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The Allusionist

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A PODCAST ABOUT LANGUAGE
BY HELEN ZALTZMAN

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The Allusionist

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Allusionist 77. Survival: Second Home

April 20, 2018 The Allusionist
A77 Second Home logo.jpg

There are two main places in the world where the Welsh language is spoken: Wales, and the Chubut Province in Patagonia. How did this ancient language take root in rural Argentina, 12,000km away from its home base?

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There are two main places in the world where the Welsh language is spoken: Wales, and the Chubut Province in Patagonia. How did this ancient language take root in rural Argentina, 12,000km away from its home base?

At the bottom of this post you can see a load of photos from Welsh Patagonia.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS:

  • As a primer on how Welsh was revived in Wales in the 20th century, listen to this episode of Witness from the BBC World Service.

  • For more on Welsh Patagonia, watch this BBC documentary with Huw Edwards, or Gruff Rhys's charming film Separado.

  • On 28 June 1865...

  • Learn Welsh!

  • Recipes for bara brith and Welsh cakes (wash them down with a cup of Welsh Brew tea).

  • About the Mimosa, the ship that carried the first load of Welsh settlers to Patagonia.

  • About some of those Welsh settlers.

  • Visit the Gaiman museum, tended by Fabio Gonzalez, to see artefacts from the Welsh settlers; in Puerto Madryn, the Museo del Desembarco is close to where the Mimosa first landed.

  • Luned Gonzalez pops up in this travel piece about the region.

  • Welsh societies around the world.

  • "People only give up their native language when it’s in their best interest - their economic or health interest... So you may maintain it yourself among your friends, but you don’t pass it down to your children. It can happen in a generation, two generations." The Vestiges episode of this show looks at the death of languages.

  • Why is champagne smashed on ships' bows?

  • The transcript of this episode is at theallusionist.org/transcripts/survival1.

By the way! Entries are open for this year's Lollapuzzoola crossword puzzle tournament. So if you enjoyed the episode from last year's event, sign up to compete in New York or from your own home.

YOUR RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
dromos

CREDITS:

  • Clare Vaughan is the teaching coordinator for the Welsh Language Project in Chubut, which Luned Gonzalez has also been part of since its launch in 1997. Her son Fabio Gonzalez manages the Museo Historico Regional de Gaiman.

  • Benjamin Partridge was a great help in the making of this episode. Listen to his very funny podcast Beef and Dairy Network, and his new series Ray Moss: No Stone Unturned on the BBC's Kench podcast feed.

  • Thanks also to Lyndsey Halliday, Sion James and Walter Brooks from the British Council in Cardiff for their help; and to the excellent singers at the wonderful noson lawen we attended in Gaiman.

  • The episode was produced by me and Martin Austwick, who also makes the music for the show. Hear more of his work - with lyrics! - at palebirdmusic.com.

  • Find me on the socials: facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/helenzaltzman and instagram.com/helenzaltzman.

- HZ

Photos from my Welsh Patagonia trip: 

WP PM museum establishment.jpg
 Flags to mark where the settlers landed at what is now Puerto Madryn; they lived in those caves for a bit.

Flags to mark where the settlers landed at what is now Puerto Madryn; they lived in those caves for a bit.

 The unofficial flag of Welsh Patagonia, combining the Welsh dragon and the blue stripes from the Argentinian flag.

The unofficial flag of Welsh Patagonia, combining the Welsh dragon and the blue stripes from the Argentinian flag.

WP PM museum flag info.jpg
 Model of the Mimosa, the converted tea clipper that carried the first settlers from Wales to Patagonia.

Model of the Mimosa, the converted tea clipper that carried the first settlers from Wales to Patagonia.

 I’m not convinced by these ‘typical Welsh clothes’ TBH

I’m not convinced by these ‘typical Welsh clothes’ TBH

 A Welsh dragon in a non-Welsh landscape

A Welsh dragon in a non-Welsh landscape

 Welcome to Gaiman

Welcome to Gaiman

 Michael D. Jones street in Gaiman

Michael D. Jones street in Gaiman

 In the Gaiman museum: a Spanish textbook in Welsh

In the Gaiman museum: a Spanish textbook in Welsh

 How the land of the Lower Chubut Valley was divided up - check out the Spanish/Welsh names

How the land of the Lower Chubut Valley was divided up - check out the Spanish/Welsh names

 Welsh settler pottery

Welsh settler pottery

 Welsh dragon, Patagonian whale

Welsh dragon, Patagonian whale

 Hugh Hughes’s pamphlet persuading the Welsh to emigrate to Patagonia

Hugh Hughes’s pamphlet persuading the Welsh to emigrate to Patagonia

 One for all you pareidoliacs

One for all you pareidoliacs

 Stop! Guanaco crossing

Stop! Guanaco crossing

 Tea time!

Tea time!

 This tea is not messing around.

This tea is not messing around.

WP Gaiman tea menu.jpg
 I also have that Castles of North Wales tea towel in the top left corner, but unlike mine, theirs is not stained pink by a laundry accident.

I also have that Castles of North Wales tea towel in the top left corner, but unlike mine, theirs is not stained pink by a laundry accident.

 At the concert in Gaiman: local kids do a complicated dance, with the added complication of bonnets.

At the concert in Gaiman: local kids do a complicated dance, with the added complication of bonnets.

 classic Three Little Pigs puppet show

classic Three Little Pigs puppet show

 “Oldest language in Europe”, it’s tea towel-offical.

“Oldest language in Europe”, it’s tea towel-offical.

 Tehuelche people with their new Welsh pal

Tehuelche people with their new Welsh pal

 This was the size of my hand. I walked around it carefully.

This was the size of my hand. I walked around it carefully.

WP PM museum establishment.jpg  Flags to mark where the settlers landed at what is now Puerto Madryn; they lived in those caves for a bit.  The unofficial flag of Welsh Patagonia, combining the Welsh dragon and the blue stripes from the Argentinian flag. WP PM museum flag info.jpg  Model of the Mimosa, the converted tea clipper that carried the first settlers from Wales to Patagonia.  I’m not convinced by these ‘typical Welsh clothes’ TBH  A Welsh dragon in a non-Welsh landscape  Welcome to Gaiman    Michael D. Jones street in Gaiman  In the Gaiman museum: a Spanish textbook in Welsh    How the land of the Lower Chubut Valley was divided up - check out the Spanish/Welsh names  Welsh settler pottery  Welsh dragon, Patagonian whale  Hugh Hughes’s pamphlet persuading the Welsh to emigrate to Patagonia  One for all you pareidoliacs  Stop! Guanaco crossing  Tea time!  This tea is not messing around. WP Gaiman tea menu.jpg  I also have that Castles of North Wales tea towel in the top left corner, but unlike mine, theirs is not stained pink by a laundry accident.  At the concert in Gaiman: local kids do a complicated dance, with the added complication of bonnets.  classic Three Little Pigs puppet show  “Oldest language in Europe”, it’s tea towel-offical.  Tehuelche people with their new Welsh pal  This was the size of my hand. I walked around it carefully.
In episodes, Survival Tags minority languages, Wales, Welsh, migration, immigration, emigration, Argentina, Tehuelche, Spanish, Patagonia, Chubut, Lower Chubut Valley, Gaiman, Trelew, Rawson, Trevelin, Esquel, history, government, governance, politics, oppression, education, stigma, national identity, nationalism, road signs, Britain, English: Problematic Fave, survival
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The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.