What I’ve realized from the experience is that many people understand enough Welsh to communicate, but maybe don’t have the confidence to use it.
Does the Census reflect the truth about the number of Welsh speakers? I’m dubious…
The experiment proved itself…that everyone in Wales understands a few words, and the reality is that those few words can go far, and who knows by making others to do what we did that day everyday, maybe the language could last into the next century.
It’s obvious that a number of people understand the language but aren’t confident enough to use it. There’s an obvious message for us there.
At the beginning it was hard to get people to stop and talk in front of the camera and get them to understand what I was trying to say…but I learnt, by persisting and speaking politely to these people that it was possible for them to understand the Welsh language and give me the correct directions to the town clock.
I was surprised how much Welsh people could understand and speak even after they’d said they could only speak very little. This was important to me because I know a lot of learners and people who don’t use the language regularly. This encouraged me to try and instill confidence and practice Welsh with these people.
Certainly, I’m going to try and start each conversation in Welsh from now on.
This experience has certainly encouraged me to carry on trying to speak Welsh even with people I don’t know.
Maybe if I practiced using Welsh for day to day tasks I would give other people the nudge they need to try using Welsh instead of rejecting it.