The Welsh Government is dropping plans for a Welsh Language Bill - which would have scrapped the job of Welsh language commissioner

The move has been welcomed by campaigners who claimed it would have weakened protection for the language. Welsh Language Minister Eluned Morgan said: "It is clear there is no appetite to change the whole system." The Welsh Government said its target of having a million Welsh speakers by 2050 was unaffected by the announcement.
The commissioner promotes the Welsh language, protects the rights of people to use it, and polices the standards required of public sector bodies in their use of Welsh.
Ministers had proposed deciding for themselves which standards should apply to those organisations and any others.
Osian Rhys, chair of Welsh language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, said it was "excellent news".
"The government should now get on with the work needed to deliver on its vision of reaching a million Welsh speakers," he said.
"It's also vital that they press ahead with using their existing powers to extend the standards to companies in the postal, energy, water, mobile phone and broadband sectors. "Despite the good news today, we'll be keeping a close eye to ensure there are no steps to weaken Welsh language rights in any way."
Former Liberal Democrat assembly member Aled Roberts was appointed as Welsh language commissioner in November for a seven-year term, taking up the role in March.
The current commissioner, Meri Huws, welcomed the announcement for giving "clarity on the way forward".
She said Welsh standards had made "a difference to the experience of Welsh speakers".
"It is very positive that we can now continue placing standards on more sectors, and move forward with a system that works."
Alun Davies, Ms Morgan's predecessor as Welsh language minister, criticised the move, saying: "I fear that this will be seen as the point where the seriousness of the government on this policy was brought into question."

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First TV chat show in Cornish language launched online

The first ever television chat show in the Cornish language has been launched. Two pilot episodes of 'Jaqi ha Jerry' have been made with money from FEAST - a programme funded by Arts Council England and Cornwall Council, and managed by Creative Kernow. The programme, hosted by Jerry Sethir and Jaqi Heard, is a half-hour show on the online Cornish language TV channel 'Pellwolok an Gernewegva'.

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Children at Gaeltacht schools getting more immersed in Irish language

Gaeltacht schools have made significant steps forward in improving the quality of Irish language education. That’s the finding of an inspection report of 105 primary and 28 secondary schools taking part in the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme.

The report said that junior and senior infants pupils are being immersed in Irish to provide listening and speaking opportunities to students of different ability levels in Irish from an early age. Later years are making more Irish language books available to encourage bilingual learning, and teaching addtitional subjects through Irish.

Where schools were already bilingual, the report found more support was being given to improve fluency.

Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh said teachers and parents deserved praise for the efforts they made to encourage their kids to embrace Irish.

“I want to praise the commitment and conscientious efforts of principals and teachers and the support and interest from parents.”


“I am very impressed by the high level of engagement of participating schools in the initial phase of the Scheme’s implementation.”

When it comes to secondary schools, the report highlighted that the greatest difficulty was in encouraging teenagers to use Irish in everyday conversation.

Minister McHugh said: “One of our objectives should be to get young people using the language and make it relevant to their lives.”

To help with this participating schools have been implementing measures such as Irish language clubs for lunch time, creating student committees to give them an input on how they feel the use of Irish could be promoted, and encouraging students to take part in Irish competitions with organisations like TG4

Across both primary and secondary level, schools have been supporting events that immerse students in their gaeltacht heritage.

The Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme was launched last year to ensure that high quality Irish Language education is available to gaeltacht students.

It aims to preserve and promote Irish as the main language of Gaeltacht communities.

This report is based on inspections of participating schools carried out between September and December of this year.

“We can be proud of the efforts made by Gaeltacht schools in supporting our national language and heritage. As it is said, ‘Beatha teanga í a labhairt’,” the Minister finished.

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Sophia Morrison Award: Manx Gaelic original short-story competition

A writing competition is being held to celebrate the 160th anniversary of a Manx author.

