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10 February 2012
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The Voices Recordings


About this interview
Friends and community workers Six residents of Bonymaen, Swansea, talk about their shame in not speaking Welsh, a language they love.

Interviewees:
Edwin Gwynfor (Gwynfor) Richards, Natalie Louise Stevens, Sylvia Bailey, Lynne Arnold, Jacqueline Richards, Betty Smith,

Click on names to find out more about the participants.

Relationship of interviewees: Members of St. Margaret's Church

Where: Bonymaen, Swansea

Language of interview: English
About this interview
Voice clip 1
Sylvia's husband was a Londoner and the clip concentrates on his family's reaction to her strong Welsh 'sing-song' accent.



Voice clip 2
The group feel 'ashamed' not to be able to speak Welsh - something they would all love to do.



More clips from this interview

Natalie Louise Stevens, Student playworker
Natalie discusses a person remarking on her Welsh accent and Sylvia enthuses about the London accent and how it reminds her of her husband.

Sylvia Bailey, Retired sales assistant
The group focuses on the word 'tidy' for meaning good and how the invention of electricity was greeted by one Welsh grandmother.
Interview's notes

Long description of interview: BBC Children In Need has given funding to the Bonymaen Family Centre and both Lynne and Natalie work there as volunteers. Lynne also works in a chemist shop and is studying for an NVQ in Childcare. Natalie is a student and works part-time in a restaurant. They both work in the youth group of St Margaret's Church. All the speakers are members of St Margaret's - Sylvia is the church organist. She worked in Marks and Spencer and was married to a Londoner who worked as a guard on the railways. Gwynfor and Jackie Richards both worked in the local Addis factory. Betty Smith worked in David Evans, a Swansea Department store. Sylvis contributed the most to the conversation and they were all particularly animated talking about their and other people's reaction to the Welsh accent and their favourite accents.

Recorded by: Anita Morgan, Radio Wales

Date of interview: 2004/11/23

   

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The British Isles has seven officially recognised minority languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages. They are: Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, Cornish, Lowland Scots, Ulster Scots and British Sign Language.
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