'I want to be a Welsh speaker because...'

gillian-kemp2 · July 11, 2020, 7:37pm

because it is a beautiful language and my heritage.

What I hope for is to be able to speak to my welsh speaking brother, and also many lovely people I have met when I have visited Wales .

yvonne-williams · July 12, 2020, 7:43am

I want to be a Welsh speaker because I want to be able to converse in Welsh with family, friends and strangers, and because, for the first time in my life, I’m actually enjoying learning the language (north version).

mrs-s-jane-johnson · July 13, 2020, 4:38am

I want to be a Welsh speaker because my little grandchildren attend a Welsh medium school and I want to help them with their homework.

paula-dear · July 13, 2020, 9:05am

I want to be a Welsh speaker because it’s my best friend’s first language and I would love to be able to chat to her in Welsh.

naomi-7 · July 13, 2020, 12:16pm

I want to be a Welsh speaker because I would love to understand and join in when some of my Welsh speaker friends speak the language. I also love the language and want to keep it alive and promote it as much as possible.

gail-tudor · July 13, 2020, 2:46pm

I want to be a Welsh speaker because I’d like to be able to speak to the locals in Aberporth where I now live in Welsh and understand what they are saying. And a more recent reason: Last week I met my 8 year old step great nephew who said I’d have to be in remedial classes for Welsh in school and was boasting he knew so much more than me. Need to be able to surprise him in a few months with being able to understand everything he says in Welsh.

caryl-kelly · July 14, 2020, 3:27am

I love the language. It is a joy to listen to people speaking it and I want to get more out of cultural things in Wales like the Eisteddfod. And I really want to surprise my two Welsh-speaking friends when I am a bit more proficient.

jane-gnosill · July 14, 2020, 7:00am

I wanted to be a Welsh speaker because I have always wanted to learn a second language and I now live in Wales and love both the country and the language

georgina-6 · July 14, 2020, 2:49pm

I wanted to be a Welsh speaker so I could help my son learn when we moved over to North Wales 8 years ago. He’s now fluent andI I’m not as I got myself on the wrong course. I think I’ve rectified that now

I hope once I am a Welsh speaker that I will be a lot more confident at work!

sara-cotterill · July 15, 2020, 11:28am

I want to be a Welsh speaker because I was born and live in Wales and I hope I will be able to talk with my partner who is fluent in Welsh.

katie-19 · July 15, 2020, 1:54pm

I want to be a Welsh speaker because my Dad is Welsh. He is of the generation that was discouraged from developing Welsh skills and encouraged to only speak English… so after leaving home and moving away from Wales he lost his Welsh language! I never really thought about it much growing up, as we didn’t live in Wales, only visited family, and everyone was English speaking. I moved to Cardiff a year ago, and it was always my intention to start learning Welsh, not just because of my family line but also because it seems appropriate when you live somewhere to learn the native language. Since moving here I am in love with the land and the people, and so proud of my Welsh blood. Being a Welsh speaker will allow me to connect with this beautiful ancient land and this language that sounds so much like the voice of the land itself… I hope I will be able to read Welsh poetry too!

sam-37 · July 15, 2020, 5:55pm

I want to engage with my home country’s culture which sadly has felt very alien to me. Born and bread in K’airdiff with only english spoken in my family and Welsh spoken by some good mates (who don’t realise how jealous I am that they can speak it lol).

I hope to feel more embedded into Welsh culture by learning the language and whipping out some confidently spoken Welsh in a few more weeks - after a few pints of Brains mind, not quite that confident…yet.

sandy-mather · July 16, 2020, 8:57am

…because I want to chat to my Welsh speaking friends in my rural village in Carmarthenshire

sarah-martin · July 16, 2020, 7:24pm

I want to be a Welsh speaker because I want to speak to family members in their first language and prove to myself I can do it.

chris-podmore · July 17, 2020, 2:16pm

I’m fascinated by the language; it’s history and its endurance through time. I’ve wanted to speak Welsh ever since I was very young but was never confident in my abilities.

Oswins · July 17, 2020, 10:32pm

Because every time I’ve been to Wales, seeing and hearing the language made me so happy.

Lauren · July 18, 2020, 6:46am

I’m a GP working in West Wales and I’d like to be able to talk to my patients in their mother tongue.

KarenL-B · July 18, 2020, 3:57pm

Hello everyone … my very first time posting here. Too hard to say just ONE reason! I grew up in the valleys but my family never spoke Welsh and didn’t have a Welsh ‘identity’ as such. I travelled and taught abroad whilst trying to ignore the ‘hiraeth’ that was clearly pulling me back home. Passion for my heritage, ‘missing-link’ and unfinished business all resonate strongly with me. I have to do this now or I will feel a very real emptiness for the rest of my life.

susanne-usher · July 18, 2020, 4:20pm

I want to understand what people around me are saying and even join in, watch Welsh TV programmes and listen to radio. I am hoping that I will really feel part of my community when I can.

jude-lask · July 18, 2020, 5:41pm

To be able to speak the language of my Grandmother