Diolch yn fawr. Rwy’n falch o dderbyn ymyrraeth cyn i mi agor fy ngheg, ond roeddwn i’n mynd i olrhain cyd-destun hanesyddol yr iaith Gymraeg, tra’n cefnogi’n llwyr fwriad y Llywodraeth fan hyn i gael miliwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn hanner ffordd drwy’r ganrif yma.

Nawr, i fynd yn ôl yn hanes er mwyn gosod y cyd-destun, achos mae rhai yn newydd i hanes Cymru a’r Gymraeg, ysgrifau’r beirdd Aneurin a Taliesin o’r chweched ganrif yw’r Gymraeg hynaf sydd ar gael, gan brofi pa mor fyw oedd yr hen Gymraeg 1,500 o flynyddoedd yn ôl—Cymraeg, iaith wreiddiol ynysoedd Prydain. Yn rhyfeddol, mae yna 562,000 o bobl yng Nghymru heddiw yn dal yn gallu siarad Cymraeg, gyda rhyw 600,000 arall â rhyw afael ar yr iaith. Felly, 19 y cant o’r boblogaeth, felly, yn siarad Cymraeg, sy’n lleiafrif eithaf sylweddol. Ymfalchïwn yn y ffigurau hynny o gofio beth sy’n digwydd i ieithoedd lleiafrifol eraill mewn cenedl fach wyneb yn wyneb â chenedl fawr. Mae’n fwy gwyrthiol byth o gofio ein hanes fel cenedl.

Achos mae hanes fy mhobl wedi ei drybaeddu mewn gwaed. Yn 1136, lladdwyd Gwenllian drwy dorri ei phen ymaith o flaen ei mab, wedi colli’r frwydr yng Nghydweli. Dioddefodd am ei bod yn Gymraes. Yn 1282, bu Llywelyn ein Llyw Olaf dioddef ffawd debyg a channoedd o’i ddilynwyr hefyd yn cael eu lladd. O 1400 ymlaen, bu i frwydr ddewr Owain Glyndŵr am annibyniaeth ein gwlad esgor ar ladd miloedd dros ryddid. Collasant eu gwaed yn wir, fel y dywed ein hanthem. Gwelodd 1536 Deddf Uno Cymru a Lloegr, a’r Gymraeg yn cael ei gwahardd o fywyd cyhoeddus tan 1993. Esgorodd 1588 ar obaith yr iaith gyda chyfieithu’r Beibl i’r Gymraeg.

Yet, 1847 saw the treachery of the Blue Books as it was called, as the authorities insulted and vilified the Welsh language, causing persistent humiliation and shame for generations to come. That’s what we’ve got to still, partially, be answerable to these days. The education Act brought primary school education in the medium of English to all. The Welsh Not was hung around Welsh-speaking children’s necks and, if you still had it around your neck at the end of the day, you were caned. It’s over a century ago that that happened to my grandfather in Llanegryn in sir Feirionydd. It is the depth of hurt that each generation has felt down the centuries that has generated the absolute determination that Welsh will survive and will be passed on to each succeeding generation and that the mountains and Valleys will forever resonate to the lilting tones of Welsh.

Yes, 19 per cent of the population Welsh speaking: remarkable. I applaud rights-based policies as applied to disabilities, gender issues, sexuality, faith and race—all are written into legislation today. Such rights truly are enshrined regardless of any supposed goodwill of the majority of the population towards the minority, regardless of cost, regardless of the numbers using a particular service, and regardless of whether it is the public or private sector that’s involved. The individual’s right is sovereign, but we do not have that for the users of Welsh at the moment. Certain plants have legal protection, whereas Welsh historic place names have no such protection.

The history and historic hurt remain. I know that many other nations have endured horrendous hurt and bloodthirsty histories and we are guilty in our frustrations, as Welsh speakers, of not putting our case over at all well at times. We can all ignore this history on occasion as well, and belittle past events, but we can certainly put up with ridicule, scorn and abuse, because, as a nation, we have survived a concerted attempt over centuries to obliterate our language and culture from the face of the earth. But, ‘Hey’, people say when I go on like this, ‘Lighten up, Dai; forget that history’. But, you know, it’s the history of the victor that still holds sway today. That’s why, during the last century, Penyberth bombing school was built in Welsh-speaking Llŷn—because they could. The Mynydd Epynt clearance of Welsh-speaking farmers by the Ministry of Defence during the last war—because they could. The drowning of Tryweryn—because they could. And, yes, elements in the Llangennech debate—because they could. The latest attempt to rub our noses in it, as a conquered nation.

The villages and towns of my youth that once resonated to the lilting tones of Welsh now speak in English. But this Cymraeg, this derided Welsh language, is not ours to give up. Europe’s oldest living language is the treasure trove of future generations and merits respect from all who choose to live and work in Wales. Diolch yn fawr.