NEED TO MAKE WELSH THE LANGUAGE OF WORK

Welsh must become the language of daily work in public institutions – and the Government’s Language Standards should ensure that, according to Dyfodol i’r Iaith.

In response to the Government’s Language Standards, Dyfodol i’r Iaith wants to see
•  the Welsh language used in everyday work in public institutions
• the provision of extensive activities for young people
• concrete steps to promote the Welsh language in the community

Dyfodol i’r Iaith welcomes several sections of the Language Standards, but claims that very few of Standards will help make the Welsh language the language of the workplace, and promote the use of Welsh in the community .

Heini Gruffudd, chairman of Dyfodol i’r iaith, said, “Many of the standards relate to forms and documents and the right of individuals to have a Welsh language service. There is nothing wrong in that, but far more important things need to be addressed.

“Only Gwynedd makes internal use of Welsh. Standards need to set targets for other councils in Wales to use Welsh language in daily work.

” Although one of the standards requires that public institutions provide courses for young people and adults, we need to make sure that things like swimming lessons and clubs for young people are as widely available in Welsh as they are in English. ”

“We need to take this opportunity to promote the Welsh language in the home, community and workplace. Failure to do this is something that we will very much regret in the future. “