Irish language used in address at UK House of Commons for first time since 1901

The Irish language has been used during an address at the UK House of Commons for the first time in more than 100 years.
Liz Saville-Roberts, a member of the Welsh party Plaid Cymru, spoke as Gaeilge as she called on Northern Ireland Secretary of State Karen Bradley to implement an Irish Language Act on October 24th.
She urged Bradley to introduce the act if the Northern Ireland executive is not restored within six months, following the collapse of the power-sharing government at Stormont in January 2017.
“Is cearta daonna iad cearta teanga agus tá cothrom na féinne tuilte ag lucht labhartha na Gaeilge [Language rights are human rights and the Irish-speaking community are entitled to equality],” she said.
Saville-Roberts added that the British government had already pledged to introduce the act under the St Andrews Agreement of 2006, which resulted in the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
“Will the Minister uphold its commitment by introducing an Irish Language Act if power-sharing institutions are not restored within six months?” she said.
The Welsh MP is believed to be the first person to speak Irish in the House of Commons since February 1901.
On that occasion, West Kerry MP Thomas O’Donnell used the language during a provocative speech in which he is understood to have asserted his right to speak in Irish.
Commenting on the historic occasion, president of Conradh na Gaeilge, Dr Niall Comer thanked MPs like Saville-Roberts for their commitment to the Irish language community.
“All we are asking is to be brought into line with the other indigenous language communities on these islands,” he said.

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Mae'r cylchgrawn digidol parallel.cymru yn dathlu 100,000 o ymweliadau tudalen yn ei flwyddyn gyntaf

Mae’r cylchgrawn digidol parallel.cymru yn dathlu blwyddyn gyntaf lwyddiannus a 100,000 o ymweliadau tudalen.

Dywed sylfaenydd a rheolwr y prosiect, Neil Rowlands: “Pwrpas parallel.cymru yw gwneud yr iaith a’r diwylliant Cymraeg yn fwy cyraeddadwy. Gwneir hyn drwy gyflwyno’r Gymraeg a’r Saesneg ochr wrth ochr, gan ddefnyddio ystod o gyweiriau iaith (anffurfiol, ffurfiol a llenyddol), a hynny’n rhad ac am ddim; a gellir cael mynediad iddo o unrhyw borwr gwe mewn unrhyw fan yn y byd.

“Rwy’n hynod o hapus bod miloedd o bobl wedi mwynhau darllen yr erthyglau niferus a’r adnoddau unigryw. Mae cyflwynwyr fel Huw Stephens ac Eleri Siôn, awduron cydnabyddedig fel y geiriadurwr D. Geraint Lewis, David Jandrell a’i ‘Welsh Valleys Humour’, Bethan Gwanas, Elin Meek a llawer mwy wedi ysgrifennu ar gyfer y wefan. Yn ogystal, mae yna adnoddau fel mapiau siopau, tafarndai a mannau cyhoeddus lle y defnyddir y Gymraeg, canllaw dwyieithog i ramadeg, cwisiau rhyngweithiol, ac mae rhai erthyglau wedi eu hadrodd hefyd fel bod pobl yn gallu darllen a chlywed y Gymraeg ar yr un pryd.”

“Er mwyn cyrraedd nod Llywodraeth Cymru o sicrhau miliwn o siaradwyr y Gymraeg erbyn 2050, mae angen i ni ehangu’r defnydd o’r iaith a’i chyflwyno mewn gwahanol ffyrdd. Mae parallel.cymru, fel sefydliad annibynnol, dielw, yn ymgorfforiad o’r ysbryd a’r egni hwn.”

“Mae dros 140 o bobl wedi darparu cynnwys i parallel.cymru, ac rwy’n ddiolchgar iddynt am gefnogi dull newydd a gwahanol o argraffu. Edrychaf ymlaen at gefnogi llawer iawn mwy o gyfranwyr i’r wefan, a hefyd i helpu nifer fawr o bobl i fwynhau ein hiaith brydferth mewn ffordd newydd a dyfeisgar.”

Meddai Garmon Gruffudd, Rheolwr Gyfarwyddwr, Y Lolfa: "Mae’n wych gweld sut mae Parallel.cymru wedi datblygu dros y misoedd diwethaf i fod yn wefan anhepgor i ddysgwyr ac yn ffynhonnell bwysig o wybodaeth a deunydd i bobl sydd am gadw bys ar byls Cymru. Mae wedi bod yn bleser cydweithio gyda Neil a’r criw, ac fel gwasg rydym yn gwerthfawrogi yn fawr eu bod yn cynnig llwyfan newydd, hawdd i’w gyrraedd, i drin a thrafod ein gwaith a rydym yn eu llongyfarch yn fawr ar gyrraedd y 100,000."

