History of Welsh (Cymraeg)

• Welsh is part of the Brythonic languages, coming from Celtic language spoken by the old occupants of the british isles, Wales. By that time, before the Roman occupation Celtic languages where largely in use in all of Europe. (The Welsh Language, History UK)
• Then with influences from Anglo-Saxons, Welsh evolved greatly, and during the middle-ages Welsh became Middle-Welsh. (The Welsh Language History UK)
• Fast forward, new laws prohibited Welsh to be in administrative affairs, '' with English sovereignty over Wales, the use of the Welsh language was banned and its official status removed. ''(The Welsh Language,Historic UK ) And in the 18th century, the inlfux of english speakers in Whales did not help the conservation of the language.

FACTS:

• There is about 740 000 people speaking Welsh in the world (Welsh language, alphabet and Pronunciation, Omniglot )
• There is speakers mostly in Wales, UK and also Argentina, Patagonia (Welsh language, alphabet and Pronunciation, Omniglot.com )
• There is a lot of broadcasts on radio, TV shows , big music scene and about 500 books written in Welsh today every year. Basically, the welsh culture is not going to die so quickly. Plus with the schools in Whales teaching kids from 5 to 16 years old the language of their land. (Welsh language, alphabet and Pronunciation, Omniglot.com )
• There is something called ''mutation'' in Celtic languages, like welsh, '' which affects the initial letters of words '' (Welsh language, alphabet and Pronunciation, Omniglot.com ) the letter changes depending on the place the word is in the sentence.

History of Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig)

• Today we think scottish gaelic comes from Ireland and it was an old typeof irish gaelic. It spread all the way to the scottish lands from the kigdom of Alba that was at the time, the territory of Scotland. (Gaelic Language & History , visitscotland.com)
• During centuries , the language was persecuted , trying to be supressed by other powerful regions.(Gaelic Language & History , visitscotland.com)
• In the 11th century English knew as "Inglis" was slowly remplacing scottish. Then by the mid 14th century, english became the official language of laws in Scotland. (Scottish Gaelic Language, Omniglot.com)
• Children speaking scottish were punished (18th century). The only thing allowed to be done in their own language was to read the bible in Gaelic. (Scottish Gaelic Language, Omniglot.com)

FACTS:

• 32 400 people can read, write understand and speak Gaelic, but the majority of people (87 100) only have a basic knowledge of the language, according to an UK census in 2011. (Scottish Gaelic Language, Omniglot.com)
• Gaelic is closely related to Irish gaelic and surprisingly distant from Welsh. They are part of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages.(Scottish Gaelic Language, Omniglot.com)
• Despite over 200 years of supression, the Gaelic language was well preserved and survived through the years without dying completely. With the help of the vibrant modern gaelic culture, as we can see in the numerous pubs traditional rythmic gaelic music and songs being played all night. (Gaelic Language & History , visitscotland.com)

History of Irish (Gaelidge)

• The "irish" language was always spoken in Ireland (although it really changed from the old irish spoken), and originated from it since the beggining. But in the 17th, english became to remplace the language in most parts of Ireland.
• The decline of the language accelerated when the famine in Ireland began during the 19th century, when people, including irish speakers began to migrate, leading to children not learning their mother tongue. (Irish language, alphabet and pronunciation, Omniglot.com).
• Luckily, in 1922 Ireland declared Irish as an official language next to english in Ireland. Making the contry billingual (Irish language, alphabet and pronunciation, Omniglot.com).

FACTS:

• Many titles or public figures and organisations in the country took the Irish name, for example Garda for police and Taoiseach for prime minister. (Irish language, alphabet and pronunciation, Omniglot.com).
• The irish language is experiencing a recent revival with radio stations, television and more Irish education throughougt the country. There is aproximatly 1.76 million speakers in Ireland who claim to be fluent. (Irish language, alphabet and pronunciation, Omniglot.com).

But what does it mean?

"Language reproduction within the Irish-speaking community in the region is dispersed across a number of mechanisms. Of the Irish-speakers surveyed just under 10per cent of adults and just over 11 per cent of young people claimedthe Irish language as their mother tongue. The education system is of critical importance in the reproduction of the language. Many more ofthe younger Irish-speakers have had some of their education throughthe medium of Irish, in contrast to adult Irish-speakers. The fact of experi-encing one’s education through the medium of Irish appears to effect aconfidence in self-perceptions of ability in the language. Thus, other results in this survey show that young Irish-speakers who have experi-enced Irish-medium nursery education are more likely to return themselves as Irish-speakers of the highest ability later in life. "

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.) Mac Giolla Chriost, Diarmait. The Irish Language in Ireland : From Goídel to Globalisation. Routledge, 2005. APA (American Psychological Assoc.) Mac Giolla Chriost, D. (2005). The Irish Language in Ireland : From Goídel to Globalisation. Routledge. "Irish language in Ireland: From Goidel to Globalisation"

In other words, the continuity of the language is highly influenced by the early years of education, meaning if a child gets comfortable with the Irish language early on, it is most likely for them to identify themselves as Irish speaking.

