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Investors in People
Number of Welsh speakers increases for the first time for almost a century 

13/02/2003 

Today (13 February 2003), Rhodri Williams, Chair of the Welsh Language Board, welcomed the first increase ever in both the number and percentage of Welsh speakers, as results from the 2001 Census were announced. He said:

"Today's announcement is good news for the Welsh language, with an increase in the number of Welsh speakers in Wales over the last decade. In the face of substantial decline in the fortunes of minority languages in every part of the world, it is immensely gratifying to be able to announce that the Welsh language is on the up.

"This increase is an important step forward for the Welsh language. For close on a century, the language has been loosing ground and declining fast in many parts, so it is very positive to see a substantial increase in the number of Welsh speakers across the nation," he added.

It appears that there has been an increase in the percentage of Welsh speakers in 20 counties throughout Wales, with counties in the south-east showing the greatest increase. There has been a substantial increase in the number of Welsh speakers in Torfaen, Newport, and Blaenau Gwent since 1991.

"This increase in the south-east is to be warmly welcomed," said Rhodri Williams. "To a great extent, this is the result of a successful Welsh medium education system, and of the work of the Board and its partners to raise the profile of the language locally.

"It is also important to pay tribute to those parents who have chosen to send their children to Welsh medium schools, even when Welsh is not the home language. Without the vision and the commitment of teachers and volunteers in this region, this increase would not have happened. The language is in great debt to these individuals, because they provided the opportunity for the children to speak Welsh – for the first time in generations in some areas."

However, there appears to be a decline in two counties in the western part of Wales: Gwynedd and Ceredigion. Rhodri Williams commented

"We've known about the economic and social changes which have affected many of our communities with a high percentage of Welsh speakers for a while, and the Board and our partners, such as the mentrau iaith will have to increase our efforts to promote the language at grass roots level.

"The decline in the western counties is something which the Board has been aware of for years, and because of this, an extensive part of our work and that of our partners such as the mentrau iaith has concentrated on promoting the language at community level.

"Together with our other partners like the local authorities, the Welsh Development Agency and the mentrau iaith, the Board has already developed a number of area development plans in different parts of Wales, and this work will continue in future, thanks to increased funding from the Welsh Assembly Government. Even though it is important to welcome the increase in the south-east, it is also imperative that we all work together to halt any further decline in the western counties."

We will be in a better position to compare and analyse the figures more extensively when further data are published over the next months, and the Board will also be commissioning further independent research in the near future.


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