Collège et Lycée De Bretagne

Collège Lycée Enseignement Général et Technologique – Nantes

Pays de la Loire
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Welsh or «Cymraeg» emerged from Common Brittonic in the 6th century, which is an ancient celtic language that was spoken in Britain. Welsh is actually a native language in Wales, and people speak it as a first language mostly in North West Wales. Some even speak it along the Welsh Border in England and in Argentina. However, the usage of Welsh has decreased since the 20th century since more and more foreigners are settling in Wales and as a consequence, English has become more convenient to use.
We can see Welsh mostly on the bilingual road signs in Wales. In teaching, about 20% of the children speak Welsh as their first language and it is obligatory until 16 years old. In literature, welsh poetry stayed really important since the Middle Ages and one of the most famous work of welsh literature is the Mabinogion, which contains stories of the celtic mythology. There is even a welsh radio, the BBC Radio Cymru, and a welsh television channel: the S4C.
We can also find a welsh writing on the famous Millennium Centre in Cardiff. This writing says «Creu Gwir Fel Gwydr O Ffwrnais Awen» in Welsh, and «In These Stones Horizons Sing» in English. These words describe obviously the architecture of the arts centre which already hosted performances of opera, ballet, dance, comedy and musicals.
As a conclusion, welsh language is still used nowadays, mostly in welsh education, literature and in the media. It is still spoken in Wales too, but English became a more commonly language.