all the resources wasted teaching me medieval English (Chaucer), Elizabethan English (Shakespeare et al)

Arguably those are about learning literature rather than language.

It failed, and now we are getting our language back. If you don’t like it, Mr Mitchell, tough shit.

That’s fine, as long as you only use local funds, rather than taking owt from the already far too inadequate general education budget. Education funding in the UK is a finite resource, and should be invested in things which help the nation as a whole, and not on localised projects which serve a very small number of people. If the education budget had a surplus, fair enough, but I don’t think that’s the case. So, from local funds it should be. Are you happy to pay extra Council Tax to fund the education project?

@Elfinsafety – We did.. for two and a bit years. Now we’re in Switzerland.

@don simon
I can link to the whole Vanenciano site too. What is your point? Maybe read my post and you’ll have a better idea what I am getting at. Lots of people may speak Welsh, but only a few (oldies) only speak Welsh. As in Valencia.
http://www.valencia.es/ayuntamiento/home.nsf/(Portadas2)/%24first?opendocument&lang=2

The reason why some of these languages should be kept is by their use you describe the world in a different way, i.e. it changes the way you see the world.

Ah, I bet you’re happy you don’t live in a place with so many curves now, eh? That mustuv done your head in! I’d be thinking there was something wrong with me eyes if everything looked like I was in a fish bowl.

Yes that linguist was quite fascinating wasn’t she!

Apologies flamejob, I misread.
The point being if you disrespect the language, you disrespect the culture as a whole.
As, an assumed, native English speaker, do you think it’s a good idea to learn Castellano or should the petty bureaucrats deal with you in English? It’s a question of scales. In Valencia they learn both Castellano and Valenciano which is good. They maintain their own culture and identity while being able to communicate with the outside world and I’m sure Comunitat Valenciana functions very well. You, on the other hand, want them to change to suit your own specific needs which,in my opinion, is both disrespectful and wrong.
Equally Comunitat Valenciana is a bit more advanced than Cataluña in that they do teach Castellano or Pais Vasco in their teachings.

Even in the 20th century pupils were apparently being beaten for speaking it in school.

This was also done in Wales to eradicate the Welsh language it was known as the “Welsh Not”

Mr Fry failed to say this !!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Not

Interesting, particularly in regards to Wales. I was taking to a guy at a party born Welsh and who went to school in North Wales. He finished school just before Welsh was reintroduced. I wouldn’t have fancied telling him he is less Welsh than another. It was interesting too how this made him feel somewhat alienated from his own country.

No problem with keeping old languages alive but how does one keep up with the newer, developing and ever expanding languages?
Weegie for instance?
http://www.gla.ac.uk/clubs/ski/weegie.html

I heard Lady Gaga was learning old Swiss but she only has Bad Romansch.

It was interesting too how this made him feel somewhat alienated from his own country.

I don’t speak Welsh (I used to), however I don’t feel alienated either.

@oliverd1981 *points to the door
(PS yet another language that needs to be killed with fire)

@don simon I speak Spanish.* So naaa! 😀
I am just bitter because I have to learn another language from scratch.

*… though when I told my last Spanish teacher I spoke Spanish like Tarzan, he replied ‘no, you speak Spanish like Cheetah’

BTW I was born in a country with 3 official languages.

clubber – Member

Arguably those are about learning literature rather than language.

‘Course, Welsh and Scottish people were far too busy painting their faces blue and chucking spears at us to write any poetry or literature. 🙄

I thought you was singular and ye was plural as it sounds the same as du in Swedish for singular and ni (nee) for plural. Seems I was right according to wiki. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_%28pronoun%29

I listening to someone on the radio complaining about the signs on Edinburgh airport being in English and Gaelic. She said they never spoke Gaelic in Edinburgh and the signs really should be in Welsh as that was the native language. Gaelic was imported from Ireland.