Sophia Morrison was born in Peel on May 24, 1859. The Manx branch of the Celtic Congress is holding a Manx Gaelic original short-story competition for Aundyr Sophia Morrison, the Sophia Morrison Award.
There is a cash prize of £100 for the winning entry. The competition is for an original short-story in Manx Gaelic on any subject, with a minimum of 600 words and a maximum of 1,000 words.
This is an open competition for any age of Manx writer. There is no entry fee or limit on the number of stories which may be submitted by any one author.
Entries should be submitted by May 1, and the winner will be announced on May 24 at ’A Manks Concert for Sophia Morrison’ at the Centenary Centre in Peel. The concert is being organised by the Manx branch of the Celtic Congress. An entry form can be found on the website of the Manx branch of the Celtic Congress - www.celticcongressmannin.com
Sophia Morrison had already established Manx Gaelic classes in Peel by the time she became a founder member and later secretary of the Manx Language Society (Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh).
She was an important figure in Manx and pan-Celtic cultural activity.
She collected and published Manx folklore of all kinds - stories, songs, sayings - and shared information about it with a wide range of academics and other interested parties.
She was enthusiastically involved in the pan-Celtic movement, which led to the Celtic Congress in 1917, some months after her own death in January of that year.

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Multiple wins for Alffa and Gwilym at Gwobrau’r Selar 2019 Welsh language music awards

As Gwobrau’r Selar announced award winners, Getintothis’ Cath Holland observes triumphs for the country’s new blood making its voice heard. Organised by contemporary Welsh language music magazine Y Selar, the Gwobrau’r Selar annual awards are now in their seventh year and were held at Aberystwyth University for the fifth time. For 2019, the event was expanded over two days, confirming the boom in the popularity of Welsh language music.



Saturday night’s tickets sold out three weeks in advance, and over 1500 people attended over the weekend. Alffa were the recipient of the brand new Platinum award.

The teenagers hit the international headlines last year when second single Gwenwyn hit a million streams on Spotify.

Albums are now declared platinum after 300, 000 sales; this award is intended to acknowledge the value of digital streaming, and gives a much deserved nod to music achieving a million streams.

Gwenwyn’s streaming figures have now doubled in the last two months, meaning the song is now double Platinum – and so Alffa were given two Platinum awards.

Reaching a million streams for the first time was a breakthrough for Welsh music. With digital streaming now dominating the music market, and platinum sales becoming more infrequent, the intention is to present this award to every Welsh song that reaches that million from now on.

The duo were presented with the surprise awards on Friday, the day of the release of new single Pla, which they performed at the event.

Alffa are enjoying Spotify support once more with this new release, landing a spot on the New Music Friday UK, The Rock List and All New Rock playlists this week.

Alffa play the Lexington in London on 27 February with Accu and Private World, promoted by Cardiff venue Clwb Ifor Bach.

Also at Gwobrau’r Selar 2019, Best Individual Artist and Best Independent Promoter were awarded to Alys Williams and Clwb Ifor Bach respectively, for the second year running.

Alys is a former contestant on The Voice, and has released a couple of original singles so far, plus collaborations.

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Magi Ann Kernewek, the Welsh Language Apps Inspiring the Next Generation of Cornish Speakers

An award winning series of apps to help families learn Welsh is now inspiring the next generation of Cornish speakers get off to a flying start.
The National Lottery funded Magi Ann Welsh Language apps were launched in 2016 with the aim of helping young children and their families learn Welsh. The apps, which are the brainchild of Menter Iaith Fflint a Wrecsam in north east Wales, is the inspiration behind a new Cornish equivalent being launched in Truro, Cornwall today.
A direct result of a partnership they forged with Menter Iaith Fflint a Wrecsam at the 2017 National Lottery Awards in London, Cornish cultural trailblazers, Golden Tree Productions, will be unveiling a new Magi Ann Kernewek (Cornish) app this morning.

