Picture of a judge's wigThe Judge RANTS!Picture of a judge's wig



Dyddiad: 26/07/13

Cmap Y Brifygsol

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Mae bod yn aelod o ddiwylliant lleiafrifol - ac un sydd yn lleiafrif yn ei wlad ei hun - yn medru bod yn agoriad llygad i wir natur pethau lle mae ymddygiad y sawl sydd â grym drostom ni yn y cwestiwn. Y mae'r hyn o'u hagweddau sydd yn dangos eu gwir teimladau tuag atom ni'r gwreng yn cael eu hamlygu yn gliriach o lawer wrth iddynt ymdrin â'r lleiafrif hwnnw nag sydd yn eglur wrth ddelio â thrwch y boblogaeth.

Felly, mae esgeulustra - neu draha - Yr Awdurdodau ym mater arwyddion Cymraeg yn aml yn symbol o'u dirmyg tuag at nid yn unig yr iaith ei hun, ond y sawl sy'n ei siarad hi.

Fydd hyn i gyd ddim yn newydd i unrhyw un sy'n medru'r Gymraeg, wrth gwrs. Dwi'n siwr ein bod ni i gyd wedi casglu enghreifftiau lu o'n profiadau pob dydd.

Lle mae cwmnïau yn y cwestiwn, gellid bod yn garedig a dweud bod eu hamcanion yn ddigon clodwiw os nad ydy'r gweithredu yn taro naw pob tro; mae'n Sainsbury's lleol ni yn ein cyfeirio ni at y stondin 'Logyrtiau', er enghraifft. Ond tref ar y ffin yw hon, ac yn ôl pob tebyg doedd dim un o'u staff un ddigon rhugl neu hyderus ei Gymraeg i weld y gwall.

Does gan gyrff cyhoeddus, ar y llaw arall, yr un esgus; mae'n nhw i fod i gael polisi pendant ynglŷn â'r iaith, a gweithredu'r polisi hwnnw i'r eithaf. Ac mae rhai ohonyn nhw yn gwneud hynny, chwarae teg. Ond am bob un corff cyhoeddus sy'n glynu'n ffyddlon at yr amcan a'r gweithredu fel eu gilydd, mae 'na hanner dwsin arall lle mae esgeulustra, diarwybodaeth neu hyd yn oed dimynrhoiffyciaeth yn esboniad llawer mwy credadwy.

Felly, er bod ganddi rai miloedd o Gymry Cymraeg yn byw a bod o fewn pum milltir, llwyddodd ysgol yn ardal Wrecsam ychydig blynyddoedd yn ôl godi erthyl o arwydd fel hwn. Yn Abertawe, cafwyd yr embaras hwn. Ac yn ein hannwyl Brifddinas, cafwyd un sy'n beryg' bywyd.

(Gallaf gymeradwyo y lluniau o 'Sgymraeg' a gesglir yma gan Nic Dafis, gyda llaw; ond, peidiwch â rhoi'r bai arna' i os ydach chi'n treulio mis yn yr ysbyty wedi cael hartan wrth eu gweld).

Ond, sôn am gynghorau a chreaduriaid felly ydan ni yn yr enghreifftiau uchod.

Pa gythraul o esgus sydd gan Brifysgol? Yn enwedig un y bu ei Hadran Gymraeg yn fyd-enwog am ei dysg? Wedi'r cwbl, gall yr hen Brifysgol Ger Y Lli ddim hawlio nad oedd ganddi bobl wrth law i wneud y gwaith yn iawn, gall?

