Welsh Language Board 

Language

Welsh

Short description of organisation represented in project

The Welsh Language Board is a statutory organisation, funded by public money. It was established in December 1993 under the terms of the Welsh Language Act. Its main function is to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language. The current 11 members were appointed by the National Assembly for Wales in 2003, and the Board has a staff of over 50. Under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the Board became answerable to the National Assembly, having previously been accountable to, and funded by The Welsh Office.

Put simply, the Board’s main aim is to make it easier for everyone to use Welsh in all walks of life, to increase people’s confidence in their ability to use the language, to encourage more people to speak, read or write it in new situations, and to pass on the language to their children.

The Board seeks to work in partnership with public sector bodies, private businesses and voluntary organisations, offering advice and resources to help service providers in Wales to give a natural choice of language to their customers.

The Welsh Language Board is funded by grant in aid from the National Assembly for Wales. In 2003/04 it received £12 million.

Territory where language is spoken

Welsh is mainly spoken within the boundaries of Wales.

Welsh migrants also settled in two communities in Patagonia, a region of Argentina in the late nineteenth century, in the Gaiman and Trelew in the east and Esquel and Trevelin in the west. Around 20,000 people in these regions are direct descendents of the Welsh settlers, with around 5,000 currently speaking Welsh.

Sociolinguistic data available for language

A comprehensive analysis of the most recent Census in the UK, in terms of the Welsh Language is available on the Welsh Language Board’s website;
2001 Census.

Legal status of language

The Welsh Language Act 1967 guaranteed the right to use Welsh in court, and also provided for its use in public administration. But by far the most significant legislation to date in respect of the language is the Welsh Language Act 1993. This Act, which puts Welsh and English on an equal basis in public life in Wales, represents a milestone in the modern history of the language.

In simple terms, the Act specifies three things:

• it places a duty on the public sector to treat Welsh and English on an equal basis, when providing services to the public in Wales
• it gives Welsh speakers an absolute right to speak Welsh in court
• it establishes the Welsh Language Board to oversee the delivery of these promises and to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language

It is important to note that the authority of the Welsh Language Board in all that it does is therefore derived from this Act of Parliament. It has legally defined functions and its primary duty is to implement the Welsh Language Act 1993.

The Board's approach to its statutory duty is based firmly on what is appropriate under the circumstances and reasonably practicable.

Common Challenges Facing The Language

The Welsh Language Board recently published a document titled, the Future of Welsh – a Strategic Plan. This document lists eleven fields of work that the Board considers to be the main priority areas as far as its work and vision are concerned. The priority list is:

• language transmission in the family
• children aged 0-7
• Welsh language and bilingual
• Use of Welsh by young people
• Promoting and facilitating the use of welsh in the community
• Using Welsh in the private sector
• Welsh language schemes and developing and providing services in the Welsh language
• Normalising bilingualism
• Promoting language rights as part of the equal opportunities field
• Information technology and corpus planning
• Research and data

The document lists the objectives of the Board and associated targets along with the main implementation priorities.

A copy of the document can be found on the Welsh Language Board’s website:
The Future of Welsh - a Strategic Plan.