Duolingo and Wales Government Collaborate to Revive Welsh

Duolingo and Wales Government Collaborate to Revive Welsh

The Welsh government hope that Duolingo will help them reach their target of one million Welsh speakers - Image Source: Duolingo

POPULAR language learning app Duolingo is working alongside the government of Wales to revive the Welsh language, aiming to reach 1 million speakers.

Duolingo, which is used as a language study tool by millions worldwide, launched its Welsh programme in January 2016 which has rapidly grown to 1.5 million learners.

The app is now collaborating with the National Centre for Learning Welsh to work towards Cardiff’s target of having one million speakers of the ancient language. The popularity of the language on the app is thanks to the large Welsh diaspora in England, North America, and even Latin America who want to revive their Cymru roots.

“We’ve set a goal of a million Welsh speakers by 2050, around a third of Wales’ current population, and in recent years we’ve seen a surge in demand for Welsh in early years and school-age learning.” said Welsh government minister Eluned Morgan.

Welsh is still widely used in Wales, with about a third of the country speaking it. In previous generations, many people discouraged their children from speaking in their native tongue out of fear it would hinder their English.

For those in search of a quick fix: Su’mae means hello, Diolch is thank you, and Hwyl is goodbye. Have fun trying to pronounce them though…


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Oisin Sweeney

Oisin is an Irish writer based in Seville, the sunny capital of Andalucia. After starting his working life as a bookseller, he moved into journalism and cut his teeth as a reporter at one of Ireland's biggest news websites. Since joining Euro Weekly News in November, he has enjoyed covering the latest stories from Seville, Spain and further afield - with special interests in crime, cybersecurity, and European politics. Anyone who can pronounce his name first try gets a free cerveza...

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