Do I need to learn Welsh?

I would like to visit Wales. I hear it's beautiful (except for certain industrial areas which are ugly). Do I need to learn to speak Welsh or can I simply function in English?

In addition, I am a foreign national and the product of a British education. I've been told by numerous English people that my accent sounds "posh" (which I guess means "RP" although I've always taken it for granted as "standard British English"). Is there any bias towards RP in Wales (whether favourable or unfavourable)?

I read in an encyclopedia once that there are forty different dialects of Welsh and that two of them are considered "standard". I am also aware that many people there speak English with a Welsh accent. It has even been rumoured that there are a few people in Wales who speak RP (in addition to one of the 40 different varieties of Welsh).

Now, I have neither the time nor the inclination to learn to speak with a Welsh accent (much less learn Welsh itself) but I'm willing to do something in that direction if it will make my visit more pleasant and more hassle-free. I do not want to be stereotyped as some twit from Notting Hill or Kensington.

The bottom line is this: Do I need to learn to speak Welsh or can I simply function in English?

You may feel free to comment on the other questions raised in this message but the question above is the one I REALLY need answered.

Knowing a few phrases in the language of any country you are visiting always goes well with the natives. Even though less than 1/4 of the Welsh population now speaks any Welsh I'm sure they would all be impressed if you knew just a little bit about their language. Until recently, the Welsh had been doing abetter job of preserving their language and traditions than either the Scotch or the Irish.

Lerning Welsh does not mean you have to be perfect in that language.

While you will hear Welsh spoken, few people are monolingual. The accent in South Wales has its own identity, but in North Wales it's much less strong and sounds quite similar to some North West English accents (Chester etc).

Like Breton in France, Welsh is a language that has been steadily pushed back. As late as the 8th century A.D. some towns and villages in western England were part of the Welsh March. Likewise, Breton was still spoken in the French towns of Rennes and Nantes at that time too even though one hears only French spoken there today.

Rick - I don't think anybody in Wales is monolingual - by that I assume you meant unable to speak English! Since the early 20th century everybody in Wales, including in those areas where the Welsh Language is alive and well and spoken on a daily basis, even by young children, English is universally the "official" Language. I don't think there is anybody alive now who remembers anyone unable to communicate in English.

It's true that the Welsh Language is strongest and more widely spoken in many areas in the West and North West of Wales......still strongholds of Welsh speaking. The Welsh really have to be admired for ensuring the survival of their Language in the face of the great English giant on their eastern borders and I believe that the teaching of Welsh is compulsory in primary and secondary education throughout Wales up to a certain age after which it becomes a matter of choice. That gives everybody in Wales a basic knowledge of Welsh even if it is totally disregarded once they pass through the school gates on the way home where English is easily the Language of communication in over 80% of the population.

There really is a divide in North Wales itself with distinctive Welsh accents in the Western part.....but the more east you go towards the English border the accent becomes more like that of North West England so that when you get to places like Flintshire and along the North Wales coast you would think you were in Liverpool or Manchester.

To answer the question posed in the title thread....if you want a job in Welsh Local Government (even in 99% English speaking areas) or in any official capacity, such as teaching and education, then at least some knowledge of Welsh is more or less necessary. If you want to be a copper (police officer)...to quote one example..... in Welsh speaking areas, again the same applies.