Join together?

During last week's National Eisteddfod in Denbigh, the stand of Denbighshire County Council was stormed by protestors. Members of Cwmdeithas yr Iaith (The Welsh Language Society) were chanting "Wales is not for sale".

The Society is now 50 years old and has a long history of protest against the perceived erosion of the Welsh language and culture. It was this society who successfully brought about the birth of the Welsh Language TV channel S4C in 1982. It is no surprise that they chose the National Eisteddfod to make their most recent protest given that this is the most important cultural gathering in Wales. Their stated aims are six-fold.

The first aim is to secure the future of the Welsh language by the year 2020. They also want a new Welsh Language Act aimed at both the private and voluntary sectors. They want to see Radio Camarthenshire brought to task about the fact only 5% of its broadcasts are in Welsh against a population of 50% Welsh speakers. They are also supporting more use of the Welsh medium in schools in teaching and examinations. Finally, they want to see more politicians in the Welsh Assembly speaking Welsh.

These are admirable aspirations but I doubt whether they are achievable with or without protests. The biggest problem they face is the English language which dominates the media and culture not just in Wales but throughout the world. In short, they face an uphill battle as evidenced by the results of the 2011 census. The figures don't lie.

In 2001, 192 council wards boasted populations with more than 50% Welsh speakers. By 2011 this figure had dropped to 157 wards. Furthermore, in the ten years between 2001 and 2011 the percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales dropped from 21% to 19%. The trend is undeniable and inevitable. Even the two Welsh "heartlands" of Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion now show Welsh as a minority language for the first time.

For all that though, I do have the greatest sympathy with Cwmdeithas yr Iaith on one point. Their protest slogan "Wales is not for sale" was in response to the stated Local Development Plan (LDP) of Denbighshire County Council (DCC). In this plan, DCC plans to dictate what can be built and where. Cwmdeithas justifiably believe that this will impact negatively on the Welsh Language. Of course they are right because the new houses and businesses will supply more English speakers than Welsh. Quite why the local council is deemed the correct body to decide on such massive decisions is frankly a mystery to me. Their track record is pretty poor in anyone's book with the logic of their decisions only usually obvious to themselves. The Children's Village in Rhyl still stands as a testament to their capacity to waste. The farce of the former North Wales Hospital which they have overseen since 1995 is little short of a public outrage. The power they now have is disproportionate to their acountability.

That said, learning Welsh or any other language as an adult is very difficult. In fact, all the research shows that children need to be exposed to new languages before the age of 5 if they are to thrive with new languages later on. As such, adults coming to Wales from England (of whom many) can hardly be expected to suddenly learn a new language if they don't have the basic skill. Also, I can't think of many places where Welsh is so dominant as to preclude the use of English. Sadly for Cwmdeithas, these are facts however unpalatable.

This campaign will ultimately go one of two ways. They will either seek Welsh independence and witness an exodus of people in to England or they will reluctantly continue as they are and watch their language slowly erode over the years and decades. Of course, the former grows in appeal as they witness the Scots seeking their own independence. The end of the Union would not be good for the United Kingdom. The UK has been the power it has been since the Union of 1707 because it has been united. Such power would not be realised in spite of the Union.

Union seems a dated word now but remains as pertinent today as ever. In terms of marriage, trade unions and the UK it still assumes massive importance. Granted, the Union of Marriage is not the power it once was. Also, the Trade Unions now have a fraction of the power they had during the 50s, 60s and 70s. If Wales and Scotland really want to become divorced from the Union, they would do well to consider the Trade Unions and the Union of Marriage.