It's something that I disliked when I was still a "dysgwr” myself, but as I've become a confident L2 speaker and tried my best to help others do the same, it’s got to be more and more of a bugbear for me.

It’s also why I’m still a bit uncomfortable with the term “siaradwr newydd” (new speaker), although that’s a step forward from just using “dysgwr” (learner) to describe everyone from pre-A1 to post-C2 students.

Things really *have* improved in this regard, especially since the introduction of the "national curriculum”, the standardisation of “levels” (Mynediad, Sylfaen etc) and their mapping on to the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/level-descriptions

At least now, when we *are* promoting events specifically aimed at L2 speakers, we can include a meaningful approximation of just how “welcome” they’re likely to feel!

“Suitable for learners at Intermediate level and above” is a very different thing to the wooly “a warm welcome to Welsh learners” that so often gets stuck on the bottom of a poster or a Facebook event description.

The “nationalisation” of #dysguCymraeg as a field has had the effect of familiarising people with at least some of the terms I’ve used in this Ted Talk (🫣) - actual “learners” can use the name of their coursebooks as a shorthand for their current level of “fluency”, and there’s a non-zero chance that an L1 speaker will know what those terms mean.

It’s not much, but it’s a hell of a lot better than “tipyn bach”!

https://learnwelsh.cymru/learning/learning-levels/

Since the only person I can non-problematically define is 👍this guy👍, I’ve taken to using “ail-iaith” (second language) to talk about myself when it comes up, which tbh, is very rarely these days.

So there's hope!

One of the things that L1 Welsh speakers will *still* do, if you ask them, as a stranger, “dych chi’n siarad Cymraeg?” is answer with a non-sensical “tipyn bach” (a little bit).

I know this comes from a place of kindness, but for the Love of Bobi Jones, just answer the question, will you? I’m not trying to sell you a course, I’m just trying to see which language you prefer to use.

Mae Wili Windsor yn siarad “tipyn bach” o Gymraeg. Dyw hwnna ddim ar fframwaith CEFR.

Welsh might well be “the senior language of the [people] of Britain”, and beautiful, and all that, but it's also just another language, subject to the same forces that all languages* are subject too.

* yes, including English, as our g-g-grand-children may find out