People in Wales have reacted positively to a petition calling for the country to only be referred to by its Welsh name - Cymru. A petition set up recently has now been signed more than 10,500 times - meaning the proposal will be considered for an official debate in the Senedd.
The petition - set up by a man named Arfon Jones - states: “Wales is a name imposed on Cymru and is essentially not a Welsh word at all. The world knows about Wales because of its English connection since 1282. Hardly anyone has heard of Cymru or realises that we have our own unique language and culture which is totally different from the other countries within the United Kingdom.” You can get the latest WalesOnline newsletters e-mailed to you directly for free by signing up here.
The idea quickly received support, including from one Welsh councillor from Monmouthshire. Rachel Garrick appeared on Sky News and said: “You’ve seen it across lots of parts of the world now where countries are adopting their native names rather than the anglicised names. And I think, particularly for Wales, that’s got the strongest native language in the UK, next to English, it’s really important to do so.”
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In 2022, Turkey asked to be known as Türkiye internationally and at the United Nations following a request from the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Other nations have previously changed their names, including Iran (from Persia) and Sri Lanka (from Ceylon). Closer to home, last year the Brecon Beacons officially changed its name to Bannau Brycheiniog, while at the end of 2022 another Welsh national park voted to be officially known by its Welsh name, with Snowdonia being referred to officially as Eryri, and Snowdon, its highest mountain, referred to as Yr Wyddfa.
The issue is certain to conjure up much debate in Wales even before the matter is potentially discussed in the Senedd, and in an attempt to gauge people’s opinions we took to the streets of Cardiff to ask members of the public what they thought.
Robyn Pattenden, 37, said: It’s a positive (thing). It would maybe put Wales on the map a bit more around the world, for people to understand there is a Welsh language within Wales and that the Welsh language is becoming more within the curriculum now for schools which is a good thing.” Gruff Davies, 28, said: “I fully agree - I think Wales should be called Cymru. It’s our national language, and like many other countries that have changed, like Turkey, I think it’s the natural thing to do. I definitely think everybody in Wales should be taught the national language - it’s an important part of our culture, our heritage and what we are as people.”
Chelsea Rutland, 34, agreed, saying: “I’m from London and I don’t see the issue with it. You wouldn’t call someone by a different name so I have absolutely no problem with it. To be honest it makes sense and I don’t know why it’s taken so long. I’d have to get a few pointers on how to say it, but it’s their home language and I think that’s important.” Tilly Whates, 22, said: “I’m from Devon but I’ve been studying in Cardiff for four years now, and even though I don’t speak Welsh I think it would be nice to change the name Wales to Cymru, as an advocate of the Welsh language. Before living here I didn’t realise how much the Welsh language was used so I feel like it would be nice to spread awareness of that throughout the UK.”
Izzy James, 18, said: “I think it would be really good for Wales to change to Cymru because we don’t use enough Welsh as it is. People in England would probably react (by saying) ‘that is unnecessary’ because they don’t understand that the Welsh language is important for Welsh people." Meirion Saunders, 22, agreed and said: “I was brought up speaking Welsh so I feel very strongly about the language which, as seen by the recent census data, is starting to fall a bit, and while this has been seen before, and it soon rises again, it’s still important to try and consider measures if there are genuine intentions to keep the language going, as without the language we pretty much don’t have anything to distinguish ourselves from England. We’ve already seen examples of this with the Brecon Beacons being changed to Bannau Brycheiniog and I don’t see why we couldn’t do it for the country itself.”
Stan Senior, 22, said: “I support the petition, I think it’s a good idea. I like to think that Welsh should always come first in Wales and if you get it out there officially then more people will start using it", while Muhammad Shovon, 27, said: “I want to spread the name around the world, everyone will know Wales as Cymru, that would be nice and express (the Welsh people’s) own thing.”
Not everyone we spoke to in the Welsh capital was in favour of the name change, however. Philip Jones, 57, said: “To rename Wales Cymru could make Wales even less significant so I wouldn’t be for it, although I am pro-Welsh. I’m pro the Welsh language but globally I don’t know if that (name change) works to the point where that would be identified and recognised elsewhere, so my opinion is we should stay as we are and promote the Welsh language.” Derek Alford, 61, said: “My grandad was born in Wales, he was a proud Welshman and I’d rather stick to Wales instead of Cymru. I’m proud of the fact that it’s called Wales. It would cost a lot of money to change the signs, the paperwork, the admin.....why are they doing so many changes? Keep things as they are. C’mon Wales!”
We asked people if Wales should be known only as Cymru and they felt very strongly about it
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15.01.2024
People in Wales have reacted positively to a petition calling for the country to only be referred to by its Welsh name - Cymru. A petition set up recently has now been signed more than 10,500 times - meaning the proposal will be considered for an official debate in the Senedd.
The petition - set up by a man named Arfon Jones - states: “Wales is a name imposed on Cymru and is essentially not a Welsh word at all. The world knows about Wales because of its English connection since 1282. Hardly anyone has heard of Cymru or realises that we have our own unique language and culture which is totally different from the other countries within the United Kingdom.” You can get the latest WalesOnline newsletters e-mailed to you directly for free by signing up here.
The idea quickly received support, including from one Welsh councillor from Monmouthshire. Rachel Garrick appeared on Sky News and said: “You’ve seen it across lots of parts of the world now where countries are adopting their native names rather than the anglicised names. And I think, particularly for Wales, that’s got the strongest native language in the UK, next to English, it’s really important to do so.”
READ MORE: 'Speaking Welsh doesn’t make me better than you attack it and I will fight back'
DON'T MISS: Welsh is a beautiful, living thing - not fodder for an ugly........
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