End Cymraeg Coercion

It is a simple statement, founded on simple yet non-negotiable values:

"I am Welsh, I do not speak Cymraeg, I do not NEED to speak Cymraeg to be Welsh." 

Whistleblow3r (2011)

Wales has a pseudo-colonial past. Colonised by 'the English' but with so many descendents and so much migration Wales is not colonised it is now, quite simply, populated.

Interestingly only 2 million people in a nation of 3 million consider themselves as "Welsh" and only Welsh (www.ons.gov.uk) so, how does Wales deal with this minority 33%. Assimilation.

'Welshness' - no open and democratic debate has ever been initiated in Wales. It is simply not up for discussion. The are policy makers that believe reinstating Cymraeg and making Cymraeg a functional language in some way will improve people's lives. There is academic research extolling the virtues of bilingualism, but there is also evidence that proves the Welsh education system is performing at the lowest level of all of the education systems in the UK.

So, what does it mean to be Welsh? I live in NZ. Can I be Welsh?

'Look now isn't it' - The Whistleblow3r on being Welsh:
A state of "Welshness" is not something that governments have the right to decide. Welshness incorporates many facets, nationalism encompasses many facets. For me it is a feeling of loyalty or commonality of shared experiences between people. It is an appreciation of culture and language and history, BUT not defined by a loyalty to one aspect over another. It is also clear to me that in Wales Welsh people are fed a diet of predetermined behaviours that are considered Welsh. Those behaviours have been documented by considered academics e.g. Saunders Lewis et al. This blog will seek out an alternative narrative to being Welsh in the world and consider perspective of a different way of being Welsh in Wales, different to the diet fed to us by WalesonLine and the political class in Wales.

The main focus of this blog will be to open up debate on the topics that are closed down by the social engineers and confront the ideologies espoused as 'good for you'. Cymraeg Coercion is one such ideology.

Exposing the Bilingual debate:
We are regularly told that learning another language is a good thing. There is much research that supports the benefits of learning another language:

"Researchers say that there are advantages to being bilingual. These advantages might include;

able to learn new words easily
Playing rhyming games with words like "cat" and "hat"
Breaking down words by sounds, such as C-A-T for cat
Being able to use information in new ways
Putting words into categories
Coming up with solutions to problems
Good listening skills
Connecting with others" (retrieved from http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/The-Advantages-of-Being-Bilingual/, 2015)

Many European countries speak more than one language. 

Yet in Wales bilingualism has been interpreted as you will all learn Cymraeg. Infact the number of students learning another language has reduced in Wales. 

"Welsh pupils disadvantaged by lack of foreign language options" (Guardian Mar 2015)

"In 1995, 55% of pupils in Wales took a GCSE in a foreign language, now the figure stands at 22% and in areas of high social deprivation, like Blaenau Gwent, it's 11%," (Guardian, Mar 2015, retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/15/social-exclusion-language-provision-wales Sept 30 2015)

So, I posit that the argument relating to bilingualism is flawed when discussed in a Welsh context. Students are not sitting second language examinations that are comparable to other european countries. They are learning Welsh for a nationalistic reason alone. They are not even learning a second language to sufficient proficiency to make the learning authentic. In Wales you can sit Cymraeg 1st language, Cymraeg 2nd language and Cymraeg 2nd language half course and none of these exams is compulsory BUT attending these lessons is.