84-658: Eirias Stadium ( Welsh : Stadiwm Eirias ), known for sponsorship reasons as Stadiwm CSM , is a multi-purpose stadium that is part of the outdoor complex of the Eirias Events Centre in Eirias Park , Colwyn Bay , Wales . It is home to the Principality Premiership team, RGC 1404 and RFL League 1 team North Wales Crusaders . The stadium had been used for sporting events, until its redevelopment in 2011, where it now can host international televised events. In
168-408: A 4th placed finish and a place in the 2020–21 National League play-offs . In the play-off eliminator, Hartlepool defeated Bromley 3–2, scoring three goals in seven first-half minutes before Bromley scored two in the second half, ultimately proving to not be enough. In the semi-final, they travelled to Stockport County where Rhys Oates scored with fifteen minutes left to book Hartlepool's place in
252-696: A WRU XV was held in April 1956 and on September 28, 1979 North Wales XV faced Romania , in a game which the tourists won 38-15. A year later, as part of the Welsh Rugby Union’s Centenary Year, the North Wales team faced an Overseas side featuring players from seven different countries in a match which the Overseas team won 28-9. In 2008 the park had been identified by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) as
336-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
420-586: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
504-647: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
588-464: A new two-year contract with the club. In Fylde's debut National League campaign, the club reached the play-offs but lost 2–1 to Boreham Wood . The 2018–19 season saw Fylde reach both the play-off final and FA Trophy final . Having been defeated 3–0 by Salford City in the play-off final, Fylde returned to Wembley Stadium the following week to beat Leyton Orient 1–0 and lift the FA Trophy for
672-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
756-462: A venue for the newly founded rugby union team RGC 1404 . The team was initially planning to join the Welsh Premiership , with an eventual goal of becoming the fifth Welsh rugby region , for domestic and European tournaments. In light of this, the park was in need of a number of improvements to reach international standard and so that it could be officially considered a stadium. In January 2010,
840-595: A warm-up game ahead of the 2017 summer tour. Wales' final game of the 2020 Six Nations Under 20s Championship against Scotland on 13 March 2020 was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In April 2021 rugby league team North Wales Crusaders announced that the stadium would be the club base for the season due to COVID-19 regulations making their home ground in Wrexham unavailable. They have now made Eirias Stadium their permanent home. Between 2017 and 2022
924-995: Is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
SECTION 10
#17328699942891008-478: Is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of EFL League One club Stockport County . As a player he was as a centre-back and played in the Football League for Tranmere Rovers , Stockport County and Bury . Challinor started his managerial career at Colwyn Bay as player-manager before joining AFC Fylde . In nearly eight years, Challinor won three promotions with
1092-580: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Dave Challinor David Paul Challinor (born 2 October 1975)
1176-667: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
1260-505: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
1344-704: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
1428-541: The 2000 Football League Cup final . He was transferred to Stockport County for a fee of £900,000 in January 2002. Whilst playing for Stockport County against Grimsby Town , Challinor's tackle on striker Martin Pringle broke the leg of Pringle in two places, and effectively ended his career. Though Challinor only received a yellow card , Carlton Palmer , Stockport's player-manager , fined Challinor two weeks' wages and called
1512-494: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
1596-461: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
1680-525: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
1764-727: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
SECTION 20
#17328699942891848-618: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
1932-518: The United States . In 2013, the IRB again chose Eirias Stadium as a venue to host an International fixture, with Japan winning 40–13 against Russia. The opening ceremony of the 2014 Wales Rally GB was held at Eirias Stadium. Since 2012 all Wales' home under-20s games in the Six Nations. Wales held a training camp at Eirias Stadium ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup . A Wales side beat RGC 1404 88–19 in
2016-573: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
2100-589: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
2184-522: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
2268-410: The 2,580 capacity grand stand and terracing for a further 3,500. The installment of floodlights and team changing facilities, means the stadium has the capability to broaden their events to other sporting activities and night time kick offs. Colwyn Bay F.C. were linked with a return to Eirias Stadium in 2011 because of Conference ground regulations and then manager Dave Challinor was impressed with
2352-481: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
2436-569: The EFL, Stockport reached the 2023 play-off final but lost on penalties. In the following season, Stockport won the League Two title. The centre-back , who played for Tranmere Rovers and Stockport County , previously held the world record for the longest throw in football. This was 152 feet (46.34 metres) in a special challenge set-up at Prenton Park in 1998, beating the previous record held by Cardiff City's Andy Legg . When at Tranmere, he played in
