Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Welsh Language Board ( cy, Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg) was a statutory body set up by
Her Majesty's Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...
under the
Welsh Language Act 1993 The Welsh Language Act 1993, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which put the Welsh language on an equal footing with the English language in Wales. The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 had made English the only language of publ ...
. It was an Assembly Sponsored Public Body. It began its life under John Walter Jones, and its last chief executive was Meirion Prys Jones, with Meri Huws acting as chair. It received an annual government grant of £13m which was used to "promote and facilitate" the use of the
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...
. The board was responsible for administering the Welsh Language Act and for seeing that public bodies in
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
kept to its terms. Over 500 Welsh language schemes were agreed with a range of bodies named under the provisions of the act. In cases where there were concerns that public bodies were not complying with their Welsh language schemes, the board could hold a statutory investigation. If the board's investigations indicated that an organisation has broken its own Welsh language scheme, it could produce recommendations to the organisation and, ultimately, refer the matter to the minister for heritage at the Welsh Assembly Government. The board's private sector and business team worked with a wide variety of large and small companies. Since launching the private sector Welsh language policy in November 2008, over 100 businesses produced a policy, and 150 companies signed up to the Board's "Investing in Welsh scheme", indicating support for the language. The Welsh Language Board was at the forefront of promoting bilingual design, in part by making annual bilingual awards. In 2006, winners included FBA, Glass Hammer, Synergy Creative Design & Marketing, Hoffi, 6721, Elfen, Zodshop and Departures. In winter 2004
Rhodri Morgan Hywel Rhodri Morgan (29 September 1939 – 17 May 2017) was a Welsh Labour politician who was the First Minister of Wales and the Leader of Welsh Labour from 2000 to 2009. He was also the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011 and ...
, previous First Minister of Wales, announced his decision to abolish the Welsh Language Board. This decision evoked a mixed reaction throughout Wales: welcomed by ''
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg The Welsh Language Society ( cy, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, often abbreviated to Cymdeithas yr Iaith or just Cymdeithas) is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every as ...
'' but met with scepticism by others. It was abolished on 31 March 2012 and replaced by the
Welsh Language Commissioner The Welsh Language Commissioner () is a Welsh Government officer, overseeing an independent advisory body of the same name. The position was created following the passing of the ''Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011'', effective on 1 April 2012 ...
: Meri Huws was the first commissioner. The board's powers were transferred to the Welsh Government and the commissioner.


See also

* List of language regulators * Languages in the United Kingdom * Language policy *
Regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Lan ...
*
Language revitalization Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community groups, o ...
*
Foras na Gaeilge (, " Irish Institute"; ) is a public body responsible for the promotion of the Irish language throughout the island of Ireland, including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was set up on 2 December 1999, assuming the role ...
Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
governing body *
Bòrd na Gàidhlig (, ) is the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government with responsibility for Gaelic.Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...
governing body *
Cornish Language Partnership The Cornish Language Partnership ( kw, Keskowethyans an Taves Kernewek , ) is a representative body that was set up in Cornwall, England, UK in 2005 to promote and develop the use of the Cornish language. It is a public and voluntary sector partn ...
Cornish language governing body


References


External links


Welsh Language Board
website as archived by The National Library of Wales {{Authority control Welsh Government sponsored bodies Language regulators Board 1993 establishments in Wales 2012 disestablishments in Wales