how many of its election candidates can not speak Welsh. More importantly, I’ve been disappointed that the party does not often speak of a vision for the future of the language. The more the party moves towards supporting socialism the less focus there seems to be on the language, which I find very strange given that promoting culture and language should be a core part of a modern left party. Why does the party need to choose one or another and not do both?
Welsh-language usage has increased from around 18% in 1991 to over 21%, and many Welsh-language schools are now in high demand even among parents who can’t speak Welsh but who want their children to be able to. When you combine this with the increase in the number of services available in the language, particularly from public sector organisations who are often legally required to provide services bilingually, there has been undeniable success in reversing the previous decline of the language. However, to be a truly bilingual nation, Wales would need to aim for a figure over 50% and for Welsh to be the language of choice, not just when people are legally required to use it.
This may seem a crazy target but I believe it could be achieved with a long term more radical vision. Maybe this could include abolishing our current two-tier system of Welsh and English language schools and instead making all schools properly bilingual. And a vision for Welsh to be used not just on a few signs but every day in the workplace – from the board room to the staff room.
The question isn’t really if this is possible, but whether it’s wanted. I think it’s about time Wales had a decent debate on whether it wants to be a truly bilingual country or not – people have passionate arguments both for and against. If Plaid wants to continue to be the party to promote the Welsh language it must stop trying to win popularity at all costs, and start building a true vision for a bilingual country. My concern is that without a clear plan for development of the language, we will fail to maximise on the current popularity and Welsh usage will start to decline once again. And reversing that decline a second time could be much more difficult.
The review apparently has many other recommendations, some which concern the question of the Welsh language, but this isn’t yet public.
OOPS! Your very first premise is flawed. The suggestion was that the English name of the party – ‘The Party of Wales’ be replaced with ‘Welsh National Party’. There is no suggestion that Plaid Cymru be dropped as the official party name.
So I’m afraid I didn’t see any point in reading aqny further than that.
Hi Sion – thanks for being the first to comment on my blog. Unfortunately though we will have to disagree – my blog doesn’t claim the Welsh name could be dropped, it claims an English name could be adopted which has been well reported in the media.
This would mean the party would have two names, an English name and a Welsh name. And I am happy to bet the entire English media would therefore start using the English one.
I’m happy to bet that the media will still call them plaid and whatever else happens it’s the nationalists who will be the most closely associated with the welsh language.
The kind of forced welsh in schools you propose is both unrealistic and authoritarian, if this is an example of green radicalism, you can keep it.