Welsh language commissioner calls for ‘transformative’ intervention, amid Reform UK threats to undo new powers
A “revolution is required” to protect the Welsh language, according to a major new report.
While the number of Cymraeg speakers has remained more or less stable for decades, it has not risen in line with significant population growth, making the language more vulnerable, according to the Welsh language commissioner’s five-year report, published on Tuesday.
The commissioner, Efa Gruffudd Jones, said that “bold and transformative” intervention was needed if the Welsh government was to meet its target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.
“It’s a statutory requirement of this position to publish a report every five years, but I felt strongly I didn’t want to just publish a look at census information, I wanted to use this as an opportunity,” Gruffudd Jones said. “It’s a report on the state of the language today, but it’s also a chance to build on the good work that’s been done in the past few years and protect the language in future.”
