Mark Drakeford MS, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language
I am pleased to announce that the report on Place name changes in Wales: research on current trends has been published today.
Wales is a nation of rich linguistic landscapes, ranging from names for settlements and geographical features to the names of homes, fields and other sites of local importance. Some of our names are centuries old, preserving evidence of earlier structures of governance or land use, of linguistic change or population growth or of the impact of industry or recreational activity. In many ways they help tell us who we are and who we’ve been.
Place names are, of course, especially important to the visual and aural feel of our country. Whilst they’ve always changed, there have been growing concerns over recent years that some of the Welsh names that give our communities and countryside their unique character are being lost, often replaced with English names with no connection to the locality or its history and culture. These concerns prompted the Welsh Government to include a commitment to ‘act to protect Welsh language place names’ in its Programme for Government for the current Senedd term (augmented by a second commitment on place names in the Cooperation Agreement).
In the past, much of the evidence cited for the displacement of Welsh language place names has been anecdotal and difficult to evaluate. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the study of place names is a wide and complex field. When it comes to safeguarding and promotion, different types of names, such as those for homes, businesses, streets and developments, and those for features in the natural landscape, each bring their own challenges, requiring different safeguarding approaches and methods. There is no one size fits all solution.
This research was therefore commissioned to identify where, how and why changes to place names in Wales are taking place, how many names are changing or have recently changed, and the nature of these changes. The purpose was to gather evidence to inform policy options to better safeguard and promote Welsh language place names.
As it contains such a wealth of data about changes to property names (such as homes and businesses), this pioneering and wide-ranging research transforms our understanding of our linguistic landscape. This means that for the first time we have an authoritative evidence-base on which to build interventions to safeguard Welsh language place names.
The research published today concentrates primarily on property names (including houses, farms and other buildings), business names, and the names of streets and developments.
In terms of names in the natural environment, the research explicitly noted the need for further investigation of changes to topographical names, a topic of concern to many in Wales. The Welsh Government acknowledges the significance of topographical names in shaping the character of the Welsh landscape. This broad and challenging topic will require careful investigation, since both the relevant evidence and the available policy levers are more elusive.
The research provides an authoritative picture of trends in Wales, meaning we now have a firm evidence base to guide further steps, which we’ll announce in due course. In the meantime, as we digest and analyse the findings, I encourage everyone to read the report, especially those with a particular interest in place names. I am grateful to all those who contributed to this report, and every member of our communities who play a part in safeguarding our unique Welsh and historic names. I am eager for us all to continue to work together on what is an area of national significance.