Language expert left ‘speechless’ after Sky News suggests Welsh is ‘pointless’
A multilingual travel writer was left “speechless” after Sky News suggested that Welsh was a “pointless” language.
Alex Rawlings, who speaks 15 languages, had been invited on to discuss UNESCO’s International Mother Tongue Day.
The presenter asked: “Which is the most pointless?” She then pointed to her ear and said: “People in my ear just said Welsh. That’s insulting-”
“Well, I love the Welsh language and I love going to Wales,” Alex Rawlings replied. “I don’t think there’s such a thing as a useless language. If you can use a language to speak to people, it’s useful. If you can use a language to learn about people’s culture, it’s useful.
“It doesn’t matter how big or small that community is. And I’m really proud of the fact that in the UK, we have indigenous languages like Welsh and Gaelic and Irish and they’re promoted and a part of this country and I’d love to see that continue.”
‘Banter’
Our language and our culture have been subject to disrespect for hundreds of years, and this today was on national television. The reporter’s excuse was that it was just “banter”. I despair. pic.twitter.com/QDAOLMtt6B
— Cai ??????? (@Caibo_) February 21, 2020
Alex Rawlings then took to Twitter to write: “I was asked today by Sky News while being interviewed for UNESCO’s International Mother Tongue Day whether Welsh is the world’s most useless language. I’m speechless.”
Presenter Isabel Webster responded: “Wow Alex, that’s what you took away from the interview? I’m married to a Welshman – it was clearly banter. Oh well.”
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The most useless language I have ever heard is the one spoken by business consultants.
It is not for communication. It exists only to move money from one idiot to another.
How do you think that will pan out going forward?
How do Welsh translators manage when they have to translate Councillese into Welsh?
“indigEnous”, surely?
After a global catastrophe God come down to Earth and is greeted by the last man and woman left
Only one word is spoken by them to the stranger. CROESO
Diolch, Alex! Cymraeg loves you too!
Well, they said after Brexit it would be worse than Brexit?
By voting for brexit,Wales has become more insignificant, and I supported them against France today!
I reported this arrogant Isabella to Sky yesterday this woman is nothing more than a RACIST against one of the oldest living Language bin Europe. She should be surveily repremanded for this racist behaviour agains the Welsh speaking people and all people of Wales.
Da iawn!!!!
I did it lunchtime today! I’m waiting for a reply from sky.
And the English , mostly Germanic language replaced what was basically THE British language of which the Welsh language is the most “uncorrupted ” and nearest to the original language, until the Germanics took over , drove the British into what they called Wallia, “land of the foreigners “. How ironic is that.
You forgot the Norman people and their French language. No language exists that is not a mélange including vocabulary from others.
Cymru am bytb
Sky should apologise ..and instantly sack her !…besides who is sky anyway?….
It wasn’t her who said that, the person in their ear did, they proceeded to also say, “that’s insulting”
She still made a judgement call about whether it was an appropriate thing to repeat live on air. She also doubled down by calling it ‘banter’ instead of acknowledging the hurt it could cause.
Perhaps read the article,she wasnt the one that said it!
Just because some idiot says something stupid in your ear doesn’t mean you have to repeat it and laugh at it.
Welsh was a language long before English
Not sure about that. Around the sixth century there was British, which evolved into Welsh, then English came over from the continent, but from the 11th century French was the dominant language in Britain for some centuries.
Celtic languages came to Britain around 600bc evolving into brythonic which was the basis for the welsh, Cornish and breton languages, Welsh is one of the oldest living languages in Europe.
Just in case you didn’t get it – welsh was a language long before english. This is not actually a point of debate. It is a fact.
Norman French was never the dominant language: only the Feudal Lords of the land and the English Monarchy would have spoken it as a first language. The rest of the island of Britain spoke Gaelic, Cymraeg, or Old English (similar to Middle German.
I understand it was very similar to flemish – to the point that some modern ‘english’ words are still understood by monoglot flemish. Probably why the majority of english dna is indistinguishable from flemish dna.
Tired of Welsh being denigrated. When I moved here I did 3 years so I could get by in the language. I would expect to do this if I moved to any country with another language than English.
