90-560: Lloegyr is the medieval Welsh name for a region of Britain ( Prydain ). The exact borders are unknown, but some modern scholars hypothesize it ran south and east of a line extending from the Humber Estuary to the Severn Estuary , exclusive of Cornwall and Devon . The people of Lloegyr were called Lloegyrwys without distinction of ethnicity, the term applying to both Britons and Anglo-Saxons . The modern form of
180-458: A Brittonic collective noun *Lāikor meaning ‘warriors’, the root of which he proposes gave Old Irish láech "warrior" (though some scholars regard the Old Irish word as a loan from Late Latin lāicus ‘ layman ; of the people’), from a Proto-Indo-European root *leh 2 - "war". The suffix - wys found in numerous Welsh ethnic names, including Lloegrwys , is thought to possibly be derived from
270-622: A Maerl bed has been found to kill over 70% of the Maerl. Monitoring the dredged bed over the next four years found no discernible recovery, suggesting that Maerl beds would require many years free of disturbance in order to recover. In 2014, 71,200 hectares (712 km ) at the south of the Firth between Kintyre Peninsula and the Rhins of Galloway , on the North Channel boundary. Designated
360-616: A Marine Protected Area, the (Clyde Sill MPA) , the NatureScot Site Code is 10414, the EU Site Code is 555560461. The MPA covers a distinctive sill where fresher water of the Firth mixes with the cooler, more saline water of the North Channel. This is a rich environment for plankton, which provide food for fish, that are in turn eaten by higher marine predators and seabirds. On the 16 December 2015, an area to
450-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
540-594: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
630-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
720-797: A result, the Clyde has one of the UK's leading ports, at Clydeport , part of The Peel Group. The facility handles cargo from container ships at the Greenock Ocean Terminal . Supertankers visit the Firth to deliver crude oil to Finnart Oil Terminal in Loch Long , which is connected by pipeline to the Grangemouth Refinery on the Firth of Forth . Both owned by Petroineos , a joint venture between Ineos and Petrochina . A second pipeline brings back refined oil products to
810-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
900-657: Is a large arm of the Firth, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran . The Kyles of Bute separates the Isle of Bute from the Cowal Peninsula . The Sound of Bute separates the islands of Bute and Arran. The Highland Boundary Fault crosses the Firth. The Firth also played a vital military role during World War II . The Firth is sometimes called the Clyde Waters or Clyde Sea , and
990-618: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde ,
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#17327985728061080-688: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
1170-781: Is customarily considered to be part of the Irish Sea . At the north of the Firth, Loch Long and the Gare Loch join the Firth; these lochs are separated by the Rosneath Peninsula . Off Greenock , an anchorage, known as the Tail of the Bank narrows the estuary of the River Clyde to 2 miles (3.2 km) wide. ( The "Bank" is a reference to a sandbank and shoal ) The River Clyde estuary has an upper tidal limit located at
1260-670: Is known as Faslane within the navy and is located on Loch Long . HMNB Clydes role is with the servicing and maintenance of the UK submarine defence fleet. The base has other locations around the Firth. Babcock International . are involved in the engineering and operations at the base. On Loch Long , at Glen Mallan, the Northern Ammunition Jetty was refurbished, to accommodate the navy’s new Aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) and HMS Prince of Wales (R09) , with work completed in January 2022. The jetty
1350-877: Is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
1440-635: Is part of the DM Glen Douglas military munitions depot. Plans have been announced in February 2024 to demolish an undisclosed part of the site. The Firth of Clyde has always been an important sea route from the earliest times. For example, the Battle of Largs , which was fought on the Firth, in 1263, was a geopolitical turning point: It marked the end of Norse ambitions in Britain. Beginning in
1530-572: Is the Welsh word for themselves, and historically included all of the Britons living north and west of Lloegyr, south of the Scottish firths of Clyde and Forth , and not including the people of Cornwall and Devon . Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that
1620-650: Is the estuary of the River Clyde , on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles . The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre Peninsula . The Firth lies between West Dunbartonshire in the north, Argyll and Bute in the west and Inverclyde , North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire in the east. The Kilbrannan Sound
1710-511: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
