History of Welsh
Welsh is one of the P-Celtic languages, alongside Breton and Cornish. Welsh began emerging as a distinct language from the common P-Celtic language, called Early Welsh, during the first millennium. At this stage it is called Old Welsh, from approximately the 9th to 11th centuries (1: “How Old is Welsh?”). Medieval Welsh developed next, lasting until the 14th century, when Early Modern Welsh developed. At the end of the 16th century the Bible was first published in Welsh, and from this point, the language is called Late Modern Welsh. It has changed very little because a standard was effectively set with the publication of the Bible (1: “How Old is Welsh?”). However, colloquial or spoken Welsh can be quite different from this literary standard (6: “History”), and there are several main dialects of modern Welsh. These are, by region: Vendotian (North-West), Powysian (North-East and mid-country), Demetian (South-West), South-East, and Patagonian (1: “How Old is Welsh?”).
Although originally Welsh was spoken in many areas in Britain, such as the south of Scotland, eventually it was concentrated in present-day Wales, and some areas just across the Wales-England border. It was the singular and dominant language of Wales for hundreds of years. Its decline began with England’s ‘conquest’ of Wales in 1282, which heralded a period of subjugation for the language. Welsh was replaced by English as the ‘official’ language and was even effectively banned for public officials (1: “When was Wales?”). Over the centuries it survived only as a secondary language, until it was spoken almost exclusively in the rural areas of the country.
Welsh Outside Wales
The only significant Welsh-speaking community outside Wales is in Patagonia, Argentina. A group of just over 150 Welsh people settled in the area in 1865, hoping to continue their way of life that was disintegrating in Wales (2). The number of speakers has grown significantly from the days of immigration (estimates are between 1000 and 5000), and the community is significant enough that the British Council is funding a Welsh education project there, with 700 people currently enrolled in Welsh classes (see 5 and 3: 2.2). There are also Welsh speakers in England and many other countries. Most of these are Welsh immigrants and they most likely do not use the language regularly.
