Languages Unite — And So Do We

Today is European Day of Languages, and this year’s theme caught my attention immediately:

“Languages unite!”

That feels particularly appropriate here in Wales.

Across Europe, more than 200 languages are spoken when regional and minority languages are included. The day has been celebrated every 26 September since 2001, encouraging us not simply to learn languages, but to recognise the culture, history and identity carried within them.

For us, of course, one of those languages is rather special.

Cymraeg.

The latest Annual Population Survey estimates that around 843,700 people in Wales can speak Welsh, equivalent to 27.3% of people aged three and over. The Census measures this differently and remains the principal official benchmark, recording 538,300 Welsh speakers in 2021. Wales also has an ambition of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050.

Statistics matter, but languages only really live when people use them.

A bore da in the morning. A place name pronounced properly. A song. A joke. A conversation between strangers. Even somebody nervously trying their first few Welsh words and getting them spectacularly wrong.

I rather like that last one, because nobody begins anything as an expert.

Community has its own language

The theme “Languages unite” made me think about Naturism Wales too.

Our community contains people from different parts of Wales, Britain, Ireland and increasingly further afield. We don’t all have the same backgrounds, opinions, accents, experiences or even the same reasons for embracing naturism.

And that’s a good thing.

A healthy community shouldn’t require everybody to become the same.

What brings us together is something simpler: acceptance, kindness, respect and community.

In some ways, those values form a language of their own.

You don’t need a dictionary to recognise kindness. You don’t need perfect grammar to make somebody feel welcome. And you certainly don’t need to speak the same first language to share a laugh around a campsite, walk together through beautiful countryside or sit talking long after you intended to go home.

Naturism can be remarkably good at stripping away some of the things we use to separate ourselves from one another.

Not our identities. Those matter.

The barriers.

A little challenge for today

So, rather than simply observing European Day of Languages, perhaps we can play with it.

Learn one new Welsh phrase today.

If you already speak Welsh, teach somebody else one.

If another language is part of your life, share a favourite word with somebody and explain why you love it.

The European Day of Languages⁠ has plenty of ideas and language challenges, while the Welsh Government's Welsh-language statistics⁠ provide a fascinating picture of how Cymraeg is changing.

You don’t need to become fluent by teatime.

Just be curious.

Because every time we make an effort to understand somebody else’s words, culture or story, the distance between us becomes slightly smaller.

And whether we’re talking about languages, naturism or community, I think that’s something worth celebrating.

So, what’s one Welsh word or phrase you love — or one you’d like to learn today?