Ond mae 'na rai ohonon ni sy'n gwybod gormod. Rydan ni a fu'n fyfyrwyr (neu ai 'myfywyr' ddylai hynny fod bellach?) yn yr hen CPC 'slawer dydd yn cofio'n iawn yr un hen agwedd ffwrdd-â-hi oedd gan awdurdodau'r Coleg yr adeg honno, efo rhyw giamster ar y pryd yn awgrymu mai adran arbennig (a dirgel) o weinyddiaeth y Coleg o'r enw Y Cymdeithas Chamthreiglo fu'n gyfrifol am yr holl wallau a gaed ar arwyddion Cymraeg y lle; pan oedd yna Gymraeg o gwbl ar yr arwydd, wrth gwrs. Mwy na thebyg, 'contractwyr' gaiff y bai y tro 'ma (ond nid, am ryw reswm, y ffyliaid roddodd y gytundeb iddyn nhw).

Oherwydd, mae'n rhaid cofio nad Prifysgol Cymru fu'r lle erioed; dim ond Prifysgol yng Nghymru, lle bu'r Cymry Cymraeg yn lleiafrif parhaol, hwy a'i hawliau yn cael eu boddi dan lif o fyfyrwyr nad ydynt wedi llwyddo i gael lle yn eu Prifysgol o ddewis yn Lloegr.

Rydan ni'n haeddu gwell na hyn, ym mhob achos ond yn sicr yn achos sefydliad sy'n honni fod yn un o binaclau'r genedl.

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Date: 26/07/13

University Challenged

Being a member of a minority culture - and one which is a minority in its own land - can be an eye-opener into the true nature of things where the behaviour of those who hold power over us is concerned. Those of their attitudes which show their true feelings towards us serfs are made manifest far more clearly in their dealings with that minority than they are with the population in general.

So it is that the carelessness - or contempt - of The Authorities in the case of Welsh signage is often a symbol of their scorn not only for the language, but for the people who speak it.

This will be old news to Welsh speakers, of course. I'm sure that we've all collected numerous examples in our day-to-day experience.

Where companies are concerned, one could be kind and say that their intentions are praiseworthy enough, even if the execution of them doesn't always hit the spot; our local Sainsbury's directs us to the shelves of 'Loghurts', for example. But this is a border town, and they probably didn't have a member of staff who was sufficiently fluent or confident in Welsh to spot the mistake.

Public bodies, on the other hand, have no such excuse; they are supposed to have a definite policy towards the language and fully to enact it. And, to be fair, some of them do. But for every public body which keeps faithfully to both the letter and the spirit, there are another half a dozen where carelessness, lack of awareness, or sheer couldntgiveafuckness is a far more credible explanation.

And so, despite having a few thousand Welsh speakers living within five miles of them, a school in the Wrexham area managed to put up this abortion of a sign.

(If any attempt to translate it back into English could be made, it would come out as, "Bupil and Stave Throw into a trance. Hvisitors Pleasing Usual Sontley Current Throw into a trance")

In Swansea, we had this embarrassment, where the Welsh is actually the translator's out-of-office auto reply.

And in Our Nation's Capital, we saw one which was actually a danger to life and limb.

(I can recommend Nic Dafis' photo collection of signs in 'Sgymraeg', by the way, but don't blame me if you end up in hospital with a coronary after seeing them).

But in the above examples we've been talking about councils and suchlike creatures.

What damn excuse does a University have? Especially one whose Department of Welsh has been world famous for its scholarship? After all, they wouldn't be able to claim that they didn't have anyone to hand who could do the job properly, would they?

But some of us know too much. Those of us who were students (or should that be 'studets' now?) in the old UCW in days gone by remember well the old sloppy attitudes held by the College authorities at that time, with one contemporary gamester suggesting that there was a special (and secret) department of the College administration by the name of The Mismutation Society, which was responsible for all the mistakes seen on the place's Welsh signage; when there was any Welsh at all on them, of course. More than likely 'contractors' will get the blame this time (but not, for some reason, the idiots who gave them the contract).

Because it must be remembered that it has never been the University of Wales; merely the University in Wales, where the Welsh speakers have been in a perpetual minority, they and their rights drowned under a flood of students who didn't succeed in getting into their University of choice in England.

We deserve better than this, in all cases but certainly in the case of an institution which proclaims itself one of the pinnacles of the nation.