Parking signs in Welsh

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail....--issued-ENGLISH.html

Has this person and his daughter got a point?

If he wins his case it will it create a precedence for all such warning signs and parking tickets to be in a multitude of languages.

[rowanwitch]

I like the point about would they refuse a £20 note as it is written in English

[redman41]

He is just using this as an excuse in trying to avoid paying the Fine.

[ummmm]

Maybe just in the language of the country they issued.

Anyway....do they have a point? No, just trying to get out of a parking ticket!

[anotheoldgit]

Wales is not a country ummmm, it's a Principality.

[Gromit]

// A new law unanimously passed by the Welsh Assembly makes Welsh an official language in Wales, and obliges public bodies and some private companies to provide services in it. //

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-11934239

This private company should issue tickets in Welsh in predominantly Welsh speaking areas. There is no need to issue in a multitude of languages.

[Gromit]

In the area in question, over 62% of the population is Welsh speaking. It is the main language and English is the secondary language.

http://en.wikipedia.o...f_Ardaloedd_Cymru.png

[ludwig]

Of course he's just trying to get out of paying the fine on a technicality, but It's a perfectly valid technicality.

Why should he pay a ticket that's not an official one, after being warned not to park by a sign that's not an official one?
Issuing parking tickets is money for old rope. The company policing the car park should get it right. They didn't.

[hc4361]

She is local, she knows the car park is for the use of the village hall only.

So why did she park there?

I'm sure she'll cope with English well enough when she travels to Alder Hay.

[hc4361]

There were signs up in Welsh but they were vandalised.

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

Since the official language for the majority of people in England is English, would it then be acceptable to scrap all those signs and documents that we now have displayed all around in a multitude of foreign languages?

[TWR]

I would ask this person to check his Tax Disk, is that in Welsh? his insurance? policy? He is trying it on. Dyn o Cymry. TWR.

[ABerrant]

Roadsigns in Wales are bilingual. All official correspondence in Wales is bilingual. It is not unreasonable for non-public bodies in Wales to communicate in Welsh where requested.

Welsh is an official language within Wales. The Welsh Language Act 1993 places a legal obligation upon all public bodies in Wales to communicate using the Welsh language in addition to English.

Principalities are not precluded from being classed as a country (cf. Liechtenstein, Monaco, etc.) however Wales is not a Principality - it officially ceased to be such during the 16th Century when the Princes of Wales lost any constitutional role and the title becoming honorary. Unfortunately, even though the British Government is well aware of the status of Wales and uses the term "country" when making reference to Wales, until a few months ago nobody thought to communicate with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to update their erroneous entry for the constituent parts of the United Kingdom in their standardized list of country codes.

ISO 3166-2 now categorically lists Wales as a country.

[Baldric]

It must be a very slow 'news day' if in fact you can call it news at all.
It's about 2 parking tickets somewhere in Wales and 2 people using any excuse they can think of to get out of paying them.
They're local, they knew the score, they got caught, get over it!!

[Gromit]

// Since the official language for the majority of people in England is English, would it then be acceptable to scrap all those signs and documents that we now have displayed all around in a multitude of foreign languages? //

I suspected this is where the question was leading to when you first posted it. Whilst I agree with you that multilanguage communication is often over done, and does not encourage citizens to learn English, a certain amount of it is necessary if you want non English speakers to give you information or follow an instruction.

[eyethenkyew]

No, they're trying it on. They just don't want to pay and are simply trying to get out of it by being pedantic.

They obviously speak English as well as they can Welsh and are being pathetic. Besides, roughly one fifth of the population speaks Welsh as well as English. It doesn't mean to say they didn't commit the offence(s) just because the ticket wasn't written in Welsh.

They should have their fine(s) tripled for wasting so much time - idiots.

[eyethenkyew]

And the only reason they have signs in Welsh is to try and impress gullible American tourists, the same as Scotland and Ireland have some in Gaelic. It's all a ploy for the tourist trap.

[Gromit]

These people are obviously guilty and fully understand the ticket, but that is not the issue. They have not refused to pay, they just want the ticket issued in the language that the majority of locals speak. It is a stance, not a serious excuse.


eyethankyou

Assume a Cardiff company took over parking management in your town and you were unfortunate to get a ticket. Would you be happy to pay if the ticket was written not in English?

[sinderella]

i presume when they go to the hospital to get treatment they will refuse all medicines not printed in welsh , by doctors who dont speak welsh and leave his girlfriend who is not a welsh sheep!

[hc4361]

That's out of order, Sinderella.

All the hospitals in Wales have signs and information in Welsh, as do the local council bodies and job centres etc as they are legally obliged to do.