Should Wales have a second national anthem in English?

Nothing is "official" because there's no written constitution. There's only convention.

NO ENGLISH language ANTHEM FOR CYMRU.

Absolutely no need for this. Most people who aren’t fluent in Welsh and want to sing the anthem know the words by heart anyway, even if they don’t speak much more Welsh than that. In that way Hen Wlad fy Nhadau unites us all.

It is August the 1st not April the 1st yes?

No thank you. For some people the only time they'll speak Welsh is the national anthem, for some people it feels more special because it's the time we're all speaking Welsh when perhaps it's usually, sadly, a minority. We've seen "also known as Snowdonia" in BBC articles but how many people are learning/using the Welsh? It's slow progress. How many times is it referred to as "land of my father's" in English speaking media even though that isn't right? It would be a ginormous step back for us as a country to have an English language national anthem. Is Mr Davies part of a scheme to provoke interaction? Or do they actually think this?? Geez, why do some people want to run so far away from being Welsh?

No. English has already taken over in so much of our country. Bilingualism doesn't mean "translate everything into English so that people don't have to engage with the Welsh language". Why should we always be the ones to make concessions? We are Welsh, not English. Our national anthem should be in our national language.

I did read once there are some nonsense English lyrics to Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau that sound approximately correct phonetically

Red nose , make-up , silly wig and hat..all waiting for the person who thought an English anthem is necessary.

As mentioned elsewhere I did have to check it's the 1st of August, NOT the 1st of April! We get footballers from England who arrive from England on Thursday, learn the anthem after training on Friday and are expected to sing it full volume before playing for Wales on the Saturday. If even they acknowledge this then the most extreme of the Welsh Not Brigade have to accept the inevitable. As we're an indigenous nation on this island and the England are not, maybe they should drop their English language anthem as the Dutch Afrikaner immigrants had to do in South Africa.

If this happens, I commit to set myself on fire in front of the portrait of King Charles in Cardiff City Hall.

BETH???? Yn hollol ddim. WHAT???? Absolutely not. Perish the thought!! How dare this man to even mention it.

What a fool. To admit that he's the VP of Ponty College and to suggest this. Over-promoted obviously. Bachan diawl, twp neu be'?

Terrible idea. One of the (many) reasons why Hen Wlad Fy'n Nhadau is so good is because it's uniquely Welsh. It's our own language, our own culture and it's beautiful. It would be a very sad day and no less than a disgrace if we were to ever do such a thing and to erode the importance of our own language and culture on the world stage.

In a nutshell NO

Oh behave there’s some really important issues that need discussing without this rubbish

Is this a joke? Why not just bring back god save the English crown

It is telling that all these celebrants of bilingualism advocate removing Welsh to represent bilingualism. While they are perfectly happy for Britain to have an English anthem despite Britain having multiple languages: Cornish, English, Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Welsh.

With due respect to Brenig Davies. It's a big. No.

No certainty not, we should be teaching and encouraging people to learn Welsh not giving up on our beautiful language

This is a completely idiotic idea. Many non-Welsh speakers are very proud of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau. Anglicisation has already gone too far without adding the National Anthem to its list of conquests.

Who exactly is bringing up this "chatter" and from where? Besides from the most fringe and fervent anti-Welsh Unionists... What I have noticed is a trend to use the bilingual status of Wales, originally intended to preserve and promote Welsh - our culture and our identity, as a means to side-line it for the path of least resistance i.e. anglicised. The nefariousness of it is that it doesn't come from just one socio-political side one might expect, right-wing english/british nationalism - but also the centrist/neo-liberal minded urbanites that see Welshness as a fiscal and political block to their anglo 'British' design. Do we need Yma o Hyd sung in English too? As ironic as it may be it would be entertaining seeing some be acquainted and re-acquainted with the term Dic Siôn Dafydd in their preferred medium.

No!

No

I'm not exactly a fan of this proposal, but I can see that there might be some argument in support of it; but if it were to be implemented I believe it would absolutely need to be a translation into English of the same words and sung to the same tune. Anything else would be not merely pointless, but, I think, divisive too.

There's a faint whiff of Johnson's Muscular Unionism Unit behind this story.

I have two suggestions to head off this stupid, insulting, damaging and divisive proposal which amounts to an attack on our country and its’ language. Proposal one: Stand for the tune, lips closed, as if it is an instrumental only version (no lyrics) like the Spanish anthem. Proposal two: Leaving out the clear disdain in the eyes, do the John Redwood version which went ‘Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah’ and just relax while the rest of us do it all for you.

I'm respectful of the comments, so thank you for contributing to the debate, a debate I would wish to be a part of, as I mention in the piece. I have copied the end of the penultimate sentence of my piece so there can be no doubt of my view that Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is the official, and the only official anthem of Wales: ... "and this is critically important – establishing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau as the official anthem in a new Cymru..."

o bydded i'r hen iaith barhau

Editor: You'll see from the remarks below why I'm asking if my comments can be placed as the first comment on the thread and remain there. ---------------------------------- Thank you all for your comments. I take each one seriously and hope that a meeting can be arranged, with a few self-selecting representatives, to continue the debate. This will help my wish to "... contribute to a public debate about the possibility of two Welsh Anthems – one official and one unofficial." (Taken from my piece) Obviously I can't give out my contact details. The best I can think of is, those that want, to do a search on messenger, then I will share it and ask who would like to attend. Some of you might know me. To facilitate a round-table face-to-face meeting, which I dearly want, I will ask Cardiff and Vale College, Cardiff campus, for a room. Of course the arrangements, will, initially, take time. However, the long list of comments indicates the need for a thoughtful meeting. Notes on the meeting will be placed on this comments thread, not written, or approved, by me. Finally, the meeting should be arranged for early September. Thank you for reading this. Brenig

This is a spoof - has to be. Our anthem symbolises our dedication to our country, language and culture. The English anthem is to whoever happens to be on the throne at any given time. Does this not emphasize the cultural difference between Cymru and Lloegr? That's why we need to keep Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.

Hi Brenig, Could I enquire please, are you related to John Redwood (former Secretary of Stata for Wales)?

NO, NO, NO go on YouTube, people from around the world listen to our anthem when sung at the football and rugby matches. They love the fact that its sung in Welsh. they also love our flag.

Is it "unofficial" until some prat in London deems it to be "official"? I'll tug my forelock now, sire.

I am not a Welsh speaker, but I honestly think there is no need for a second anthem. Go to a football or rugby match in Cardiff on international days you can literally feel the emotion among the stadium when the anthem is belted out. Most of them are probably not Welsh speakers. In fact sports fans from around the world are quite envious of our anthem. Whilst, I'm not trying to change the subject, but if there is going to be a debate regarding national anthems, then it should be in England. Since God Save the King is supposed to be the anthem of the United Kingdom why should it be used to represent England on sporting occasions? Is it not time that the English got their own anthem; Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory? With the ongoing debate about Englishness and the rise of English flags, maybe now is the time to raise the issue.