14th January 2008
Colofn Golwg
Fe fydd y Wyddeleg yn darfod fel iaith gymunedol bob-dydd o fewn ardaloedd y Gaeltacht o fewn ugain mlynedd, dyna oedd casgliad adroddiad diweddar a gomisynwyd gan weinidogion y Weriniaeth. Un o’r rhesymau am y besimistiaeth gyffredinol ydy’r methiant i greu cyd-destun cymdeithasol i’r iaith tu fas i iard yr ysgol. Yn ardaloedd traddodiadol y Gorllewin mi fyddai’r rôl yma ar un tro wedi ei chyflawni gan gyfuniad o’r Eglwys a’r teulu – ond gyda Chatholigiaeth ar drai (ar wahân i’r miloedd o fewnfudwyr pybyr o Wlad Pwyl) a chartrefi iaith-gymysg yn fwy-fwy cyffredin, mae’r Wyddeleg yn ei chael hi’n anodd darganfod ei phriod le yn yr Iwerddon fodern. Mae cenhedlaeth i-Pod y Gealtacht yn pleidleisio gyda’i thraed a’i negeseuon testun, yn ymadael â’r Gorllewin am oleuadau llachar ac atyniadau aml-ddimensiynol y metropolis ar lannau’r Liffy.
Does dim syndod bod cynllunwyr iaith y Wyddeleg, a’i siaradwyr mwyaf brwd, yn llygadu Cymru a’r Gymraeg gydag eiddigedd hiraethus. Ond mae yna sawl gynhwysyn yn y creisus dirbodol ar draws y dwr a ddylai daro nodyn darbodus yng nghalon unrhyw Gymro. Y capel a’r aelwyd oedd mangre draddodiaol ein diwylliant ieithyddol ni, ond gyda cholli grym “Rhodd Mam” a hyd-yn-oed “mam-iaith” fel trosglwyddyddion diwylliannol, y system addysg sydd yn awr yn gorfod yswgyddo’r baich.
A dyna grynswth deilema y Cymro a’r Gael. Yr ydym yn hyfforddi cenhedlaeth o bobl ifainc yn ddwyieithog ar gyfer byd gwaith sydd – fel rhyw ‘outpost’ ymerodrol - yn gweinyddu y rhan fwyaf trwy’r Saesneg. Ar wahan i eithriad anrhydeddus Cyngor Sir Gwynedd, ac wrth reswm, Bwrdd yr Iaith ac S4C, prin ydy’r cyrff cyhoeddus sydd wedi cymryd camau gwirioneddol tuag at wneud y Gymraeg yn iaith weinyddu mewnol – er teg yw nodi bod prosiectau peilot o leiaf ar y gweill gan Heddlu Gogledd Cymru a Chyngor Ceredigion. Mae’r methiant cyffredinol yn creu marc cwestiwn uwchlaw ddyfnder yr ymwrymiad i greu Cymru gwirioneddol ddwyieithog a geir yn Iaith Pawb. Un o brif argymhellion y Comisiwn ar y Gaeltacht ym 1926 ag anwybyddwyd gan de Valera oedd yr awgrym i wneud y Wyddeleg yn brif iaith gweinyddu yr ardaloedd hynny unwaith yn rhagor. Mae’r gweithle wedi’r cwbl yn ganolbwynt i’r bwydau ni - dyna lle y ffurfir cyfeillach a pherthynas y dyddiau hyn. Mae ennill lle canolog i’r Gymraeg ym myd gwaith, felly, yn hanfodol i’w dyfodol fel iaith gymunedol. Dyna yw gwersi Catalunya ac Euskadi – sy’n llywddo – ac Iwerddon – sydd wedi methu.
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Within twenty years Gaelic will die as an every day language in the Gaeltacht, according to the findings of a recent report commissioned by the Republic of Ireland. One of the reasons of the general pessimism is the failure to create a social context to the language outside the school gates. In the traditional areas in the West, this role was once fulfilled by the Church and the family – but with Catholicism on its way out (with the exception of the thousands of Catholic immigrants from Poland) and mixed-language households becoming more and more common, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Gaelic language to find its feet in modern day Ireland. The i-Pod generation of the Gaeltacht are voting with their feet and text messages, leaving the West for the bright lights and the multi-dimensional attractions of the metropolis on the banks of the Liffy.
It’s no surprise that Irish language planners, and its most enthusiastic speakers, are looking longingly at Wales and the Welsh language. But there are some ingredients in the crisis across the water that should hit a warning sign in the heart of any Welshman. The chapel and home were the traditional centres of our linguistic culture, but with the chapels closing their doors and Welsh slipping away as the mother tongue, it is now up to the education system to transfer the language to the new generations.
We are training a generation of bilingual youth for working life that operates mainly through the medium of English. Apart from the honourable exception of Gwynedd Council, and of course the Welsh Language Board and S4C, precious little public bodies are taking real steps towards making Welsh the language of internal administration; although I must add that North Wales Police and Ceredigion Council have pilot projects in the pipeline. The general failure however forms a question mark about the depth of commitment to create a truly bilingual Wales as planned in Iaith Pawb.
One of the Commission’s main recommendations for the Gaeltacht in 1926, ignored by de Valera, was the suggestions to make Gaelic the main language of administration in those areas once again. After all, the workplace is the centre of our lives – it is where friendships and relationships blossom nowadays. Making Welsh an integral part of working life is essential to the future of the language as a community language. That is what is thriving in Catalunya and Euskadi and what has failed in Ireland.
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