I just thought I’d double-check that fact… and discovered that David Crystal was in fact born in Northern Ireland, and spent his teenage years in England!
But he spent his first ten or so years in Holyhead, where he learned Welsh as well as English. After that, he is quoted as saying, his family moved to Liverpool, “where Welsh wasn’t that much use! So, although I’ve kept up my Welsh, and now speak it reasonably well, and certainly understand it well enough, it’s not a daily language for me.”
I always think of him as Welsh, because he lives in Wales, he’s associated with the University of Bangor, and one of his main linguistic interests is revitalising and maintaining the Welsh language. So as far as I’m concerned, he’s a Welshman.
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Nationality is a state of mind, determined by the individual rather than imposed from outside by other people’s opinions
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I quite agree, @owainlurch!
The way I see it, if a person is interested enough in a place to learn about its culture and, especially, to learn its language, then it doesn’t matter where they were born or where they live. I’m happy to bestow an honorary nationality on them!
I hope the people of Wales feel the same about us SSiW learners who are scattered all over the world. Some of us will never get a chance to visit Wales, but I hope our enthusiasm for the language means we’ll be warmly embraced as honorary members of your country despite that. If the warm welcome I’ve received here in this forum is anything to go by, I’m sure we will.
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