Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:21 pm on 5 July 2017.
Siân Gwenllian
Plaid Cymru
5:21,
5 July 2017
Oh, it’s this weekend. Well, do go to Llangrannog, everyone. And then Dai spoke about the need to promote the Welsh language in all areas, and the need for an arm’s-length body to do that important work.
So, to conclude, speaking Welsh and speaking English fluently make me who I am. The Welsh language opens the door to me to a rich culture that dates back to the sixth century. The English language opens the door to me a rich, global culture. Both are part of my experience. I’m lucky. I’m a bilingual person who uses both languages with full confidence. Even though you don’t hear me speaking English here very often, I can speak English and I can do so fluently. [Laughter.] So, what is the argument for not creating the opportunity for every child to grow up to have one, two, three, four or five languages even? There’s no logical argument. There are clear advantages and it’s that situation of bilingualism or multilingualism that’s normal in the Majority of countries worldwide. We need to move towards that situation as soon as possible. I congratulate you as a Government for adopting an ambitious aim, and it’s time to start on that journey and to turn the aim into a reality. So, I’m pleased to hear that the strategy will be announced at last next week. I can guarantee you now that we will be scrutinising it in detail and that we will certainly have comments to make on it. I agree in full with what Alun Davies said: we don’t need to apologise to anyone for using the Welsh language and promoting the use of the Welsh language at all times and in all fields. Thank you.
The language of Wales spoken by around 25% of the population. It is an Indo-European language and belongs to the Celtic group. It was made "offical" in Wales by the Welsh Language Act 1993. It is known in Welsh as Cymraeg.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.