Paddington station - announcements in Welsh?

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From Wales Online (South Wales Echo 02/03/2010):

A SPECIAL St David^s Day steam train puffed its way through Cardiff Central Station yesterday.

The Cathedrals Express, consisting of 12 coaches, a 60163 Tornado engine and a Welsh dragon decoration, arrived in the sunny Welsh capital at 1.03pm.

The same train gained recent fame on Top Gear last June when the show^s presenter Jeremy Clarkson jumped aboard and raced his colleagues from London to Edinburgh.

Five hundred passengers were aboard yesterday^s train, which travelled at 75mph from London Victoria to South Wales.

While some passengers decided to spend the afternoon in Cardiff, others travelled further to Swansea or tucked into an onboard meal of Welsh lamb and leeks.

Chairman of Steam Dreams Marcus Robertson said: ^We have the Welsh dragon displayed on a special board and there are daffodils decorating every carriage and table ^ Welsh is definitely the flavour today.^

Jo Harry, 41, from Barry, treated her mum Pam Taylor, 67, baby Bleddyn and son Macsen to the train journey to celebrate Macsen^s ninth birthday.

She said: ^We have had a fantastic time ^ this was the last part of his birthday gift. The train staff have really looked after us and he loved it.^

Footage of 60163 Tornado at Caerdydd Canolog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkQ2uCv9S0Q

[caliwag]

So...I take it that's a no then

[Ollie]

So...I take it that's a no then

Suppose you could always request to Network Rail that they do it

[FarWestJohn]

Was I right? I am sure I heard an announcement at Exeter St. Davids in Welsh last Thursday afternoon.

[Jez]

Im fairly sure Worcester and Oxford are rarely used since there are no direct trains from Wales. In the odd occasion when a train has gone to Worcester Shrub Hill im sure they have announced it as that in Welsh.

A few others

Caergybi - Holyhead
Wrecsam Cyffredinol - Wrexham General
Dinbych-y-Pysgod - Tenby
Ebbw Vale Parkway - Parcffordd Glyn Ebwy

[Chris from Nailsea]

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/wales_politics/8548279.stm:

Proposals for new Welsh language law published

A proposed new law on the Welsh language has been published by the assembly government.
The assembly government says it would place duties on some firms to provide Welsh language services.
Firms in areas such as telecoms, gas and electricity would face sanctions, including fines, if they fail to meet language service delivery standards.
It would also establish the post of a language commissioner and would replace the Welsh Language Board.
As well as public sector bodies, the Welsh language measure will bind certain specified organisations in the private sector to provide services in Welsh, including gas, water and electricity suppliers, bus and railway services, sewerage services and telecommunications.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

E-mail error ends up on road sign

When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.
Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated".
So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket.
"When they're proofing signs, they should really use someone who speaks Welsh," said journalist Dylan Iorwerth.
Swansea Council became lost in translation when it was looking to halt heavy goods vehicles using a road near an Asda store in the Morriston area
All official road signs in Wales are bilingual, so the local authority e-mailed its in-house translation service for the Welsh version of: "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only".
The reply duly came back and officials set the wheels in motion to create the large sign in both languages.
The notice went up and all seemed well - until Welsh speakers began pointing out the embarrassing error.
Welsh-language magazine Golwg was promptly sent photographs of the offending sign by a number of its readers.
Managing editor Mr Iorwerth said: "We've been running a series of these pictures over the past months. They're circulating among Welsh speakers because, unfortunately, it's all too common that things are not just badly translated, but are put together by people who have no idea about the language. It's good to see people trying to translate, but they should really ask for expert help. Everything these days seems to be written first in English and then translated. Ideally, they should be written separately in both languages."
A council spokeswoman said: "Our attention was drawn to the mistranslation of a sign at the junction of Clase Road and Pant-y-Blawd Road. We took it down as soon as we were made aware of it and a correct sign will be re-instated as soon as possible."
The blunder is not the only time Welsh has been translated incorrectly or put in the wrong place:
^ Cyclists between Cardiff and Penarth in 2006 were left confused by a bilingual road sign telling them they had problems with an "inflamed bladder".
^ In the same year, a sign for pedestrians in Cardiff reading 'Look Right' in English read 'Look Left' in Welsh.
^ In 2006, a shared-faith school in Wrexham removed a sign which translated the Welsh for staff as "wooden stave".
^ Football fans at a FA Cup tie between Oldham and Chasetown - two English teams - in 2005 were left scratching their heads after a Welsh-language hoarding was put up along the pitch. It should have gone to a match in Merthyr Tydfil.
^ People living near an Aberdeenshire building site in 2006 were mystified when a sign apologising for the inconvenience was written in Welsh as well as English.

