Not so sure, a few years ago I took some friends' son down to visit his brother who was at University in Wales. We spent a bit of time travelling around North Wales and I remember one day a discussion on what some of the signs meant - we kept seeing one that was not obvious. Perhaps recognising "Dim Parcio" is not a great introduction to Welsh culture but you do get used to many of the words seen on road signs and buildings. There is though a danger of isolationism, his brother shared a house with some other students. Most were from outside Wales but one was Welsh and had gone through the whole of his schooling at Welsh speaking schools and as a result of this could barely speak English. He had deliberately chosen not to live in a Welsh speaking hall of residence because he wanted to improve his English many others continued to isolate themselves from the rest of the world so they would graduate ready for a career restricted probably to the public sector in Wales. Martin Briscoe Fort William martin@mbriscoe.me.uk -----Original Message----- From: glamorgan-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:glamorgan-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Peter Sent: 21 June 2011 18:51 To: glamorgan@rootsweb.com Subject: [GLA] Fwd: Re: Welsh Speakers. Hi Josephine, Please don't let the bilingual signs you see fool you. There exist only because of the Welsh language Act (I think). Welsh isn't a language that "rubs off on you" and many people question the worth of such signs, but we have them and I'm sure they're appreciated by some. An English speaker in Cardiff may well be able to pronounce various place names as a result of seeing bi-lingual road signs, but will gain no understanding of grammar etc, so therefore no speech. As to the place of Welsh in the national curriculum, well it's there, but in many places it is effectively ignored. My son was registered for a half GCSE in Welsh, but with the agreement of his head, he never, to the best of my knowledge, attended a lesson and was not entered for the examination. I feel, rightly or wrongly, that compulsory Welsh is purely a sop to various politicians in Cardiff. I wouldn't like to see Welsh die out - my grandfather was almost monoglot, while my father thought of Welsh as a waste of time. What those that promote the language need to remember is the saying that one volunteer is worth ten pressed men!