David R Edwards
Ar yr un pryd, roedd DJ enwoca'r byd - John Peel - yn datgan mai cerddoriaeth Datblygu oedd yr ysgogiad gore i unrhywun i ddysgu'r iaith Gymraeg:"You'd have to be a bit of a ninny to ignore Datblygu, this is the band that
makes me want to learn the Welsh language."
Here's the best xmas related record ever.
Despite the fact that my father's first language is Welsh, that I have lived in Wales all my life and that I was even (albeit accidentally) placed in the Welsh form in secondary school I can't translate the lyrics in their entirety. My relationship with the language has always been a bit thorny.
And how much money has been spent on implementing The Welsh Language Act 1993 (an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which put the Welsh language on an equal footing with the English language in Wales with regard to the public sector)?
Road signs, electric bills, driving licences, hospital appointments, application forms,everything bilingual?
According to the 2001 census 582,400 (20.8% of the population of Wales) were able to speak Welsh and 457,946 (16.3%) can speak, read and write it.
From the BBC:
When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated".So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket.
"When they're proofing signs, they should really use someone who speaks Welsh," said journalist Dylan Iorwerth.
Anyway, back to Datblygu: Ga I Fod Sion Corn? (Can I be Father Xmas?) here are some of the gems therein, musings of a lyrical genius:
The system causes cancer, not smoking…
I’m sick of feeling like Jesus on the cross, so please, can I be Father Xmas.
3 signs of insanity- talking to yourself, listening to other people, not talking to yourself.
I want Wales to be free, I want every village to be free, I want every person to be free…
Listen here:
Thanks for posting the audio link to Ga i for Sion Corn. I lost the cassette some years ago amd realy enjoyed hearing it again. When I was at university I compelled my English speaking friends to listen to this - it transcends language, but the translation improves it further.
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