Strange questions that sometimes need answering (or not asking in the first place really).

[AT86]

Didn't even know they had cable cars

Ornamental ones.

Just like at Alton Towers.

 

[rob666]

SShhhsh...

 

[DiogoJ42]

Give the trial a whirl and then see how your principles stand. It ought to be noted though, that similar to Spotify, when you sign up to YouTube Premium the creators enrolled in Google's programme will get a cut of your YouTube Premium subscription fee. This compensates them for the lost ad revenue, and actually gives them higher returns.

DILLIGAF What "creators" get?

******

Different note:
At work today, I was about to say something, when [team leader] (who is actually cool, this was just banter, so not that guy) cut me off with,
Him: "before you even start, does this involve rollercoasters, rats, Lego, or beer...?"
...
Me: ".....I'll get me coat"

Am I that predictable‽

 

[Jonathan]

DILLIGAF What "creators" get?

******

Different note:
At work today, I was about to say something, when [team leader] (who is actually cool, this was just banter, so not that guy) cut me off with,
Him: "before you even start, does this involve rollercoasters, rats, Lego, or beer...?"
...
Me: ".....I'll get me coat"

Am I that predictable‽

Did it involve rats running a bar made out of Lego next door to a rollercoaster? Covers all bases that way!

 

[rob666]

With pirates...

 

[BarryZola]

Anyone else get a bit annoyed with the phrase "I'm going to better myself"? As in, I'm going to do a course or something and get a promotion at work, or get a more lucrative job somewhere else. As if it makes you a better person if you do some classes and start getting paid more money? As if a work colleague is going to 'better themselves' and get a promotion and then they'll somehow have jumped above you to be a better person than you, or something? I find it an odd thing to say. I suppose it comes down to your morals in life and what you value deep down. Is it money, or the way you treat people, or what?

I mean, if someone who was formerly a career criminal and general wrong 'un was to say "I've bought a patch of agricultural land and I'm going to produce food and give most of it away to food charities" then I might entertain the idea that they've somehow bettered themselves. But doing some courses to earn a few more quid at work and spend it on an extra holiday to Crete each year. Na, you're not better.

 

[Alix]

I wouldn’t see that as them thinking they’re better than you (or anyone else) they are taking steps to be a better them - investing in themself. So they are bettering themself, but it is all about them, and nothing about anyone else.

If I invest into making my 5k run time better, I’m bettering myself. Doesn’t take away from anyone else who also runs 5k. Or at least, not in my view.

 

[BarryZola]

Yes, but I think what I'm saying is, I don't think it makes you a better person just because you ran a bit more regularly and managed to shave 20 seconds off your 5k time. You have improved something in a certain area of your life, but I don't think that that makes you a better person than you were 4 weeks previously. I think what I'm trying to say is that I, personally, don't judge 'better' in that way. I think being (or becoming) better is something a lot more fundamental and intrinsic that you can't really change overnight. It's like, a whole life change or something before you can even begin to say that you've 'bettered yourself'. Turns out I wrote this in the correct thread. I do have strange thoughts sometimes. I appreciate the reply though, and maybe it's just as simple as how we interpret the message of 'bettering ones self'.

 

[Alix]

I think it probably is one of those things that means different things to different people.

Without getting too woo/life coachey all any of us can do is try to be the best us we can be. And what that means will be different for all of us.

If your colleague truly feels that courses and promotion makes them a better version of themself that’s great for them. It wouldn’t do it for me. But it also doesn’t make me feel that they think they’re better than me. I’ve got to that point in life where I care very little what other people think of me. If they want to think they’re better than me they can fill their boots, I’m off to ride coasters and eat cake - living my best life

 

[BarryZola]

Yes, quite. I think I just think about too much unnecessary stuff. I just find it an odd phrase in most cases. It's all good

 

[DiogoJ42]

I caved.

My viewing experience is now bliss. I swear I can feel my blood pressure lowering by the second.

