Welsh Not
Encyclopedia
The Welsh Not or Welsh Note was a punishment system used in some Welsh
schools in the late 19th and early 20th century to dissuade children from speaking Welsh
. It was represented as a piece of wood, inscribed with the letters "WN", that was hung around the necks of children who spoke Welsh during the school day.
The "not" was given to any child overheard speaking Welsh, who would pass it to a different child if they were overheard speaking Welsh. By the end of the day, the wearer of the "not" would be given a lashing
. The idea of the "not" was to discourage pupils from speaking Welsh, at a time when English
was considered by some to be the only suitable medium of instruction
.
). The practice was mentioned in the 1847 Reports of the commissioners of enquiry into the state of education in Wales
. Though highly critical of many aspects of Welsh culture, some of the inspectors commented on the existence of the practice of using "nots" as being arbitrary and cruel. The report did not endorse the practice. The reports also clearly show that the vast majority of education in Welsh Wales was still conducted in Welsh.
In the later decades of the 19th century, education was compulsory but the Welsh "not" was used only in a minority of schools, and after the school boards
were absorbed by the county councils following the Local Government Act 1888
, instruction in Welsh in primary schools became the norm in Welsh-speaking areas. There is no evidence that the secondary schools, in which instruction was almost universally in English, made use of the "not".
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...
schools in the late 19th and early 20th century to dissuade children from speaking Welsh
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...
. It was represented as a piece of wood, inscribed with the letters "WN", that was hung around the necks of children who spoke Welsh during the school day.
The "not" was given to any child overheard speaking Welsh, who would pass it to a different child if they were overheard speaking Welsh. By the end of the day, the wearer of the "not" would be given a lashing
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
. The idea of the "not" was to discourage pupils from speaking Welsh, at a time when English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
was considered by some to be the only suitable medium of instruction
Medium of instruction
Medium of instruction is a language used in teaching. It may or may not be the official language of the country or territory. Where the first language of students is different from the official language, it may be used as the medium of instruction for part or all of schooling. Bilingual or...
.
History
The use of the "not" was recorded in the 18th century; it was also commonly known as the 'cwstom', the 'Welsh stick' and the 'Welsh lead' (a lump of leadLead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
). The practice was mentioned in the 1847 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...
. Though highly critical of many aspects of Welsh culture, some of the inspectors commented on the existence of the practice of using "nots" as being arbitrary and cruel. The report did not endorse the practice. The reports also clearly show that the vast majority of education in Welsh Wales was still conducted in Welsh.
In the later decades of the 19th century, education was compulsory but the Welsh "not" was used only in a minority of schools, and after the school boards
School board (England & Wales)
School boards were public bodies in England and Wales between 1870 and 1902, which established and administered elementary schools.School boards were created in boroughs and parishes under the Elementary Education Act 1870 following campaigning by George Dixon, Joseph Chamberlain and the National...
were absorbed by the county councils following the Local Government Act 1888
Local Government Act 1888
The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...
, instruction in Welsh in primary schools became the norm in Welsh-speaking areas. There is no evidence that the secondary schools, in which instruction was almost universally in English, made use of the "not".
Similar policies in other countries
- VergonhaVergonhaLa vergonha is what Occitans call the effects of various policies of the government of France on its citizens whose mother tongue was a so-called patois, specifically langue d'oc...
, French suppression of regional languages (see Languages of France). , suppression of Ryukyuan languagesRyukyuan languagesThe Ryukyuan languages are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands, and make up a subgroup of the Japonic, itself controversially a subgroup of Altaic....
and dialects of the Tōhoku regionTohoku regionThe is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....
in Japan. - Beatings were used in a similar fashion by American Indian boarding schools through the 1960s, perhaps even later.