The Cornish version goes by the same name as its Celtic cousin and contains 12 simple stories to help the next generation of Cornish speakers. Today’s unveiling in Cornwall forms part of the wider launch of ‘Go Cornish’ https://gocornish.org/, a new online resource from Golden Tree Productions for learning and teaching the Cornish language. The team behind the Welsh version from Menter Iaith Fflint a Wrecsam will be joining today’s celebrations in Cornwall, as will the app’s main cartoon character – Magi Ann.The Magi Ann apps bring to life a series of traditional Welsh language books of the same name which were originally penned by Flintshire teacher and author, Menna Evans. The animated interactive apps allow parents to tap on a word to find out how to pronounce it, as well as displaying the English translation.
The Welsh app, which is also celebrating smashing through the quarter of a million downloads barrier this month, was voted as the UK’s Best Education Project at the 2017 National Lottery Awards – the annual search for the UK’s favourite National Lottery-funded good causes.The Welsh Magi Ann app has been downloaded in countries as far away as America, Argentina, China and Japan. Menter Iaith Fflint a Wrecsam have also received expressions of interest from other minority language groups across Europe who are looking at the potential of developing similar Magi Ann apps.
It was during the 2017 National Lottery Awards in London that the idea of creating a Cornish version of Magi Ann was forged. It was here that the winning team in the Education category from Menter Iaith Fflint a Wrecsam met up with the team victorious team from Cornwall behind the Man Engine (the largest touring mechanical puppet ever built in Britain) which scooped up the UK’s Best Arts project at the ceremony.
As Rhian Davies, the Communications Officer for Menter Iaith Fflint a Wrecsam, recalls:
 “During the Awards, we got to know the Man Engine’s creator Will Coleman and his team from Golden Tree Productions who were behind the project. We got on really well and Will explained that he spoke Cornish. After the Awards, and as you do as fellow Celts, we were all up late dancing and singing songs together in Cornish and Welsh. We realised that we had a lot in common and that’s when the concept of creating a Kernewek (Cornish) Magi Ann app came into fruition. Things developed swiftly from there and we have since had expressions of interest from other places in Europe such as Brittany in northern France about developing a Breton language version of the app. The sky’s the limit really with regards to how far Magi Ann can go to inspire people to maintain and preserve minority languages.Will Coleman, the Artistic Director for Golden Tree Productions, said: “It has been a pleasure working with the Magi Ann team to create the Cornish Magi Ann Kernewek app, for pre-school, nursery and family learning. We are very grateful to the National Lottery for making this relationship possible, and along with our new Go Cornish website (gocornish.org), this app is already inspiring the next generation of Cornish language learners.”

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Anger as Welsh language nurseries told they will have to teach some English to children

Plans to make English compulsory at Welsh language nurseries have angered parents, teachers and language campaigners.  They say the proposals in the new curriculum threaten the future of the language and the Welsh government's own ambitions for one million Welsh speakers by 2050.

Mudiad Meithrin, the voluntary movement specialising in early years Welsh language education set up in 1971, said "no policy has ever been so detrimental to the learning and acquisition of Welsh by children in the early years" since.

The Welsh Government White Paper on the new curriculum recommends putting a “duty on all schools and Funded Nursery Settings to teach English as a compulsory element of the new curriculum for Wales”.

This "flies in the face" of international norms on learning minority languges, said Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies, Mudiad Meithrin Chief Executive while teaching union UCAC said the recommendation “threatens current effective practice” ..

English is not one of the subjects identified as requiring statutory status by the architect of the reforms, Professor Graham Donaldson.

But the White Paper also recommends putting "a duty on all schools and Funded Nursery Settings to teach Welsh as a compulsory element of the new curriculum for Wales for three to 16 year-olds."

Parents say children from non-Welsh speaking homes and areas, need Welsh-only immersion for the two hours a day at nursery and those from Welsh speaking homes need to be able to learn in their language only at that age.

