The Welsh Language: Some reflections on its history - Hywel Dda Inaugural Lecture
Speech by The Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
20/07/2011
“England, what have you done to make the speech
My fathers used a stranger at my lips
An offence to the ear, a shackle on the tongue
“…” (R.S. Thomas)
These are the haunting words of R.S. Thomas, the poet of Aberdaron, a great poet lamenting that he could not express himself in his native language, Welsh. How could this be? How did this happen?
The answer to these questions would require scholarship of a depth which I do not have, and knowledge on a scale of which I am ignorant. But I offer some tentative thoughts on the subject, largely historical, conscious of the honour that has been done to me by the invitation to give this inaugural Hywel Dda Lecture..."
