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Nation•Cymru A news service by the people of Wales, for the people of Wales.

Opinion

10 times Welsh-English bilingual signs doomed humanity

By NationCymru

It all began with a Guardian editorial opposing an Irish Language Act which could lead to the introduction of bilingual road signs "with pointless provocative effect".

The news broadcaster Huw Edwards weighed in with his own assessment of the Guardian's attitude towards minority languages:

The @guardian will froth in favour of any minority language but alas not a Celtic one. Diolch o galon unwaith eto. ??????? https://t.co/PKV6NVMU21

— Huw Edwards (@huwbbc) February 16, 2018

Of course, as night follows day the attention given to bilingual signage got a predictable response...

Which led to other Twitters taking the mickey out of poor Lee Halford by imagining other scenarios where bilingual signage had caused all sorts of dangerous confusion.

User Canton Chris suggested that bilingual signage may have caused the Titanic disaster...

And the ending of Thelma and Louise...

Meanwhile, Ioan Smith had this take...

Charlie Taylor showed what happens when you try to enter Wales...

Live scenes at the border.. pic.twitter.com/Hi3q8dMNRD

— Charlie Taylor (@CharlieTaylor45) February 18, 2018

And Vaughan Williams the scenes at the ferry ports...

Holyhead Port entrance on an hourly basis... pic.twitter.com/duDRxWeVJ6

— Cllr. Vaughan Williams ? (@Vaughan_Wms) February 18, 2018

Apollo 13's problems were also explained...

Turning points in European history were revealed...

We now know where poor Ozymandias went wrong...

And Atlantis...

In fact, it goes back to the very beginning...!

After all the attention, poor Lee Halford had, perhaps wisely, changed his Twitter handle...

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17 comments

sianiflewog

Erthygl Ffantasteg - Diii - ooo- lkh! I've heard enough of this bolox about ingli-shmen having to pay for 'foreign' language signs/bils/text and so on. All those benighted tossers (sorry i withdraw that word, elce ÿü'll think I'm norty) benighted TTT's who moan about MY language ought to look at Tesco cheaperoo beans (all i can affrord rhicho sais) and see the 'evil' eu languages on the back of tin: last time i bothered to look hungarian, cxech, slovakian, polish and turkish were included - choke on your breakfast or' whilst you pass anal wind. Anyweigh inglissmon, you spend far much more on foreign aide budjet, than you ever did on our cymraeg toodle pip, TTT's

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sibrydionmawr

High time roadsigns were in Welsh only in predominantly Welsh speaking areas. Bastards would have to learn Welsh then!

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kaiserqueen

Wir sprechen auch wenig walisisch. Sind wir auch Bastards? Es gibt bald 8 milliarden Menschen auf diese Erde. Alle die nicht walisisch sprechen sind unerwünscht? Ihr seid wohl mit President Trump einverstanden. Bau doch ein Mauer... Lieber Gruß aus dem Ausland.

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Neij y Gof

Kaiserqueen, was halten Sie denn von den vielen vielen Ländern, sowohl in Europa als auch in anderen Gebieten der Welt, in denen die Straßenschilder ausschließlich einsprachig sind? Fühlen Sie sich etwa in Italien unerwünscht? In Kroatien? In Frankreich? Die Behauptung, dass die meisten Sprecher des Walisischen mit Trump einverstanden sind, ist auch lächerlich. Wann haben Sie zum letzten Mal mit jemandem gesprochen, der Walisisch spricht? Vielleicht sollten Sie's mal versuchen.

