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Jeanne Dininni
Shilpa KarhikWalter Dowding
May 16th 2006 12:16
I'R HEN IAITH A'I CHANEUON
(To the Old Tongue and its songs)
by Walter Dowding
When I am listening to the sweet, tuneful airs of my country,
sung by fresh and young Welsh voices that love them,
in the language so strong and beautiful,
that has grown out of the ageless mountains
and the deep, dark valleys,
I am fulfilled as I am in no otherwise fulfilled.
Then am I caught up into a realm of natural being,
and am one with my fathers,
and with them that shall come after me,
and with those who yet, in these not unregenerate days,
do speak that speech of wondrous beauty
that our fathers wrought.
English is the dominant language in Wales and only about one in five Welsh people actually speaks Welsh fluently, though there has been something of a revival in recent years, largely thanks to nationalist organisations. Welsh is also a compulsory subject in Welsh schools now, and Welsh is required by law to be used in many situations, such as road signs, which have to be in both English and Welsh. So it's likely that the number of Welsh speakers will continue to rise and this beautiful language won't face the same fate as some other British languages which are now extinct. I love Welsh poetry and just wish I could read it in Welsh instead of in English translations.
(To the Old Tongue and its songs)
by Walter Dowding
When I am listening to the sweet, tuneful airs of my country,
sung by fresh and young Welsh voices that love them,
in the language so strong and beautiful,
that has grown out of the ageless mountains
and the deep, dark valleys,
I am fulfilled as I am in no otherwise fulfilled.
Then am I caught up into a realm of natural being,
and am one with my fathers,
and with them that shall come after me,
and with those who yet, in these not unregenerate days,
do speak that speech of wondrous beauty
that our fathers wrought.
English is the dominant language in Wales and only about one in five Welsh people actually speaks Welsh fluently, though there has been something of a revival in recent years, largely thanks to nationalist organisations. Welsh is also a compulsory subject in Welsh schools now, and Welsh is required by law to be used in many situations, such as road signs, which have to be in both English and Welsh. So it's likely that the number of Welsh speakers will continue to rise and this beautiful language won't face the same fate as some other British languages which are now extinct. I love Welsh poetry and just wish I could read it in Welsh instead of in English translations.
Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. From Wikipedia
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