A CHESHIRE-BASED publisher has come under fire for the wording of a tweet about Tenby's Welsh name. 

A Twitter account, Wales Coast Path UK, shared a picture of the Pembrokeshire town’s colourful harbour but a slight mistranslation of its name has prompted a backlash on Twitter – from many who also took the tweet as suggesting its Welsh name is no longer in use. 

Among those to react on Twitter were comedian Tudur Owen – who has previously spoken out against the eradication of Welsh place names - comedy writer Sian Harries and film critic Gary Slaymaker. 

They all took the use of “originally” as meaning the Welsh, Dinbych y Pysgod, is no longer in use – and Owen was quite clear that he thought the tweet should be deleted. 

Harris wrote: “It's still called Dinbych y Pysgod as far as I'm concerned” and Slaymaker tweeted: “It still is ffs.” 

 

Owen stated: “Stop willing our extinction and edit or delete this sh***”. 

 

Some also seemed to confuse the account as an official account for the Welsh Government-backed Wales Coastal Path and others pointed out the account, has a similar name to the official @WalesCoastPath account.

Perhaps the commercial account, which is managed by publisher Northern Eye Books, that produces guide books to the Wales Coastal Path as well as national parks in Wales and elsewhere in the UK, hadn’t helped itself as its translation of Dinbych y Pysgod appeared to mistake Dinbych for town – or tref. 

The publisher had tweeted: “Did you know? The colourful seaside town of Tenby in Pembrokeshire was originally called 'Dinbych y Pysgod' in Welsh. This translates to 'Little Town of Fish'!” 

It also used the Welsh hashtag LlwybrArfordirCymru for Wales Coastal Path. 

 

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As many on Twitter pointed out the Welsh name Denbigh means fort, making Tenby the fort of fish. 

According to the Institute of Welsh Affairs’ Understanding Welsh Places website Tenby's Welsh name, Dynbych y Pysgod translates as little fortress of the fish and reflects its origins as a coastal fort. 

The row follows criticism of BBC Wales News which had referred to Llyn Tegid, in Bala, as Bala Lake. 

There have been previous incidents where the Welsh language has been subject of intemperate or offensive comments on Twitter which means many users are ready to defend the language if it comes under attack. 

However it could be worth stopping to question if originally, establishing that Tenby’s Welsh name was in use first, was intended to suggest the name is no longer in use. 

This article originally appeared on our sister site The National.