Cover of Richard Burton
I want to thank Roger Lewis (who in my invincible ignorance had not heard of) for his review of Jasper Lewis’s (who I have heard of) “Bred of Heaven”. Incidentally I do not read the Daily “We love Mussles”Mail, if I can help it, and had not read Uncl Roger’s review of Iaspr’s book, only the assorted blogposts associated with it. However I have got Jasper’s book and it is a very good read. Is this the theory of unintended consequences? A guy not only writes a scathing review of a work but demonises a whole language, so that people go out and get the book?
There are those who defend Lewis’s attack under the guise of the freedom of speech.
You could not call Roger Lewis a racist, because he is Welsh, and identifies with the nation (I think).
You could call him a “Cymraegthrope”? Surely language is a part of Being rather like skin color?
Surely a Welsh speaker who grew up speaking the language from infancy (rather like Richard Burton) to be told that something that is part of their being is like something that is strangled and dying, is inappropriate as Willy Rushton (dead) describing German as sounding like “someone being sick on a 747” or P J O’Rourke’s comment about French being a “wimpy language”. these 2 are (were) humorists, whilst Lewis is something more serious.
when Welsh joins the Dodo in extinction only history can tell (along with English), certainly not Roger Lewis, jasper Rees, or even me.
You cannot hide this type of bigotry under the freedom of speech like the case where it is ok for the KKK to burn a cross on a African American’s lawn! just aint right.
I Am quite surprised to find that many of my customers know about Wales and even the “beautiful language” a far cry from a “turkey being strangled”. One of my older customers who asked where I was from, and said “Cardiff” told me that the Welsh language was a precious thing “and must be saved” brought tears to this monolingual Welshman. If we can save rare animals so we can save languages.
My daughter is learning Welsh, and when we were last in Wales when to Urdd camp at Llangrannog. What Welsh needs is LLangrannog’s all over Wales. Just as much in Monmouth as in Cardigan.
That is the challenge.
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