Welsh

Welsh (Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] (listen) or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ]) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina).[6] Historically, it has also been known in English as "British",[7] "Cambrian",[8] "Cambric"[9] and "Cymric".[10] The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales.[11] Both the Welsh and English languages are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd.[12] According to the 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills.[13] Other estimates suggest that 899,500 people (29.7%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in June 2022.[14] Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves to be fluent, while 21 per cent are able to speak a fair amount of Welsh.[15] The Welsh government plans to increase the number of Welsh language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased.[16] Welsh is a vibrant Celtic language in terms of active speakers, and is the only one not considered endangered by UNESCO.[citation needed]