Thread by @ifanmj

Regarding the discussion today that amounted to 'you need to speak Welsh to be in YesCymru'. There was a time when a lot of Welsh nationalism was primarily driven by linguistic and cultural forces. But the character of nationalisms change all the time. 1/

For instance, in the 19th-century Welsh nationalism was primarily ethnoreligious in character, with nonconformism its defining feature and the battle for disestablishment from the Church of England a kind of proto-indy campaign. 2/

In the early 20th century that ethnoreligious character began to be replaced by a linguistic and cultural nationalism. You no longer had to be a nonconformist to fit in, and the idea of Welshness being defined by religious affiliation seems very odd to us now. 3/

In the past few decades, post 70s, we've seen another metamorphosis as Welsh nationalism has become much more civic in character. It's become to be about Wales as a democratic entity and its own autonomy. 4/

Soon (hopefully) the idea that you ever had to speak Welsh to be a Welsh nationalist will see as weird and alien as the idea that you have to be a nonconformist, and people will stop trying to divide and conquer on that basis. 5/

(That doesn't mean of course that the Welsh language and culture will stop being an important part of Wales' national character, just that it won't be doing the legwork as the driving impetus behind calls for Welsh autonomy.) 6/

However we can look back and be thankful - without those 19th-century nonconformists fighting for religious freedom, Wales probably wouldn't have its own universities, national museums, national libraries etc that set the scene for the national transformation we see today. 7/

And without those Welsh language activists carrying the flame of Welsh nationalism through the early and middle 20th century, Wales might not exist to the extent that it does today either. 8/

But the irony of nationalism is that while it claims to preserve some national 'essence' the only thing that's consistent is change and nations and nationalisms have to be reinvented all the time in order to stay relevant. 9/

YesCymru is once more is creating something *new* - driving forward a Welsh national project that fits in the post-devolution, 21th century. It can shake off its old skin, reinvent itself, undergo metamorphosis. It has to change to survive. 10/

So in conclusion: Linguistic nationalism played a big part in the history of Wesh nationalism, but no you've never had to speak Welsh to be a Welsh nationalist, especially not today, and anyone can pitch in and make it as relevant and inclusive as they like. 11/