 

[Slugjc]

I had a notification to cancel YouTube subscription.

TO THE HELL WITH IT. I've seen too many influencer style adverts to justify the cost of not seeing them.

"Recently......I've discovered this new and improved fairy liquid." Have you love, I've recently discovered a hatred for you and your idiot family

 

[shakey]

I had a notification to cancel YouTube subscription.

TO THE HELL WITH IT. I've seen too many influencer style adverts to justify the cost of not seeing them.

"Recently......I've discovered this new and improved fairy liquid." Have you love, I've recently discovered a hatred for you and your idiot family

If you have an android device then try SmartTube (YouTube without the ads and it's free)

 

[DiogoJ42]

I watch most of my youtube either via my Virgin box on my TV, or on my iPrat. So sadly things like that aren't an option.

So far I'd say it's life changing.* Last night I was able to fall asleep listening to stuff in YT, on the iPad, with no ****** adverts waking me up, with the screen turned off.

*Naturally that's by design on Google's part. Make your product so obnoxious that people will pay you to make it stop.

 

[Matt N]

I went to the first day of my MSc induction week at Cardiff University today. After that, my random question of the day is; are there many remaining monolingual Welsh speakers, or even Welsh speakers who aren’t, for all intents and purposes, fully fluent in English?

All of the communications I’ve received from the university in any capacity have had a Welsh translation alongside the English, with the Welsh in fact taking precedent and the English being pushed further down, and there’s been a lot of talk of the university being proud of its Welsh heritage and “keeping the Welsh language alive”. They’ve even touted writing the MSc dissertation fully in Welsh as an option! And outside of the university setting, you see Welsh translated signs everywhere, with the Welsh once again taking precedent over the English.

Having lived very near to the South Wales border (around 5-6 miles from the border at Chepstow) for my whole life, I’m familiar with the Welsh signage situation and such, but this got me thinking; are there really many people left who solely speak Welsh and can’t speak English fluently? Despite the signage, everyone in Monmouthshire, my most local Welsh region, seemingly speaks fluent English (and I dare say that everyone I know from Monmouthshire speaks English as their first language with Welsh being a side MFL subject that they were forced to learn at school…), everyone I’ve ever encountered in Newport or Cardiff is a fluent English speaker, and even when I’ve holidayed in Pembrokeshire, in more remote West Wales, everyone I’ve encountered there speaks fluent English and I don’t really hear Welsh being spoken when out and about.

Based on the signage and primary emphasis on Welsh over English in official communications, you’d initially think that it would like going to Spain or France or Germany or whatever, where many people there know English, but there are many who don’t speak it fluently and many more who can’t speak it at all, and Spanish/French/German is still the predominant language you hear spoken when out and about. In Wales, though, the predominant language you seem to hear spoken when out and about is English, and everyone I have ever encountered in Wales is a fluent English speaker. Most, if not all, I’ve encountered even speak English as their first language.

With this in mind, it does make me wonder; how many monolingual Welsh speakers, or even Welsh speakers not also fully fluent in English, are actually left?

 

[Shaggy_Dog_]

With this in mind, it does make me wonder; how many monolingual Welsh speakers, or even Welsh speakers not also fully fluent in English, are actually left?

There's a thread on Reddit about this which may help to answer your question.

From: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wales/comments/11xd0q9/are_there_any_and_how_many_welsh_speakers_that/


As for your university handing out their literature in in Welsh with an English translation underneath then good for them promoting their own language first. Perhaps in more rural areas and up in Gwynned (which has the highest proportion of Welsh speakers) you might encounter some people that speak Welsh only (or Welsh speakers that use little English). Would you perhaps be interested in using your time studying in Wales to learn a little Welsh yourself even if just for your own interest or enjoyment?

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

I went to the first day of my MSc induction week at Cardiff University today. After that, my random question of the day is; are there many remaining monolingual Welsh speakers, or even Welsh speakers who aren’t, for all intents and purposes, fully fluent in English?

