0159e Notes in English on standardised
Colloquial Welsh
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There are three forms of Welsh -
1 firstly,
the literary language, a rather conservative form of Welsh
2 the
spoken language (generally speaking, we can say it has two important divisions
- the Northern form and the Southern form)
3 Finally,
there is the standardised colloquial form of the language (1), This was developed in the nineteen-sixties
for use in schools as a form of language acceptable in all parts of
Standardised Colloquial Welsh can be criticised on
many counts - for example, it was put together without adequate linguistic
research into the spoken language, mainly by teachers of Welsh in secondary
schools, who were more experts in Welsh literature than in linguistics. In
fact, amongst those who devised the new koiné (2)
there were very few specialised linguists. The new standardised form was
produced without specifying exactly what function it was supposed to have.
Everyone involved in the development of this new form of Welsh was in agreement
that it had to serve as a bridge between the literary language and the spoken
varieties of
But were the norms of this form of the language to
replace in part the existing norms of the literary language?
Was it supposed to be promoted at the expense of
current spoken forms - was the natural spoken language supposed to adapt itself
to this new 'batua'? (3)?
Many teachers thought so, and Welsh learners often
have only a knowledge of this form of Welsh, and are unable to understand or
appreciate more authentic forms of Welsh.
This failure to indicate how the standardised forms
relate to the existing spoken varieties, to establish a connection with natural
forms of the language, is also a feature of many Welsh courses (books, tapes,
videos)
Standardised Colloquial Welsh is a very useful tool,
but it is only half the story. It must be seen as a step towards the genuine
forms of the language, and not an end in itself.
This course uses as its basis Standardised Colloquial
Welsh (P = pan-colloquial). It is seen as a means of better understanding
literary Welsh (L = literary) and the common features of colloquial Welsh (C) -
colloquial, as well as features
peculiar to the North or South: (N = north), (S = south). More specific areas are
referred to by regional names or county names: Gwent / Morgannwg / Preseli /
Ceredigion / Myrddin / Arfon / Môn / Maldwÿn / Fflint / Dinbÿch, etc
(1) The name
generally used is Cymráeg Bÿw ('living Welsh')
(2) koiné
a. A
Greek language based on the Attic dialect which was spoken all over the
Mediterranean area
b. A
common language, as opposed to a dialect, with a uniform character and present
throughout a speech area
(3) batua =
'united, unified'; from Basque, 'euskara batua' = 'unified Basque', a radical
unification of the various forms of the Basque language in order to create a
common form and adapt the language to modern conditions and halt the
fragmentation into dialects which had occurred following decades in which it
had been discriminated against and pushed out of public life, and limited to
very restricted areas of use - the home, folkloric events, etc
Adolygiadau diweddaraf: 30 05
1999
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