They add that the current system of learning English from age seven at Welsh medium school works.



Rebecca Williams, UCAC deputy general secretary said: “We note with considerable concern the proposal in the White Paper to make English a compulsory subject for all learners aged three to 16.

“Our concern is specifically in relation to the Foundation Phase. In Welsh-medium schools and pre-school settings, immersion in the Welsh language has proved incredibly effective at giving children from all linguistic backgrounds the skills to become fluent.

“English is introduced incrementally from Year Three (age seven) onwards, and children become almost effortlessly bilingual.

“In a situation such as in Wales, where we have a minority language and an incredibly powerful language living together side-by-side, this has proven to be the most effective model.

“It gives learners the strong foothold in Welsh that they would probably not acquire otherwise, whilst also fully developing their English language skills.

"This proposal threatens current effective practice and conflicts with existing Welsh Government policy to boost the number of Welsh speakers. We call on Welsh Government to clarify the situation as soon as possible.”

Dr Gwenllian Lansdown Davies, Mudiad Meithrin Chief Executive said: “We will be seeking urgent reassurance from Welsh Government that this is an error of judgement.

"Since Mudiad Meithrin was first established in 1971, no policy has ever been so detrimental to the learning and acquisition of Welsh by children in the early years as that proposed in the White Paper.

"This policy undermines Welsh Government’s own seminal Welsh-language policy and flies in the face of international norms as far as teaching a minority language using the immersion method is concerned”.

Father of one Rhys Llwyd from Caernarfon worries his Welsh language development will suffer as a result,

“Our son is two and has just started at cylch in Caernarfon. We speak Welsh at home and most of our friends and family are also Welsh speakers," he said.

“Our son has already picked up a few English words and phrases because English is so prevalent in society. Because Welsh is a minority language children need to be immersed in it from and early age so that it’s a language they are comfortable in before they encounter the influence on the prevailing Anglo-American culture which is all in English.

“Cylch should be the space where they have an opportunity to immerse themselves in Welsh. This isn’t about creating a ghetto for the Welsh language. It’s about giving Children the best change of mastering both of our national languages and creating a truly bilingual child for a bilingual Wales.”

Tamsin Davies, from Machynlleth, whose son Emrys, one, goes to Welsh speaking childcare in Aberystwyth, fears his Welsh may be watered down if he goes on to a nursery where he must learn English too. His father does not speak Welsh. The couple, who both work at Aberystwyth University, want their son to be bilingual and feel there is ample opportunity outside nursery to learn English.

“The system we have at the moment where children in Welsh medium education start learning English at around seven works fine,” said Tamsin.

“Parents are concerned about what effect this plan will have on development of Welsh language skills. English is everywhere. It’s not as though those who speak Welsh at home have no exposure to English.”

Mother of three Heleddd Gwyndaf from Ceredigion accused the Welsh Government of being culturally out of touch: “Nursery is a very important age to be immersed in the language. Cylch is only two hours day so for those who don’t speak Welsh at home this is a crucial time.” 
Siân Gwenllian AM, Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, demanded the recommendation is removed:

“The Welsh Government’s proposal in this White Paper to make English a compulsory element of the new curriculum in nursery groups and other childcare settings undermines the whole philosophy of Welsh-medium education and the experience of decades of language planning in Wales.

“The idea of Welsh-medium immersion education - with English being introduced later during the passage of pupils through the education system - has been well established in Wales for many years as the most effective way of securing the right of citizens to become fluent in Welsh, regardless of their background. Indeed, the international evidence and the emphasis of Donaldson himself confirms that.

“This motion is completely contrary to the Welsh Government’s promise to create a Million Welsh Speakers and it should be removed immediately.”

Siân Gwenllian AM, Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, demanded the recommendation is removed (Image: Plaid Cymru)

Osian Rhys, chair of Welsh language campaign group Cymdeithas yr Iaith, said: “I hope the Government will admit it has made a mistake here. As far as we know, no-one has recommended that English should be compulsory in the new curriculum.