All of the communications I’ve received from the university in any capacity have had a Welsh translation alongside the English, with the Welsh in fact taking precedent and the English being pushed further down, and there’s been a lot of talk of the university being proud of its Welsh heritage and “keeping the Welsh language alive”. They’ve even touted writing the MSc dissertation fully in Welsh as an option! And outside of the university setting, you see Welsh translated signs everywhere, with the Welsh once again taking precedent over the English.

Having lived very near to the South Wales border (around 5-6 miles from the border at Chepstow) for my whole life, I’m familiar with the Welsh signage situation and such, but this got me thinking; are there really many people left who solely speak Welsh and can’t speak English fluently? Despite the signage, everyone in Monmouthshire, my most local Welsh region, seemingly speaks fluent English (and I dare say that everyone I know from Monmouthshire speaks English as their first language with Welsh being a side MFL subject that they were forced to learn at school…), everyone I’ve ever encountered in Newport or Cardiff is a fluent English speaker, and even when I’ve holidayed in Pembrokeshire, in more remote West Wales, everyone I’ve encountered there speaks fluent English and I don’t really hear Welsh being spoken when out and about.

Based on the signage and primary emphasis on Welsh over English in official communications, you’d initially think that it would like going to Spain or France or Germany or whatever, where many people there know English, but there are many who don’t speak it fluently and many more who can’t speak it at all, and Spanish/French/German is still the predominant language you hear spoken when out and about. In Wales, though, the predominant language you seem to hear spoken when out and about is English, and everyone I have ever encountered in Wales is a fluent English speaker. Most, if not all, I’ve encountered even speak English as their first language.

With this in mind, it does make me wonder; how many monolingual Welsh speakers, or even Welsh speakers not also fully fluent in English, are actually left?

Really not very many. The Welsh Language Survey 2019-2020 revealed that 10% of Welsh speakers, aged 3+, could not speak English well enough to have a conversation. The survey did not distinguish between people who are entirely monolingual and those who have some limited English language skills.

The use of the Welsh language now, and its resurgence, can be explained by national pride and cultural identity.

Interesting studies have been done where grouping people who have nothing in common, except being placed into the same group randomly, then feel a strong affinity to their group and an affinity to others.

England and Wales have effectively been one entity since the 13th century, over 800 years (give or take). No one alive now could possibly have any tangible real world connection to an independent Wales. The Welsh language, however, dominated in Wales up until the 19th century.

The 16th century saw English become the official language of law and administration, but Welsh was still the language of the people. It's similar to how, in England, the official language of state was Normanic French until the 14th century.

The language of the English courts, until 1362 and the Pleasing in English Act, was Normanic French. It was the language of law and administration. English was spoken by the plebs. Despite French being the official language in England, for almost 300 years, the English language didn't die out (nor the Welsh for that matter).

I'm not entirely sure of the historical evolution of Welsh, whether it's a time capsule or has evolved in a similar way to English. Old English was generally considered to be just after the Romans left, until just after the Norman invasion (so really it's Anglo-Saxon ISH). Middle English is considered to have started after the Norman invasion, and Modern English around the Tudor period. That many of our peers do not consider the Elizabethan language of Shakespeare and Marlowe to be Modern, shows you how much a language can evolve even in the same defined period.

Anyway, point is. If you tell someone that they're part of a group, they will identify with that group. They will find ways to assimilate, to share the same culture. They will fear the "others" and outsiders, or even resent them. It works with supporters of sports teams, political parties, subcultures, fandoms and even nations. The reason why the Welsh language has stuck around, despite the best efforts of the English, is because they feel unique, special and attached to their national identity. Much like the Cornish. I'd make a joke about how they're both really just glorified English counties, but I don't want to be considered racist, a bigot or xenophobic. After all, I'd just be playing into group theory.