2520-760: The Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division play offs but were defeated on penalties by Hednesford Town who took their place in the Conference North. Fylde did qualify for the FA Cup first round proper, eventually being defeated by Accrington Stanley and also were victorious in the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy at The Reebok Stadium, Bolton. The 2013–14 season saw Fylde gain promotion to the National League North after defeating Ashton United in
2604-608: The Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division play offs. They also retained their Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy with a 4–1 victory over rivals Chorley. In addition, they won the Doodson Sport League Cup with victory at Edgeley Park over Skelmersdale United. Their disciplinary record meant they won the Fair Play Award for the Premier Division and their overall record throughout the three leagues came out on top which saw them claim
Eirias Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-427: The Football League for the first time since their relegation in 2017. On 24 September 2021, Challinor signed a new three-year contract to remain as manager. On 1 November 2021, Challinor announced his intentions to step down from the position. In a club statement, Hartlepool stated their dissatisfaction with the way Challinor departed the club: "As a club, we were disappointed the first approach did not come direct to
2772-539: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
2856-545: The Manager of the Month award for successive months for September and October, extending a club-record winning run to twelve matches. At the end of the 2023–24 season, Stockport were promoted to League One as champions. This was their first Football League division title since 1966–67 . He studied at Salford University training to be a physiotherapist and in July 2012 graduated with
2940-688: The National League title. Following promotion, Challinor was named as the National League Manager of the Season. After Stockport won all three games in December 2022, Challinor won the EFL League Two Manager of the Month award. He also won the Manager of the Month award for February 2023 after winning five games from six. Stockport missed out on automatic promotion to EFL League One on
3024-614: The Northern Premier League Premier Division and a place in the play-offs. Victories over North Ferriby United and FC United of Manchester secured the club promotion to the Conference North . The club also won the North Wales Coast Cup , with victory over Flint Town United in the final on penalties. The club won the Fair Play Award for the fewest disciplinary points through the season and Challinor
3108-513: The Presidents Cup. They also had the best technical area marks for the Evo-Stik league to match the previous year's statistic. The year saw Fylde move to their highest rung of the pyramid and a fourth promotion in five years for Challinor. In 2016–17 Challinor clinched promotion as National League North champions, with a 3–0 victory over Boston United on 22 April 2017. In June 2017, he signed
3192-489: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
3276-673: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
3360-641: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
3444-515: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
Eirias Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-481: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
3612-606: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
3696-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
3780-419: The club and won the FA Trophy before departing in 2019. He then joined Hartlepool United where he won promotion to the Football League via the play-offs in his first full season. Mid-way through the following season, Challinor departed for National League side Stockport County . At the end of the season, Challinor won the National League title to return to the Football League. In their first season back in
3864-451: The club. Also that this was so soon after Dave signed a new three-year contract." In an interview with Stockport following his arrival, Challinor said that "It's been ridiculously difficult (to leave Hartlepool), once the interest came in (from Stockport) there was always going to be an attraction but the affinity I built up with the fan base there was amazing and that was the biggest tie that I had to get over". On 2 November 2021, Challinor
3948-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
4032-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
4116-408: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
4200-422: The early 1950s the Council developed a sports arena and running track on land which had been used for 350 allotments during the Second World War and 80,000 tonnes of soil were removed during construction. Although an athletics event was held in July 1954, it was not until June 1955 that the arena was officially opened by the Lord Lieutenant, Colonel J. C. Wynne Finch. A message from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
4284-452: The facilities but the club remained at Llanelian Road. Since the stadiums reopening, they have hosted numerous international events from sport and music. Sporting wise, the stadium is now official home to RGC 1404 and the Wales U20 's rugby union team. The International Rugby Board (IRB) has recognized the standard of the stadium, and in 2012 the stadium was host to a number of Test matches featuring Canada , Russia , Samoa , Tonga and
SECTION 50
#17328699942894368-457: The final day of the season, finishing 4th and qualifying for the play-offs. After defeating Salford City in the semi-final, Stockport lost on penalties in the play-off final to Carlisle United . On 5 July 2023, Challinor signed a new three-year deal with Stockport. In August 2023, rumours emerged that Challinor had been interviewed for the vacant manager's job at League One club Charlton Athletic . Having remained at Stockport, he received
