Consultation

Ceredigion County Council is seeking your views and comments in relation to the proposed Ceredigion Language Strategy 2018-2023.

Context

This Strategy sets out how the Council, working in collaboration with other partner organisations, will actively promote the Welsh language and facilitate the use of Welsh more widely within the local area.

The Strategy outlines the current position of the Welsh language and associated deomographic factors.  The number of communities across Ceredigion where the Welsh language was used as the main means of communication, and the strength of those communities, declined consistently over the 20th century.  A number of factors have contributed towards this lingustic decline, and they continue to pose challenges that are relevant to the state of the Welsh language in Ceredigion today:-
  • Families failing to transmit the language
  • Lack of Welsh-medium social opportunities, which affects individuals’ confidence in their ability and skills
  • Outward migration of young people
  • Lack of employment opportunities locally
  • The low status of the Welsh language as a language of business
  • Shortage of housing and affordable housing
  • Demographic mobility
In the academic field of Language Policy and Planning, it is acknowledged that the  sustainability of the Welsh language depends on the process of strengthening Welsh-speaking communities, that is by providing sufficient educational, cultural and social opportunities for people to use the language on an everyday basis.  By creating the right environment, it’s only then a truly bilingual Ceredigion can be maintained. Therefore, in order to ensure the sustainability of the Welsh language in Ceredigion, a combination of three conditions is required:

   The ability to use the language
   The opportunities to use the language
   The desire to use the language

This Strategy aims to sustain and to promote the Welsh language in all aspects of life, and to demonstrate ways of strengthening Welsh-medium social networks in a bilingual area.  However, it is not possible for this Strategy to cover all of the actions required to ensure that the Welsh language thrives in Ceredigion; rather, it aims to be as realistic as possible within the sphere of influence of Ceredigion’s Bilingual Future Forum. 

Please read the Ceredigion Language Strategy 2018-2023, and then submit your comments using this response form. We value your views and your comments will be taken into account when publishing the final Strategy.

Response Form

Question Title

* Question 1:

Our vision is a truly bilingual Ceredigion, and the following summarises our desired outcomes in Ceredigion over the coming years.
  • the status of the Welsh language is strong and it is used in all aspects of public life in the county;
  • the Welsh language is valued across the county – educationally, economically and socially;
  • there are many opportunities for people of all ages to learn Welsh, with sound measures in place to enable people to participate in the Welsh-medium networks of their choice;
  • there are viable Welsh communities where the Welsh language is a natural language of communication;
  • public services are freely available to all in Welsh or bilingually, i.e. without having to create a fuss to access that service;
  • the county’s residents, from all backgrounds, are able to celebrate the Welsh language by participating in and contributing to Ceredigion’s rich cultural heritage
Do you agree with the vision set out above?

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* Question 2:

To contribute to the vision, three strategic areas are identified in the Ceredigion Language Strategy.  They are intended to complement the strategic areas identified by the Welsh Government in its Welsh Language Strategy – 2050 Welsh Speakers, to ensure strategic alignment and consistency from the highest level to the local level:

Strategic Aim 1: To increase the Welsh language skills of the people of Ceredigion
Strategic Aim 2: To increase opportunities to use the Welsh language in Ceredigion
Strategic Aim 3: To create the social conditions that enable the Welsh language to thrive in Ceredigion.

Do you agree with the above 3 strategic aims?

Question Title

* For each of the 3 strategic aims we have identified priority areas, in order to achieve that aim. 

Question 3:

Strategic Aim 1: To increase the Welsh Language skills of the people of Ceredigion.

Priority Areas:

1.1         To ensure that new generations acquire basic Welsh Language skills at the first opportunity.
1.2         To ensure that students aged 3-19 acquire and develop Welsh Language skills during their educational career.
1.3         To ensure sufficient opportunities for adults to acquire and to develop Welsh Language skills: in the workplace and in the community.

For more information on how we aim to achieve this, please see pages 20-21 of the Strategy

Do you agree with the priority areas outlined above?

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* Question 4:

Strategic Aim 2: To increase opportunities to use the Welsh Language in a range of contexts.

Priority Areas:

2.1       To maintain and to increase the use of the Welsh Language at community level.
2.2       To support and to increase the use of Welsh in the provision and delivery of public services.
2.3       To maintain and to increase the use of Welsh within the workplace

For more information on how we aim to achieve this, please see pages 23-25
Do you agree with the priority areas outlined above?

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* Question 5:

Strategic Aim 3: To create the social conditions that will enable the Welsh Language to thrive in Ceredigion

Priority Areas:

3.1       To maintain the status of the Welsh Language within society, promoting its value and use.
3.2       To create a thriving economy where the Welsh Language and Welsh Language skills in the workforce are valued.
3.3       To maintain sustainable communities where the Welsh Language is used as the normal means of communication.

For more information on how we aim to achieve this, please see pages 27-29
 
Do you agree with the priority areas outlined above?

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* Question 6:

If you have any additional comments about the Ceredigion Language Strategy 2018-23 please provide them here.

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* Question 7:

Do you feel there is a particular role for yourself or your organisation to help achieve the vision in this Strategy?

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* Question 8:

Please indicate on whose behalf you are completing the feedback form

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