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Record number of people have taken Cornish language exams in 2018

The Cornish Language Board said 77 people sat the exam this year - a rise of 15% on the previous year.
Exams secretary Tony Hak said the spike is partly down to Saunders, whose Cornish language concept album has seen her play live on 6Music.
More than 1,200 people have taken the exams since they began in 1992.
The language is designated "critically endangered" by the United Nations group Unesco and is recognised as a minority language by the Council of Europe.


"Gwenno's album is a fantastic boost for the language," said Mr Hak.
"So people are seeing it a lot more around them and they have become interested.
"It's also because Cornish people are becoming more aware of their identity and sense of place.
"There's a growing awareness of the language from businesses who want Cornish branding."
Gwenno, who recorded her second album Le Kov (A sense of place) in Cornish, said it was exciting that use of the language was becoming more "casual".
"It's quite incredible that the language is alive. That shows its resilience because there hasn't been really any support."
The Welsh Music Prize winner said her native tongue was the perfect way to tell stories about the region.
"It has this huge rich history that not many people are aware of," she says.
"But [the language] offers another perspective and another narrative on Cornwall.
"It's something the wider population in Cornwall feel an ownership over.
"People are saying, 'let's just use it in the way its interesting or us or makes sense to us.'"

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Extra funding for Welsh language programmes for children

Welsh language programming will get extra funding to help stimulate the creation of distinctive Welsh language productions from the independent sector.
The money from the UK Government aims to halt the decline of UK produced children's content.
It will be used to reverse the growing trend of airing repeats and facilitate the creation of Welsh language programmes that can repeat the success of with all-time favourites such as Fireman Sam.
5% of the he Contestable Fund will be allocated to Welsh and other indigenous UK languages.
The Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns says it will help grow the sector:

This funding announcement will provide a significant boost to Welsh language programme creators, helping to secure a whole new generation of young Welsh language programme viewers. With this UK Government investment, the thriving Welsh language broadcast sector will be able to build on its success and create distinctive, captivating programmes that will educate and entertain the growing number of Welsh language speakers in the country.

– Alun Cairns, Welsh Secretary

Production levels of new children’s content have declined over the past decade, with public service broadcasters spending roughly 40% less than they did in 2006.
As a result a significant amount of children’s programming on children’s channels now consist of repeats.

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Eilidh Cormack, from Skye, announced as Scottish Gaelic Ambassador of the Year

Eilidh Cormack, Portree, is this year's recipient of the Scottish Government's Gaelic Ambassador of the Year award.

A 22-year-old singer from Skye has been named Gaelic Ambassador of the Year, as the Royal National Mod gets under way.

Eilidh Cormack, from Portree, said she was "absolutely delighted".
The Gaelic cultural festival began in Dunoon on Friday night, with a special celebration honouring Scotland's Year of Young People.
Over the next eight days there will be more than 200 competitions and events in Highland dancing, sport, literature, drama, Gaelic music and song.
The ambassador award, presented by MSP Michael Russell, celebrates how much Ms Cormack has accomplished within the Gaelic community at such a young age, and what lies ahead for her in the future.
She said: "I am absolutely delighted to have been awarded with the Gaelic Ambassador of the Year at the Royal National Mod this year and I certainly wasn't expecting it, especially being so young.

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New book 'Help! my child speaks Breton'

The L'Encre de Bretagne bookshop invites you to come and meet Katell Leon on the occasion of the release of her new guide for parents of children attending school in a bilingual school:
Help! my child speaks Breton. To help you have a minimum luggage, understand the work of your children or be able to distill, throughout the day, small sentences in Breton.

Through chapters such as back to school, babies 'corner, teens' corner, reassurance, weather (essential for Britons), clothes, food, Halloween (a Celtic holiday), small sores, etc., embellished with the drawings of Maud Auvrignon, punctuated by the seasons, but also by songs and nursery rhymes, you will be ready for the next school year.

All sentences in Breton are of course translated into French. Everything is accompanied by humor which is the essential ingredient of language learning. As a bonus, a pronunciation kit that will help you to pass for a true e-breton.

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Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail Scottish Gaelic Festival ends

Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail Scottish Gaelic Festival was celebrated in Dunoon from 12 - 20 October 2018. The Royal National Mòd (Scottish Gaelic: Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail) is the most important of several annual major Mòds. It is the main festival of Scottish Gaelic literature, song, arts and culture and often referred to as the Mòd. The festival began in Dunoon (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Omhain) on Friday night, with a special celebration honouring Scotland's Year of Young People. During eight days, (12 - 20th October) more than 200 competitions and events in Highland dancing, sport, literature, drama, Gaelic music and song were be held. A list of events at Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail can be seen on the An Comunn Gàidhealach (The Gaelic Association) website.

