The Welsh Language A History

224 Pages·2014·14.821 MB·

by  Janet Davies

THE WELSH LANGUAGE
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The Welsh Language
A History
Janet Davies
UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS
CARDIFF
2014
© Janet Davies, 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium
by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally
to some other use of this publication) without the written permission
of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Applications for the
copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this
publication should be addressed to the University of Wales Press,
10 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff, CF10 4UP.
www.uwp.co.uk
British Library CiP Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-78316-019-8
e-ISBN 978-1-78316-020-4
The right of Janet Davies to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 79 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Typeset by Eira Fenn, Pentyrch, Cardiff
Printed by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
List of Maps viii
Acknowledgements ix
The Welsh Language: A Personal Perspective xi
1 The Origins of Welsh 1
2 Welsh in the Early British Kingdoms 15
3 Welsh in the Middle Ages 23
4 From the Act of ‘Union’ to the Industrial Revolution 33
5 The Welsh Language in the Era of Industrialization 55
6 Welsh in the Later Nineteenth Century 69
7 Welsh in the First Half of the Twentieth Century 87
8 The Second World War and After 101
9 The Welsh Language Today 159
10 Welsh and the Other Non-State Languages
of Europe 171
11 The Characteristics of Welsh 179
Postscript 189
Further Reading 191
Index 193
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List of Illustrations
Inscribed stone at Tywyn, Merionnydd 15
A page from the Book of Aneirin 18
Title page of Yn y lhyvyr hwnn, the earliest printed
book in Welsh 38
Title page of the New Testament, 1567 40
The National Eisteddfod, Chester, 1866 61
Y Cylchgrawn Cymraeg 63
Pupils and teacher at Chubut, Patagonia, 1908 73
Saunders Lewis reading his radio lecture
Tynged yr Iaith in 1962 119
The Nant Gwrtheyrn language centre 134
Montage of some recent Welsh-language publications 138
List of Maps
The present extent of Indo-European languages in
Europe and Asia 3
Map showing British and Saxon kingdoms during
the period AD 500–700 11
Map showing Pura Wallia and Marchia Wallie 24
Principal language zones c.1750 51
Percentage of population able to speak Welsh, 1971 105
Percentage of population able to speak Welsh, 1991 107
Percentage of population with a knowledge of
Welsh, 2011 164
Number of Welsh speakers, 2011 165
Dialect variations for ‘young girl’ 187
Dialect variations for ‘milk’ 188
Acknowledgements
As always, I am greatly indebted to John Davies for his advice
and assistance.
Illustrations and maps in this book are included by kind
permission of the following. Every effort has been made to
trace and contact copyright holders:
Inscribed stone at Tywyn, Merionnydd: © Crown copyright:
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments
of Wales
A page from the Book of Aneirin: Cardiff MS 2.81. Courtesy
of Cardiff Libraries
Title page of Yn y lhyvyr hwnn, the earliest printed book in
Welsh: by permission of the National Library of Wales
Title page of the New Testament, 1567: by permission of the
National Library of Wales
Principal language zones c.1750 from Geraint H. Jenkins (ed.),
The Welsh Language before the Industrial Revolution (University of
Wales Press, 1997): Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies
The National Eisteddfod, Chester, 1866: by permission of the
National Library of Wales