I’m proud to have been born in Cardiff on St David’s Day. When I went to primary school in the 1980s, we’d close for the afternoon on 1 March, and I always thought it was for my birthday! I was exposed to a lot of racism back then. After 9/11, abuse against us Muslims worsened. The number one conversation I’ve had with patients over the years? ‘Where am I from?’, because I couldn’t possibly have been born here. Being brown automatically makes me a foreigner.
The icing on the cake is when they heard me speak Welsh. One elderly white lady always had an attitude with me. When she heard me, she turned to one of my colleagues and asked, incredulously, “How come she speaks Welsh?!” Without skipping a beat, my beautiful colleague replied, “Because she’s Welsh”.
It’s a Welsh Government target to get to a million Welsh speakers in Wales by 2050. Is this feasible? Estimated figures for September 2023 were 891,000 so yes, I think so. But is it really for anyone and everyone?
Winding Welsh language journey
I wasn’t really aware of the Welsh language when growing up in Cardiff, until S4C came along. I wish it was taught in primary school then – children absorb languages more easily. English and Punjabi were my joint first languages. I enjoyed learning Welsh in high school but unfortunately, for GSCEs, made the mistake of choosing French over Welsh. I only know one French-speaking person in Wales!
I promised myself I’d take up Welsh again when I was older and had time. First there were A-levels, then university. Then continuing professional development, such as diplomas and prescribing courses, to be the best clinical pharmacist I could be. I was working towards where I wanted to be as a healthcare professional – working for the NHS in GP surgeries to care for patients with chronic illnesses.
I had so many hobbies and interests that I didn’t give Welsh a thought in my 20s. Then, while working in a hospital in Newport, I had the opportunity to learn Welsh as part of ‘learning in the workplace’, a scheme offered to all public sector workers. I’d have to sit exams, but why not? I attended a weekly two-hour class after work for six years, working through Mynediad (entry level), Sylfaen (foundation), and Canolradd (intermediate – basically the adult GCSE).
Community through Cymraeg
Welsh is a beautiful language, especially when it ‘clicks’, but can be quite hard to get your head around. I still have shivers thinking about mutations (or ‘mutilations’ as us students called them). I couldn’t keep up with what was masculine or feminine. Not many people stuck with the course, but I’m stubborn and determined, so kept at it.
I took a break for a few years before moving on to Welsh A-level. It took longer to complete than intended as Cardiff University changed the course halfway through. I had to start again as I didn’t know where I was. They took out the ‘literary’ element I needed for writing, making it more informal and conversational.
I was nearing my 40s and hadn’t realised I was going through an early menopause, finding it difficult to concentrate and retain information due to ‘brain fog’. Though I struggled in the final years – made worse by having lessons online due to the Covid pandemic – those lessons also kept me going. I was on the shielding list, living alone and working from home, needing human contact even if it was through a screen.
I passed my A-level in 2022 and, more importantly, finished with an amazing group of friends I’m still in touch with. I continued to practise Welsh by watching S4C, listening to Radio Cymru, reading books and magazines, writing emails and messages to colleagues and friends in Welsh, and daily doing refresher lessons on Duolingo and a Welsh crossword.
But was that it? After 12 years? Everything I learned at school is lost in the mists of time. What if this happened to my Welsh?
A Welsh writer, writing in Welsh
After a few tough years of ill health and bereavement, I started on a creative writing course at Cardiff University in January 2023. When I was younger, I loved writing fiction – it was my dream to become an author. But my mother and grandparents weren’t having that nonsense. I’d study hard and get a ‘proper’ job! The family chose pharmacy for me and that was that. For nearly 30 years, I’d locked away my dreams of writing.
I remember the first evening of that course. I’d wondered if I’d ever be able to write again. But I was unbelievably lucky to have the tutor I did – Rachel Smith. She’s a published author, screenwriter, and director, and was so encouraging, intelligent, witty, and inspirational.
On that first evening, I wrote my first piece of fiction in three decades. It was very emotional! Short stories spilled out of me, but I also discovered a newfound love of and respect for poetry. And it turned out I have a knack for children’s stories, an age group I’d never considered.
Last year coincided with reducing my hours with the NHS, which meant I have a writing day every week. By that summer I had an idea for my first books and, in an uncharacteristically bold move, contacted Lingo360, the online Welsh learner’s magazine. They didn’t have a health column so I offered to write it.
This year I started a second column about exploring historical and interesting places in Wales, combining my love of writing and history with using the Welsh language. I’ve written dozens of articles, and become a regular contributor of short stories to Cip, the children’s magazine from the Urdd.
Embracing the Welsh language
I know I’m a decent writer but still have ‘imposter syndrome’, thanks to past attitudes from people about me learning Welsh and being Welsh. Yet I’ve found the Welsh-speaking community doesn’t care about race, gender, age, or background.
If you can speak Welsh, even as a learner, with ‘Wenglish’ creeping through, they love it! They embrace you for being part of keeping alive one of Europe’s oldest spoken languages. I’ve had nothing but positivity and encouragement from first-language speakers; negativity comes from people who only speak English. I feel for them – perhaps if they learned Welsh, they might be less miserable!
Many can access free learning through work, especially public sector employees. If you must pay, concessions are available for students, older people, and those on benefits and reduced incomes. You can join face-to-face classes, online, or hybrid, and can find daytime and evening classes.
Learn for fun, to speak with your children who are learning it in school, to further your career: whatever the reason, it’s worth it. Learning Welsh changed my life completely – I have a new second career, new people in my life, have been to new places, and love every minute of it.
My two bilingual books are out – a poetry collection and ghostly short stories. In South Wales, ten shops stock them, and the Books Council is a distributor to the rest of Wales. S4C filmed me for Cymraeg a Fi (Welsh and Me), and I read my poetry at the National Eisteddfod in Pontypridd.
If someone told me a year ago that I’d have such amazing opportunities, I’d have laughed. If you’ve been thinking about learning Welsh, stop thinking and do it! Be one of the 109,200 people who’ll get us to the one million Welsh speakers target in 2050.