Excellent point of view…
Although whilst scroll g I seem to have hit the flag button in error…
Brilliant!
there is just a thin line between racialism and discrimination on grounds of language.
Well its true.
Having lived in north Wales for a few years, my absolute intention was to integrate into the community & embrace the culture including learning the language. However my experience has unfortunately fell massively short of my expectations. Sadly I have been met by racism and exclusion owing to my English accent. I find this exceptionally antiquated and short sighted by what I can best described as an old fashioned & racist outlook by a majority of this fortunately minority population. Not to mention people purposely conversing in Welsh so you can’t understand the insults. Before any abuse, just to point… Read more »
Do you know, I don’t believe you! Whilst there are a very few Welsh people who don’t like the English, most don’t give a damn where you come from. In my experience, it’s people who come to live in Wales who exhibit a superior attitude who will tend to be ridiculed. If you make the effort to speak Welsh it will be appreciated by the vast majority, and it’s more than likely that most of them will attempt to speak in English for you as it’s much easier for them than have to a) struggle with understanding what a learner… Read more »
Don’t believe this, end of. Some people approach forums with an agenda let’s say. Voilà
I had a similar experience when I moved to Italy! Having lived in north Italy for a few years, my absolute intention was to integrate into the community & embrace the culture including learning the language. However my experience has unfortunately fell massively short of my expectations. Sadly I have been met by racism and exclusion owing to my American accent. I find this exceptionally antiquated and short sighted by what I can best described as an old fashioned & racist outlook by a majority of this fortunately minority population. Not to mention people purposely conversing in Italian so you… Read more »
You state that you lived in North Wales, an area where there is a considerable influx of English migration. It obviously hasn’t occurred to you that maybe (just maybe) the indiginous Welsh population have historically had to endure a substantial level of abuse from equally small minded , (in your own words, and I quote)- “old fashioned and racist” – interlopers from across the border. Any rude or patronising comments are then excused using the tired old comment ‘it’s just banter ” as though this justifies bad behaviour. Each one of the four countries that constitute Great Britain has many… Read more »
P.S. if it’s such an important language why are all these comments in English?
I find your comment obtuse, insincere and quite deceitful. Seeing as this article is written in English the replies are in English. But also Welsh speaking people are being accommodating and replying so everyone can understand what their comments are so no one is excluded from the debate. I take it you have seen the other articles written in Welsh with the following comments also in Welsh. All that time you lived in the North of Wales you still didn’t learn Welsh, even though your father-in-law is Welsh speaking, so you had a great advantage as someone was always at… Read more »
Well I’m really glad you spotted my father in law was welsh speaking. Unfortunately he passed away in 2000. My husband is so proud of his welsh heritage and tried for the years he had left with his dad to learn the language, to no avail. His dad didn’t wish to engage in this, no idea why. Yet another unfortunate fact is I never met my father in law. So if you don’t mind me stating the obvious, learning welsh from him was kind of impossible. The point is it’s not the language, this has to be seen as an… Read more »
It seems that to some English immigrants, the fact that Welsh speakers have the temerity to speak the language in their presence makes them anti English racists! The English – always in the majority, with a language which isn’t in a constant fight for its existence – somehow portrey themselves as a victim. They know nothing of belonging to a language and culture under constant threat nor do they know of the daily low-level racism aimed at their existence. Comments such as “pointless language” may not, on their own, be all that significant, but the drip feed of such insults… Read more »
I moved to Wales – to a predominantly Welsh-speaking area – as a student who was born and bred in south Manchester, for no better reason than that it was a Welsh university which gave me my first and best firm offer. I took to the place, and stayed on in Wales for fifteen years after graduation to work. Simply because of that fact, and even though I worked in overwhelmingly English-speaking areas, I thought I should make an effort ti learn the language. Even so, I never really grasped what it might feel like – back in the early… Read more »
Fed up of English people Pretending to be such victims of this. Speaking Welsh is as natural as breathing to. First language Welsh speakers. If People demonstrate respect towards it, they are welcomed. It’s the moaners and the complainers that are disadvantaged
Gahaha!!!!! Funny as
If you cared to look, you would see this service was set up for English. Personally, I would also like to see it
stipulated that correct names are supplied with the comments, as they are now demanding in Germany, so that Nazi’s cannot continue to inflame situations with their inane comments, while hiding cowardly behind fake ID.
