The Berkeley Guides:
Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
Wales
By Mylah de la Rosa and Julie Jares
To the outsider, the fiercely independent attitude cultivated by the Welsh seems curious, if not downright confusing. After all, London is only a few hours away by train, and since 1282 the English have ruthlessly and thoroughly dominated the Welsh. But that's Wales in a nutshell--a country within a country with its own native language and customs, and a strong sense of patriotism that borders on Anglophobia. Although modern Wales--called Cymru in Welsh--doesn't have its own parliament and doesn't actively pursue political separation from England, it does have a rural, rugged flavor all its own. This is partly due to language: Welsh, one of the oldest languages in Europe, is still the first tongue in the northwest, and it's estimated that 20% of the country's 2.8 million inhabitants still speak Welsh fluently.
|
