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Fel myfyriwr ieithoedd sydd a diddordeb arbennig mewn ieithoedd lleiafrifol a gwledydd bychain eraill Ewrop, afraid dweud bod treulio wythnos yng Nghatalonia (neu Catalunya) yn ddiweddar wedi bod yn brofiad hynod ddiddorol. Trueni fodd bynnag oedd gorfod dychwelyd i dywydd gwlyb ag oer Cymru! Penderfynais dreulio dau ddiwrnod yn nhre Girona yng Ngogledd Catalonia cyn mynd ymlaen i Barcelona, prifddinas Catalunya. Afraid dweud bod y profiad wedi dylanwadu arnaf yn gryf, gan fod yna gymaint o wersi i Gymru ac i ni fel Plaid ddysgu oddi wrth y genedl ddiddorol hon.
Mae edrych ar system wleidyddol a pholisiau'r 'Generalitat', sef llywodraeth Catalonia, yn hynod ddiddorol. Efallai mai'r peth mwyaf trawiadol ynglyn â'r wlad yw ei pholisi ieithyddol, sy'n gorfodi pob busnes i ddefnyddio'r iaith Gatalaneg. Mae hyn yn gwneud yr iaith yn hynod weledol, hyd yn oed mewn dinas mawr gosmopolitaidd fel Barcelona. Y Gatalaneg sy'n cael blaenoriaeth ar bob arwydd ac ym mhob sefydliad cyhoeddus, yn enwedig mewn ysgolion lle ni addysgir yr un plentyn trwy gyfrwng 'Castellano', yr iaith Sbaeneg, bellach. Mae pob un cyngor lleol, prifysgol a sefydliad llywodraethol yn gweithio trwy gyfrwng y Gatalaneg. Canlyniad y polisiau radical hyn a osodwyd gan y 'Generalitat' wedi blynyddoedd o orthrwm gan Franco yw bod Catalaneg wedi dod yn iaith feunyddiol i bron i 64% o boblogaeth y wlad, yn ogystal a chael statws swyddogol yn Valencià a'r Illes Balears (Ynysoedd y Baleares.) Hyfryd oedd clywed yr iaith yn cael ei siarad gan y mwyafrif helaeth ar strydoedd Girona yn y gogledd.
Dywed nifer ei fod wedi bod yn weddol hawdd i'r Gatalaneg gael ei normaleiddio fel prif iaith y wlad gan ei bod yn debycach i'r Sbaeneg na'r iaith Fasceg, er enghraifft, sydd â chanran llai o siaradwyr. Fodd bynnag, yn dilyn cynllun radical diweddar gan lywodraeth Gwlad y Basg, fe fydd 55% o blant y wlad yn cael ei haddysg trwy gyfrwng y Fasceg yn unig ymhen ychydig o flynyddoedd, a 75% yn derbyn ei haddysg yn ddwyieithog. Dyma ddangos taw polisiau cryf sydd wrth wraidd adfywiad ieithoedd lleiafrifol.
Pam felly nad ydym ni yng Nghymru yn manteisio ar y cyfle i normaleiddio'r Gymraeg yn ein cymunedau Cymraeg? Dyliai'r Gymraeg gael priod le ar bob arwydd yn yr ardaloedd hynny lle mae dros 50% o'r boblogaeth yn siarad yr iaith, a'i wneud yn iaith weinyddol i bob busnes, boed lleol neu rhyngwladol, yn yr ardaloedd Cymraeg eu hiaith - a bod POB plentyn yn derbyn addysg cwbl Gymraeg yn yr ardaloedd hynny. Mae'n hollbwysig hefyd bod plant yn yr ardaloedd llai Cymraeg eu hiaith yn cael y cyfle i astudio trwy gyfrwng yr iaith (yn enwedig gyda'r cynlluniau dadleuol diweddar i leihau darpariaeth Gymraeg i ddisgyblion y chweched yn Rhondda Cynon Tâf). Dyliai fod pob cyngor yn yr ardaloedd Cymraeg, fel Ceredigion, Môn, Conwy a Chaerfyrddin yn dilyn esiampl cyngor Gwynedd gan osod y Gymraeg fel eu prif iaith gweinyddol. Os ydy hi'n bosib yng Nghatalonia - mae'n bosib yma hefyd!
