Paul Murphy heralds the start of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee’s scrutiny of the Welsh Language LCO by calling for the biggest public debate on the future of the language:
“I want to see the biggest public debate on the Welsh language in recent years and to hear from all sectors of society in Wales … to ensure that the draft order meets the need of the people of Wales.”
He continued: “I think that the best way forward … is to move forward with consensus.
“So that there is a consensus among the people of Wales that where we are going is a sensible way forward and also that it gives the opportunity for the Welsh language to flourish, which of course it should.”
That would all be very well of course if there was a bill in front of Parliament or the Welsh Assembly that could actually change anything. However, this Legislative Competence Order will do nothing of the sort. All it actually does is give the Assembly the power to legislate.
Surely the debate that Mr.Murphy is calling for should be about which legislature is the appropriate place to pass laws on this issue. The time for a debate on the future of the language is when there are proposals in front of the Welsh Assembly.
The Secretary of State for Wales is doing the anti-devolutionists’ job for them by seeking to preempt what the Welsh Assembly will do through a premature debate. If the Welsh Affairs Committee try once more to proscribe what the Assembly can and cannot do then they will heighten the constitutional crisis that surrounds the LCO process and they will do so with the apparent support of the Paul Murphy.
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Because English is destroying minority, endangered, languages world wide, can I suggest I plead for a non-national language to combat the linguistic imperialism of English!
You may be interested in the contribution, made by the World Esperanto Association, to UNESCO's campaign for the protection of endangered languages.
The following declaration was made in favour of Esperanto, by UNESCO at its Paris HQ in December 2008. http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=38420&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html
The commitment to the campaign to save endangered languages was made, by the World Esperanto Association at the United Nations' Geneva HQ in September.
hAs far as learning another language, is concerned, can I put in a word for the international language, Esperanto?
Although Esperanto is a living language, it helps language learning as well.
Five British schools have introduced Esperanto in order to test its propaedeutic values. The pilot project is being monitored by the University of Manchester and the initial encouraging results can be seen at http://www.springboard2languages.org/Summary%20of%20evaluation,%20S2L%20Phase%201.pdf
You might also like to see http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8837438938991452670
Confirmation can be seen at http://www.lernu.netttp://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eR7vD9kChBA&feature=related or http://www.lernu.net