Tynged yr Iaith
Encyclopedia
"Tynged yr Iaith" was a radio lecture delivered in Welsh
by Saunders Lewis
on February 13, 1962. Reaction to it brought about a major change in the politics of Wales
. Historian John Davies
has said that the lecture was "the catalyst" for the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, and the start of a period of direct-action agitation to enhance the status of the Welsh language. Its direct effect on the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg is described in a history of that society. It has been said that "of all the memorable phrases coined in the twentieth century none has greater resonance for the Welsh speaker than 'Tynged yr Iaith' . . . which still haunts or inspires champions of the native tongue on the cusp of the new millennium". It had the unintended effect of establishing language agitation as a movement separate from the mainstream of nationalist politics. The burgeoning effects from the initial stimulus of "Tynged yr Iaith" were listed by Gwyn Williams:
Welsh Region's annual "Radio Lecture" for 1962. The talk became available as an LP
recording (hear clip http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=129), and as a pamphlet, and is available in an English translation by G. Aled Williams. The lecture was delivered during the period between the taking of the census in 1961 and the publication of the results on the use of Welsh. Lewis anticipated that the figures when published would "shock and disappoint", and that Welsh would "end as a living language, should the present trend continue, about the beginning of the twenty-first century".
The lecture proceeded with a historical analysis of the status of the Welsh language since the Act of Union
of 1535 mandated the use of English for the purposes of law and administration in Wales. Lewis maintained that the official government attitude was to desire the eradication of Welsh, and that Welsh opposition to this, if it existed, was largely unheard. He quotes at length from the Reports of the commissioners of enquiry into the state of education in Wales
published in 1847, which criticised the influence both of the language and Nonconformism
on the life of Wales. He quotes specifically Commissioner R. W. Lingen's opinion that Welsh monoglots migrating from the countryside to the coalfield were prevented by their language from making any social advance. Lewis referred to this opinion as accurate and perceptive. He said that the industrial areas "did not contribute anything new either to Welsh social life or to the literature of the eisteddfodau", and that Welsh Nonconformity united town and country but "at the same time kept them standing still".
Lewis said that the anger and wrath provoked by the Blue Books resulted in no action, and that "the whole of Wales, and Welsh Nonconformity in particular, adopted all the policy and main recommendations of the baleful report". The few proponents of language revival were at the time regarded as eccentric. Lewis opined that during the period of "awakening" in 1860–1890, it might have been possible to establish the use throughout Wales of Welsh in education and administration, but that in 1962 this was not possible.
Addressing the current situation, Lewis pointed out that central government no longer considered the language a threat. In fact, it could afford to promote bilingualism in Wales. Lewis saw this as merely consigning Welsh to a "respectable and peaceful death and a burial without mourning". "If Wales seriously demanded to have Welsh as an official language on a par with English", he said, "the opposition—harsh, vindictive and violent—would come from Wales". He discusses the ineffectual opposition to the drowning of the culturally-significant Tryweryn valley
, saying that government had "taken the measure of the feebleness of Welsh Wales" and "need not concern itself about it any more". It could "leave that to the Welsh local authorities".
This led him to discuss the celebrated case of Trefor and Eileen Beasley of Llangennech
who, between 1952 and 1960, refused to pay their local taxes unless the tax demands were in Welsh. The local authority (Llanelli Rural District) was 84% Welsh-speaking in 1951, and Lewis pointed out that all the Rural District's councillors and officials were Welsh speakers. At the end of the eight-year battle, during which the Beasleys three times had their furniture taken by bailiffs, bilingual tax demands were finally issued.http://cymdeithas.org/2006/06/05/eileen_beasley_to_be_honoured_in_cymdeithas_yr_iaiths_language_festival.html
Lewis took the Beasley case as a model for future action, but significantly added "this cannot be done reasonably except in those districts where Welsh-speakers are a substantial proportion of the population". He proposed to make it impossible for the business of local and central government to continue without using Welsh". "It is a policy for a movement", he said, "in the areas where Welsh is a spoken language in daily use". It would be "nothing less than a revolution".