Un elfen arall o'r wlad a fy nharodd yn arbennig oedd y galwad cryf am anibynniaeth. Wrth siarad a nifer o bobl ifanc yng Catalonia, roeddent ar dân eisiau hunan reolaeth i'w cenedl eu hunain. Mae'r 'Generalitat' ar y funud yn bwerus (hyd yn oed yn fwy na llywodraeth yr Alban) a'r cam nesaf, yn naturiol, byddai anibynniaeth. Mae'n destun sgwrs beunyddiol ar y strydoedd, yn y papurau newydd ac yn enwedig yn y genhedlaeth ifanc. Mae polau piniwn diweddar yn dangos fod dros 40% o Gatalanwyr yn cefnogi anibynniaeth - ac roedd refferendwm anghyfreithlon diweddar ar anibynniaeth yn dangos cefnogaeth gref i'r syniad.
Yng Nghymru, rydym wrth gwrs yn canolbwyntio ar gael mwy o bwerau i'r Cynulliad Cenedlaethol, a da o beth yw hynny. Fodd bynnag, byddai'r pwerau newydd yn dal yn chwerthynllyd gan eu cymharu a grym llywodraeth yr Alban a hyd yn oed yn fwy trwy eu cymharu a phwerau'r 'Generalitat'. Pam felly taw dim ond 14% o boblogaeth Cymru sy'n cefnogi anibynniaeth, i gymharu a rhyw 30% yn yr Alban a 40% yng Nghatalonia? Yn fy marn i, nid yw anibynniaeth erioed wedi bod yn destun trafod difrifol i fwyafrif y Cymry. Nid yw'n cael sylw priodol mewn papurau fel y Western Mail, y Daily Post ac ar raglenni teledu gwleidyddol. Fodd bynnag, mae llawer o'r bai arnom ni fel Plaid am guddio ein dyheuadau am Gymru rydd, annibynnol. Rhaid i ni, fel yr SNP a'r ERC (Plaid adain chwith sy'n cefnogi anibynniaeth yng Nghatalonia) ddechrau trafod y posibiliadau ynglyn ag anibynniaeth, gan ei wneud yn destun trafod ym mhob tafarn, eglwys a siop leol yn y wlad. A fel adain ieuenctid ein Plaid Genedlaethol, NI ddyliai fod yn dechrau yn yr ymgyrch - gan ysbydoli'r genhedlaeth ifanc i feddwl o'r newydd am y posibiliadau cyffrous o Gymru annibynnol llewyrchus.
Cymru Rydd / Visca Catalunya Lliure!
I don't know what this translation is like, but I've given it a go!
As a languages student with special interest in minority languages and the small nations of Europe, I must say that spending some time in Catalonia (or Catalunya) recently was an interesting experience. It's a shame however that I had to come back to the cold and the rain here in Wales! I decided to take two days to explore the town of Girona in North Catalonia, before going on to the capital of the country, Barcelona. Needless to say that the experience has had a huge influence on me, as there are so many lessons we can learn in Wales and as a party from this interesting nation.
Looking at the political system and the 'Generalitat' (the Catalan government)'s policies is quite interesting. Perhaps the most striking thing about this small nation is its linguistic policy, which obliges each and every business, be it a local one or an international one, to use the Catalan language. This makes the language very visible, even in a highly cosmopolitan city such as Barcelona. Catalan is given priority on every sign and in every public institution, especially in schools where every single child is taught through the medium of Catalan. Each local council, university and governemental institution works through the medium of Catalan - and many of them in Catalan only. As a result of these radical policies implemented by the Generalitat after years of linguistic opression by Franco, almost 64% of the Catalan population uses Catalan as their main, daily language, as well as being spoken by over a million more in Valencià and the Illes Balears (The Balearic Islands). It was inspiring to hear the vast majority using the language on the streets, especailly in Girona in the north.
Many believe that it has been easy for Catalan to be normalised as the main language of Catalonia due to its similarity to Castillian Spanish, whereas in the Basque Country, where the percentage of speakers is lower, it has been harder due to the lingustic difference between the two languages. However, following a radical plan by the Basque Government, close to 55% of children will be educated solely through Basque in the space of a few years and 75% will be receiving a bilingual education. This shows that strong policies are the key to succesful language revitalisation.