Abolishing anonymity is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
can you speak welsh – if not then take it that we are being courteous by not forcing you to use google translate. Despite the total lack of the same afforded our nation and our language.
Faset ti ddim yn deall tasai’r atebion yn Gymraeg. A dyn ni eisiau bod pawb yn deall yr atebion, hefyd.
(An Englishman, in England, learning Welsh, taking offense at your insinuation that a language I love is “pointless”)
Achos rydym yn sgwrsio fel grwp o bobl. Nifer sydd methu yn anffodus siarad Cymraeg. Pe byddwn yn siarad gyda grwp o bobl Cymraeg bydd y sgwrs yn Gymraeg wrth gwrs.
Because we are discussing within a group of people of which some can’t understand Welsh. When I discuss in a group where all members speak Welsh then naturally we converse in Welsh. Easy.
Welsh is the oldest language in Great Britain . What a shame people are so ignorant of their countries history . People like this contributed to the demise of the language having no thought fir the communities who used it .
You wouldn’t understand us if we spoke in Welsh ,as you couldn’t be bothered to learn the language of the county you live in .
Pe byddech chi’n byw yn Ffrainc byddai disgwyl i chi siarad Ffrangeg. Beth yw’r gwahaniaeth?
Because if we were in france the majority of people living in the country would speak French, it’s an unfortunate fact that the mother tongue of Wales as a majority is not Welsh
This, I’m afraid, is a complete non sequitur.
Agreed, well said sir
Gair bach Gair mawr parch mochyn daear-respect
Welsh was described as a sinful language by an English statesman , ( ref. the blue books ) , they needed Welsh , copper, tin , iron and steam coal ( anthracite , the best coal on this earth ) , due to Welsh complaints and Industrial unrest, the English dominated government said ,to control the people you must control the language. They made it ” punishable ” to speak or teach Welsh in the economical South Wales areas that provided the basic foundations other than military might of their empire, which Welsh speaking is sparsely found in the Industrial… Read more »
And most of them do a dreadful job with Welsh. Learning a language is about broadening your mind; something you could well benefit from attempting.
Why do people think that it’s ok to speak like this about the Welsh language? They wouldn’t treat any other languages with such disrespect. I’m glad that Alex Rawlings was able to respond so eloquently and turn the conversation around. However Sky News should now apologise rather than dismiss the wrong-doing as “banter”. It’s really offensive that they feel that Welsh is something to be mocked.
Probably because welsh people are happy to bash the English language. Hence the a lot of the comments on here
I can truthfully say as an english person living in north wales for 17 yesrs I never once heard any welsh person bash the English language.
“welsh people are happy to bash the English language.” That must be the most ridiculous comment I have heard this year. And that’s up against some strong competition.
So illiterate in hoth languages dear?
Frankly, and with respect to you, the vast majority, actually, everyone who speaks Welsh also speak English and, often, with greater clarity and enjoy a more comprehensive vocabulary, than many English people who, unlike bilingual Welsh men, women and children, can only speak one language. Welsh/English speakers often speak French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Gujerati, Urdu, Han Chinese, Cantonese. Should I go on? Some more than one continental or other language on top of Welsh andEnglish.
I bet you’re a Brexit voter. I sense small-mindedness and xenophobia…
Pot kettle black
Another example generalising!
Once again, I’m blown away by Alex. 15 languages! And, like Tolkein, loves Cymraeg.
I had a great uncle whose first language was Walloon. He experienced some similar mockery. Most people are exposed to second languages at school. We were told that we needed to study Latin if we were interested in Law or medicine; Italian for the music students, Greek and/or Latin for any students considering theology. I haven’t felt pressured to learn Welsh and my reasons for learning are purely sentimental; I feel an increasing connection to the language as I’m building the family tree. I’m wondering how attitudes to language learning and methods of teaching have changed, and if such narrow… Read more »
Fair comment but surely as your rant is about the Welsh language, therefore it is primarily relevant to Welsh speaking inhabitants. Yes I currently live here as I wanted to make this my permanent home, unfortunately my previous comments have proven it is not feasible to live in a place where one is not accepted. I hear your cheers…yet another English person is burnt out of the village!
