2037: Welsh in North America Jul 13, 2020

Some people may know that there is a Welsh-speaking community established in Patagonia, but fewer people probably know that there was also 40,000 acres in North America once designated to be for the Welsh colonials. This area known as the Welsh Tract was established in 1684 in Pennsylvania, and a Second Welsh Tract in Maryland and Delaware in 1701, were supposed to set up a government that would use Welsh, but this was not as successful. Much like Pennsylvania Dutch too, Welsh eventually faded, but in many of the place names, like Bala Cynwyd or Lower Gwynedd names were borrowed from existing Welsh places, and in the case of Uwchlan or Berwyn, created independently.

Watch the latest video.

Get Word Facts Merch.

Support on Patreon.com/wordfacts

Previous
Previous

2038: Full Stops across Languages Jun 14, 2020

Next
Next

2036: hiccup versus hiccough Jul 12, 2020