Open letter to Elan Closs Stephens, Wales Trustee of the BBC from Bethan Jones Parry, President of Dyfodol i’r Iaith

BBC ACCUSED OF BREAKING ITS CHARTER BY LANGUAGE GROUP DYFODOL I’R IAITH

The BBC is breaking the terms of its Royal Charter by not giving a fair fee to Welsh performers, according to language group Dyfodol i’r Iaith .In a letter to Elan Closs Stephens, Wales Trustee for the BBC, Bethan Jones Parry, President of Dyfodol i’r Iaith, says the BBC is breaking some terms in its Charter by failing to give sufficient payment for playing Welsh records.

Bethan Jones Parry said, “There is an evident decline in the service on Radio Cymru since the beginning of the year and there are signs that listeners are turning to other services. Radio Cymru is no longer providing a service for Wales and it is not promoting creativity, as demanded by the Charter.” Continue reading →

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By Heini Gruffudd, Chair Dyfodol

The recently published 2011 Census figures for the Welsh language are but one of many indicators of the language’s health. Some people have responded in a chorus of wailing.  While this reaction may not be entirely misplaced, a superficial analysis should immediately dispute some of the findings.

There is a very unlikely percentage of 40.3% for Welsh speakers among the  5 – 15 age group. We know from other sources that around 21% of primary school children attend Welsh medium primary schools, and that these schools are the only ones which genuinely present pupils with a full range of bilingual skills.  Parents’ view of what is an ability to speak Welsh is very subjective, so in spite of the general desire for this to be the case for a child, we must erase around 85,000 from the total number of Welsh speakers. Nevertheless, the demand for Welsh medium education in less Welsh speaking parts of Wales is around 40%, and the unlikely percentage of 40.3% can be construed as part fact, part aspiration.

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