Welsh in the home and in education (Welsh language use survey): July 2019 to March 2020:

Welsh in the home and in education (Welsh language use survey): July 2019 to March 2020 | GOV.WALES

The analysis reports on the use of Welsh in the home and the relationship between the ability of Welsh speakers and the ability of their parents. It also reports on the language of their education at school or in further and higher education.

www.gov.wales

 

[DiogoJ42]

Clearly, our Matt has never ventured too far past Offa's dyke. It be a scary place for those of us aquanted with the vowel. Thar be dargons!

 

[Matt.GC]

Since the Forest of Dean is basically partially Welsh, and partially West Midlands (possibly also Northern Land), and unlike you Matt, I'm a west of England lad, you should know the answer better than me , .

I like to lie to people and say I'm half Welsh because one side of my family is from there. But in reality, I'm a Greater Bristolian. But nevermind, let's pretend I have a sexual preference to sheep for a minute (not offensive half Welsh I tell 'ya, so I can say that!).

Not a lot more to add than @GooseOnTheLoose has already said in that excellent post above. Welsh was a Celtic language in danger of extinction like Cornish now has become. Cornish is partially mutually intelligible with Welsh, at similar levels as German and Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese, or Cockney and English (that last one I made up). Quite distinct from one another, but speakers can understand eachother. A commission was set up in not too distant history (I want to say 1970's) to keep it alive, hence the road signs, focus on cultural significance, and S4C being a thing.

It is the first language of many speakers, although I think many live deep in mid or Northern Wales. Strange when you think about it as thick Welsh accents whilst speaking English are often associated with south Wales, especially in the west. The northern parts basically speak with partial North Western England style accents (to me anyway), yet many are more likely to speak Welsh as a first language than in the South. I have no reference for this, but I have somewhere that there are no longer any adults who only speak Welsh and cannot speak English, even if there are a handful of fluent first language Welsh speakers. Which would explain why young children brought up in a predominantly Welsh speaking environment would struggle with English at an early age.

Similar to how many Polish immigrants bring up their kids to speak 2 languages from a young age. They learn Polish as a first language and pick up English from the world around them whilst they are at a young age where their brains are still like sponges. I've met many toddlers who switch between the 2, with local accents, and not even realise they are doing so. I met a Portuguese speaking toddler who did the same. The developing human brain is a fascinating thing when you think about how it develops so quickly early in life. If these kids see that you don't understand what they are saying, they just switch to using the other words they know until they get a reaction from you. It's fascinating to hear, to them it's just 2 different ways of saying the same thing, unlike a whole new algorithm to learn for adult minds. Extremely clever, and great advantage to give your kids in life.

Cornish on the other hand is classed as extinct I think. Even though it's still spoken by many, and correct me from Google if I'm wrong, but I believe it's classed as such because it's speakers have always spoken English as a first language. There hasn't been any soley Cornish speakers for a long a time, even if there are fluent speakers.

I had 2 Welsh grandparents, both of which could not speak fluent Welsh, despite being born a century ago. My grandfather could speak Latin and English, but only knew snippets of Welsh.

 

[Matt N]

It could be relevant that I’ve only been to South Wales, for the most part, and not really ventured much into Mid or North Wales.

In the Welsh areas nearest to where I live, the South East Wales areas like Monmouthshire, Newport and Cardiff, I can almost guarantee that if I went up to someone and tried to have a conversation with them in Welsh, the vast majority of people either wouldn’t understand me at all or wouldn’t be fluent enough to speak back to me. I can imagine how that might be different in an area of Wales that’s more western and/or more northern, though.

I’ve always gathered similar sentiments from my various visits to Pembrokeshire, in South West Wales, but I guess that is still South Wales.

I myself know little to no Welsh. Funnily enough, I have little to no link to Wales despite living so close to the Welsh border and having been born in Newport (or Casnewydd, if we’re speaking Welsh!). My family roots are pretty much entirely English, I live in England, and I speak with an English accent. I don’t really have a lick of Welsh about me.