“Forcing Welsh-medium nurseries to teach English would be a major step backwards and would undermine the Government’s own efforts to reach a million Welsh speakers."

A Welsh Government spokesperson said:“It is patently absurd to make the claim that our curriculum reforms are in any way a danger to our bilingual ambitions.

“Welsh-medium immersion at an early age is an important method of ensuring bilingual children.  The proposed arrangements will allow this to continue.”

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Irish language street signs for West Belfast get green light

The streets in the west of the city will feature their Irish translation after the request was approved by Council officials on February 6.
Séanna Walsh, a Sinn Fein councillor in the West Belfast , says there has been a “surge” of interest in the issue over recent months.
He added: “There’s a lot of young people getting involved in the issue, some who’ve been exercised about the language since the ‘crocodile’ remark and the denial of Acht Na Gaeilge, the way unionism reacted to demands for Irish language recognistion.”
Cllr Walsh said that over the past year more than 50 streets have adopted dual language signs, compared to around 200 since legislation allowing the practice was introduced in the late 1990s.
 He added: “It can be quite an arduous process, but the people involved in this, the more they do it the more proficient they become. But people have to fill out the forms, they have to make the effort otherwise it won’t happen. Some people will say ‘sure there’s more important things than the Irish language’, but to many, many people it’s about identity, it’s about their culture.

“The important thing is, it’s dual-language. We have to be very, very careful about that. It’s not excluding anything, it’s about inclusivity.”
Under rules employed by the Council two thirds of people on the electoral register on a street must agree to the change before it can happen. The Irish translation must then be checked by a senior academic at Queen’s.

Details of the surveys conducted in each street ahead of the new signs going up are on the Belfast City Council website with most ranging from 65% to 75% with a few were 100% voted in favour.
Council minutes show that there is a “cost of approximately £2,000 to cover the cost of the manufacturing and erection of the dual language street signs”.
Among the streets affected are Hawthorn Hill, off the Hannahstown Hill, which will have ‘Cnoc na Sceiche’ added to its street sign.
Shanlieve Road, in Andersonstown, will have Bóthar Sheanshléibhe added while Brooke Manor, off the Blacks Road, will have Mainéar an tSrutháin added.
Some unofficial Irish street signs already exist, with one at Benraw Terrace or Ardán Bheann Ratha.

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Brittany and Celtic Research Center celebrating 50th birthday

The Centre de recherche bretonne et celtique (CRBC, Brittany and Celtic Research Center) organizes a series of events (exhibitions, meetings, visits ...) throughout the year 2019 to celebrate its fiftieth year of existence.

Housed in the Faculty of Humanities and Humanities of Brest, the CRBC was born in 1969, almost at the same time as the University of Western Brittany (UBO) with the ambition to start looking for Breton origins in the process of disappearance. It was therefore initially an "ethnology of urgency", as recalled by the pioneering researchers of the Center. With little means at the beginning, the preferred method was the field survey; the strength of Brest residing in its large number of speakers in Breton.

A multidisciplinary laboratory (history, ethnology, sociolinguistic studies), the CRBC now brings together 34 professors and researchers from UBO and Rennes 2 University, as well as 33 doctoral students and about 100 associate researchers. The CBRC is also distinguished by its unique, one-of-a-kind, open-to-public, free library of 68,000 books and nearly 2,300 periodicals.

Its third function is finally that of publishing house. In fact, every year seven to ten scientific books are published. The idea of ​​the programming designed for this anniversary, which has also been awarded the label "80 years of the CNRS" (also celebrated in 2019), is to make known the archives to a wide audience. How? Through thematic visits, meetings with researchers, but also exhibitions, including one entitled "The end fund of the CRBC. Riches of a Library ", which will be inaugurated next October and will showcase 50 iconic objects from the archives.

