Patagonian Welsh

Patagonian Welsh
Cymraeg y Wladfa
Native to	Argentina
Region	Chubut
Native speakers	L1: 5,000 (2001–08) to 13,000 (2004) L2: 25,000 (1998)
Language family	Indo-European Celtic Insular Celtic Brythonic Welsh Patagonian Welsh
Writing system	Latin (Welsh alphabet)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	pata1258

Patagonian Welsh is the dialect of Welsh which is spoken in the region of the Argentine Patagonia in South America. The language is spoken principally in Y Wladfa with sporadic speakers throughout Argentina by Welsh Argentines. Ethnologue places the dialect in category 5 ("developing"), meaning that the use of the dialect is "vigorous" and there is "standardised use by some, but its use is not general or sustainable".

Teachers are sent to teach the language and to train local tutors in the Welsh language and there is some sort of prestige of knowing the language, even among those who are not of Welsh descent. The Welsh education and projects are mainly funded by the Welsh Government, British Council, Cardiff University and the Welsh-Argentine Association. In 2005 there were 62 Welsh classes in the area and Welsh was taught as a subject in two primary schools and two colleges in the region of Gaiman. There is also a Welsh-language school called Ysgol yr Hendre situated in Trelew and a college located in Esquel.

Patagonian Welsh has developed to be a distinct dialect of Welsh, different from the several dialects used in Wales itself. Throughout the Chubut Valley toponyms are of Welsh origin.

It is estimated that around 5,000 - 12,000 people speak it as their first language, with a further 25,000 speaking it as their second language.

History

The Welsh people first arrived in Patagonia in 1865. The reason for their migration was to protect their native Welsh culture and language, which they believed was threatened in their native Wales. Over the years the use of the language started to decrease and there was relatively little contact between Wales and the Chubut Valley. The situation began to change when many Welsh people visited the region in 1965 to celebrate the colony's centenary; since then the number of Welsh visitors has increased.

Between 1945-1946 the BBC World Service broadcast radio shows in Patagonian Welsh.

In 2004, the Welsh speakers in Argentina asked permission from the Welsh government to access Welsh TV programmes to encourage the learning of the language and for the language to grow.

Trilingual sign in Patagonia

File:Ysgol yr Hendre, Trelew, Y Wladfa 03.JPG

Ysgol yr Hendre, Patagonia's Welsh-language school.

External links

• Project-Hiraeth – Documents the stories of the Welsh colony in Patagonia, Argentina through film, text and illustration.