In The Valleys Of Patagonia, The Talk Is Of An Astonishing Revival Of The Welsh Language

Independent (UK) ^ | 4-19-2003 | Marcus Tanner

[SamAdams76]

I get the general impression that my wife will be playing "Celtic" music tomorrow morning (actually not all that bad to listen to).

[truth_seeker]

The land of Roberto Roberts, Ricardo Richards.

[Cacique]

ping

[Grut]

Living Welsh is the best revenge.

[MikalM]

Amazing -- the article doesn't once mention the former Chilean president Patricio Allwyn.

Still, my part-Cymric pride (grandma's maiden name was Phillips) is stirred by this development.

[Myrddin]

Americanwr ydw i. Dwi yn siarad Cymraeg. Pasg hapus i chi!

I have a favorite song written and performed by Plethyn that describes the conscription of Welshmen into the British Navy to attack Patagonia. Not a happy event. Another favorite song, Down yn Ol, describes the victory over the French at Agincourt.

A humorous tale was recounted to me a few years ago. A Welsh speaking Patagonian traveled to Cardiff in hopes of meeting other Welsh speakers in Wales. The poor man was disappointed to find that there are few Welsh speakers in Cardiff. His alternative language, Spanish, was not of much help either. One must travel north to about Carmarthen to find an abundance of Welsh speakers. Most people a fluent in English and Welsh and will immediately switch to the one that you handle best. The small villages in the center of Wales still have a fair number of Welsh speaking monoglots.

[blam]

There is a plaque at Fort Morgan, at the mouth of Mobile Bay (damn the torpedoes), that commerates the 1170AD landing of Prince Madoc here in Mobile.

[blam]

Did The Welsh Discover America?

[solzhenitsyn]

The small villages in the center of Wales still have a fair number of Welsh speaking monoglots.

Thanks for the new word (monoglot)! I'll have fun with it.

[Tailback]

I attribute my shooting skill with just about any projectile weapon I pick up to my Welsh blood. (Jones, great grandfather came over in 1900's) I don't know if I really had any longbowmen in my family tree but it makes for a good story.

[PoisedWoman]

Ping to some Welsh cousins.

Nice link at #9, blam.

[Gorzaloon]

We ran into quite a bit of it in Snowdonia/Llangollen, etc. Funnily enough, the local BBC relay tower on a nearby mountain had broken, so we could only get a local channel. You guessed it; I have no idea what they were talking about, but it was so cool to hear! Taking the Ffestinog through the mountains, and going through villages like Ddualt and Penrhyn, and crawling around the burial chamber Bryn Celli Ddu is something I shall remember byth bythoedd .

Lovely people, and the most heartbreakingly beautiful place I have ever been.

I'll be back.

[Clemenza]

Read Bruce Chatwin's In Patagonia when I was in High School, in which he spends some time talking about the Welsh in that region.

Let's also not forget the Anglo-Argentines, who have been publishing The Buenos Aires Herald for over 150 years and founded the most exclusive club in the country (The Jockey Club of Buenos Aires).

How can a nation that attracted so many hard working Europeans get so screwed up so fast? Oh yeah, a certain officer of Spanish and Sardinian ancestry who discovered a "Third Way" between capitalism and Communism.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

There are Irish settlements in Patagonian also. And they were more than glad to fight the Brits in the Falklands. I remember reading a article where the Irish fought harder than any of the Argentine troops, this according to a Brit commander.

[blam]

"There are Irish settlements in Patagonian also. And they were more than glad to fight the Brits in the Falklands. I remember reading a article where the Irish fought harder than any of the Argentine troops, this according to a Brit commander."

Thanks, interesting information. I didn't know that.

[Mike Darancette]

The land of Roberto Roberts, Ricardo Richards.

Roberto ap Robert

[Mike Darancette]

Did The Welsh Discover America?

Yes but then the two brothers killed each other on the way back.

[Myrddin]

Lovely people, and the most heartbreakingly beautiful place I have ever been. I'll be back.

The Welsh word for that feeling is "hiraeth". A comfortable sense belonging there and a yearning to return. When I'm traveling in Wales, I hardly need a map. I never feel lost. Strange. Nice. I regret that Marxism and socialism have taken hold of Welsh society via the blue collar unions...principally the miners. Plaid Cymru (Welsh Party) is steeped in socialism. My love of the land and language is tempered by my intolerance for socialism.

Wales is a wonderful place to visit. I recommend the museums in Cardiff, including the Museum of Welsh Family Life. Carmarthen is a beautiful city too. The wool mill at Felinfoel Felindre is worth a day trip. I usually hang at at a bed and breakfast in Aberystwyth and visit friends and family in Cwmystwyth, Ysbty Ystwyth, Llanfihangel y Creuddyn and Devil's Bridge. The ruins of the monastery at Strada Florida is interesting as well. Enroute to the monastery, you pass through Pontrhydfendigaid. That little village is nearly all Welsh speakers. My cousins run a gift shop at Pontrhydygroes. It is down the hill from my great-great grandfathers house.

If you really like good Indian food, check out the Light of Asia restaurant in Aberystwyth. The chicken paloo is excellent.

Pob Hwyl!

[Myrddin]

In my circle, we often use the words monoglot and polyglot. My company was sending me to multiple foreign countries. That afforded opportunities develop limited proficiency in French, German, Welsh and Turkish. I was only scheduled for 3 days in Italy, so hacked Spanish was adequate. I'll add Polish if there is a clear possiblity that the U.S. troops in Germany will be relocated there. That is going to be a stretch :-)