The structure aims to reach all audiences and make known the nuggets of the Breton heritage. Following the same idea, the CRBC has also created an open digital library accessible to all, regularly fed with new archives, accompanied by scientific insights to guide the reader.

The launch of this year of celebration begins on February and will spread until December.
List of events organized as part of the 50th anniversary of the Brittany and Celtic Research Center can be consulted on this website.

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English-medium education to put more emphasis on Welsh

Welsh will no longer be classed as a second language in English-medium schools, under new proposals. All pupils will follow the same curriculum for the language from 2022, but English-medium pupils will not necessarily be expected to meet the same standard as Welsh-medium students. Other reforms include introducing "international" languages in primaries.The Welsh Government said it was working to ensure teachers had the right skills. This included providing intensive Welsh-language training to teachers and teaching assistants through a sabbatical scheme.

This responds to long-standing calls for Welsh as a "second language" to be ditched. Most agree it has been ineffective in giving young people who do not speak the language at home the skills to use Welsh in everyday life. But there are many questions about how it will work. There is already a shortage of Welsh-speaking teachers - the government said it was working to boost skills but that could take many years. Although the use of Welsh, perhaps through songs and greetings, is already embedded in many English-medium primary schools, boosting provision at secondary level will be much more challenging.

The Welsh Government said while it would be up to schools to decide how they approach improving learners' skills, they would need to think about opportunities for learners to listen, read, speak and write in Welsh, possibly in different parts of the curriculum.

Welsh, English and "international" languages will be included in a new Languages, Literacy and Communication area of learning - one of six broad areas of learning in the new curriculum. Welsh will remain compulsory for pupils aged 3-16. International languages will include modern foreign languages such as French and German as well as "community languages, classical languages and British Sign Language (BSL)"

A major report in 2013 warned that it was "the eleventh hour" for Welsh second language teaching and called for urgent action to address poor standards. The author of that report, Prof Sioned Davies, said she was pleased the Welsh Government was fulfilling the recommendations of her report. "Ensuring that the Welsh language is a statutory subject for everyone, and removing the term 'Welsh second language' is vital if we are to achieve the goal of a million Welsh speakers," she said.

Education Secretary Kirsty Williams said the move marked the most dramatic shift in language teaching in Wales since the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1988. "We know these changes will take time and that's why we won't be taking a big bang approach," she said. "We're committed to giving schools the time and resources they need to adjust."

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Gaelic support service to inspire Scots to speak the language

Young people will be able to access a range of support services provided in Gaelic as part of a new initiative. The project, launched by Young Scot, will offer advice online about topics including financial management, puberty and internet safety.  It aims to help inspire more young people in Scotland to speak the language. According to figures published by Scotland’s National Centre in Languages, the number of pupils learning Gaelic in schools below Higher level increased from 151 in 2017 to 209 in 2018.  The number of pupils studying the language at Higher level also increased slightly from 69 to 75 over the same period. The statistics point to a generally downward trend since 2012 when 375 pupils were learing Gaelic below Higher level and 110 were learning it at Higher level. Young Scot indicated it is hopeful the number of pupils learning Gaelic in schools will continue to rise following the latest increases. The organisation also announced it had agreed a partnership with bilingual bookseller Acair to offer a 10 per cent discount to Young Scot NEC cardholders.

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Young Scots, Support services to be provided in Gaelic for young people in Scotland

The initiative, launched by Young Scot, aims to encourage more young people across the country to use and engage with the language.

Young people will be able to access a range of support services provided in Gaelic as part of a new initiative.

The project, launched by Young Scot, will offer advice online about topics including financial management, puberty and internet safety.

It aims to help inspire more young people in Scotland to speak the language.

According to figures published by Scotland’s National Centre in Languages (SCILT), the number of pupils learning Gaelic in schools below Higher level increased from 151 in 2017 to 209 in 2018.

