This post is dedicated to A Heron's View and Molly Golver.Ever since the Welsh Nationalists began burning the holiday homes of us English over the the Severn Estuary, and fears for the survival of the Welsh language made it's study compulsory in many schools, it has been mandatory for all road signs in that country to be displayed in both English and Welsh. I have always wondered about the ratio between non Welsh speakers and the Nationalist counterparts, and now - it appears - my suspicions have been confirmed.
I have it on good authority that the translation in Welsh to the road sign above, begins with, 'I am sorry but I am out of the office at the moment...'
Sometimes technology can backfire on you, and I would imagine that the road-planners might be seeking a higher percentage of Welsh speakers before they allow their street sign wording to be transmitted by email in the future.
I would love to be able to reply to any Taffies who respond in their own language, but my in-built translator will not allow for it and I will not be paying for a translation service just for the sake of this one post. I can never understand why BOTH bridges over the Severn charge for one-way only, apart from the fact that some unscrupulous lorry-drivers might exploit a 2-way system by adjusting their routes to suit.
This is why we in England call them both, "Get out of Wales Free", like 'Monopoly'. It's a shame, because Wales is such a beautiful country.
Never been to Wales Tom, although I have an uncle to catalogues butterflies there. Here in Canada in the Province of Quebec, the signage is 100% French.
ReplyDeleteNow there's council cutbacks it may just be too expensive to get the signs done in two languages!
ReplyDeleteMilt x
I will tell you about my experiences in Quebec soon, Raz - minus 40 degrees, and talking to a lot of French Canadians who despised the English almost as much as the Welsh do.
ReplyDeleteYou could be right Milt. Maybe they will all be in Welsh in the future. I had fun finding my way around Dublin, about 30 years ago, when all the signs were in the Gallic...
So true Tom in some parts of Quebec. I have encountered the complete absence of anyone willing to attempt even a little English in the Gaspe, or even let you attempt to speak French to them knowing you are English speaking. My son lives in downtown Montreal though and they are extremely friendly and rapidly switch to English when they hear my pathetic French.
ReplyDeletehow funny that I just found molly today! hoping you had a lovely weekend~
ReplyDeletexx
My distant cousin, Islwyn Ffowc-Elis, stood for parliament as a Plaid Cymru candidate, and as one of Wales's foremost writers wrote only in Welsh. Can't get more Welsh than that!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that you were being pointed in the direction of Molly's blog, Mimi. My brief weekend was fine, thank you. The car is going for a transplant today, so it's monday domestics for me, I think.
ReplyDeleteI thought Islwyn Ffowc-Elis was fictitious, Cro. My spell-checker thinks so too. I suppose he could become a weency bit more Welsh if he put 'Blodwyn' on the front. I have a friend who is half Welsh, and he refers to it as "Land of my Mother's".
I was in a restaurant (creperie) in Quebec City, Raz, and one of the party said to me, "What have the English ever done for us?"
ReplyDeleteWhen I answered, "Well, we gave you Canada for a start", the atmosphere began to get almost as cold as it was outside at the time - January. The subject was changed to 'National Dishes', and after the resident Northern New York State cowboy had got all the roast-beef stuff out of the way, I suggested that his was 'beaver'. I'd had a few drinks at the time... It's amazing what they can do with a bit of Maple sap, though.
Try Googling him. On second thoughts, perhaps not.
ReplyDelete"Did you mean..."
ReplyDeleteMolly will know him. He was my mother's cousin.
ReplyDeleteMy god, Cro - your net has been cast far and wide. Who is 'Granny'?
ReplyDeleteHey you - I haven't fired any English houses honest! Never heard of Iswlyn Ffowc Whatsit! Allergic to Plaid Cymru and learnt a smattering of Welsh in school. We did have a few 'CAUSES' bods with green aerosole spray cans who used to amuse themselves and irritate everybody else by stripe-ing through the English wording on signposts and scribbling the Welsh equivilant underneath. Before I get shot for treason, I do love the Welsh hills, the sheep, Llangollen choirs and my Welsh friends too and all you others as well. x
ReplyDeleteIt is possible to love sheep too much, Molly. (XXX)
ReplyDeleteWell they are sort of fourth down on the list!
ReplyDeleteWhat's the 3rd? (and what's the 5th???) Have you ever seen that book - 'Men who love too much' ?
ReplyDeleteWhy has no-one heard of my unbelievably famous cousin? Is it simply because he was Welsh?
ReplyDelete'Granny' is a lovely lady from Queensland Oz. A fellow veg' grower.