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Old 04-10-2004, 06:55 AM   #3 (permalink)
Anthony Butcher
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I don't think that the party has a policy. I imagine that they would continue with the existing policies, if most people are happy with it.

I suspect that we wouldn't be endorsing punjabi language schools, although there is an argument that this may now be an "indigenous" language.

Welsh was nearly a dead language, spoken only in a few parts of Wales, until it was artificially resuscitated and now is far more popular. I have nothing against the Welsh language, but I am not sure of the point of it. It seems like a bit of needless nationalism, with the main point being to emphasise that they aren't English.

My worry with native languages is that they may put their speakers at a bit of a disadvantage. Children forced to learn Welsh at school could just as easily spend that time learning other subjects; it is lost educational time. If those pupils are coming out of school bilingual, then I would suggest that they would be better off speaking fluent French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic or some other more "useful" language.

There is also the cost aspect; everything has to be printed twice in Wales, which adds enormously to the time and cost of government there. It is also very environmentally unfriendly.

On the other hand, perhaps it doesn't matter a great deal, and it is possibly a morale boost to have something to be proud of.
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