Instead, the shift occurred over a long period of time, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century, with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons. Main article: History of the Welsh language Welsh is the most vibrant of the Celtic languages in terms of active speakers, and is the only Celtic language not considered endangered by UNESCO. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, and the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. The Welsh government plans to increase the number of Welsh language speakers to one million by 2050. Estimates suggest that 29.5% (892,200) of people aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in December 2021.

Īccording to the 2011 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 19.0% (562,016 people) and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Both the Welsh and English languages are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd. The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales, making it the only language that is de jure official in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being de facto official. Historically, it has also been known in English as 'British', 'Cambrian', 'Cambric' and 'Cymric'. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina).

Welsh ( Cymraeg ( listen) or y Gymraeg ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people.

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