I am in North Wales where, to many, Welsh is a first language; however, the majority of the population also speaks English just as fluently. But, in my parish church, there is one lady there who kinda “coos” at the English hymns and really sings during the Welsh ones (service is bilingual). How is it possible to have not been exposed to the English language in the UK?
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Maybe she was very isolated during her childhood and lived in a small remote village with no TV or radio? Then when she was older she didn;t bother to learn English. You always hear of cases where people in remote areas, like the outer Hebrides, don’t learn English, There’s just no need to where they’re from.
to me, even tho i am not from the UK, i think its kind of interesting that some people there actually do not know how to speak english, i find it fascinating.
It’s quite possible, but my guess is that she rather likes the Welsh music and texts; probably what she grew up with. While she may know the language, English may be awkward for her to speak and maybe has strong ties to the music.
As an experiment, I suppose you could try the specatular Welsh hymn tune Cwm Rhondda with the English “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” I’m guessing shell give you a perfect
Arglwydd, arwain trwy’r anialwch,
Fi bererin gwael ei wedd,
Nad oes ynof nerth na bywyd
Fel yn gorwedd yn y bedd:
Hollalluog, hollalluog,
Ydyw’r Un a’m cwyd i’r lan.
Ydyw’r Un a’m cwyd i’r lan.
Maybe it would be better for you just to chat her up with the help of another congregant and discover for yourself how her English skills are.
… An equal question is how can there be so many in the US that cannot speak a word of (American) English … Why should we prompted to press 2 for Espangnol? There is the disgrace.