Welsh language not available on world's top 50 apps

A new study by the language learning marketplace Preply has revealed that Cymraeg is not offered on any of the top 50 apps in the UK. This is despite the fact that the Welsh language is spoken by more than 850,000 people in Wales alone, and is an official language.

Welsh is also the fastest growing language in the UK, and is the only Celtic language which is not considered endangered by UNESCO.

The amount of people searching for ‘learn Welsh for beginners’ online has increased by 200 per cent in the past year, according to Preply.

The research by Preply revealed the apps that are the most and least language inclusive. 

The analysis looked at 50 of the most used IOS apps globally, including Tinder, YouTube, TikTok, Amazon and more, and uncovered which offer the most and least translation options.

YouTube is revealed as the most language inclusive app covering 73 languages, followed by Signal with 71, Google Meet at 67, Spotify at 58, and Gmail landing 5th with 55

Unsurprisingly, English is the language offered the most often, supported on 97 percent of the most popular apps. None of the world's most popular apps offers the Welsh language as an option though. 

However, Spanish, one of the most common languages spoken worldwide, is only supported on 65 per cent of the most popular apps.

The study revealed that the least language friendly apps supporting just one language - English - include Sky Go, Hinge, Tesco Clubcard, Discord, and Hulu.

Unsurprisingly, English is the most supported language on the world's apps. Source: Preply

Preply says there have been staggering increases in searches for “English to Welsh App” (450 per cent) and “English to Welsh translation services” (125 per cent), in the last 12 months.

• This article originally appeared on our sister site The National.