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Glite Dictionary
Welsh language

Welsh language

6.3
A Celtic language spoken in Wales
  • noun
translation icon : idioma galés
  • A growing number of people are learning the Welsh language to connect with their roots.

Examples

  • One and a half millennia of Christianity has affected the Welsh language.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Nowadays, the Welsh language has a significant degree of legal (and financial) protection.

    Blog text (5)

  • I like the I like the Welsh language as Welsh if the Lord is willing and the Crick don't rise.

  • Less than a mile from the Dee's Llyn Tegid outflow lived Llywarch Hen, regarded as one of the earliest and greatest poets composing in the Welsh language.

    Academic text (1999)

  • The Welsh language is taught in many schools across Wales to preserve its rich heritage.

  • The Welsh language is recognized as an official language in Wales, alongside English.

Synonyms

Welsh
vsWelsh language
3 6.5

The language spoken in Wales

adds that it belongs to the Brythonic branch
Cymric
vsWelsh language
  • Archaic
9.9

A language people speak in Wales, usually called Welsh

focuses on its linguistic classification rather than the short label
Cymric language
vsWelsh language
  • Archaic
9.4

A language spoken mainly in Wales called Welsh

is the standard term highlighting its Brythonic branch classification

Surface Forms

Welsh language singular

Morphology

Welsh + language

The meaning 'the Celtic language spoken in Wales' is directly and compositionally derived from 'Welsh' (denoting the national/ethnic label) plus 'language' (a named system of speech). The productive pattern 'X language' is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English noun-noun composition, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

The term Welsh language simply means the language spoken by the people of Wales. The word Welsh comes from a very old English word that meant 'foreigner' and was used for the Celtic people here. That's why Welsh language today names the Celtic language still used in Wales.