Welshman Robin Farrar (Bangor, Wales, 1985) lives among us, in the village of Bidarrai, in Lower Navarre. He came to the Basque Country in 2023, to improve his knowledge of the Basque language, and lives as a Basque in this beautiful corner of the Northern Basque Country, having adopted the local accent and way of speaking. His job (he teaches Welsh language to students at Bangor University, and works from home) gives him great flexibility to live anywhere: first he lived in Irisarri, and now in Bidarrai. While living in Wales he was president, for some years, of the organization Cymdeithas yr laith Gymraeg, that is, he was responsible for the most important pressure group in favor of the Welsh language. He became involved in the linguistic struggle of his nation when he was very young, and fell in love with the Basque language when he encountered it, among other things, because the socio-linguistic situation of Welsh and Basque are very similar, and because the processes of minoritization of the two languages (and the efforts to keep them alive) are very similar. We talked with Robin at length about the Welsh language, about the Basque language, and about the political and linguistic situation of our two nations, in the incomparable setting of Bidarrai and speaking only in Basque, having very rarely to resort to English.
How is your process of learning Basque going? Have you noticed any progress since you have been living in the Northern Basque Country?
My learning process is going well. Since I have been living in the Northern Basque Country I have noticed a great advance, especially in comprehension. Before coming here it was difficult for me to understand a conversation in Basque. Now it’s not (a Basque speaker friend who is with us, and who has known Robin for a long time, confirms that Robin’s oral level has improved remarkably). Due to my job I can’t attend Basque classes in person, but during my vacations, in the last two years, I have taken two intensive courses in boarding school.
I started studying Basque in 2017, in Wales, and living in the Basque Country, in the last two years, has helped me a lot.
You have been involved in the Welsh language movement since you were young. What prompted you to learn Basque?
Yes, as a young man I was introduced to the Cymdeithas yr laith Gymraeg organization, when I finished my university studies. I had gone to England to study, and it was there that I became aware of being Welsh.
While I was in Cymdeithas I heard about Basque, and I realized that our two languages have many similarities from a socio-linguistic point of view. Then I met some Basques, who made me even more curious. I like languages, and I decided to learn Basque. That’s how I started, in 2017.
You know the organisation Cymdeithas yr laith Gymraeg very well, because you were its President (to learn more about Cymdeithas yr laith Gymraeg, see this article we published three years ago: https://www.naziogintza.eus/en/nazio-bidelagunak/cymdeithas-yr-laith-gymraeg-60-years-fighting-for-the-welsh-language/) Because of its Welsh language activism Cymdeithas has been the most fined and prosecuted civil organisation in Wales over the last 40 years. What similarities and differences do you see between the language struggles in Wales and the Basque Country?
I see great similarities. From a sociolinguistic point of view, both languages are in a similar situation. Welsh speakers are 21% of the population, and as in the Basque Country we have very Welsh-speaking areas. In the cities, however, the percentage of Welsh speakers is lower. On the other hand, the linguistic gap between Welsh and English is very wide, as wide as the gap between Basque and French, and like you, we have difficulty in being understood by English speakers. In one part of the Basque Country Basque is official, and in Wales the language also has official status.
In the area of Education we are worse off than you. The system of linguistic immersion is not as widespread in Wales as in the Basque Country, and therefore there are fewer children who study entirely in Welsh. In Wales as a whole, they are at around 25%, but there are big differences between the more Welsh-speaking areas (in North Wales) and the English-speaking areas (in South Wales).
In terms of national articulation we are better off than you: our nation is compact, and not split like yours into three different political administrations. Having a single government helps in some things.
Recent history is also different: your language was banned and persecuted for a large part of the 20th century, and we, on the other hand, have not lived through a dictatorship.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Welsh was the most widely-spoken language in almost all of Wales, with the exception of some border areas and in some special locations. Two hundred years later, it is the language of only 21% of the population. What have been the main factors to cause the decline of the language during those years?
I am not a historian, but I would say that the main factor that has caused the decline of our language has been the process of state strengthening. The modern states that appeared at the beginning of the 19th century did not admit the linguistic diversity that existed within their borders.
For example, in the 19th century, a law appeared in Wales proclaiming that Welsh was an obstacle to education. A law that considered Welsh speakers as “savages”. That was the beginning of the banning of Welsh in schools.
There were also demographic movements in the 20th century. People who lived in the more Welsh-speaking areas emigrated, and English workers, on the other hand, went to work in the mines of Wales, especially in the south of the country.
Throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the Welsh language was forbidden in schools. After the end of World War II this prohibition was relaxed, and then the first Welsh language schools appeared.
The states have always tried to assimilate the nations subjected to them, and language has been the main instrument they have used to do so. The “linguicide” applied by the states has taken place above all at school. It is strange to note that since the 19th century, both in the Basque Country and in Wales, children have been punished at school for speaking their family language: in the Basque Country the infamous procedure of the ring was used, and in Wales the repressive policy of the “Welsh Not”. What have been the consequences of the latter and how long was it in force?