[Mookiemoo]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

E-mail error ends up on road sign

When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.
Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated".
So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket.
"When they're proofing signs, they should really use someone who speaks Welsh," said journalist Dylan Iorwerth.
Swansea Council became lost in translation when it was looking to halt heavy goods vehicles using a road near an Asda store in the Morriston area
All official road signs in Wales are bilingual, so the local authority e-mailed its in-house translation service for the Welsh version of: "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only".
The reply duly came back and officials set the wheels in motion to create the large sign in both languages.
The notice went up and all seemed well - until Welsh speakers began pointing out the embarrassing error.
Welsh-language magazine Golwg was promptly sent photographs of the offending sign by a number of its readers.
Managing editor Mr Iorwerth said: "We've been running a series of these pictures over the past months. They're circulating among Welsh speakers because, unfortunately, it's all too common that things are not just badly translated, but are put together by people who have no idea about the language. It's good to see people trying to translate, but they should really ask for expert help. Everything these days seems to be written first in English and then translated. Ideally, they should be written separately in both languages."
A council spokeswoman said: "Our attention was drawn to the mistranslation of a sign at the junction of Clase Road and Pant-y-Blawd Road. We took it down as soon as we were made aware of it and a correct sign will be re-instated as soon as possible."
The blunder is not the only time Welsh has been translated incorrectly or put in the wrong place:
^ Cyclists between Cardiff and Penarth in 2006 were left confused by a bilingual road sign telling them they had problems with an "inflamed bladder".
^ In the same year, a sign for pedestrians in Cardiff reading 'Look Right' in English read 'Look Left' in Welsh.
^ In 2006, a shared-faith school in Wrexham removed a sign which translated the Welsh for staff as "wooden stave".
^ Football fans at a FA Cup tie between Oldham and Chasetown - two English teams - in 2005 were left scratching their heads after a Welsh-language hoarding was put up along the pitch. It should have gone to a match in Merthyr Tydfil.
^ People living near an Aberdeenshire building site in 2006 were mystified when a sign apologising for the inconvenience was written in Welsh as well as English.

This is about 3 years old! please tell me they havent learnt in 3 years

[Chris from Nailsea]

Well, when I was driving into Tetbury a month ago, I was rather surprised to see triangular 'men working' signs, with a white panel showing "400 llath", then "200 llath".  There was no explanation in English, for the majority of drivers in the Cotswolds, who don't use Welsh as even a second language, I suspect?

[inspector_blakey]

From Auntie BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page), a few years back: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/4605768.stm

Pedestrian sign's forked tongue

A traffic firm has apologised for a mistake on a bilingual road sign which gave conflicting advice to pedestrians.

The sign was spotted by a north Wales man during a shopping trip to the centre of Cardiff.

In English the sign read 'Look Right,' but underneath the translation into Welsh read 'Look Left.'

Lux Traffic Controls removed the sign as soon as they realised there was a mistake and also apologised for the "misunderstanding".

Steve Williams, service manager with Lux Traffic Controls, said: "We removed the sign as soon as the mistake was pointed out to us and we will rectify it as soon as possible."

"My son sent me a picture of it because it made no sense at all," said Eirwen Rowlands from Caernarfon.

"I laughed when I saw it because it was so silly," added Mrs Rowlands.

Can't you just imagine the dinner parties round at Chateau Rowlands...?