1800-549: Is the most visited attraction owned by the National Trust for Scotland . Ocean liners frequently call at Greenock, and Glasgow International Airport and Glasgow Prestwick Airport are nearby. There is frequent rail service to and from the Clyde coast, including links to Oban and Fort William , with city terminals in Glasgow and Edinburgh. There is also daily ferry service between the area and Belfast. The Firth hosted
1890-732: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
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#17327985728061980-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
2070-466: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
2160-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
2250-548: The Ferguson Marine shipbuilding yard, adjacent to Newark Castle, Port Glasgow , is the last merchant shipbuilder on the Clyde, and it is owned by the Scottish Government. In Greenock, the large dry dock and ship-repair facilities at Inchgreen opened in 1964, and were subsequently taken over by Scott Lithgow . The dry dock there is 305 metres (1,001 ft) long and 44 metres (144 ft) wide. With
2340-467: The Isle of Bute . The Greenock Cruise Terminal , operated by Clydeport part of The Peel Group. A new terminal was opened on 25 August 2023. Shipwreck diving is a popular activity on the Firth, with many wreck sites to explore. Military wrecks have protection under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 . The Royal Navy has a significant presence on the Firth of Clyde, HMNB Clyde
2430-756: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
2520-527: The ScotRail service to Glasgow . Western Ferries , is a Private Limited Company , it operates the service between Hunters Quay and McInroy's Point near to Gourock. This service carries all types of vehicular transport, as well as foot passengers. The Kintyre peninsula forms the main west coastline of the lower Firth. The Rosneath peninsula is formed by the Gare Loch in the east, and Loch Long in
2610-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
2700-594: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
2790-587: The 16th century, the Firth increasingly became a conduit for commercial and industrial products, including: herring; timber; wine; sugar; tobacco; textiles; iron and steel; coal; oil; industrial chemicals; distillation and brewing; ships, locomotives, and other vehicles; and other manufactured products. In the middle of the 19th century, the sport of yachting became popular on the Firth. The area became famous worldwide for its significant contribution to yachting and yachtbuilding with notable designers including: William Fife III; Alfred Mylne ; G L Watson; David Boyd. It
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2880-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
2970-568: The 1908 summer olympics, with the 12 metres (39 ft) sailing yacht races. The Firth of Clyde, like the River Clyde , has historically been an important centre of shipbuilding and shipping. Upriver, there have been shipbuilding and engineering centres at Glasgow , Govan , Clydebank , Dumbarton , and Renfrew . Downriver, there have been major yards at Greenock and Port Glasgow ; smaller yards at Irvine , Ardrossan, Troon , and Campbeltown ; and various other boatyards, including those at Hunters Quay , Port Bannatyne , and Fairlie . Today,
3060-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
3150-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
3240-763: The Cowal Peninsula, is the southern tip of the Ardlamont and Cowal Peninsulas. The ferries across the Firth save time compared to traveling "round by road", via Loch Eck side ( A815 road ), the Rest and Be Thankful ( A83 road ) and Loch Lomond side ( A82 road ).The service between Dunoon and Gourock in Inverclyde is operated by Caledonian MacBrayne , the Public Service provider. This service carries only foot passengers and connects directly with
3330-625: The Finart Oil Terminal for export (in smaller oil tankers) mainly to Northern Ireland . On the upper Clyde, at Govan and Scotstoun both in Glasgow , two major shipyards are still in operation. They are owned by BAE Systems , whose major client is the Royal Navy . On the lower Clyde, only one shipyard still operates, Ferguson Marine , which is located next to Newark Castle, Port Glasgow . The Scottish Government now own
3420-455: The Firth in the summer of 2005. Very uncommon are humpback whales , as are the minke whales . Even rarer are Killer Whales . Also, in 2005, the Firth had the second-highest number of basking shark sightings in Scotland (after the Minch ). These huge sharks seem to particularly favour the warm, shallow waters surrounding Pladda , south of Arran . However, although commercial fishing
3510-553: The Firth of Clyde's southerly boundary, as defined by the Scottish Government, is between the southern tip of the Kintyre Peninsula and Corsewall Point on the Rhins of Galloway . The Firth joins the strait between Scotland and Northern Ireland, called the North Channel , at the north of the Irish Sea. The deepest part of the channel is the Beaufort's Dyke , at 312 metres (1,024 ft). The Highland Boundary Fault enters
3600-407: The Firth off the east coast of Kintyre Peninsula in the south. The fault crosses the south eastern tip of the Cowal Peninsula at Toward Point , where it can be seen on the surface by the presence of Old Red Sandstone . The fault continues to Helensburgh in the north, then continues past the east coast of Scotland. The fault can be followed across Scotland for at least 240 km (150 miles),
