“Welsh Not”: the role discrimination has played in the decline of the Welsh language in Wales

Outside of Wales, the media’s portrayal of the Welsh Language has often been one of a Language on its last legs. This research looks to discover the true state of Welsh, considering the role discrimination has played in the apparent decline, working from the industrial revolution, and moving towards the ways today’s Welsh speakers are affected. Though the UK government considers Wales to be a bilingual nation that puts English and Welsh at an equal-standing, it’s an ongoing truth that Welsh speakers often have to compromise their linguistic rights due to deficiencies in bilingual services, caused by the widespread perception that Welsh is a ‘dying’/ ‘dead’ language. In turn, this locks Welsh into a vicious cycle wherein fewer opportunities to use Welsh and stigmas held against Welsh-Language speakers result in the Language being used less and less, making it less imperative for services to be provided in Welsh, which leads to there being even fewer opportunities for Welsh to be used, so on and so forth.