The National Assembly for Wales restores bilingual records of meetings
Welsh records, Y Cofnod, will be produced alongside English records (photo: MB)
The National Assembly for Wales is set to restore full bilingual records of plenary meetings from January 2012.
This move comes as a result of mounting pressure from Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, The Welsh Language Society in English, after Welsh translations of meetings were abandoned in September last year.
The Record of Proceedings, Y Cofnod in Welsh, will be translated using a computer programme, then proofread and edited by professional translators.
This process will result in a five-day wait between English and Welsh transcripts, which Cymdeithas considers a sign of inequality.
Bethan Williams, chair of Cymdeithas, says, “While this move is a step in the right direction, we will be continuing our campaign until the Welsh language is treated no less favourably than English.”