Languages

Talat is a fluent speaker of Welsh and Breton. He has taught both languages at all levels, both in university and in night classes. He has taught Breton through the medium of Welsh as well as English. He taught professional Welsh to university staff, mostly to first-language speakers of Welsh. He speaks revived Cornish and is a known authority in the issues surrounding its spelling system. He can speak and understand French well despite a lack of practice.

He knows a number of other languages at a more basic level. He has learned Ulster Irish and Scots Gaelic as a beginner. He has some passive native understanding of Urdu and Punjabi and has some conversational phrases. He retains some basic Russian phrases. As an academic linguist, he has studied learning and teaching materials in Latin, Old English, Finnish, German, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish. He is learning modern Norman French and Slovene.

Talat has been a member of Cymdeithas Cymru-Llydaw (Kevredigezh Kembre-Breizh) for many years, a society that fosters cultural and linguistic connections between Wales and Brittany through the medium of their native languages. He is chair of the society in addition to maintaining its web site, and was previously its secretary. He was the vice-chair of People in Partnership Aberystwyth - St Brieuc.

He has retained an interest over 26 years in marginalised minority cultures and their languages, especially in language policy.

Last updated: 11 Mar 2024