3690-434: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
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3780-411: The Latin suffix -ēnsēs according to some. Richard Coates makes a suggestion which agrees semantically with Matasović's, but proposes instead that it is borrowed from West Germanic (i.e. pre-Old English) *laikārōs ‘performers of exploits, players (in a military sense), warriors’. To the Welsh, Lloegyr was a foreign land with a foreign populace, distinct from the lands and peoples of the Cymry . Cymry
3870-432: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
3960-436: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
4050-421: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
4140-445: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
4230-426: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
4320-429: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
4410-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
4500-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
4590-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
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#17327985728064680-408: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
4770-518: The estuary, crossing South West England such that Cornwall and Devon are excluded from Lloegyr. The division is mentioned in literature (e.g., the Welsh Triads ) and is supported by the works of respected historians such as John Rhys ' Celtic Britain and John Edward Lloyd 's A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest . While Geoffrey of Monmouth invented fanciful characters and places in his stories of Loegria and its eponymous king Locrinus , he also showed that he
4860-408: The fault is of great age and its remains are broken by more recent geological movement of the earths crust. Fourteen sea lochs join the Firth, the largest being Loch Fyne. The Cowal Peninsula extends into the Firth of Clyde and forms the main western shoreline of the upper Firth. The main town on the Cowal Peninsula is Dunoon . Ardlamont Point on the Ardlamont Peninsula , that extends off of
4950-431: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
5040-411: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
5130-413: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
5220-400: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
5310-527: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
5400-431: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
5490-449: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
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#17327985728065580-430: The mainland. The majority of the ferry services are run by Caledonian MacBrayne and one by Western Ferries , and many of the routes are lifeline services for communities living in remote areas. The Firth has no fixed link transport infrastructure connections (bridge or tunnel), linking the shores or islands. The lowest fixed crossing over the Clyde is the Erskine Bridge , opened on 2 July 1971. The Irish Sea and
5670-468: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
5760-444: The name of King Arthur 's realm in the body of literature known as the Matter of Britain . The word is known to date from the 10th century or earlier, as it appears in the literary Armes Prydein . Welsh antiquarians of the 18th and 19th centuries hypothesized that the borders of Lloegyr ran roughly on a line from the Humber Estuary , continuing southwestwards and connecting to the Severn Estuary . The line continues south across
5850-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
5940-402: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
6030-412: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
6120-436: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
6210-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
6300-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
6390-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
6480-542: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
6570-471: The responsibility of the local Competent Harbour Authority . There are lighthouses at: There are navigation beacons at: The Field Studies Council has a marine research station, based in Millport , on the island of Great Cumbrae . Common seals and grey seals abound in the Firth. Harbour porpoises are also common. While dolphins are much less common, some were spotted in the upper reaches of
6660-599: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
6750-453: The sons of Brutus of Troy : Camber , Locrinus , and Albanactus , respectively, and makes them the eponymous kings of Wales/Cambria (Camber), England/Loegria (Locrinus), and Scotland/Albany (Albanactus). In 1982, noted linguist Eric Hamp suggested that Lloeg(y)r could be derived from a Proto-Celtic compound *(p)les-okri-s , meaning 'having a nearby border, being from near the border'. Ranko Matasović prefers to see Lloegr as coming from
