Say it in Welsh
Sir: Eirwyn Thomas, defending the revival of the Welsh language (Letters, 26 Marc 11)' appears to be quite unaware of the hideous deprivation which his Council for the Welsh Language may inflict on future generatiĀ° of his countrymen. If use of spoken and written Welsh, becomes predominant throughout the Prnci: pality, with Welsh radio and TV programine" available at all times, Welsh paperbacks tĀ° read, films dubbed in Welsh, and native Ā°;:i translated Welsh drama, a generation w" grow up, particularly among rural and de: prived urban areas, who will hardly Ilavy encountered the English tongue by the One they commence secondary education. Asf every teacher knows, for many children more than average intelligence no seeono language ever 'takes' at all satisfactorily, and even those who have the potential rni.aYe fail to encounter a teacher with the requist, skill to teach them English as a foreig: language so that they can take up their birtir right as citizens of the United Kingcloim What a vista of dispossession is oPeitie up! Lloyd George angrily denounced t!ri system which made his people trespassers 1 the land of their birth, but the next generrf; tion of Welsh poor could be foreigners their own country. Not that this need oohs; Mr Thomas undue concernāhe and descendents will doubtless manage to seraerd a living in the fields of writing, infĀ°rIlie discussion and public debate, in the nĀ° causes of tolerance, understanding, a" social harmony.
C. N. Gilmore 39 Beechcroft Road, Oxford
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