Cosy similarities among the Welsh and Lankans

Although geographically we are continents apart, it is amazing how we share so much in common culturally! Obviously, it takes one a long, long time to carefully assimilate the different facets. The arduous task was made somewhat easier for me, through my close affinities with the Welsh. For starters, my life in the UK started in Wales way back in 1975 where I met my Welsh wife to be, whose mother tongue is Welsh; been married for over forty years, her close families all speak Welsh, not least our close circle of friends. It is interesting to point out Welsh speaking Welsh are in the minority, as the statistics show below!

This is so notwithstanding political ideologies of the Welsh Nationalist Party called Plaid Cymru, who want to go further even breaking away from the Union ! Wales’ economy is under performing as it is, therefore the majority are not in favour of such a disastrous move ! Within the Union, only Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) strongly favour an Independent Scotland, despite losing out in the once in a generation IndyRef in September 2014. Her defiance to go ahead with another in May 2023, even being prepared to go through the Supreme Court has made some describing her as a “one trick pony” !

Welsh and Sinhalese are both difficult languages to learn unless one grew up in the respective countries. Making it difficult is the fact that they both have long names, enough to make one spit and splutter trying to pronounce! Are we the “spitting image” of each other! Wales has the longest place name which has gone into the Guinness book of Records!

Some Welsh who have settled down in England are eager to distance themselves from their Welsh origin, not dissimilar to Sri Lankans who try to make out they have already forgotten their mother tongue, just a few years after relocating themselves in the U.K. Both nationals are generally very friendly, helpful, and entertaining, unlike the English who keep very much to themselves! They do not bat an eyelid to jabber away in their mother tongue in the presence of someone who doesn’t speak the language! It took us some six months or so before we were able to say “hello” to our next door neighbours in our first house in Croydon, South East. Equally, Welsh and Sinhalese are nosey and want to know each other’s business, give each other nicknames, often illustrative of their particular idiosyncrasies, jobs they do, etc. Rub them the wrong way, they both can be nasty too !

SUNIL DHARMABANDHU Wales
Email: sunilrajdharm@yahoo.co.uk