THE number of people speaking Welsh in Aberaeron has fallen significantly in the past decade, town councillors have been told.

A recent local action survey revealed the number of Welsh speakers in the town had fallen from 954 in 2001 to 832 in 2011 – a drop of 12.8 per cent.

And the percentage of households with one Welsh-speaking parent who transfers the ability to speak Welsh to their children in Aberaeron (28.6 per cent) and Ciliau Aeron (27.3 per cent) was well down on the county average of 58.9 per cent.

Steffan Rees, a community development officer for Menter Iaith Ceredigion who carried out the research, said the fact the number of English-born residents had only increased by one over the same 10-year period indicated that out-migration was “a threat to the language and the town as a whole”.

Giving his overview of the findings, Mr Rees said that, with the exceptions of the town’s Seafood and Welsh Cobs Festivals, most big events tended to use more English than Welsh.

“People would like to see more bilingualism within the community,” he added. "Instead, it’s primarily in English.”

He suggested that the fact Aberaeron and Ciliau Aeron’s number of Welsh speakers was so far below the national average merited further research.

Mr Rees also maintained that less topics were taught in Welsh at Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron, but acknowledged that the fall in the county’s population appeared to be a significant factor in the language’s decline.

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