What does it mean for scotland and why?

"The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 was passed by the Scottish Parliament with a view to securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language."

"This is a critical time for the future of Gaelic. The position of the language is extremely fragile and the declining numbers of those speaking Gaelic fluently threatens the survival of Gaelic as a living language in Scotland. It is essential that steps are taken to create a sustainable future for Gaelic in Scotland."

"One of the key features of the 2005 Act is the provision enabling Bòrd na Gàidhlig (the Scottish Government's principal Gaelic development body) to require public bodies to prepare Gaelic Language Plans. This provision was designed to ensure that the public sector in Scotland plays its part in creating a sustainable future for Gaelic by raising its status and profile and creating practical opportunities for its use."

"Results from the 2011 Census have shown that the decline in the number of Gaelic speakers has slowed since 2001. The total number of people recorded as being able to speak and/or read and/or understand Gaelic was 87,056. Of these 58,000 people (1.1% of the population) aged three and over in Scotland were able to speak Gaelic. This is a slight fall from 59,000 (1.2% of the population) in the 2001 Census which compares favourably to the previous Census results which recorded an 11% drop in speakers."

(Scottish Government, Scottish Government Gaelic Plan 2016-2021, 5 May 2017)

Language planning for welsh, in EDUCATION

The education is the base for sharing knowledge to the future leaders of our society, that is why I will concentrate on what Wales plans to do for education in order to revive Welsh language.

"The strategy makes it clear that we expect all schools in Wales to contribute to the aim of creating Welsh speakers. Work has started on developing one language continuum for teaching and learning Welsh in our schools. We are also in the process of undertaking research on language immersion models and methodologies to inform future teaching and learning."

By 2021 we will do the following.

1. Work with key stakeholders to develop and publish before the end of 2017, a national policy for the teaching and learning of Welsh in our statutory education system, informed by research and evidence.
2. Develop one continuum of teaching and learning Welsh to be introduced as part of the new curriculum in all schools in Wales and ensure that assessment and examination of Welsh skills and knowledge are inextricably linked to teaching and learning.
3. Establish an independent board to advise on changes to Welsh education planning processes.
4. Review the legislation underpinning Welsh education planning.
5. Create the demand for Welsh-medium education through ambitious planning with achievable yet realistic targets while maximising existing resources. This may include capital investment through the 21st Century Schools and Education Capital Programme.
6. Review the definitions and categories of schools in Wales according to the language which is used as the medium of instruction.
7. Review the process for increasing the proportion of Welsh-medium teaching and learning in schools.
8. Consolidate and expand the opportunities for learners to access Welsh-medium education, whether in the primary or secondary sector, through specific provision for latecomers.
9. Develop creative marketing campaigns aimed at increasing the demand for Welsh-medium education.
10. Strengthen links with local authorities, regional consortia, schools, early years providers and the post-16 sector to improve progression rates between different phases of education.

(Welsh Government, Cymraeg 2050: our plan for 2017 to 2021, 10 july 2019)

Why put efforts in young students?

"Learning the language during infancy and early childhood provides a strong basis for developing competence and further skills in the future. The most recent census figures show the importance of transmission within families in which both adults speak Welsh, and there is scope to increase the rate of transmission in bilingual households. At present, in couple households where both adults speak Welsh, 82 per cent of children between three and four years of age are able to speak Welsh. In couple households where one adult is able to speak Welsh,45 per cent of children three to four years of age are able to speak Welsh. Our focus will be on maintaining transmission rates in families in which both parents speak Welsh and increasing the transmission rate in mixed language families."

"There is, however, a limit to the additional number of Welsh speakersthat can be created by transmitting the language from one generationto the next. Ensuring the availability of Welsh-medium education, from those initial early years through to primary and secondary education then progressing through to higher and further education, is fundamental to achieving the target of a million Welsh speakers. In order to create more speakers, our education system is dependent on the workforce – teachers, early years practitioners, trainers and lecturers. Creating a workforce with robust linguistic skills, able to inspire and motivate learners in Welsh-medium education is essential to the success of the strategy."

(Welsh Government, Cymraeg 2050: our plan for 2017 to 2021, 10 july 2019)