Fy Achau Cymraeg

Dwi wedi bod: in a graveyard; at the top of Cwm Einion with a lead mine; on a farm; in the National Library; at the Eisteddfod and in a flat in Bae Caerdydd in search of my Welsh roots. The programme, a radio version of 'Who do you think you are?' is released as part of Welsh Learners Week and explores how many parts of my family lost our language in the late Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Through stubborn effort - spending time and money, I clawed back my heritage so that I could pass our language on to my children. It was a vow I made as a girl, I think in single digits in terms of age, and have 'bloody mindedly' pursued ( my mother's words!) ever since. For me, all the 'reasons' why we fail to pass the language on to our children became just excuses, my mantra 'it's my language, I just don't happen to speak it yet'. I've been accused of being tough on Welsh speakers who've chosen to take the easy, English option. That's a fair analysis, I admit, but I had to struggle so hard to repair that broken chain going back beyond the Iron Age, that I can't sometimes think straight when confronted by someone who could so easily pass that precious gift on and has chosen not to. I know so many learners, both Welsh people whose family lost their heritage in past generations but also English, American, people with Punjabi and French heritage who've spent a lot of money and time learning the language. Every conversation; every speaker matters so much. I hope the programme inspires learners out of despair and into hope and shakes up Welsh speakers out of lethargy and into pride.