In 1976, Clive Betts pointed out that the language movement was dissipating its efforts by ignoring Lewis's insistence that action should be restricted to Welsh-speaking areas—to the Bro Gymraeg
, and called for a restricted Quebec-style
policy in the Bro, as Lewis had suggested.
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
by Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis was a Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic, and political activist. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and a founder of the Welsh National Party...
on February 13, 1962. Reaction to it brought about a major change in the politics of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Historian John Davies
John Davies (historian)
John Davies is a Welsh historian, and a television and radio broadcaster.Davies was born in the Rhondda, Wales, and studied at both University College, Cardiff, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He is married with four children...
has said that the lecture was "the catalyst" for the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, and the start of a period of direct-action agitation to enhance the status of the Welsh language. Its direct effect on the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg is described in a history of that society. It has been said that "of all the memorable phrases coined in the twentieth century none has greater resonance for the Welsh speaker than 'Tynged yr Iaith' . . . which still haunts or inspires champions of the native tongue on the cusp of the new millennium". It had the unintended effect of establishing language agitation as a movement separate from the mainstream of nationalist politics. The burgeoning effects from the initial stimulus of "Tynged yr Iaith" were listed by Gwyn Williams:
- Formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg
- Direct action against offices, roadsigns, TV masts: sit-ins and demonstrations
- Drive to create Welsh-language schools
- Positive discrimination in favour of Welsh
- Use of the Israeli modelUlpanAn ulpan is an institute or school for the intensive study of Hebrew. Ulpan is a Hebrew word meaning basically studio or teaching, instruction....
to encourage take-up of the language by adults - Secretary of State for WalesSecretary of State for WalesThe Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
1964 - Welsh Language Act 1967Welsh Language Act 1967The Welsh Language Act 1967 , is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which gave some rights to use the Welsh language in legal proceedings in Wales and gave the relevant Minister the right to authorise the production of a Welsh version of any documents required or allowed by the Act...
- Creation of S4CS4CS4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
- Mushrooming of Welsh language publishing, film production, pop and rockMusic of WalesWales has a strong and distinctive link with music. The country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song". This is a modern stereotype based on 19th century conceptions of Nonconformist choral music and 20th century male voice choirs, Eisteddfodau and arena singing, such as sporting...
, youth and urban music.
Text
It was broadcast as the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Welsh Region's annual "Radio Lecture" for 1962. The talk became available as an LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
recording (hear clip http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=129), and as a pamphlet, and is available in an English translation by G. Aled Williams. The lecture was delivered during the period between the taking of the census in 1961 and the publication of the results on the use of Welsh. Lewis anticipated that the figures when published would "shock and disappoint", and that Welsh would "end as a living language, should the present trend continue, about the beginning of the twenty-first century".
The lecture proceeded with a historical analysis of the status of the Welsh language since the Act of Union
Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542
The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 were parliamentary measures by which the legal system of Wales was annexed to England and the norms of English administration introduced. The intention was to create a single state and a single legal jurisdiction; frequently referred to as England and Wales...
of 1535 mandated the use of English for the purposes of law and administration in Wales. Lewis maintained that the official government attitude was to desire the eradication of Welsh, and that Welsh opposition to this, if it existed, was largely unheard. He quotes at length from the Reports of the commissioners of enquiry into the state of education in Wales
Treachery of the Blue Books
The Treachery of the Blue Books or Treason of the Blue Books was the name given in Wales to the Reports of the commissioners of enquiry into the state of education in Wales published in 1847. The term Brad y Llyfrau Gleision was coined by the author R. J...
published in 1847, which criticised the influence both of the language and Nonconformism
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
on the life of Wales. He quotes specifically Commissioner R. W. Lingen's opinion that Welsh monoglots migrating from the countryside to the coalfield were prevented by their language from making any social advance. Lewis referred to this opinion as accurate and perceptive. He said that the industrial areas "did not contribute anything new either to Welsh social life or to the literature of the eisteddfodau", and that Welsh Nonconformity united town and country but "at the same time kept them standing still".