 Royal National Mod brings estimated £2.5 million to local economy. The cost of organising, hosting and running the event is met by An Comunn Gàidhealach, through a mixture of commercial and public funding – including service level agreements with three local authorities.
The current annual funding from the biggest commercial partner, CalMac, will come to an end next year. But it is understood the arrangement, in place with the ferry operator since 2002, is likely to continue.
In a speech earlier this week, Robbie Drummond, CalMac’s chief executive said: “We are intrinsically linked with the Royal National Mod.
“Not only do we bring people on ferries to the events to where ever the Royal National Mod is Scotland, many of our staff are ingrained in the traditions of the event and are competing, their children are taking part or they are being part of a wider audience.”


Brian Fulton, director of community and stakeholder engagement at CalMac, said: ”The Mod is an important event to CalMac providing a unique opportunity to meet with customers and community representatives from across our network, and at the same time highlighting our support for Gaelic language and culture.
“Our current commitment includes the 2019 Mod in Glasgow after which we will review our support, as we do with all of our major sponsorships, to ensure it is fulfilling our needs.”
John Morrison, chief executive of An Comunn Gàidhealach said: “An Comunn Gàidhealach have a number of funding streams that help us to stage the Royal National Mòd every year.
“Part of our funding comes through local authorities who we have secure agreements with until 2022, which we fully welcome as it allows us to plan well in advance.
“We also work closely with our other partners and sponsors on a rolling year-on-year basis, as well as forecasting commercial  revenues through our own resources.”


It was understood that in return for Events Scotland and other public-body funding a requirement for proving an increase in the numbers speaking Gaelic was required, however, Mr Morrison explained: “Although we do not set specific targets around the number of Gaelic speakers we have at the Mòd, the ambitions of An Comunn are shared with several of our partners, in that we work together towards growing the amount of Gaelic language speakers, and overall fluency, across Scotland and beyond, as we’ve seen in recent years.”

New attraction to the Gaelic tongue 

The number of bids to host the Royal National Mod is on the increase, thanks to legislation to protect the language.
As local authorities in Scotland are required to develop a Gaelic Language Plan, the attractiveness of hosting the annual Royal National Mod increases.
Allan Campbell, President of An Comunn Gàidhealach, explained: “For local authorities, the Mòd is always going to be attractive, as it brings thousands of people to the community in the late shoulder months of the tourist season.
“This has ultimately led to an increase in bids for the National Mòd, not just because of the strong economic benefits, but also because it helps local authorities meet some of their commitments to the National Gaelic Language Plan which will ultimately aims to support and grow the language across Scotland.”
“The Royal National Mòd is an ideal platform for those working with the National Gaelic Language Plan as it provides outreach for the language to rural and urban areas. The favorable media reaction from the Mòd each year continues to support a positive image of our language, music and culture.
“As well as that, The Royal National Mòd continues to support Gaelic education, as we saw here on Monday and Tuesday, with around 1500 children taking part in competitions, which ultimately has a multiplier effect as the language spreads through each child’s family.”

Going south

During Friday at the Royal National Mod a announcement is usually made on the location of a future competition.
But after last year’s double announcement it was only revealed today the exact location for the next three competitions.
John Morrison, chief executive of An Comunn Gàidhealach said: “Friday normally brings with it the next Mòd host announcement, but last year we altered the programme and announced that Perth would host Mòd 2021 and Paisley would host Mòd 2022.  The host for 2023 will be announced at next year’s Mòd in Glasgow.”
It is understood a number of Scottish cities are vying for the biggest moving Arts and Culture event in Scotland.

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77 candidates passed their Cornish Language Board exams this year

Seventy seven candidates passed their Cornish Language Board exams this year and successful students were presented with their certificates at a ceremony at Lys Kernow on 15 September.
The new Grand Bard, Liz Carne, congratulated the students and praised the work of our volunteer teachers.
The number of students taking the Kesva exams has risen again, almost 15% up on 2017, and shows the growing interest in learning the language. Sixty nine of the successful candidates of the Cornish Language Board examinations are from Cornwall including one from the Isles of Scilly, two are from England and five are from Brittany.
Students can learn Kernewek in a variety of ways. Details of regular classes, online and other learning methods can be found on the Learn Cornish Now website: www.learncornishnow.com

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Cymdeithas AGM in Blaenau Ffestiniog

A new Welsh Government beefed-up department responsible for the language should be established outside Cardiff as part of a wider move to devolve hundreds of jobs outside the capital, say campaigners.
At the moment, the Welsh Government has a Welsh language Division at its Cathays Park headquarters in Cardiff, which does not have the status of a full department. Cymdeithas yr Iaith argues that this lower status within the civil service means the language has less policy clout than it needs.
The proposal features in a policy paper due to be discussed at a meeting of the language group in Blaenau Ffestiniog later this month. The paper will call for the devolution of hundreds of jobs by creating and relocating bodies including:  