The number of pupils studying the language at Higher level also increased slightly from 69 to 75 over the same period.

The statistics point to a generally downward trend since 2012 when 375 pupils were learing Gaelic below Higher level and 110 were learning it at Higher level.

However, Young Scot indicated it is hopeful that the number of pupils learning Gaelic in schools will continue to rise following the latest increases.

The organisation also announced that it had agreed a nationwide partnership with bilingual bookseller Acair to offer a 10% discount to Young Scot NEC cardholders on Gaelic, Scots and bilingual books, as well as other educational resources to help people to start learning.

Ruairidh Hamilton, Gaelic Development Officer at Young Scot, said: “We know developing language skills is a great way to strengthen career prospects available to Scotland’s young people.

“This project is a really exciting way for Young Scot to give Gaelic speakers the resources that they need and to showcase the benefits of adopting the Gaelic language in everyday life.

“We want young people to have easy access to advice and support that can help them achieve their future ambitions.”

David Boag, of public body Bòrd na Gàidhlig, said: “The aim of the National Gaelic Language Plan is that Gaelic is used more often, by more people and in a wider range of situations and this is particularly important amongst young people.

“The launch of this resource will ensure that 675,000 Young Scot card holders have a new opportunity to use and engage with Gaelic and we welcome this positive development.”

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Wrexham pupils celebrate Welsh language music with international harpist

An international harpist was the star guest as a Wrexham school celebrated a day of Welsh music. The Wrexham Early Years Centre on Prince Charles Road, Caia Park, took part in Miwsig Cymru, a day which celebrates all forms of Welsh Language music.

And the centre, which prepares infant children for school, welcomed world renowned harp soloist Dylan Cernyw, along with pupils from neighbouring St Anne's CP School to take part in the festivities.

Wrexham Early Years Centre headteacher Rhian Hughes said: "Today was a celebration of Welsh language music and although we have celebrated it before we wanted to do something really special this year.

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Kej-Mesk, a Breton language game for smartphone

Kristen Tonnelle, librarian of Loudéac, is passionate about computer science to the point that he decided, among other things, to create a game for smartphone ... in Breton. It is called Kej-Mesk (collage or pell mell) it is a first for the world of the Breton language. "It's the kind of addictive little game.  On the screen, a square of four out of four letters asks him to form words in Breton language.

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Use of Irish by Dublin Bus commended as Minister Kyne approves company’s new Language Scheme

Seán Kyne TD, Aire don Ghaeilge, don Ghaeltacht agus do na hOileáin, has approved the Irish Language Scheme for Dublin Bus and commended the organisation on its use of Irish across its services.

Minister Kyne said: “Having approved the new language scheme for Dublin Bus, I want to commend and congratulate the organisation for its clear commitment to increasing the visibility and use of An Ghaeilge.

“The use of an Ghaeilge on bus stop signage, on on-board signage and, in particular, on the internal digital displays and through the on-board information announcement system demonstrates Dublin Bus’s commitment to Irish.

“With a fleet of 1,020 buses, facilitating over 139 million passenger journeys each year, the announcement of each stop, as well as customer information, ‘as Gaeilge’ ensures that hundreds of thousands of people come into contact with the language on a daily basis.

“While difficult to quantify, I am certain that Dublin Bus’s use of Irish in this way has inspired at least some passengers to re-connect with Irish and has provided information on the Irish versions of street names, townlands and other landmarks across the Capital prior to their anglicisation.

“Dublin Bus has, I believe, shown what is possible when companies and organisations take a positive approach to the Irish language and provide an example for other organisations to follow.”

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Successful Breton language evening in Plouzane

On Sunday, January 27th at the François Mitterrand Plouzane Cultural Center, several generations of Breton speakers, including those at the music school, students in bilingual classes in Plouzane and Plougonvelin, as well as high school students in Kerallan, captivated the audience with their creativity. They proposed many sketches in Breton composed of them. Narrators
Alfons Raguenès, Mikeal Konk and Mark Paugam satisfied the audience with their truculent and incredible stories.