4452-412: The final. On 20 June 2021, Hartlepool faced Torquay United in the 2021 National League play-off final at Ashton Gate Stadium . After Luke Armstrong gave Hartlepool the lead in the first half, Torquay goalkeeper Lucas Covolan scored a last minute equaliser to take the match to extra-time. Despite both sides missing their first two penalties, Hartlepool eventually won the shootout 5–4, returning to
4536-427: The first time in the club's history. On 12 October 2019 after spending eight years as manager, Fylde announced that it was parting company with him as the manager, with the side in the relegation places on goal difference. On 11 November 2019, Challinor was appointed manager of National League side Hartlepool United with the club in 13th place. In his first full season in charge, Challinor guided Hartlepool to
4620-431: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
4704-411: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
4788-413: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
4872-400: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
4956-527: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
5040-431: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
5124-449: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
SECTION 60
#17328699942895208-468: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
5292-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
5376-402: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
5460-412: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
5544-519: The play-offs in his first season where they lost out to Newcastle Blue Star on penalties. The following season the team, again captained by Challinor reached the play-offs and this time were promoted thanks to a 1–0 victory at Lancaster City in the final. Challinor was appointed as player-manager at Northern Premier League Premier Division club Colwyn Bay on 28 May 2010. He was assisted by former teammate Colin Woodthorpe . During their first season in management, they led Colwyn Bay to runners-up in
5628-436: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
5712-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
5796-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
5880-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
5964-435: The proposed redevelopment was approved by the local council, with work starting later that year. The new £6.5 million stadium opened in 2011, featuring a 'Grade A' rugby and football pitch which is to international standard, as well as a 'Grade A' Athletics Track. The stadium now has the potential to host events for up to 15,000 spectators. However its common use for football and rugby, means it normally holds up to 6,080 though
6048-409: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
6132-627: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
6216-572: The stadium was known as Stadiwm Zip World. Since 2012, it has hosted Wales home matches in the Six Nations Under 20s Championship . Since 2012, the stadium sees over 15,000 people at the park for the annual Access All Eirias Music Festival. This includes singers like Olly Murs , Pixie Lott , Cover Drive , Little Mix and Welsh performers Tom Jones and Rhydian Roberts . Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] )
6300-535: The tackle "horrendous". Challinor joined Bury on loan for three months in January 2004., the move was made permanent during the summer. After spending four seasons at Bury as captain, he was forced to retire from professional football in May 2008 due to a knee injury. In October 2008, Challinor joined Colwyn Bay in the Northern Premier League Division One North, he captained the side to
6384-518: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
6468-548: The years, including Wales Under-15 Schoolboys featuring future senior team captain Kevin Ratcliffe beating France 2-0 in front of over 7,000 fans in June 1976 and three years later an Under-15 side featuring Mark Hughes and Mark Bowen lost to West Germany. Wales Under-16s' friendly match against Poland in 2012 featured future Welsh senior internationals Harry Wilson , Daniel James and Joe Morrell A game between North Wales and
6552-499: Was a temporary home for a season and a half during the early 1980s prior to the club's move to their present Llanelian Road home ground. The Seagulls faced Liverpool's reserve side, which included future England international Jamie Carragher , in a pre-season friendly at the Stadium in August 1995 in a game which finished 1-1. The Stadium has hosted Wales youth football internationals over
6636-442: Was appointed manager of National League side Stockport County with the club in 9th position, ten points from 1st place. Challinor was awarded the National League's Manager of the Month award for January 2022 after six wins from six in all competitions that saw Stockport finish the month top of the league. He would lose only one of his first 23 matches with Stockport. On 15 May 2022, Stockport beat FC Halifax Town 2–0 to clinch
6720-608: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
6804-625: Was named manager of the month for March, April and May 2011. On 2 November 2011 it was announced that Challinor had been appointed the new manager of AFC Fylde , in the Northern Premier League Division One North. He guided Fylde to the NPL First Division North championship in the season of his arrival and as a consequence was named Evo-Stik NPL Manager of the Year 2011–12. In 2012–13, Fylde once again qualified for
6888-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
6972-505: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
7056-526: Was read out and following the official opening, athletes including John Disley took part in the North Wales district championships. Prior to 2011, it had been used for various community sporting and non sporting events and representative matches. In 1987 improvements saw a new synthetic running track, floodlights, terracing and a new all seated grandstand built. Colwyn Bay F.C. had played on three different grounds at Eirias Park during their history. The Arena
#288711