•     A new upgraded Welsh language department
•     A Broadcasting Authority for Wales, Awdurdod Darlledu Cymru
•     A Welsh Planning Inspectorate
•     An Economic Development Body; and
•     A new National Energy Company

The group will also call for the devolution of further civil service jobs in the economy, education and agriculture departments. 
Speaking from Aberystwyth, Jeff Smith, communities spokesperson for Cymdeithas yr Iaith, commented:   
“Moving jobs out of Cardiff is important if we want to have a prosperous and sustainable economy and language right across the country. It’s not balanced at the moment. It’s also clear that the existing Welsh language division inside Government lacks clout – a point raised by many we have consulted. There's also criticism that the Division is too Cardiff-centric in its thinking, which can, and has been, a problem for making policy that’s in the best interests of the language. So, there’s a strong argument for this move. ”
He added:
“We’re losing about 5,200 Welsh speakers a year through out-migration from Wales. There are a number of factors that impact on the state of the language. It’s clear that emigration, young people in particular leaving their communities to look for work – is one the main challenges.
“In Ynys Môn, Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Caerfyrddin over the last decade, 117,000 young people between 15 and 29 have left those council areas, which accounts for 55% of the emigration of every age group. In Ceredigion, 3,670 young people left the county in just a single year, 2015 to 2016 - that’s almost 20 percent of all young people aged 15 to 29 leaving Ceredigion. That’s one of the main reasons why we must concentrate on policies that would create jobs in Welsh language communities and campaign for economic policies that would strengthen the language.”
The jobs proposals will form part of a series of demands in Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s ‘Gwaith i Adfywio Iaith’ (Work to Revitalise a Language) document which was published in the group’s annual general meeting in Blaenau Ffestiniog on Saturday 13th October.

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Foras na Gaeilge celebrates Irish language officers in councils in the north

Foras na Gaeilge, the cross-border body with responsibility for the promotion of the Irish language, celebrated on Tuesday 9 October 2018 the four newly-appointed Irish language officers in three council areas in the north with part funding from Foras na Gaeilge under the Irish Language Officers Scheme at an event in Belfast City Hall. 
Belfast City Council have appointed their first ever Irish language officer in line with the council’s language strategy. Derry City and Strabane District Council have appointed their second Irish language officer and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council have appointed two Irish language officers through the current scheme.
There are nine Irish language officers currently in post in five councils across the north, four of which are funded by Foras na Gaeilge under this scheme.
Chief Executive of Belfast City Council, Suzanne Wylie, welcomed the new Irish language officers and guests to the event and emphasised the important role that the Irish language plays in the linguistic and cultural diversity of the city of Belfast. She also welcomed the developments Belfast City Council have made regarding languages, in particular the launch of the council’s language strategy 2018-2023, recognising the financial support received from Foras na Gaeilge.
Foras na Gaeilge Deputy Chief Executive, Edel Ní Chorráin acknowledged the historic importance of the event, in particular for Belfast City Council in appointing their first Irish language officer, “With the Irish language being discussed in the public arena perhaps more so than ever before in the north, new opportunities are emerging with a growing public interest in the Irish language and culture and with this come new opportunities.  With those opportunities of course come challenges but we welcome the steps taken by these councils in appointing Irish language officers.”
Also speaking at the event was Dr David Mitchell, Assistant Professor in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation at Trinity College Dublin and co-author of Reconciliation through language learning? A case study of the Turas Irish language project in East Belfast who is based in Belfast. In his journal he emphasises the possibilities of the Irish language to be a unifying factor in Northern Ireland:
Since language learning is naturally accompanied by encounter with the history of the language, it can open a space for the discovery of shared historical experiences, or revision of narrow or destructive understandings of history.
At the same event Conradh na Gaeilge Advocacy Manager Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, in conjunction with the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), launched research on the Irish language in local councils, including Language Profiles 2018 which documents the community, educational and social provision in each of the 11 local councils. Speaking on the research, he said, “The Language Profiles, launched as an appendix to the research published by Conradh na Gaeilge today, shows some of the fantastic on-going work in relation to the Irish language across local councils. They also show, however, huge gaps in community support and provision across several councils. The research clearly shows that there are several councils that have failed to recognise or implement their duties relating to the Irish language, as detailed in both local and international law. We want to work with those councils going forward through drawing on the best-practice approach of other councils.”
Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Deirdre Hargey, closed the event officially and reaffirmed her ongoing support for a Belfast for all with her focus being on rights for all citizens in the city, including women’s rights to healthcare, LGBT rights and rights for Irish speakers.

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