Wrth feddwl yn fwy fanwl am hyn, roedd hyn yn debygol achos fy mod wedi cysylltu'r profiad yma â'm profiadau fy hyn o fod wedi cael fy’n ddwyn i fynu gan fy rhienni trwy y iaith Gymraeg. Felly fel rhiant tro cyntaf roeddwn yn adlewyrchu fy magwraeth trwy y iaith Gymraeg gan ei bod yn teimlo'n naturiol i mi ei defnyddio mewn sefyllfa deuluol. Mi wnes i barhau i'w fagu fo, a'n dau fab arall, drwy'r Gymraeg. Fodd bynnag, efallai mai cymhelliant mewnol arall dros eu ddwyn i fynu fel siaradwyr Cymraeg yw fy mod i fy hun wedi cael y profiad lle oeddwn yn teilmlo fel bod fy ngallu o'r iaith Gymraeg yn cael ei 'cymryd drosodd' pan symudais i fyw i Loegr yn 18 oed. Pan ddechreuais i'r brifysgol, hwn oedd fy mhrofiad cyntaf o fyw i ffwrdd o Gymru am gyfnod mawr o amser. Yn raddol, yn ystod fy mlwyddyn gyntaf, roeddwn yn ymwybodol bod fy iaith meddwl yn newid o'r Gymraeg i'r Saesneg. Roeddwn yn gwbl abl i weld y newid hwn yn digwydd i mi. Newidiodd yr iaith yr oeddwn yn breuddwydio ynddi hefyd! Wrth edrych yn ôl, er bod y profiad hwn yn ddilyniant naturiol yn fy natblygiad fel person ddwyieithog, mae'n ymddangos bod fy iaith meddwl wedi cael ei hegemoni'n anfwriadol gan yr amgylchedd iaith Saesneg yr oeddwn yn byw ynddo. Rwy'n dweud hyn oherwydd roeddwn i'n ymwybodol bod fy meddyliau dros amser, yn bennaf yn Saesneg yn hytrach nag yn Gymraeg. Efallai, roedd y profiad hwn, a storiwyd yn ddwfn yn fy banc cof, hefyd wedi dylanwadu ar fy mhenderfyniad i fagu fy mhlant fel siaradwyr Cymraeg.

Pe bawn i heb neud y pendyrfyniad o ddwyn fy mhlant i fynu drwy siarad Cymraeg efallai y fuaswn i erbyn hyn wedi colli rhywfaint o fy hyfedredd gyda'r iaith Cymraeg fy hun. Ar wahân i Gymraeg deimlo'n iaith naturiol i mi ei defnyddio efo my mhlant, mwyaf y meddyliais am fy newis, roeddwn i'n teimlo bod eu dwyn i fynu trwy'r Gymraeg hefyd wedi eu galluogi i gysylltu, i raddau, â'u hunaniaeth dwyieithog. Ar ben hynny, gallant gymryd rhan mewn sgyrsiau a gawn gyda fy nheulu sy'n byw yng Nghymru. Hefyd yn y dyfodol os rydyn yn symud i Gymru i fyw, byddai genddynt nhw'r posibilrwydd o weithio mewn rolau lle mae'r gallu i siarad Cymraeg yn ofyniad. 

Yn y gorffennol, cymerais fy ngallu i siarad Cymraeg yn ganiataol, ond ar ôl byw i ffwrdd o Gymru am amser mor hir rwyf wedi sylweddoli'r gwerth rwy'n ei roi ar fy ngallu i siarad yr iaith Gymraeg unigryw. Mae hyn wedi cael ei cryfhau trwy fy mhrofiad o ddwyn fy mhlant i fynu fel siaradwyr Cymraeg. Yn ddiweddar mae hyn hefyd wedi cael ei gryfhau ymhellach trwy fy ngwaith ymchwil. Mae fy ymchwil a’m profiadau wedi’u cyfuno wedi gwneud imi sylweddoli bod strwythur iaith yn effeithio ar wybyddiaeth a golwg fyd-eang ei siaradwyr. Mae hyn oherwydd fod bob iaith wedi'i buddsoddi â diddordebau cymdeithasol a diwylliannol.

