In today's episode, Tom and Ben Kitchener look past the St David's Day celebrations to explore the real mechanics and politics of the Welsh language - Cymraeg. This is Part 1 of 2.

With an ambitious target of a million Welsh speakers on the horizon, this episode gets into the gap between policy and reality - specifically the "usage gap": the difference between having the ability to speak Welsh and actually choosing to use it in daily life.

Tom speaks with Ben Kitchener, whose Substack Sais Cymreig explores Welsh language and culture through the eyes of an English speaker learning the language.

In Part 1, Tom and Ben discuss the "Million Speakers" goal and what it would actually take to get there; the financial and political pressures of devolution and how Cardiff navigates its relationship with Westminster when it comes to funding cultural ambitions; and the brain drain - why keeping young Welsh speakers in Wales is one of the defining challenges facing the language today.

In Part 2, which follows next week, Tom and Ben step back from modern policy and into history - exploring the Blue Books and the Welsh Not, the psychological legacy those policies left behind, and some practical Welsh phrases to help anyone start using the language in everyday life.

This episode was recorded live on Substack.

Follow Ben's work on Substack: https://substack.com/@saiscymreig?r=4ks8qu&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile

Keep up to date with Tom's work via his Substack: https://tomspare.substack.com/

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