Dros yr Haf, mae strwythur y brifysgol yn cael ei hail-drefnu, gyda'r hen adrannu yn cael eu cyfuno i athrofeydd mawr. Mae'r rhesymeg tu ol i hwn, hyd yr ydwyf yn deall, yw lleihau costau, ac i ganiatau fwy o ymreolaeth ariannol ac weithredol i'r athrofeydd, hynny yw datganoli nifer o'r penderfyniadau o'r lefel uwch-reolaeth i lefelau is. Mae llawer o bryderon sydd wedi cael eu codi ynglyn ag yr ail-strwythuro, rhai am dyfodol swyddi, rhai am dyfodol adrannau bychain, ac hefyd am ddyfodol a statws Adran y Gymraeg.
Roedd yn amlwg i bawb a fynychwyd y cyfarfodydd cyhoeddus ynglyn ag y cynllun hon nad oedd y brifysgol am newid eu meddwl ar yr egwyddor, er gwaetha sawl un ag oedd yn wrthwynebu'r cynlluniau. Er hynny, roedd brwydrau llai dal i ennill, ac un o'r pethau wych am y drefn newydd yw'r rheol bydd ar leia un o'r tim rheoli ym mhob athrofa yn medru'r Gymraeg. Gobeithio bydd hwnna'n sicrhau ystyriaeth i'r Gymraeg ar bob cam o'r broses rheoli yn yr athrofeydd newydd. Ac, wrth gwrs, mae'r Brifysgol yn gyson yn honni eu bod yn parchu'r Gymraeg...
Felly, roedd yr arwyddion a godwyd fel rhan o'r ail-drefnu yn siom mawr:
"Myfywyr" ydym ni erbyn hyn, ar ol yr arwydd hon, nid myfyrwyr!
Noder hefyd, mae pob arwydd sydd yn dynodi adeilad yn cynnwys y gair "postcode" ar y gwaelod, ond nid "côd post"
Mae'r diffygion parch tuag at y Gymraeg yma yn warthus. Mae'n fy mhoeni i mae'r Gymraeg yn cael ei thrino fel iaith estron, mewn ffordd, mewn prifysgol sydd yn mor ganolog i Gymreictod.
Mae'n codi cwestiynau ymarferol hefyd: rwy'n siwr bod y prifysgol wedi gwario miloedd o bunnoedd (a ddaeth yn wreiddiol gan ffioedd myfyrwyr) ar yr arwyddion hon, ac mae'n amlwg bydd rhaid ail-wneud rhai ohonynt. Pam na ddanfonwyd y drafftiau i gyd at cwpl o siaradwyr Cymraeg i wirio'r sillafu cyn brynnu'r arwyddion?
Mae 'na ateb i hwn i gyd wrth gwrs: dylai Brifysgol Aberystwyth gweinyddu drwy'r Gymraeg. Byddai hyn yn codi statws y Gymraeg, darparu swyddi lleol i bobl leol, ac yn helpu sicrhau dyfodol i'r Gymraeg. Beth yw iaith, ar y cyfan, os mae dim ond addurn dymunol i fynd ar arwyddion ydi o, yn hytrach na gyfrwng cyfathrebu, cyfrwng gweithredu, cyfrwng byw!
Ond tan y diwrnod hynny, yn anffodus mae'n debyg bydd y triniaeth gwarthus y Gymraeg a welwyd fan hyn yn barhau, ac bydd rhaid i ni gyd ddysgu Saesneg er mwyn crwydro o gwmpas ein campws ein hunain, yn ein gwlad ein hunain, yn y Fro Gymraeg. Gwarthus!
Diweddariad 26/07/2013: Gwelais heno bod yr arwydd wrth adeilad Edward Llwyd wedi cael ei gywirio, ac hefyd mae un o'r ddau arwydd "myfywyr" wedi cael ei dynnu. Rwy'n falch bod y prifysgol wedi gweithredu'n mor gyflym, ac hoffwn i meddwl mae'r cyfryngau cymdeithasol wedi helpu codi ymwybyddiaeth o'r broblem.