Wrth imi feddwl am y deng mlynedd diwethaf, nid yw wedi bod yn daith hawdd o bell ffordd i ddysgu Cymraeg iddynt. Yn ogystal, maent yn mynychu ysgol trwy y gyfrwng Coreaidd yn Ne Corea, felly mae eu hunaniaeth wedi'u mowldio a'u ffurfio gan y profiad hwn. Gartref, maent yn trawsieithu trwy eu harferion bob dydd trwy repertoire ieithyddol sy'n cyfuno Cymraeg, Corëeg a Saesneg. Wrth fyw yng Nghorea, mae magu fy meibion trwy'r Gymraeg wedi bod / ac yn parhau i fod yn frwydr caled, ond yn un sydd wedi bod yn werth chweil. Dwi yn meddwl petawn i heb ddwyn fy meibion i fynu trwy y iaith Cymraeg, fuaswn i nawr yn difaru. Y rheswm am hyn yw achos os fuaswn wedi ei ddwyn nhw i fynu gan siarad Saesneg, byddai hyn yn golygu fy mod wedi ildio i hegemoni’r iaith rhyngwladol ac wedi adeiladu wal o amgylch fy ngallu i drosglwyddo fy etifeddiaeth iaith Gymraeg a'r epistemoleg sy'n perthyn iddi.

Wrth gwrs, mae fy mechgyn ymhell o fod yn rhugl yn yr iaith Cymraeg; serch hynnu, rwy'n teimlo bod ganddynt nhw sylfaen gadarn y gellir adeiladu arni yn y dyfodol ac un sydd am helpu ‘i'r hen iaith barhau’!

The title of this posting takes its name from the last line of the Welsh National Anthem (translated as ‘may the old language continue’) , and as it happens it is fitting to describe the reason why I decided to raise my three sons through the medium of Welsh while living in South Korea. Recently, my research into the epistemic injustices caused by the predominance of the English language in the South Korean context, has made me reflect on my decision to bring up my children as Welsh speakers. In sharing my experience, I hope this inspires other parents who speak Welsh (or other minority languages) and live abroad, to consider bringing their children up as Welsh (or indigenous minority language) speakers.

Using the Welsh language with my children was a decision after the birth of my first son in 2010 in South Korea. One of the reasons for this decision is that, at the time, I had not ruled out the possibility of returning with my family to live in Wales in the future. So, I was determined to make my children familiar with the Welsh language for this move. Despite this reason, when I saw my son for the first time, because I am a Welsh speaker, using the language felt completely natural for me to use to speak to him. 

Thinking about this more, this was likely because I linked this experience to my own experiences of being brought up by my parents through the Welsh language. So as a first time parent, I was reflecting my own upbringing through the Welsh language as it felt natural for me to use it in a familial situation. I continued to raise him, and our two other sons, through the medium of Welsh. However, perhaps another intrinsic motivation for raising them as Welsh language speakers is that I myself had experienced a 'take-over' of my Welsh language when I moved to live in England at the age of 18. When I entered university, this was my first experience of living away from Wales for a great length of time. Gradually, during my first year as a freshman, I was aware that my language of thought was changing from Welsh to English. I was fully able to perceive this change happening to me. It also changed the language that I was dreaming in! Looking back, even though this experience was a natural progression of my development as a bilingual, it seems that my language of thought was unintentionally being hegemonized by the English language environment that I was living in. I say this because I was aware that over time, primarily my thoughts were in English rather than Welsh. Perhaps, this experience, stored deep in my memory bank, subconsciously also influenced my decision to raise my children as Welsh language speakers. 

If I hadn't made the decision to bring my children up to speak Welsh, I myself might have lost some of my own Welsh language proficiency. Aside from Welsh feeling like a natural language for me to use with my children, the more I thought about my choice, I felt that bringing them up to speak Welsh also enabled them to relate, to an extent, to their bilingual identity. They can also take part in conversations we have with my family who live in Wales. Also, in the future if we move to Wales to live, they would have the possibility to work in roles where the ability to speak Welsh is a requirement. 

In the past, I took my ability to speak Welsh for granted, but having lived away from Wales for so long I have realized the value I place on my ability to speak the unique Welsh language. This has been strengthened by my experience of bringing my children up as Welsh speakers. Recently this has also been further strengthened through my research. My research and experiences combined have made me realize that the structure of language affects its speakers' cognition and worldview. This is because language is an object, invested with social and cultural interests.

As I reflect on the past ten years, it has not been an easy journey to teach them Welsh. In addition, they attend a Korean-medium school in South Korea, so their identity has been molded and shaped by this experience. At home, they translanguage through their daily routines through a linguistic repertoire combining Welsh, Korean and English. Whilst living in South Korea, raising my sons through the medium of Welsh has been/will continue to be a tough struggle, but one that has been worth it. I think if I hadn't brought my sons up through the Welsh language, I would now regret it. This is because if I had raised them solely through the English language, this would mean that I had surrendered to the hegemony of the international language and built a wall around my ability to transmit my Welsh language heritage and the epistemology that belongs to it.

Of course, my boys are far from fluent in the Welsh language; nevertheless, I feel they have a solid foundation on which to build in the future and one that will help 'the old language continue'!