Native to Argentina Writing system Latin (Welsh alphabet) | Region Chubut Glottolog pata1258 | |
Native speakers L1: 5,000 (2001–08)
to 13,000 (2004)
L2: 25,000 (1998) Language family Indo-European
Celtic
Insular Celtic
Brythonic
Welsh
Patagonian Welsh | ||
Patagonian Welsh (Cymraeg y Wladfa) is the dialect of Welsh which is spoken in the region of the Argentine Patagonia in South America. The language is spoken principally in Y Wladfa with sporadic speakers throughout Argentina by Welsh Argentines.
Teachers are sent to teach the language and to train local tutors in the Welsh language, and there is some prestige of knowing the language, even among those who are not of Welsh descent.The Welsh education and projects are mainly funded by the Welsh Government, British Council, Cardiff University and the Welsh-Argentine Association. In 2005 there were 62 Welsh classes in the area and Welsh was taught as a subject in two primary schools and two colleges in the region of Gaiman. There is also a Welsh-language school called Ysgol yr Hendre situated in Trelew and a college located in Esquel. As of 2016, there are three bilingual Welsh-Spanish schools in Patagonia.
Patagonian Welsh has developed to be a distinct dialect of Welsh, different from the several dialects used in Wales itself; however speakers from Wales and Patagonia are able to communicate readily. Toponyms throughout the Chubut Valley are of Welsh origin.
A total of 1,220 people undertook Welsh courses in Patagonia in 2015.
History
The Welsh people first arrived in Patagonia in 1865. They had migrated to protect their native Welsh culture and language, which they considered to be threatened in their native Wales. Over the years the use of the language started to decrease and there was relatively little contact between Wales and the Chubut Valley. The situation began to change when many Welsh people visited the region in 1965 to celebrate the colony's centenary; since then the number of Welsh visitors increased.
In 1945 and 1946 the BBC World Service broadcast radio shows in Patagonian Welsh.
In 2004 the Welsh speakers in Argentina asked permission from the Welsh government to access Welsh TV programmes to encourage the learning of the language and for the language to grow.