The volunteers from the Brezhoneg e Plouzane association, organizing the event, were pleased to see their work rewarded for this new success, which urges others. The upcoming Brezhoneg e Plouzane event will be held on Saturday March 9 with a traditional Breizh Kafe.

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8 February 2019 is Welsh Language Music Day

Welsh Language Music Day celebrates all forms of Welsh Language music. Whether you’re into indie, rock, punk, funk, folk, electronica, hip hop or anything else, there’s incredible music being made in the Welsh language for you to discover.
Get involved

There's so much going on to celebrate Welsh Language Music Day - here are some ways you can be a part of it:
join the converstion using the hashtag #dyddmiwsigcymru
follow us on Twitter and Facebook
share this page and spread the news to all of your friends

Here are some playlists of great Welsh artists for you to enjoy.

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Report recommending more Irish language nurseries in Northern Ireland published after three year delay

A report into Irish language pre-school education in Northern Ireland has been published almost three years after it was completed. The research began in March 2015 and the finished report was delivered to the Department for Education (DE) in March 2016. It recommended that the department considers increasing the number of statutory Irish language nurseries. It also said there should be more curriculum and language support for Irish medium pre-schools. The DE said it was in the process of preparing advice on the research for ministers to consider before the assembly was suspended in January 2017.

It said it had now decided to publish the report in the absence of a minister.

Sinn Féin's education spokesperson Karen Mullan called the delay "astonishing".

All children in Northern Ireland are offered a pre-school place funded by DE in their final year before entering primary school.

In 2017/18, there were around 23,500 funded pre-school pupils in a range of voluntary and private pre-school centres, statutory nursery schools and nursery units in primary schools.The research into the educational outcomes of pre-school pupils in the Irish-medium sector took place in 2015 and early 2016.

It was commissioned by the DE and carried out by consultants and three experts in early years Irish-medium education. The final 90-page report said that the Irish-medium pre-schools sector "is a small but growing aspect of the education sector in Northern Ireland".

At the time the report was completed there were 43 Irish-medium pre-schools with almost 900 DE-funded pupils.
'Foundation stone'

That number is likely to have increased since then as, according to the most recent DE figures, 6,200 pupils of all ages were being educated in Irish in 2017/18, a rise of 1,500 since 2012/13.

The DE has a statutory duty to facilitate Irish-medium education.

The DE report said pre-school was the "foundation stone" of further learning in Irish but that some of the needs of pupils in Irish-medium pre-schools were different to those in English-only education.

"Particular approaches to learning, teaching and assessment are required so that the specific linguistic needs of pupils can be supported as well as their other developmental and learning needs," it said.

It identified a number of shortcomings in support for Irish language pre-schools and made a series of recommendations to improve this.


'Significant increase'

These include more training and professional development for Irish-medium pre-school staff.

The report also said the DE should consider creating more statutory Irish language nursery schools.

Additionally, it said a more detailed Irish language curriculum should be developed for pre-schools and that there should be more language-specific resources for parents to use with young children outside school.

A DE spokesperson said it had invested in a range of support to the Irish medium pre-school sector through Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (council for Irish medium education) since the report was finished.

They also said that there had been a significant increase in statutory Irish-medium pre-school provision since then.
Obsolete?

However, Sinn Féin MLA Karen Mullan has called on the DE to explain why it took three years to publish the report.

"While I welcome the publishing of the Research on the Educational Outcomes of Pre-School Irish Medium Education, I find it quite astonishing that a report designed to benefit young children learning through the medium of Irish has taken three years to publish," she said.

"This raises the question - is the report and its recommendations out of date and obsolete?

"I would call on department to review urgently the findings of the report and implement any and all recommendations that remain valid."

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