Josh Navidi’s journey to reconnect with the Welsh language
Former international rugby player Ken Owens has been lending fellow rugby legend Josh Navidi a hand to learn more Welsh and regain confidence in speaking the language.
They will both appear in the new series of Iaith ar Daith which starts on Sunday 15 September.
Each week, one celebrity is paired with a well-known Welsh-speaking mentor as they travel to different parts of Wales to learn the language, taking part in challenges set for them along the way.
Other celebrities embarking on a similar Iaith ar Daith journey to learn Welsh are actress Kimberly Nixon – mentored by actor Matthew Gravelle, comedian Ignacio Lopez – mentored by fellow comedian Tudur Owen, singer Ian ‘H’ Watkins mentored by singer-songwriter Bronwen Lewis, actor Paul Rhys with actor Dyfan Dwyfor and international football player Jess Fishlock with sports presenter Catrin Heledd.
Josh will be mentored by his friend Ken Owens ‘The Sheriff’, who will offer him guidance and inspiration.
“A part of me”
Josh has represented his country 33 times on the rugby field and is passionate about his mother tongue, but keen to learn more vocabulary to regain confidence to speak it:
Josh said: “My Mum’s a Welsh speaker, so she talks to me in Welsh but I answer in English, so I want to get my Welsh back.
“Welsh language is part of me, but I just need the confidence to unlock that and be able to talk to people in the language.”
Josh’s father left Iran for Wales as a result of Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, where he met Josh’s mother, who is originally from Anglesey.
Josh’s journey begins in Llanddona, Anglesey – his Grandmother’s home and a place which holds special meaning to him.
Since retiring from the playing field, Josh has turned his hand to a number of ventures, including commentating, DJing and selling cars.
Among the challenges set for him in Iaith ar Daith is selling a car in a garage in Bethel, spinning records, and conducting a tour of the Principality Stadium – all through the medium of Welsh!
Before setting out on their journey, each celebrity received two intensive days of one-on-one learning with a Say Something in Welsh tutor, before continuing to do 20 hours of independent learning with the organisation’s course.
Aran Jones, Chief Executive of Say Something in Welsh said: “There has been a steady increase in the number of people learning Welsh and using our services in the last five years, especially during the lockdown period, and we believe that more people are learning Welsh now than ever before. We look forward to continuing to support more people to become confident speakers.”
Welsh language lessons are offered virtually and in-person around Wales. Visit the following website for further details about learning Welsh and S4C resources: https://www.s4c.cymru/en/dysgu-cymraeg/
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Gwych!
I can recall Josh Navidi did similar recently when he reconnected with his Iranian heritage on his father’s side. Da iawn. Pob lwc! 🏴
Sorry reporter but Anglesey is not in Bangor & the word should be near.
“who is originally from Anglesey, in Bangor”.
Thanks Billy. Corrected now.
Dal ati Josh.
I watched it tonight with interest and enjoyment – even though I’ve not the slightest interest in rugby! Both Josh and Ken came over as really nice and straightforward blokes, and I’m sure that Josh’s failure to hang on to the limited amount of his childhood Welsh was a consequence of growing up in a household where only one of his parents was competent in speaking Welsh. A not uncommon story in Wales; I have near neighbours in exactly that position: dad is a colloquially fluent Welsh speaker, but mum isn’t. The consequence is that their kids, now adult and… Read more »
Yes, same in my family and at school the choice was between Welsh and French. My mother thought French would be more “useful”, with the result that it’s taken me 50 years to get round to learning Welsh, but I’m determined to become one of the million Welsh speakers.
I recently watched a TV interview with an academic which I think both underlines and to some degree explains all this. He was explaining why he believed that the ability to speak Welsh declined in south Wales valleys communities between, say, 1880 and 1920, when the heavy industries of those areas were expanding and requiring more labour. His thesis was that if most new arrivals in these communities were Welsh speakers from ‘further west’, the use of the Welsh language was obviously unaffected. And if only one or two monoglot English people ‘out of the east’ moved in, there was… Read more »