Cymdeithas yr Iaith - Part 2

From the collection of

Archif Sgrin a Sain Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive

Established in 2001, the National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive holds an unrivalled collection of films, TV and radio broadcasts, video tapes and sound recordings relating to Wales and the Welsh, from 1898 to the present day. The collection spans multiples formats and genres, both professional and amateur.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith - Part 2

A campaign to save the Welsh language before it's too late.

Part 2 of a two-part interview with Sian Howys, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (Welsh Language Society). There are a few glitches and restarts. During the course of the whole interview she explains the beginnings of the Society, and talks about its campaigns on issues such as official (equal) status for the Welsh language, visibility (e.g. road signs), housing (e.g. 'Wales is Not for Sale' campaign), the campaign for the Welsh fourth TV channel (S4C), and the need for a Language Act and linguistic planning polices. She expands on the fundamental purpose of keeping the language alive (in answer to the frequently-asked question along the lines of 'what's the point of preserving the language?').

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From the collection

Our Language - Ein Hiaith

The Welsh language - Cymraeg - is an endangered tongue that survives against all odds, thanks to multiple campaigns and its daily speakers.

Welsh is one of the oldest languages in Europe, spoken today by over 800,000 people. It has survived attempts to snuff it out, for example with the use in Victorian schools of the infamous 'Welsh not', and is still the butt of many a tired cliché and ignorant jokes. But it has many less well-known claims to fame - such as the fact that Wales was one of the first countries to create laws using its own language - and in 2020 singer and language campaigner Dafydd Iwan's rousing hit 'Yma o Hyd' (Still Here) reached number one in the UK iTunes chart, and has since been adopted by the Welsh national football team and its 'red wall' of fans as its anthem. This collection includes works both in and about the Welsh language, the tone varying from serious and sobering to witty and light-hearted. Topics range from speakers' feelings about the state of their mother tongue (we hear from children and young people, writers and artists), to the challenges and frustrations of keeping a fragile language alive in the shadow of a dominant, global one.

14 videos in this collection

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Ray Gravell talks to David Parry-Jones

  • Mynyddygarreg
  • 2000
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Meredydd Evans talks to David Parry-Jones

  • Blaenau Ffestiniog
  • 2003
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John Roberts Williams talks to Gwyn Llewelyn

  • 2002
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Lwmp o Jaman!

  • Caernarfon
  • 2000
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Fosia's Story

  • Cardiff/Caerdydd
  • 2000
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Deg Milltir o'r Ffin

  • Mold/Yr Wyddgrug
  • 2001
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Y Wyddor Animeiddiedig

  • 2002
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Cymdeithas yr Iaith - Part 1

  • 1990
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Cymdeithas yr Iaith - Part 2

  • 1990
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Cymdeithas yr Iaith - Dewi Pws yn Ffonio

  • 1990
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Cymdeithas yr Iaith - Conference and Welsh Office Demo

  • Cardiff/Caerdydd
  • 1990
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Tape 1 - Cymdeithas yr Iaith

  • 1988
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UB40

  • Fishguard/Abergwaun
  • 1986
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Croeso i'n Cylchoedd Meithrin

  • Cardiff/Caerdydd
  • 1978
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