Interesting Facts

Online review site Trip Advisor has banned all reviews written in Welsh. (Trip Advisor is arguably the world's largest travel website, and supports languages from all around the world, but they have banned all submissions in Welsh.  Allegedly, the ancient Celtic language, one of the oldest European languages with over half a million speakers in the UK, breaches their sites strict language guidelines.  Trip Advisor said that they were unable to integrate Welsh into their moderation and review policies. In other words no one speaks Welsh there. Surely some enterprising Welsh speaker could set up their own review site.)

3rd September Welsh Rarebit Day - Welsh Rarebit is a kind of cheese on toast.

According to research conducted by eHarmony.co.uk, Queen's English is Britain's favourite accent. (Yes, good old RP (received pronunciation) came top in nine out of ten positive character traits including: attractiveness, intelligence, honesty, charm, sophistication and reliability. 1. Received pronunciation (RP) 2. Edinburgh 3. Australian 4. Irish (Republic of Ireland) 5. Yorkshire 6. American 7. Geordie 8. Mancunian 9. Glaswegian 10. Welsh RO is still perceived as a little posh. That's me! LOL)

You've heard of the Welsh, the Irish and the Scots, well say hello to the Cornish. (Not the pasty, the people. Cornwall has won recognition as a national minority. Flag - St Piran Language - Cornish Nationality - Cornish In the census of 2011, 84,000 people declaree themselves “Cornish”, but only 557 people claim that the Celtic dialect is their main language, although there are now dual-language street signs throughout the county. I don't think you can call yourself Cornish, if you can't speak Cornish. There should be a test.) Oh look!  There is! Can you tell the difference between Dothraki and Cornish? http://www.buzzfeed.com/robinedds/dothraki-or-cornish-can-you-tell-the-difference

Loan words are words adopted from another language with little or no modification.    According to research by Philip Durkin, a senior editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, the most influential language on English is Latin. (According to Mr Durkin English contains around 13,000 words with Latin roots. The next most influential language is French with 6,000 words. (Borrowed - not stolen +Xeb eke  .) In fact, according to Mr Durkin's research, Hawaiian, Turkish, Zulu and Swahili have had more of an impact than Welsh and Cornish. Welsh ranked 30th. Cornish came in at 45th place. Even the word pasty came from France and not Cornwall.) Source: Borrowed Words by Philip Durkin

The Queen's favourite breed of dog, the Pembroke Welsh corgi, is becoming endangered in the UK. (The corgi, often seen in photos of the British monarch, has seen its popularity wane in recent years with dog lovers instead favouring the smaller, more fashionable easy-to-carry breeds like chihuahuas. It has been placed on the Kennel Club's 'At Watch' list, and will be considered officially endangered if the number of puppy registrations in a year drops below 300 - there were 301 registered. Save the corgi!) Update - The Welsh corgi (as it is known in the US) is actually the 24th most popular dog breed in America, according to the American Kennel Club.

According to a survey by RoxyPalace.com, British women find an Irish accent is the sexiest accent in the UK. (The success of the Irish accent (which also beat the French accent in a worldwide poll in 2009) is thought to be down to celebrity status of singer Danny O' Donoghue and One Direction's Niall Horan. And it probably doesn't hurt that Colin Farrell and James Nesbitt are Irish too, and Essex probably ended up at the bottom because of TOWIE.  (If you're not sure what TOWIE is, consider yourself lucky). The results of the British poll were:- 1. Irish - 28 per cent 2. West Country - 19 per cent 3. Geordie - 17 per cent 4. Mancunian - 11 per cent 5. Glaswegian - 8 per cent 6. Scouse - 6 per cent 7. Yorkshire - 5 per cent 8. Welsh - 3 per cent 9. Brummie - 2 per cent 10. Essex - 1 per cent ) !Note:- Irish = Ireland Geordie = Newcastle Mancunian = Manchester Glaswegian = Glasgow Scouse = Liverpool Welsh = Wales Brummie = Birmingham

According to the Foundation for Endangered Languages half a million people in the United Kingdom speak Welsh. (There are a number of other languages, apart from English, in the UK. A few thousand Scots are fluent in Gaelic, about 400 people speak Cornish, while the number of Manx speakers - the language of the Isle of Man - is perhaps as small as 100.)

For 47 years Tom Jones has been banned from the tiny Welsh village of Fochriw (careful how you say that). (His crime? Allegedly stealing a chicken. Len Davies, 80, who was there at the time said, "There was a fight and then the chicken had gone. Tom got the blame – but nobody really knows." The ban has now been lifted, but it's a great mystery. Who stole the chicken?) Full story here: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/posts/view/130945/Welsh-village-ban-lifted-for-Tom-Jones-/

According to software specialists Corizon, the Welsh are the worst swearers in the UK (when phoning call centres). (About 15 per cent admitted turning the air blue when arguing with call centre staff. Londoners were second in the foul-mouthed league, with 12 per cent confessing to losing it with "inappropriate language". The Welsh are also the most likely to hang up in a huff, whilst those in the Midlands and South are the least patient, with 61 per cent ringing off without managing to speak to anyone. And unsurprisingly men are twice as likely to swear as women.)

According to the AFP (Agence France-Presse) Welsh is spoken by 600,000 people. (Not 600,001 or 599,999 - 600,000. They counted.) Source Here