this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2026
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I find it uncomfortable and wrong to say that Ynys Mon is "also known as" Anglesey. It's not an Alias; it's the name of the island in English, which is also the main language of the article. I wouldn't expect an article written in Welsh to use the name Chester sand explain that it's also known as Caer, it would just say "Caer".
Strange times.
I'd love to live in a castle but I'm not sure I'd love to maintain one
That's pretty colonial.
Place names are a lot more than just translations.
Is it colonial to call Germany Germany?
No, because Germany doesn't have a problem of facing erasure. Or being colonized. The difference is specifically colonialism and erasing local culture.
Rather compare it to the word Eskimo and how these last few years it has been considered disputed and is getting phased out in favor of the local languages.
Also the part where the country has a right to be recognized under the name they want, see: Turkiye. "Why don't you accept Shitland, that's just the name we give you in our language" is not a good argument.
Yeah I'm still going to call Turkey Turkey. And I'm not going to demand the Turks stop calling the UK Birleşik Krallık either - that's insane. To me, that is exactly a colonial attitude: "you must call us what we want to be called, because your language isn't important to us." It's as coherent as demanding any other word in a foreign language be changed; you don't have the right to it just because it's about you. From your Turkey example it sounds like you think we ought to call Deutschland Deutschland if ever a German asks us to.
Wales is not being colonised, and Welsh is not being erased, but if it were, I would say that the remedy is to decolonise, grant Welsh official status, support it in the curriculum, and in general the exact kind of measures that are being taken. Not try to make a little linguistic exclave in the English language.
There will also be a lot of Welsh speakers who would be uncomfortable with the English name being used considering the history of the Welsh language. Ynys Môn is also the official name of the parliamentary constituency so it is pretty commonly used in an English context.
Another argument is that there is conscious effort to increase usage of the Welsh language and place names are a good place to start understanding the alphabet and pronunciation.
When it comes to matters of the Welsh language, I'll defer to what Welsh speakers are comfortable or uncomfortable with. But I don't think they have a say when it comes to English, except that many Welsh speakers are also English speakers.
Similarly, increasing use of Welsh is a good aim, but you don't do that by sticking Welsh words and names in the middle of English sentences, just as calling Germany "Deutschland" doesn't promote the use of German.
Sorry to be argumentative, but I think this is a bit of an ignorant take. For hundreds of years the English have been "having a say" in the affairs of the Welsh language, both actively and passively. What's to say that the language shouldn't be taken back and encouraged, however small of a step?
I am not all that well versed with the history compared to some (some things in the past were far more brutal), but from my own personal experience the Welsh language has been wiped from my family within two generations. From being a first language to the current generation knowing almost nothing. This is down to Welsh being portrayed as a peasants language and from this my grandmother refused to pass any of it down, or even speak to her neighbours in it despite them talking to her in Cymraeg.
Comparing Welsh to German I feel is also a poor comparison. Welsh is a native language and has been spoken here longer than English has. This very article is in the 'Wales' section too so aimed at Welsh people. Despite the majority of Wales speaking English today, most people will still understand some words and appreciate it being used.
To me this feels like "to correct the wrongs if the past we have to commit more wrongs today"which I always disagree with.
Welsh speaking is on the up, which is a good thing, but it's doing so by giving it the status and support any official language would have.