Stop being such a victim
Hilarious victim? Don’t think so. I have a right to speak from my experience, as does anyone else commenting on this. I have tried trust me, however will admit that my happiness is very important for the short time we spend on this planet.
My family (children and grandchildren) are split down the middle with the Welsh Language. Some have had Welsh medium education and others not. There are a few regulars on this site who seem to think that these kids shouldn’t be allowed to live, work or take any part in the cultural life of this country because they haven’t been taught Welsh! I’ve only found time to learn the Language because I’m disabled and housebound. Good luck!
You’re way off. All Welsh kids are taught Welsh in school, and the choice of whether to fully engage with Welsh-language-based culture is for them alone to make if they’re willing to pursue it. No Welsh child from an anglophone family is ever excluded from the cultural life of this country. Those who don’t choose to participate are missing out, and many will regret it when they’re older, but they’re as Welsh as the ones who do pursue it.
I’m English and I lived in Wales from 1964 to 1984 and have been back here since 2016. Never once have I felt myself not accepted. I simply don’tr recognize what you describe.
I’m from Wales, now live in England, I have heard every Welsh joke going, it gets boring after a while, but I’m Welsh, I’m made of stronger stuff, I take it on the chin and move on, it’s that or move back home, good and bad no matter where you live. BE KIND
you’ve missed the point by thinking this is only relevant to welsh speaking inhabitants – just read the responses. So in the interests of extending the hand of friendship croeso i gymru. Now having said that what exactly have you been ‘expressing’ in order to attract the mob with the torches? Are you sure you are not guilty of so called ‘banter’. I know plenty of saesneg that think this is a nicer more friendly place than lloegr and have even learnt the language. So please explain who has made you feel unwelcome and why? For example my nephew from… Read more »
Perhaps you made the wrong set of assumptions when you decided to grace us with your presence.
“And I’m really proud of the fact that in the UK, we have indiginous languages like Welsh and Gaelic and Irish and they’re promoted and a part of this country and I’d love to see that continue.”
Alex talking nonsense though here… no evidence that the UK is promoting celtic languages actively…. hes proud of something which isn’t happening .
The uk is greater English nationalism
Gaelic is actually experiencing a resurgence thanks to the new DuoLingo course and apps like Mango. More people signed up to DL than there are actual native speakers currently. Plus there are new developments like the western isles making Gaelic the default language in schools and renewed interest in having bilingual place names on signs.
I’ve been using duolingo for years. I don’t think many people really grasp the difficulty in getting to Welsh classes in some parts of the country. Duolingo has made the world of difference to me and not just for learning Welsh!
Respect to all people who try to learn foreign languages. It is not so easy. My mother tongue is Polish. In my primary and secondary schools I had to learn Russian. I didn’t appreciate it because that was the language I was enforced to learn. Now, when I think about it I just think that it is a such beautiful language. I understand quite a lot of Russian, I can read Russian but I don’t have chance to speak it a lot. I also tried to learn English in times I didn’t have access to the Internet. I only had… Read more »
All credit to you for succeeding with Russian to the point when you’re able to read it. Learning a new language is much more of a challenge when you have to familiarize yourself with an entirely different script and alphabet before you can even start. I had a go at learning both Greek and Hebrew, so I know from first-hand experience!
As a Welshman ashamed to say I am not fuent in welsh, would this women say Belgium, Norwegian, or some of the other smaller countries languages useless. She says it was Banter. A bit of Banter from me AIRHEAD.
“Welsh is of this soil, this island, the senior language of the men of Britain; and Welsh is beautiful.” J.R.R. Tolkien who based his Elvish language on Welsh.
I’ve just watched the clip and she said it was ‘banter’. It wasn’t. It was the same sneering ignorant persona that only underpins the superiority complex of the privileged and entitled English upper class. The master and servant mentality. The same one that still predominates in people such as Mark Reckless. The same mentality that resulted in Brexit. The same mentality that was present in Isabel Webster on Sky. It isn’t ‘banter’. It’s an agenda just like it always has been and always will be. My opinion? Leave it go. You’ve been on the losing side for as long as… Read more »
Ah yes ‘a bit of banter’ from that well known country ‘Banterland, located somewhere between the 18th century and Poundland. populated by one eyed anglocentric, xenophobic little Englanders
They must have mislaid their thinking parts at Sky. The text on the screen points to a fall in people in the UK learning a foreign language, yet they claim to be talking about International Mother Tongue Day so they interview a travel writer and then make disparaging comments about the Welsh language. Lazy journalism, lazy/zero thinking with the usual ignorant remarks thrown in as an added extra.
Before the industrial revolution, the population of Wales was around 350,000, all of whom spoke Welsh as a first language. During the following 200 years, Wales’ population increased to around 3 MILLION people, that increase being due to immigration from other parts of Britain and Europe for the new industrial jobs. Most of the immigrants were English speaking. The numbers of native Welsh speakers in Wales has remained relatively constant throughout that time, despite many of us becoming bilingual in English too as we were, and still are, outnumbered, and because there is a reluctance from successive generations of them… Read more »
That reminds me, Rob, thanks. Bi lingual people have some time lapse problems while they Digest info.
But they see more easily another’s viewpoint, are less egotistical. .
In the early 1980s I lived for a while in Risca in the lower Ebbw valley, and learnt that there English had gradually supplanted Welsh as the local lingua franca in the course of the 18th century due to Gwent’s proximity to the English border.. Only for Welsh to undergo a considerable revival locally during the early 19th century, as rural folk from further west moved in to take up new jobs in the nascent coal and iron industries. And then the Anglicization process began all over again, because Gwent was still close to the border with England. The real… Read more »
Listening to the anthems at the rugby international between Wales v England you realise the importance of Welsh. One of the best anthems in the world.
Any country is proud of their language and culture. I love hearing little children speaking welsh doing welsh folk dance singing in welsh the welsh schools do a marvellous job we are proud of our language
The Welsh language is protected by law and the person responsible for saying that our language is useless should be prepared to face some serious repercussions i.e. the sack. I for one will be cancelling my sky subscription as a result of this as i think they are a pointless and racist company.
Galwad arall am annibyniaeth i Gymru!!
“It’s just banter” is not an excuse. Some people want to be surrounded by others who look like them and talk like them, who don’t like it when they’re not, and lash out. It starts with jokes, but it’s not where it ends up. We recognise one aspect of this xenophobia as racism. Why is the dislike of different languages a form of xenophobia that is remotely acceptable?
“It’s just banter” means “i am insulting you”.
Typical London response to Wales
Typical London response to anything to do with Wales
Imagine if she’d of said something along those lines about a native African language…. There would be uproar, but because it’s about the Welsh its ‘banter’. I’m genuinely shocked. Cwmru am byth
I live in Spain where everything ‘British’, even the people, are classed as ‘English’. Even by the true English ex pat’s. Sadly, too many non English Brits accept it. I never do. It is time that Wales made more of its self internationally. Scotland is known for kilts & internationally celebrate Burns Night & Hogmaney. Ireland is known for it’s humour, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day internationally. Wales? We have so much to be proud of but much of it is not ‘cool’. We don’t even do much on St. David’s Day. Schools used to close half day with Eisteddfodiadau in… Read more »
Thus could be said about most language but it is important for the people and country it’s spoken as I’d defines them from being more than just a number in a crud .. it relates to much more than just a spoken language
Giving the excuse that you are married to a welshman as an excuse to promote English offensive banter is weak from Sky. Boris uses the same banter excuse to humiliate Muslim women. Welsh is a very useful language in Wales especially in the Arts or Politics as it gets you places. Welsh is also the original British language so holds a lot of secrets of an ancient past before saxons even arrived in Britain. If someone is ignorant of history, culture and linguistics then of course they will not know.
Welsh is the language of our history, it connects us to our culture and past, it is opposite of useless, in fact it’s so important that there needs to be a massive initiative to learn it. The fact of the matter is the English are desperate for us to discard our language because that means full assimilation, being connected to our language means being connected to the founders of Britain and this states this in our Welsh historical records with historical figures such as King Brutus and King Arthur which the English are also desperate for us to discard as… Read more »
All languages are pointless unless you speak them!
I’m an English immigrant living in the valleys and I’ve just started learning Welsh. (When in Rome and all that!) I’m loving it, it’s a beautiful language. I hope more of my fellow countrymen who choose to live in this beautiful Nation do the same. Although it can be difficult it’s well worth the effort even if only to help pronouncing place names correctly. Open anti English sentiment is not something I have experienced in my one year of living here. There is a real community spirit, which is quite alien to me, being from urban England, and I have… Read more »
About 1560 BCE the Assyrians sailed to these Islands this was by of the daughters of King Dioclisian one who led this voyage was Albyne,that’s why Surrey was one of the place name taken from the Assyrian name, then came the Cymry(Khymri) in around (500-504BCE) the Khymri won the day as a single contest was proposed to save lives of a battle, with the Khymric/Trojan Brutus from Troy eventualy intergrated the two peoples and became the people of Brutus or Prydain Britain, these two people were of high interlect the first to bring metal proccess making to these Isle or… Read more »
Small minded upper class English s**g, – someone just whispered in my ear.!!
I am Welsh, I was born here, I love my Country, ok I think Welsh people
Should be able to speak Welsh., but as for bringing a
Pointless language, what a load of rubbish. bit would be like saying smaller countries with their
Own language arenpointlesss too, I wonder who
Will tell that to the Irish lol
Anybody thinking to refer to Cymraeg as a foreign language STOP! You should be referring to it as … Learning a local language… Due to it quite literally being local. It’s just down the road! And some Cymraeg is integral to English, even as much as Latin is used. Such as for places or medicine or even animals. Without those English wouldn’t exist.
About 1560 BCE the Assyrians sailed to these Islands this was by of the daughters of King Dioclisian one who led this voyage was Albyne,that’s why Surrey was one of the place name taken from the Assyrian name, then came the Cymry(Khymri) in around (500-504BCE) the Khymri won the day as a single contest was proposed to save lives of a battle, with the Khymric/Trojan Brutus from Troy eventualy intergrated the two peoples and became the people of Brutus or Prydain Britain, these two people were of high interlect the first to bring metal proccess making to these Isle or… Read more »
Like much of governmental services, abbreviation became the norm in military day to day conversation to the point that it effectively became another and rather pointless language accessible only to those ‘in the know’ and even some of those who ‘needed to know’ didn’t. That’s a pointless language. That’s not the point here. As usual media people in front of or behind the cameras continue their racist and linguistic abuse of Cymru and her people believing it’s ‘only banter’. Know what? It might be to you but some of us who are Welsh do not find it so. Oh! I… Read more »
We’ve had years of derogatory remarks and slighting from our neighbour. Back in the 19th century our children were forced to stand in a corner with a ‘Welsh Not ‘ hat on. It’s time we stood up for ourselves and told the ignorant where to go – Welsh is here to stay! Better still – let’s just go our our way. The Union has never treated Wales fairly.
Isabella Webster obviously has not had the discussion with her husband about bringing her children ( present or future) up bilingually, she would rather they be monoglots. Had she discussed this with her Welsh husband she would have some empathy and understanding of the struggle it is to keep children speaking Welsh with the influences of media and social media. The fact that her response has not resulted in conduct discipline is a disgrace.
I’ve got to say as an Englishman studying in Wales, that Welsh is very far from useless. Most signs are either in Welsh and English or just Welsh, Welsh is spoken on the streets and the language is intrinsically linked to practically any cultural activity. I would encourage people who claim Welsh is useless or dead to actually come to Wales and see how alive the language is to this day.
England has tried for hundreds of years to obliterate the Welsh language. They have not managed to yet, and they never will. These so called inter-viewers need a lesson in manners. How to insult an entire nation and deride a language that is one of the oldest in Europe is nothing short of the self-righteous attitude that seems to be the norm from the English.