Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ

Respondents to the National Survey for Wales were asked to identify all members in their household who could speak Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ. A self-completion Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ language use questionnaire was subsequently left for each Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speaker between April 2013 and March 2015 to complete and return by post.

This survey enables comparisons to be made with the previous Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Language Use Surveys of 2004-06.

'Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ language use in Wales, 2013-15' includes the full survey results for 2013-15 and updates the interim report 'National Survey for Wales, 2013-14: Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Language Use Survey' published on 29 January 2015.

Main points

• Both the number and percentage of fluent Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers are fairly similar to those in the Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ Language Use Surveys of 2004-06 although 130,700 more people now say that they speak Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ but not fluently.
• Almost half of all Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers consider themselves fluent Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers and 21% are able to speak a fair amount of Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ. In 2004-06, 58% of Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers stated that they were fluent, and 21% stated that they spoke a fair amount of Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ.
• The highest concentrations of fluent Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers are found in local authority areas in west Wales. However, some of the largest decreases in the number of fluent Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers since 2004-06 have been in these areas. In contrast, the largest increases in the number of fluent Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers during this period were seen in Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf.
• Just over a half of Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers speak Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ daily; almost one in five speak Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ every week.
• Young Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers are more likely to have learnt to speak Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ at school than anywhere else. Older Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers are more likely to have learnt Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ at home as a young child than anywhere else.
• Young people are more likely than older people to have received their education only or mainly through the medium of Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ.
• Young people are more likely to speak Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ at school than with their friends or at home.
• Just over half of Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ speakers try to use Îʶ¦ÓéÀÖ, at least occasionally, when dealing with public organisations.