RETRO REPORT; Why 'enough' is 'sufficient' in Wales.

JULY 10, 2003 - How we covered...

THE Welsh are more likely to use the language of their old Anglo-Saxon enemies in everyday conversations than the English. Despite Welsh tribes spending years fighting off the Anglo-Saxons' territorial advances, Anglo-Saxon culture is now entrenched in the English language.

And Welsh people are more likely to opt for Anglo-Saxon words than their English counterparts, who prefer the Latin equivalents.

Research has shown that while an average of 77% of the words chosen by the English are Anglo-Saxon, the English-speaking Welsh average more than 80%.

Where the English are more likely to choose a word such as "sufficient", which comes from Latin, the Welsh will prefer to say "enough", an Anglo-Saxon word.

And where the Welsh opt for the more simpler "leave", as the early Anglo-Saxons would have, the English, preferring the language of the Roman invaders, are more likely to say "departure".

Similar differences are noted in the use of the word "need" by the Welsh but "require" by the English.

Even celebrities born either side of Offa's Dyke will show the same splits.

Communications specialist company Optimum, which carried out the survey, found that Swansea-born Catherine Zeta Jones uses 3% more Anglo-Saxon words in her interviews than Liz Hurley.

Dylan Thomas used nearly 4% more than Ted Hughes or the current poet laureate, Andrew Motion.

Former PM John Major is the most plain-speaking political figure. More than seven out of 10 of his words are Anglo-Saxon.

By comparison there are fewer than two dozen words from Welsh in modern English.

Edited by Tony Woolway