Hi
Fresh from success at the Eisteddfod I wondered if anyone knows if shops, cafes and pubs that are happy to use welsh and support learners of the welsh language display any signs to indicate their ability to do so?
I have seen e-mail slogans that indicate the author as being happy to use Cymraeg but I haven’t seen anything in shops or anything worn by shop workers (I have seen some nurses wearing badges). Would this be a good way to promote the use of the language?
What do you think?
J
I’ve seen some shops and the like display such signs in their windows - I think there was at least one butchers in Cardigan with a sign that said they were specifically happy to help learners to practice too.
I think it would be really good if more places displayed posters showing their willingness to use welsh as it would give us learners encouragement to try and perhaps stimulate more use of the language.
I personally would go out of my way to use a business that caters for the welsh language and indeed when we go to Cardiff Shopping my wife and I both look forward to stopping for a coffee and some cake at the Hen Llyfyrgell as we know we can try afew words in welsh without worrying.
The welsh language is a great marketing opportunity that few seem to capitalise upon.
J
Bala was great. We got lunch in the pub at the end of the lake which was so good at getting us to use Welsh that we carried on in Welsh as we went down the street. The shopkeepers were so patient in their encouragement of the use of Welsh. There was just one shop where the shopkeeper looked at me oddly and replied ‘I’m sorry, I’m from London and don’t speak any Welsh’. I did have to revert to Saesneg in order to get served there.
This sign is in use at Lewis Argraffwr, Lewis the Printers in Caerfyrddin, where I had to point it to them when they started the conversation in English. It’s also in use at the Caerfyrddin Canolfan Hamdden, leisure centre. The NHS in Wales has uniforms with a Welsh logo so that Cymro know it’s OK to speak Cymraeg to the wearer. My next set of uniforms will have to bear them and then I’ll have to put my money where my mouth is about being a Welsh speaker!
I found a couple of young men at the Cardiff branch of Cotswold Outdoors wearing the orange badge when I was there at Christmas, which was lovely. And the first thing they asked when I stepped up to be served was whether I’d like to speak in Welsh.
But yes - more of this would be great. Not many shops, in Cardiff at least, will have an entire staff that speak Welsh, so they would need to be identified individually, which is where the orange badge comes in handy.
Perhaps we, as customers, need to make our wish for identification more apparent to the companies?
I have not heard of this before . What a brilliant idea ! I too would go out of my way to use a business that was promoting the use of Welsh. Does anyone know where the Eisteddfod is being held blwyddyn nesaf ?
Did you mention this to the judges at DyF? I don’t think it was in the clip on TV!! I think the NHS has an obligation as do Leisure Centres, Councils etc… anything Official, under the Law, but it doesn’t apply to private businesses like shops.
The way to get it there is to ask and to publicise the matter… how do you think we got S4C in the first place?? (No, I am not advocating painting the shops green!!!) 
Oh, lovely to hear of all these places in Cardiff… it is such a change since the Senedd really got going![quote=“robbruce, post:9, topic:5636”]
Bodedern, Môn.
[/quote]
Should be no trouble finding Cymraeg in shops etc. there.
@Deborah-SSi used to have stickers that could be placed on participating retail outlets to declare their willingness to engage with learners. Maybe she still has a supply?
One thing to bear in mind is that these are businesses and deserve an amount of respect - as much as they would welcome the chance to help learners we also need to remember that they are not our personal tutors and that they need to get on with their jobs!
Efallai dylen ni gorffen rhywun yn Cymdeithias iaith Cymreag am cefnogi i drefnu llawr o siopiau i defnyddio hysbysiadau?
I was trying to say perhaps we should ask the Welsh Language Society for support to arrange lots of shops to use notices
I didn’t mention it. There’s only 10 minutes and I didn’t even think about it at the time.
I bet the ‘I will use it in my work as a nurse and it will add to my ability to help older, confused patients’ was just the sort of thing to gain you Brownie points!!!
When I was in Cymru a week ago for 2 weeks I did just oposite thing. Where I thought people should speak Cymraeg (and it was everywhere I thought they should though 
) I just started with Cymraeg and then later if told people don’t speak Cymraeg I backed back to Saesneg. I’ve actually got pleasant surprises with that, many people telling me they actually should learn more or just gave me a meaningful smile like: “Oh, you speak Cymraeg, how nice. Shame I don’t.” I remember quite some occassions when people talked in English and I in Cymraeg and we got along just fine after they told me they can understand but not actually speak the language. I was never neglected or even given hating looks (I don’t particularly see how people look at me but rather sense these things though) so this all gave me wind upon my wings to use Cymraeg even more.
However, this had oposite impact too. When I came to London on my way home I still started conversations in Cymraeg being aware after a few seconds I actually can’t expect anyone to speak other then English. One woman even (almost angerly) said to me: “We speak only English here.” However, I just smiled and said: "Yes, I know, but I just can’t switch into it yet … "
I don’t remember I’d see any special sign at businesses encouriging people using Cymraeg in particular although there were bi-lingual signs, menus etc all around wherever I looked. Yes, it would be good if they’d indicate clearly that speaking Cymraeg is more then welcome though.
There is the Iaith Gwaith scheme - the orange nadges but it’s not well taken up I don’t think.
Maybe we should all carry a stock of the badges/lanyards and whenever we manage to speak Welsh to someone doing their public-facing job without one hand one over!
I saw that sign at Tafarn Sinc in Rosebush, Clunderwen (nr Preseli Mountains) and felt encouraged to use my (little) Welsh to order a drink an a meal and have a nice little conversation. The people there are very friendly indeed!
So, by the way, are Sian and Geraint Bowen of Siop Fferm Bethesda (nr. Narberth). They don’t have a specific sign encouraging people to speak Welsh; but Geraint was very helpful and encouraging and tried to speak slowly and clearly enough for me to understand what he was saying and helped with words or phrases I got wrong or didn’t know.
I adored reading that!! If she’d ever heard of Patagonia, which I doubt she has, she’d have thought you were from there!!! 
Hehe. I’ve told her I’m from Slovenia and what reason I was visiting UK and she just couldn’t quite handle that information. She could just determine that there’s a long way ahead of me to come home yet. If she almost didn’t want to give me a seat saying they’re prety busy and they don’t want people sitting an hour or more at the table, she gladly gave me that big coffee and even took it to the table for me. She was actually quite nice lady. Might be my smile helped. There I also met a lady who was going to someone’s wedding in South Wales and was literally blown away when I told her from where I come from and that i’m learning Cymraeg. She didn’t speak Cymraeg though but she definately knew where Slovenia is saying she visited it once. Yes, Cymru went home with me to stay …
Yes, I still have quite a few of them. The idea for them came about as some learners in Cardiff that I spoke to were nervous to try speaking Welsh when they saw the orange speech bubble sign as they thought that meant “fluent speakers”. The idea behind this sticker is that the Welsh speakers in the shop or business are happy to encourage learners by being a bit more patient with them and not immediately switching into English.
The stickers are good quality vinyl, with some for the inside of a window and some for the outside. The problem I struck when I was trying to distribute a few in Cardiff, was that a lot of shopworkers tended to be part time and not all Welsh speakers, so they were reluctant to put something in the window if customers would come in expecting to speak Welsh only to be told “Sorry, our Welsh speaker isn’t on today”.
I can’t imagine that would be a problem in some other areas of Wales though, so if anyone would like a supply of stickers just PM me your name and address and I’ll get some sent to you.
Here’s a slightly wonky idea of what it looks like:
