Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/08/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thanks for looking, Larry. I rather enjoy the Welsh, it adds local color for me. And I am used to reading bilingual signs from my years living just outside Brussels, and my many frequent visits there now. Cheers, Nathan On 1 Sep 2013, at 02:21, lrzeitlin at aol.com wrote: > And a rather more grand "window" near my hotel in Cardiff Bay: > http://www.greatpix.eu/All/Picture-A-Day/4253606_kdsZ6C#!i=2734312892&k=MRh6XmL&lb=1&s=O > Nathan > > > - - - - > > > I noticed that half the words on the sign in front of the theater were in > Welsh even though fewer than 10% of the people in Cardiff are fluent in > the language. There is a big nationalist effort in Wales to revive the > Welsh language. Officially it is co-equal with English. Public signs and > government documents must be written in both Welsh and English. Even in > North Wales (Gwynedd), the epicenter of Welsh language revival, most of > the people speak English when they have to conduct business with those > foreigners from England. There is little problem in conversation. It's > just those damned highway signs. Every direction is written in Welsh > first, then in English. By the time you read the English wording, it's too > late. You have missed the turn and have to drive miles down the narrow > lane before you can find a space wide enough to reverse directions. Welsh > is taught in schools as a required language and in North Wales many locals > speak it in their homes. This is a matter of pride > rather than necessity. It is symbolic of the fact that the Welsh feel > that they are a sovereign nation and that the British conquest in 1300 was > only a temporary inconvenience. > Larry Z > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > Nathan Wajsman Alicante, Spain http://www.frozenlight.eu http://www.greatpix.eu Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0 PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws Image licensing: http://www.alamy.com/search-results.asp?qt=wajsman Blog: http://www.nathansmusings.eu/