The Welsh Language Act 1993 (c. 38) () is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

, which put the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

on an equal footing with the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Act

Background

After the Welsh language channel was founded in 1982 and the recognition of Welsh as a core and compulsory subject in the National curriculum, the Welsh Language Act was brought about in 1993 which aimed to treat Welsh and English equally in public business and justice.

Provision

The Welsh Language Act 1993 in summary brought about principle of equality of Welsh and English in public services and justice in Wales. The Welsh Language Act 1993 (the 1993 act) formed the Welsh Language Board and brought some public bodies to use the principle of treating English and Welsh equally where practical and reasonable.The act made it mandatory for public service bodies in Wales to use a Welsh language scheme for use of Welsh in service, after notification to do so from the Welsh Language Board. The Welsh Language Board would then be able to approve schemes, give guidance and monitor compliance with schemes. Devolution has been described as providing impetus for having legal bilingualism with the then

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

itself required by the Act to provide bilingual legislation. The 1993 Act reiterates section one of the

Welsh Language Act 1967 The Welsh Language Act 1967 (c. 66) () was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which gave some rights to use the Welsh language in legal proceedings in Wales (including Monmouthshire) and gave the relevant minister the right to author ...

on a right to speak Welsh in legal proceedings in Wales. The Act also allowed Welsh Ministers to provide a Welsh name to a body, office or place named in legislation. Welsh Ministers would also be able to prescribe Welsh versions of certain documents.

Today

A significant amount of the Act remains active and the

Welsh Language Commissioner The Welsh Language Commissioner () is a Welsh Government officer, overseeing an independent advisory body of the same name. The position was created following the passing of the ''Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011'', effective on 1 April 201 ...

has now replaced the Welsh Language Board.

Impact

Since the 1993 Act, all new and replaced

road signs in Wales Road signs in Wales follow the same design principles as those in other parts of the United Kingdom. All modern signs feature both Welsh- and English-language wording, with Welsh-first signage present in most areas of Wales and mandated for a ...

as well as public information signs on and in buildings owned by local government bodies are legally required to be bilingual. Bilingual signs have been described as a material symbol of Welshness. The Act has had some success, but there were certain areas within the legal provision that need to be strengthened according to

Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

lecturer, Catrin Huws.

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

identified five key areas that were lacking in the provisions brought about by the 1993 Act by 2008. These were; * Lack of capacity and resources of organisations to provide Welsh services * Lack of support from managers * Inconsistent meeting of deadlines for remedial action * Lack of organisation discussion on objectives * Inadequate monitoring and updating of using schemes The Irish

Official Languages Act 2003 The Official Languages Act 2003 () is an Act of the Oireachtas of Ireland. The Act sets out rules regarding use of the Irish language by public bodies; established the office of to monitor and enforce compliance by public bodies with the pro ...

and the

Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 () is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in 2005. It was the first piece of legislation dedicated to the Scottish Gaelic language and was seen as the first step by the Scottish Executive to provide ...

have been closely based on the Welsh Language Act 1993.

References

External links

*
Full text of the Welsh Language Act 1993

Campaign for a New Welsh Language Act
Archived 26 September 2011 {{Authority control United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1993

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Wales Language policy in the United Kingdom Constitutional laws of Wales Language legislation in the United Kingdom

Act

Background

Provision

Today

Impact

See also

Wales

Other

References

External links