Hi, Although I completely agree with everything said here (after a google translate), in their defence, it is possible that not all the mistakes were that of the uni, rather the people who put the text on the sign.
ReplyDelete"International English Centre" originally had the text "to be confirmed"(in english), however as per this facebook pic and convo, the label attached to it was correct, just the sign was made wrong:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151492151126881&set=a.10150159713106881.287045.714001880&type=1&comment_id=9046334&offset=0&total_comments=20&ref=notif¬if_t=photo_reply&theater
Well it's a lack of professionalism either way you look at it. Surely you check the signs after getting them printed before putting them up? And the exclusion of Welsh such as 'postcode' suggests lack of respect for the language and clearly isn't a mistake.
ReplyDeleteYn cytuno'n llwyr, ond mae'n eironig wnaethoch chi gamsillafu'r gair 'brynu' yn y brawddeg yma:
ReplyDelete"Pam na ddanfonwyd y drafftiau i gyd at cwpl o siaradwyr Cymraeg i wirio'r sillafu cyn brynnu'r arwyddion?"
Hi Schihmi2, thanks so much for linking to that picture. Any chance of knowing which company installed them, and if they're local or not? Assuming this project cost less than £500,000 (I'd expect so!) the university will have chosen the company I assume. Many thanks, Jeff
ReplyDeleteHaha, pwynt teg ni9htjar. Plediaf yn euog. I amddiffyn fy hunan, roeddwn mewn frys ;)
ReplyDeleteI've put in an FOI to the uni to find out costs for installation and expected costs for replacement/repair, but the uni likes to drag their heels and wait the full 20 working days as a minimum...
ReplyDeleteDiolch Andrew, brilliant idea :) I'll update the blog with the information once they respond to you.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that they would choose the International English Centre, which is for foreign students to improve their English. I thought the rule was that if it wasn't ever meant for a Welsh audience, it didn't need translation?
ReplyDeleteMoreover, the Ed Llwyd building is a name, which doesn't require translation... Which leaves only some grammatical mistake in the Welcome Centre (I presume, because I wouldn't notice it) but that again seems a choice in naming by the university... leaving you nothing but the fact that they didn't translate 'postcode', something that I have never heard native Welsh speakers, when speaking in Welsh among each other, only heard say as 'postcode'.
What's your point again?
Moreover, if you're so concerned with bilingualism, why is this piece only in Welsh? Someone seems to not practice what they preach...
Hi youaresoincrediblywrong. It's an established principle that all signage in the university should have a Welsh version, as we are in Wales and everyone on campus looks at the signs to find their way around, even if they don't actually attend the International English Centre or whereever. As well as being a matter of principle the language is also one of the major selling points of the university, even for those who don't speak it. One of the great things about bilingual signs is that everyone can enjoy the Welsh language. The last thing the university should do is to try to divide student from student by denying that aspect of the Aberystwyth experience to international students
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid you've very much missed the point about the Edward Llwyd building - Llwyd was mispelled, which was quite an insult considering that Edward Llwyd was one of the greatest Welsh scientists and the whole point of naming a building after him was to honour his memory.
It's not a grammatical mistake in the Welcome Centre, it's a spelling mistake. There is no word "myfywyr" in any dictionary (as far as I know); "myfyrwyr" on the other hand is a widely recognised word translating to "students".
The "postcode" thing is actually very important - the fact that this is monolingual English on each sign undermines the whole bilingual ethos of the university. Furthermore, it implies English as a working language for practical tasks such as delivering post, and Welsh as just a nice little add-on to look pretty.
My point, if you missed it, was that in the installation of these signs, the university has shown an appalling lack of respect towards the Welsh language, which shouldn't go unchallenged. Also that the whole saga points to a worrying tendency to do everything important through English and add on a Welsh translation (or mis-translation) as an afterthought, rather than putting the Welsh language at the centre of university life in practical terms not just in aesthetic terms.