Watch: Good Morning Britain presenters confused by Welsh minister saying Nadolig Llawen
Good Morning Britain presenters were a tad confused by a Welsh minister wishing them a Nadolig Llawen.
Kate Garraway and Richard Bacon looked rather perplexed after Vaughan Gething, the Welsh Government’s Economy Minister, wished them a Merry Christmas in the Welsh language.
Gething seemed amused by the incomprehension as he explained what the phrase means.
He was on the ITV show to discuss the Covid-19 restrictions being brought in by the Welsh Government.
At the end of the discussion, Richard Bacon said: “Thanks to Wales’ Economy Minister Vaughan Gething, thank you very much for joining us this morning”.
“Thank you, Nadolig Llawen,” Gething responded.
After a momentary silence from the hosts, Bacon replied: “Thank you…thank you, I assume that means happy Christmas, it’s a guess but probably”, as he looked to Garraway
She said: “Has he gone? I’m sorry, I’m afraid we don’t speak Welsh! What is it you just said to us?”
With a smile on his face, Gething said: “Yes, it means happy Christmas in Welsh”.
They then said “Merry Christmas”, to which Gething then replied with another Welsh phrase, “da iawn”.
“I can suddenly translate Welsh,” Bacon said.
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The problem we have is that most English people are not aware that the original language & culture of Britain is Welsh. And when faced with someone greeting them not in English like a computer that crashes cannot function properly without being rebooted.
Another problem of course is that a lot of our Eastern neighbours think we speak the language as ‘a hobby’ and/or we just use it on those occasions to confuse and make snide remarks about them – in particular when they enter the local hostelry …
I know the antagonism and misunderstanding is much older than that, but the spirit of Brad y Llyfrau Gleision is still with us – almost 175 years on. (Not to mention ‘the language clauses of the now repealed ‘Acts of Union’, 1535-1542.)
Da iawn Geths!!
Ac yntau’n ddysgwr, hefyd! 🙂
From what I’ve seen of GMB, it doesn’t take much to confuse its presenters, even when people speak inglish.
If they were talking to a German or a french person or an Italian in the same context they would, no doubt immediately guess that the person was wishing them a happy Christmas in their native tongue, but because it’s Welsh they look at each other as if the guest was speaking Klingon
Or more sinisterly, were they confused because it came from a person of colour? …… Whatever, da iawn ti Vaughan Gething.
Welsh is the first language in wales 🏴
Spoken by fewer than a third of us.
That is a miracle when you think that we live next to England who destroyed the language and CULTURE of every country that they concord in the world and they also did they’re best to wipeout the Welsh people’s language and CULTURE
Sad really that these people are so clueless – it’s a direct result of many in England not realising there are other languages in the British Isles besides English. A hang over from the days of Empire.
Sad really that these people are so clueless – it’s a direct result of many in England not realising there are other languages in the British Isles besides English. A hang over from the days of Empire
Sad really that these people are so clueless – it’s a direct result of many in England not realising there are other languages in the British Isles besides English. A hang over from the days of Empire
The Welsh language is the oldest living language in Europe say no more
Or if you do, say it in Basque, I guess.
Or Greek
I bet if you said happy Christmas is french/German/Latin they would have know what it meant.
The problem is inherent from an academic standpoint is that schools in England, It is mandatory for them to learn a second language (until year 9) which is usually french/German, but they are not taught any of the home languages except English…..
Cultural cleansing at its finest
Embarrassing that English TV presenters don’t even understand basic Welsh phrases. Would it really be that hard to say that If you want to be a TV presenter you need to learn “bore da”, “p’nawn da”, “noswaith dda”, “croeso”, “diolch”, “nadolig llawen”, “iawn” and “da iawn”? Welsh IS a language spoken on the British Isles, it’s spoken in one of the neighbouring countries to England and Wales is (still) a part of the UK… Learning to understand wouldn’t take long (but pronouncing is probably above their heads). As an outsider I think it’s time for the people in England to… Read more »
How pathetic and they go out of their way to make a point of their ignorance. What on earth did they think he was saying?