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sibrydionmawr

A yw'r arwyddion ffordd, neu ar siopau yn yr Almaen, y Swistir neu Awstria yn ddwyieithog? Rwy'n siwr mae yna disgwyl i bobl sy'n symud i'r Almaen i fyw i ddysgu Almaeneg. Yr unig bastardïaid, yn yr ystyr yma, ydy'r rhai sy wastad yn cwyno bod, nid jyst bod popeth yn ddwyiethog, ond bod gan yr iaith Gymraeg hawl o gwbl i fodoli. Gan mwyaf, Sais ydy rhain, ond clywais unwaith cwynion tebyg o bobl dŵad o'r Isalmaen. Felly, yr unig bastardïaid yw'r rhai sy'n dewis fod yn fastard. Does gen i ddim byd yn erbyn unrhywun o unman, ond rwy'n digwyl iddynt parchu ein haith os maent eisiau byw yn ein mysg, fel mi fyddaf yn disgwyl i mi fy hun parchu'r iaith lleol os symuda i fyw rhwyle arall yn y byd - ac mar parchu yn y cydestun yma yn golygu dysgu'r iaith lleol er mwyn integreiddio.

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Brian ap Francis

Sign says "Danger" "Perygl" I didn't know that Pergl was dangerous - just ignore it, it's someone being silly. Sign "Bus Stop Saffle Bws". Thats no good to me I want a Stagecoach Bus. There's not even a Saffle Bws timetable on display.

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Gwilym ab Ioan

I wish I could take it that lightly Brian. Sibrydionmawr is nearer the mark. Find many bi-lingual signs that are French/ English in France do you? Or don't Englishmen drive cars in France? Or maybe they drive on the left side of the road and complain that all French drivers are driving on the 'wrong' side. Classic (failed) English Empire mentality and an extremely xenophobic colonial mentality. When all the arguments are against them, they revert to trying to mock. Pathetic really. The rest of the world has left these dinosaurs behind - it is they who are the laughing stock. Roll on independence, so that we can get on with our lives in peace and an atmosphere of true freedom - after divorcing from this shower.

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Wrexhamian

Wonder if friend Halford would DARE to publicly express his opinion of those Bangladeshi street names around Brick Lane, East London. Thanks for the road signs, Lee.

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bill

I have always thought it kind of the Welsh to translate their signs into english. The French don't

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Simon G F

Very funny. Good laugh. Humour is a powerful tool. On a similar vein I came accross this tweet. Here is the address: https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/965268631826370565 I think it will work if you click on it.

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Michael Matthews

All road signs In Wales should be Welsh only

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Capitalist and Welshnash

Wie amüsant ist die Denkweise eines Bauern.

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Robert James

What a load of bollox, tell Germany or France to stop bilingual signage. It's WALES FFS! Typical English, if you can't get a grips with bilingual signs, you shouldn't be driving!

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Carole trenaman

Why did it take him twice as long to read? Unless he was reading Welsh and English comments! From an English woman, with Welsh granny, thanks for translating your Welsh signs into English so I can navigate your beautiful country.

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Richard Royle

If he can't speak Welsh, why is he trying to read the Welsh placenames (even though most of the names are similar to the English names)? When you see your destination named, you follow it - it doesn't matter if the other placenames are written in English, Welsh, Russian, or Klingon. I remember a roundabout complex in Liverpool (all names in English) which had so many signs that it would take between 90 seconds and two minutes to read them all. Presumably this idiot would stop his car on the roundabout to read them all? I hope he never enters a multilingual bookshop - he would never be seen again!

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Davydh Trethewey (@MawKernewek)

I'm waiting for the "Satnav error sends Englishman driving all the way to Western Australia" story to come up: https://goo.gl/maps/UrXfbGC2dC42 Though apparently Tinder matched a woman in Wales with someone in New South Wales: https://honey.nine.com.au/2017/05/12/06/15/uk-tinder-match. There is actually a Swansea and a Cardiff in NSW near to Newcastle.

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[email protected]

In Ireland too we have our road signs in irish, then in english. Its our native tongue like the Welsh have a right to put road signs in their native Celtic language. Go to Spain signs are in Spanish. Celts were here first lads. Get over it it england!!!

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Replying to sianiflewog Cancel

Erthygl Ffantasteg - Diii - ooo- lkh! I've heard enough of this bolox about ingli-shmen having to pay for 'foreign' language signs/bils/text and so on. All those benighted tossers (sorry i withdraw that word, elce ÿü'll think I'm norty)...

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