6840-594: The south of Arran received a Marine Protected Area designation. The water quality of the Firth is monitored by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). SEPA have had a monitoring buoy located off the coast of Dunoon since 2009, with data collected every 15 minutes. The Firth of Clyde has some of the deepest sea channels in Northern Europe. It can accommodate the largest Capesize vessels afloat today. As
6930-463: The tidal weir next to Glasgow Green . The geographical (and popular) distinction between the Firth and the River Clyde is vague. Some refer to Dumbarton as being "on the Firth of Clyde "; while at the same time, the residents of Port Glasgow and Greenock often refer to the part of the Firth that lies to the north of those areas as "the river". The Firth encompasses many islands and peninsulas. Twelve ferry routes connect them to each other and
7020-847: The upper Firth and River Clyde . With the advent of tourism in Victorian times, the Firth became popular with Glaswegians and residents of neighbouring towns and counties who travelled "doon the watter" (the Firth) on Clyde steamers to holiday in the picturesque seaside towns and villages that line the Firth, with the more wealthy building substantial holiday homes along its coasts. Many towns, such as Gourock , Largs , Ayr , Dunoon , Rothesay , flourished during this period and became fully fledged resorts with well-appointed hotels and attractions. Golf courses, including major championship courses, proliferated. Today, tourism, sport and recreation, and heritage history continue to attract visitors from across
7110-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
7200-438: The west, both merge with the upper Firth of Clyde. There is a Caledonian MacBrayne passenger only service across the Firth to Gourock from Kilcreggan . There are many islands in the Firth. The largest three all have thriving communities and regular ferry services connecting them to the mainland. They are: The Northern Lighthouse Board is responsible for some of the navigation aids around Scotlands coast. With others being
7290-402: The word is Lloegr ( pronounced [ˈɬɔɨɡr̩] or [ˈɬɔiɡr̩] ) and it has become generalised through the passage of time to become the Welsh word for "England" as a whole, and not restricted to its original, smaller extent. The word has been anglicised and Latinised into such forms as Logres , Logris , and Loegria , among others, and is perhaps most widely recognised as
7380-485: The world. The steam-powered PS Waverley —in addition to its regular service—still makes cruising trips to the coastal towns that have been popular tourist destinations since the 19th century. The Firth is ringed by many castles and buildings of historical importance that are open to the public, including Inveraray Castle , Brodick Castle , the opulent Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute, and Culzean Castle , which
7470-540: The yard. The Garvel Dry Dock in Greenock continues in operation for ship repair. The large Inchgreen Dry Dock in Greenock is in occasional use. The remains of former sites of shipyards on the Clyde are being redeveloped into areas that contain residential housing, leisure facilities, and commercial buildings. On the Firth itself, Ardmaleish Boatbuilding are based at Ardmaleish , near to Port Bannatyne on
7560-489: Was also the location of many famous yacht yards. Clyde-built wooden yachts are still known for quality and style today. The "lower Clyde" shipyards of Greenock and Port Glasgow , most notably Scott Lithgow , played an important historical role in shipbuilding. The PS Comet was the first successful steamboat in Europe . Well into the 20th century, a large proportion of the world's ship construction took place around
7650-517: Was at one time intensive in the Firth's many fishing towns, today the only catches of commercial interest remaining in the Clyde waters are prawns , lobsters , herring , mussels, and crayfish. On 5 September 2000, the Inner Clyde Estuary received a RAMSAR designation. Site number: 1036. The area covered is 1,825 hectares (4,510 acres). (Coordinates: 55°56'32"N 04°36'32"W) In September 2008, Scotland's first No Take Zone (NTZ)
7740-461: Was aware that the actual boundary of Lloegyr was known to run between the Humber and Severn estuaries, and that Cornwall was distinct from Loegria. The exact origin of the word is uncertain and has spawned a great deal of speculation. 12th century AD author Geoffrey of Monmouth offered a fanciful etymology in his Historia regum Britanniae , deriving the names of Cambria, Loegria, and Albany from
7830-622: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
7920-714: Was introduced in Lamlash Bay , on the Isle of Arran . The result of a community effort, led by the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (C.O.A.S.T) . The NTZ was introduced to protect delicate marine communities, such as Maerl . Maerl is a slow-growing coral-like calcareous red algae (it grows only 1 mm per year) and is an important Scottish species. Maerl beds are locations of high biodiversity and are crucial nursery grounds for both young scallops and young fish. Studies show that both scallop dredging and organic waste from fish farms, significantly impact Maerl. Scallop dredging on
8010-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
8100-466: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
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