Why are we in Wales therefore not ready to take the bull by the horns and really make a go of language normalization in our Welsh speaking communities? Welsh should have priority on each and every sign in those communities where more than half the population speaks Welsh, and make it the administrative language of every business, be it local or international - and make sure that ALL children in the Welsh speaking West receive an education solely through the medium of Welsh. It's also important that children in the less Welsh speaking areas in the South East have a full opportunity to study through the medium of the language (especially with the recent controversial plans to downgrade Welsh medium provision in the sixth forms of Rhondda Cynon Taf). Every council in the Welsh speaking areas, such as Ceredigion, Môn, Conwy and Caerfyrddin must follow Cyngor Gwynedd's example and make Welsh their main administrative language. If it's possible in Catalonia - It's possible here as well!
Another thing that especially struck me about Catalonia was the strong call for independence. Speaking to many young people in Catalonia, it was obvious that they were passionate for self rule for Catalonia. At the moment, the 'Generalitat' is very powerful (even more powerful that the Scottish Parliament), so naturally the next step would be independence. It's a daily topic of conversation on the streets, in the newspapers and especially within the younger generation. Recent polls show that 40% of Catalans support independence - and an illegal referendum recently held on the subject showed strong support for it.
At present in Wales, we are concentrating on getting more powers for the National Assembly, which is of course a good thing. However, the new powers would still be incredibly weak compared to the powers of the Scottish Parliament, and even more so compared to those of the Generalitat. Why therefore is it that only 14% of the Welsh people support independence, whereas 30% do so in Scotland and over 40% in Catalonia? In my opinion, independence has never really been a serious topic of conversation for many Welsh people. It doesn't get the same coverage in the Western Mail, the Daily Post and on political TV programmes as other issues. However, a lot of the blame rests with us as a political party for hiding our desire for a free, independent Wales. Like the SNP and the ERC (A leftist, independentist Catalan political party), we must really begin to talk about independence and the opportunities it would bring, by making it a topic of conversation in ever pub, church and local shop in the country. And as the youth wing of our national party, it is US that should start the campaign for self rule by inspiring the younger generation to think of the exciting opportunities that an independent and flourishing Wales would bring.
Cymru Rydd/ Visca Catalunya Lliure
4 comments:
Cracking post, really up lifting stuff and spot on with the language.
The problem as I see it is if the government took radical action to promote the language a vast amount of people would see it as having a 'foreign' language rammed down their throat.
Solely because the attempted murder of our nation, culture and language happened so many generations ago and new generations are barely tought about it.
The victor always writes the history, which is why I think education is at the heart of resurgence.
Definitely. Education is the key - we have to show people that it's not ramming the language down their throats, but actually teaching them about the langauge and the culture that so many parts of wales lost generations ago.
What I thought the Catalans teach us is that where the language is strong, it needs to be used. And as Cyngor Gwynedd has shown, the language has been normalised in North West Wales as it's the language of the signs, the council and of education. Even the yobs speak Welsh!! What we need to do now is do it in the other counties where welsh is strong - or otherwise it's going to be much more difficult in the coming years where it's going to struggle in its heartlands.
Great post Emyr.
Surely with the growth of Welsh medium education, the linguistic future looks promising (if not necessarily superb) for Wales.
There is a major problem with Welsh-speaking communities in that economic forces (globalisation) are ensuring that, through economic and social change, they gradually die out. It is happening to minority cultures all over the world, and there isn't really a way that any national government can suspend or radically alter the path of globalisation in the political climate of modern Europe and the EU.
Young Plaid activists need to develop a critique of globalisation and free market economics to demonstrate a proper demoratic socialist and bilingual future for our nation.
The market does not care about any languages other than the language of commerce (nor should it be expected to), so a strong regulatory mechanism is needed to ensure that unique cultures do not disappear in the name of a faceless capitalism that does not recognise any culture that it can't exploit.
Y tro nesa ti'n Catalwnia, galwa ar Albert Verges, y Catalanwr sy'n siarad Cymraeg a byw ger Girona.
Mae ganddo flog Catalaneg am Gymru a gwledydd bychain eraill:
http://www.llenguadrac.blogspot.com/
S
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