There is no consensus among historians as to when the linguistic policy of the “Welsh Not” ended (note to the reader: the “Welsh Not” was a piece of wood that was placed around the necks of children who spoke Welsh, containing the letters WN -initials of Welsh Not-. The child who wore the piece of wood had to pass it to another child he heard speaking Welsh, and at the end of the school day the one who had the wood was punished). Most historians believe that the Welsh Not ended in the early 20th century, but this does not mean that the banning of Welsh in schools ended.
These repressive policies had profound psychological consequences for Welsh speakers.
I know that similar procedures were used in the past in the Basque Country to stop students from speaking Basque. The State maintained the ban on Welsh as long as the Welsh language was hegemonic. When they saw that the language was weakening, and that all children were now bilingual, they began to relax the bans. The same thing also happened in the Northern Basque Country.
In your opinion, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the Welsh language today?
Among the strengths, I would mention that Welsh – despite the history of bans – still has 650,000 speakers. And also that Welsh society, in general, has a positive attitude towards the language. That was not the case in the past. The fact that since 1998 Wales has had political autonomy and its own government and parliament has made this change of mentality possible. The process of institution building has had a positive influence on people’s attitudes towards the language.
Among the weaknesses is the education system. Although the Welsh immersion system is strong in North Wales, this is not the case in the South, where the majority of the Welsh population lives. In the more Welsh-speaking areas, the economic situation is not as good as in the south, and this also influences the evolution of the language.
The university still gives little recognition to our language. It has not had the linguistic evolution that yours has had. Few degrees can be studied in Welsh. Cymdeithas has long called for a Welsh language university, but its demand has not been successful.
Despite having a rich literature since the Middle Ages and being the language of the majority of the population until the beginning of the 20th century, and despite having certain rights recognized by some language laws (1967, 1993), the Welsh language did not achieve official status until 2010. Why was the legal status of the language delayed so long? And on the other hand, does the linguistic law of 2010 satisfy the aspirations of the sectors that work in support of the language?
In order to make the language official, we needed an autonomous government, and as I mentioned before, we did not have that government until 1998. As long as London was in charge, it was impossible to achieve official status.
Even so, it must be remembered that the United Kingdom does not have a Constitution, and therefore does not have an official language. The Welsh government, in 2010, gave that officialdom to Welsh and English, to both, filling that legal loophole.
The 2010 language law falls short in our opinion. It does not regulate the use of the language in the private sector, for example. And in the public sector, it has loopholes. Therefore, despite the fact that the language is official, Welsh speakers are often unable to speak Welsh and be understood by the public administration.
The Welsh Government wants to have one million Welsh speakers by 2050 (the current number of speakers is about 650,000). How may that goal be achieved? What outcomes would you like for your language in the near future?
That project to achieve one million speakers was launched around 2015, but 10 years have passed and the Welsh (Labour) government has done little to achieve that goal. It is difficult to achieve because we are not doing our homework. In education, for example, nothing has been done, we haven’t made any progress. And beyond the school environment, nothing has been done to increase the use of Welsh in the world of work. It can be said that the government has other priorities, and that of the language is not urgent.
The plan was ambitious, and it was designed between Cymdeithas and the government. On paper it was very nice, but the government is not doing its part.
The globalised world in which we live does not favour minoritized languages such as Welsh or Basque. On the contrary, globalisation everywhere strengthens the most powerful languages (especially English). In your opinion, what should we Basques and Welsh do to ensure the survival of our languages?
On the one hand, boosting local life. Strengthening proximity relations is an effective way of coping with globalization and digitalization.
This does not mean that our languages should turn their backs on the digital world. It is important that Basque and Welsh have a strong presence on the Internet.
The world has changed a lot in just a few years. For example, it used to be important to have a Welsh language television, but now it is not so important. Now the internet is more important. It is strategic to have a good Wikipedia in Welsh or Basque, for example. And also content in Welsh and Basque on You Tube or in podcasts.
For some nationalist movements of some stateless nations in Europe (Flanders, Catalonia, Galicia…) language is the axis of nationality and the essential element that makes up the nation. Other nationalist movements, on the other hand (Scotland, Ireland…) do not believe that language is fundamental to define the nation. Where does Welsh nationalism stand when it comes to assessing the relationship between language and nation?
In the past, Welsh nationalism attached great importance to language. When the nationalist Plaid Cymru party was founded (1925) its main objective was not the independence of Wales, but to protect and promote the language. Today, however, there are two points of view in the nationalist world: on the one hand, those who believe that language is the core of our nationality; and on the other hand, those who relativize the importance of language. According to the latter, for Welsh nationalism to grow, English must also be given a high profile.
In the same way that Euskal Herria is the Country of the Basque language, for me Wales is the Country of the Welsh language. Because throughout Wales, the Welsh language has left a deep mark, even in places where the language has been lost. It is clear to me: it is the language that gives me my Welsh identity.
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY NAZIOGINTZA
APRIL 2025