I've always found the fact that there are so many different languages very fascinating ! Not only different spoken languages but different alphabets and ways of writing words.

Even in a small country like the UK there are several different native languages spoken and many more local dialects.  In urban areas with large immigrant populations of course even more languages are now heard.

I have lived in Wales for most of my life and Welsh is a big part of daily life here. At one stage in the 19th C , children were forbidden to speak Welsh in schools and punished if they were heard speaking it because English was considered to be superior - but now Welsh is compulsory up to age 16 in Welsh schools. When I was at school it was only compulsory up to age 11 so my spoken and written Welsh is not good though I do understand quite a bit.

All public notices, roadsigns , information signs and official forms and letters in Wales are bi-lingual as seen in the photo above.   I think it's nice to see the signs in English and Welsh but the fact that every letter or bill or form I get from the government or official office is duplicated in Welsh and English really annoys me - it's such a waste of paper !  I would like to see everyone being able to state - maybe when you register to vote - if you would like to receive correspondence in Welsh OR in English !

At school when I stopped learning Welsh I took French and Latin for 5 years and have managed to get by with my French when holidaying in France  !   In recent years when working at Pembrokeshire college I did a basic Chinese - Mandarin - course because we had many Chinese students but I don't remember much now as I haven't had to use it recently  - I might go back and do another course some day .

The only other language I have learnt the basics of, is British Sign Language and I definitely intend to do a further course in that !