Mae rhai yn honni fysa fwy o deddfu iaith yn atal busnes yng Nghymru. Edrychwch ar yr tystiolaeth ar hyd a lled Ewrop, edrychwch ar Sbaen a lle mae'r ardaloedd fwyaf llwyddiannus yn economaidd ymhlith cymunedau ieithoedd llai, sef Catalonia a gwlad y Basg. Be sy gan rheini? Deddfa iaith llym, llymach o lawer na yng Nghymru. Ond ydi nhw llwyddiannus oherwydd y deddfau yna? Nag ydyn, ond dy nhw ddim yn methu oherwydd y deddfau hynny.
Os mae rhai yn dweud fod fwy o deddfu yn eithrio rhai sydd ddim yn ddwyieithog, dyna pam bod plant i fyny tan 14 yn gorfod dysgu y ddwy iaith. Mae’r gofyn am addysg cyfrwng Cymraeg yn cynyddu o flwyddyn i flwyddyn, felly mae rhaid ehangu a gwella addysg dwyieithog go iawn felly bydd pob plentyn yn gadael ysgol yn rhugl yn y dwy iaith. Mae’r ffaith bod 40% o blant dan 16 yn rhugl yn yr dwy iaith yn dangos llwyddiant addysg gyfrwng Cymraeg.
Sôn ydan ni am hawliau pobol. A beth bynnag yw eich dewis chi, os ydych chi eisiau wneud y peth yn Saesneg a chroeso gewch chi wneud o'n Saesneg. Ond os mae rwy’n eisiau wneud rhywbeth tro gyfrwng y Gymraeg yn gorfod gofyn o hyd, neu mae rwy'n ansicr pwy i ofyn, felly be mae'r deddf yn trio sicrhau fod cyrff cenedlaethol ag ambell i rhan o'r rhan o'r sector preifat fod hwnnw ar gael i ni os ydyn ni dymuno cael yr gwasanaeth. Dwi ddim yn sôn am rhyw ffurflenni mawr a chymhleth, ond allwch chi fynd yno a holi a sgwrsio hefo rwy’n yn Gymraeg. Cwmnïau mawr sydd yn cynnig gwasanaeth i'r cyhoedd, a mae hynny wedi cael ei ddeffinio a'i dderbyn ers 1993. Neu derbyn arian sylweddol gan yr trethdalwyr yna mae yna ofyniad arnyn nhw i ddelio hefo'r cwsmeriaid yn ei dewis iaith.
Mae yna lot o bethau ymarferol hefyd all yw wneud fel cael rhifau ffon yr gwasanaethu iaith Gymraeg i fod yn glir ag yn hwylus i’w cael. Achos os mae o'n arawahan i'r rhif Saesneg fydd hi'n anodd i bobol gofio nhw. Hen dadl ydi peidiwch a gwario ar dim byd ar y diwylliant Cymraeg mae gen ni ysbyty i godi. Da ni wedi clywed am hynny degawdau yn ôl a da ni wedi dod dros hynny, da ni wlad fwy aeddfed erbyn nawr. Ddylai bachu ar hwn a gweld y peth fel rhywbeth cadarnhaol a blaengar unlle rhywbeth negyddol. Mae’r iaith Gymraeg a'i hadfywiad parhaol yn destun balchder i bawb yng Nghymru, dim ots os ydynt yn medru'r iaith ai peidio. Mae'r ffaith y bydd pwerau deddfu dros yr iaith yn dod i Gymru yn gam pwysig arall a charreg filltir arall yn adfywiad yr iaith. Rwy'n obeithiol y bydd y Gymraeg, fel iaith fyw a siaredir yn eang, yno i'w chofleidio'n falch gan genhedloedd o Gymry'r dyfodol o ganlyniad i'r deddfu hyn ac ymdrechion pobl Cymru.
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To sustain Welsh as a living language, it has to more than just a language of the home and classroom; it needs to be used in our communities. The Welsh language faces extinction by the end of the century unless it is given help to survive, the United Nations warned on the 19th February. UNESCO, the UN’s cultural and educational arm, classified Welsh as “unsafe” in its Atlas of World Languages in Danger. The Assembly government is moving in the right direction, and that is a reflection of the desire among the people of Wales to see the language flourish. We should debate and legislate in the Assembly on the way forward in a mature and reasonable way and not to use the language as a political football. Development of cross-party consensus on the language, dating back to the 1980s, has been invaluable for Welsh to grow.
Bilingualism is too costly or will deter business some claim, but look at the evidence across Europe . Look at Spain for example. It’s no accident that the two areas with the strongest requirements for private companies – Catalonia and Basque – are the most successful economically among the communities of lesser spoken languages. And Quebec in Canada is another example, Montreal is a powerhouse of the North American economic sector. They have far more stringent legislation with regard to language than Wales has. Are these areas successful because of language laws? No but they are not failing because of these laws.
If some say it excludes those who are not bilingual, it is for that very reason why children up to 14 are required to learn both languages. The demand for Welsh medium education is outstripping supply and it is crucial to increase proper bilingual education so that not child will be left behind and all children leave school able to communicate in both languages in future. If Welsh wasn’t making any impact then reservations on compulsion would arise but the fact that the 40% of children in Wales a between the ages of 3 to 16 compulsory school years are fluent in Welsh and that the language is taking off shows the success of Welsh medium education.
This is simply about people’s rights. If you want to conduct something in English of course you are entitled to do that. However if you would like to speak Welsh you always have to ask or people are unsure who to ask and other such problems. So new legislation would I hope ensure that national bodies and a small sector of the private sector have a Welsh language service is available if you wish to use it. We are not talking about long, complicated official forms, but to be able to converse one to one. We are not talking about small or medium businesses but those large national companies or companies that receive large sums of money from the taxpayers then they should deal with their customers in their chosen language. There are practical things that need to be done like making sure the Welsh language telephone service line is seen next to the main English language service line, because if the two are separate it will be difficult for people to remember it. The Welsh assembly government should use this opportunity and see it a something positive and progressive rather than something negative. The Welsh language and its continuing revival is something that everyone in Wales can be rightfully proud of, regardless of whether or not they can speak the language. The fact that legislative powers over the it will now be coming to Wales is another important step forward. I am optimistic that thanks to this and the efforts of the people of Wales , Welsh, as a vibrant and widely spoken language will be there for future generations of all the people of Wales to proudly embrace.
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