UK Census 2011 Number of Welsh speakers falling

[@KingOfClay]

The solution is simple. People living in Welsh speaking communities need to start having more kids. When a population of people shrinks, populations are consolidated and that means the larger cities with more opportunities (those that are English speaking) will take in more people while the smaller Welsh speaking communities will shrink. But if people are having more kids, there are more opportunities in a community and more opportunities in the language and more people will stay. Eventually, people that move to that community will learn the language as well since the opportunities are in that language.

[@Kurdedunaysiri]

No. I give you the most simple solution. Like any country in the world Wales will make Welsh education mandatory, speaking Welsh for its citizens mandatory. Until 2050 you have entire Wales speaking Welsh. Happy end.

[@pokeboi5438]

It’s less that the number of speakers are decreasing. Instead ,as a proportion of the wider population, it is smaller.

[@cylt5113]

OK it's true that older people in settled communities are dying and obviously greater global mobility will change how a language works. But you also have to pay attention to what is not being said. Namely to quote - all Welsh speakers are equal but some are more equal than others. Until this is acknowledged and dealt with then the language will certainly continue to decline year on year due to the "hidden" Welsh speakers who are turning away from the language.

[@dylanblack8714]

You can’t force people to learn a language. People have to choose to learn a language on their own accord personally I know many friends who despise the Welsh language because they were forced to learn it in school

[@tombartram6842]

Well you can't win then. "There wasn't enough Welsh in school" is the other excuse. I speak Welsh because I'm Welsh. No other reason required. It was helpful in various jobs I've had over the years but that was a bonus not a requirement.

[@Dan-u1e]

The Welsh can and should force people to learn Welsh. And to do that, the Welsh speakers should simply refuse to speak to the Anglos in the occupant's tongue, buy anything written in it and demand the right to get education, workplace, and service exclusively in their language.

[@Kurdedunaysiri]

You can. Apparently you never thought of it but there are millions of people taking education in their second or third languages in our planet. I am Kurdish. In Turkey, Iran and Syria we are not allowed to take education in Kurdish so we have to learn Turkish, Persian or Arabic before or at school. You like it or not you learn it and take the all education in these languages. Most of the Wales are ethnic Welsh and these people their own state that can force that. People will not only learn it but I think they will quickly make it home language proudly if there was a mandatory Welsh education.