My first reaction to this collection of essays is that it is
surprisingly angry.
This will in part be due to there original composition as
columns in the magazine Cambria – it is the
columnist’s job to take a position and spark debate.
But part of the surprise is also the exact root of Jobbins’
anger – “Welsh” political life is characterised, or at least caricatured, by
mildness. Those who champion a “Welsh”
identity tend to be seen as cultured and reasonable not impassioned and
argumentative. Therefore I think Jobbins
would welcome my surprise.
The other thing which was not entirely expected was the
intensity of focus on the Welsh language – again the lack of such an
expectation is at the heart of Jobbins’ argument. The fact that the place of the Welsh language
within the “Welsh” identity is contested is one of the key stumbling blocks to
an effective nationalist movement within Wales. There is a need to assert that, while as an
individual you don’t have to speak Welsh to be Welsh, a Wales without a living Welsh
language would be fundamentally diminished as a nation.
The case which Jobbins puts, convincingly, is that the Welsh
Government and Welsh political establishment, of all shades including Plaid, do
not take the language seriously.
Devolution has if anything degraded the status of Welsh, it was part of
the rhetoric of the fight to bring powers “home” to Wales
– but with those powers won the language is treated as much as an inconvenience
by decision makers in Cardiff as it was by
decision makers in Whitehall.
Jobbins suggest that this lack of confidence and/or
commitment in the language is a window deep into the soul of the nation – and
what you see through that window is a black hole…
These punchy essays would be thought provoking reading even
if you have no vested interest in the credibility of a Welsh identity.
No comments:
Post a Comment