Lewis said that the anger and wrath provoked by the Blue Books resulted in no action, and that "the whole of Wales, and Welsh Nonconformity in particular, adopted all the policy and main recommendations of the baleful report". The few proponents of language revival were at the time regarded as eccentric. Lewis opined that during the period of "awakening" in 1860–1890, it might have been possible to establish the use throughout Wales of Welsh in education and administration, but that in 1962 this was not possible.
Addressing the current situation, Lewis pointed out that central government no longer considered the language a threat. In fact, it could afford to promote bilingualism in Wales. Lewis saw this as merely consigning Welsh to a "respectable and peaceful death and a burial without mourning". "If Wales seriously demanded to have Welsh as an official language on a par with English", he said, "the opposition—harsh, vindictive and violent—would come from Wales". He discusses the ineffectual opposition to the drowning of the culturally-significant Tryweryn valley
Llyn Celyn
Llyn Celyn is a large reservoir constructed between 1960 and 1965 in the valley of the River Tryweryn in Gwynedd, North Wales. It measures roughly 2½ miles long by a mile wide, and has a maximum depth of...
, saying that government had "taken the measure of the feebleness of Welsh Wales" and "need not concern itself about it any more". It could "leave that to the Welsh local authorities".
This led him to discuss the celebrated case of Trefor and Eileen Beasley of Llangennech
Llangennech
Llangennech is a village in the area of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, West Wales, United Kingdom.It is governed by Carmarthenshire County Council and Llanelli Rural council. It falls in the Llanelli parliament Constituency. Llangennech is also the name of an electoral ward coterminous with the village...
who, between 1952 and 1960, refused to pay their local taxes unless the tax demands were in Welsh. The local authority (Llanelli Rural District) was 84% Welsh-speaking in 1951, and Lewis pointed out that all the Rural District's councillors and officials were Welsh speakers. At the end of the eight-year battle, during which the Beasleys three times had their furniture taken by bailiffs, bilingual tax demands were finally issued.http://cymdeithas.org/2006/06/05/eileen_beasley_to_be_honoured_in_cymdeithas_yr_iaiths_language_festival.html
Lewis took the Beasley case as a model for future action, but significantly added "this cannot be done reasonably except in those districts where Welsh-speakers are a substantial proportion of the population". He proposed to make it impossible for the business of local and central government to continue without using Welsh". "It is a policy for a movement", he said, "in the areas where Welsh is a spoken language in daily use". It would be "nothing less than a revolution".
After-effects
Gwyn Williams said there were contrary effects. There was enthusiastic uptake of the cause of the language in the middle class, both English and Welsh-speaking. But he saw the across-the-board implementation of language policies as causing the increasingly English-speaking industrial working-class (contemptuously dismissed by Lewis) to feel disenfranchised and excluded. He went on to blame this reaction for the "No" vote in the Welsh devolution referendum, 1979, the vote of which split very much on language lines.In 1976, Clive Betts pointed out that the language movement was dissipating its efforts by ignoring Lewis's insistence that action should be restricted to Welsh-speaking areas—to the Bro Gymraeg
Y Fro Gymraeg
Y Fro Gymraeg is a name often used to refer to the linguistic area in Wales where the Welsh language is used by the majority or a large part of the population; it is the heartland of the Welsh language and comparable in that respect to the Gàidhealtachd of Scotland and Gaeltacht of Ireland...
, and called for a restricted Quebec-style
Office québécois de la langue française
The Office québécois de la langue française is a public organization established on March 24, 1961 by the Liberal government of Jean Lesage...
policy in the Bro, as Lewis had suggested.