Tynged yr iaith

"Tynged yr Iaith" ([ˈtəŋɛd ər ˈjaiθ], meaning "The Fate of the Language") was a radio lecture delivered in Welsh by Saunders Lewis on February 13, 1962. Reaction to it brought about a major change in the politics of Wales. Historian John Davies has said that the lecture was "the catalyst" for the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society), and the start of a period of direct-action agitation to enhance the status of the Welsh language. Its direct effect on the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg is described in a history of that society. It has been said that "of all the memorable phrases coined in the twentieth century none has greater resonance for the Welsh speaker than Tynged yr Iaith . . . which still haunts or inspires champions of the native tongue on the cusp of the new millennium". It had the unintended effect of establishing language agitation as a movement separate from the mainstream of nationalist politics. The burgeoning effects from the initial stimulus of Tynged yr Iaith were listed by Gwyn Williams:

Tynged yr Iaith was broadcast as the BBC Welsh Region's annual "Radio Lecture" for 1962. The lecture became available as an LP recording (hear clip [1]), and as a pamphlet, and is available in an English translation by G. Aled Williams. The lecture was delivered during the period between the taking of the census in 1961 and the publication of the results on the use of Welsh. Lewis anticipated that the figures when published would "shock and disappoint", and that Welsh would "end as a living language, should the present trend continue, about the beginning of the twenty-first century".

The lecture proceeded with a historical analysis of the status of the Welsh language since the Act of Union of 1535 mandated the use of English for the purposes of law and administration in Wales. Lewis maintained that the official government attitude was to desire the eradication of Welsh, and that Welsh opposition to this, if it existed, was largely unheard. He quotes at length from the Reports of the commissioners of enquiry into the state of education in Wales, known as the Blue Books, published in 1847, which criticised the influence both of the language and of Nonconformism on the life of Wales. He quotes specifically Commissioner R. W. Lingen's opinion that Welsh monoglots migrating from the countryside to the coalfields were prevented by their language from making any social advance. Lewis referred to this opinion as accurate and perceptive. He said that the industrial areas "did not contribute anything new either to Welsh social life or to the literature of the eisteddfodau", and that Welsh Nonconformity united town and country but "at the same time kept them standing still".

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