an introduction to welsh
Who speaks Welsh?
According to the last census (2021), just over half a million people speak Welsh in Wales. That's about 18% of the population.
You will hear and see Welsh throughout Wales, but as you can see form the map, the further west you go, the more likely you are to hear and use Welsh as a normal community language.
Historically, all of Wales, and swathes of Western England, were Welsh speaking, so you will meet Welsh place names and road signs everywhere.
Where does Welsh come from?
Welsh is a Brythonic / Celtic language, related closely to Cornish and Breton (which split after the Roman invasion), and more distantly to the Gaelic (or Goidelic) languages of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Mann.
Brythonic was spoken throughout most of the island of Britain at the time of the Roman invasion (the Picts of northern Scotland probably spoke a Brythonic language, but that is uncertain), and took on lots of Latin words under the Romans. After the Romans left (around 383AD) the Barbarians (ie non-Romans) invaded, including Germanic, Danish and Irish peoples.
The language was gradually pushed west- and south-ward, until modern Wales, Cornwall and Cumbria / southern Scotland were isolated from each other, and Brythonic, or more likely proto-Welsh, split into separate languages. In Britain, only Cornish and Welsh survived as written languages.
You can find out more detail of the history of the Welsh lanugage on Wikipedia, here
Some resources for deeper understanding
- Ordnance Survey: The Welsh Origins of Place Names in Britain
- Y Doctor Cymraeg: interesting videos about aspects of Welsh
- Entertainment in Welsh - our own list of some things we enjoy
- S4C - Welsh Television. Some. but not all, programmes are available internationally
- A spotify playlist of 'Welsh Bangers' - a mixed bag of classic Welsh pop and folk
OK - I'm hooked. How do I learn a bit of this beautiful language?
That's simple. Click here to learn about different ways you can speak some Welsh