[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.25,0:00:03.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm here now with Simon, who we've finally\Nmanaged to catch for an interview which I'm
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.45,0:00:07.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,really excited about. I would say it's nice\Nto meet you but we've met for two days now...it
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.77,0:00:11.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,seems silly! Simon runs the website that I'm\Nsure you will've heard of and used many times,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.77,0:00:16.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Omniglot. So first of all thank you for that.\NYep, you're welcome!
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.53,0:00:23.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How did that come about?\NWell it all started about back in 1998. Originally
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.90,0:00:30.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was trying to set up my own business as\Nan online web designer and translation agency.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.12,0:00:34.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That didn't really work out but Omniglot kind\Nof grew out of there. And I carried it on
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.07,0:00:38.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a hobby while I was working as a web designer\Nin Brighton and eventually I was made redundant
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.23,0:00:42.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from that job and by that time I was making\Na living from Omniglot. And since then I've
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.59,0:00:47.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,moved to Bangor, did an MA in Linguistics,\Nnow I'm supporting myself completely from
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.70,0:00:50.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Omniglot.\NBrilliant! That's fantastic! That's truly
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.10,0:00:52.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,living the language dream, isn't it?\NIt is!
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.29,0:00:56.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Brilliant. And I'd like to talk - your badge\N- I don't know if you can see Simon's badge
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.15,0:01:01.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from there - is very very impressive, so we've\Nspoken a bit...you did a degree initially
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.55,0:01:04.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese is that correct?\NThat's right, yeah.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.97,0:01:08.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then moved on a lot to C..I've forgotten\Nalready! Celtic or Celtic?!
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.74,0:01:11.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Celtic!\NCeltic! Moved on a lot to Celtic languages.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.88,0:01:17.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What inspired you to begin with Celtic languages?\NWell my mum's family come from Wales. She
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.15,0:01:20.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,grew up in England but her parents were from\NSouth Wales, so I've always been interested
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.96,0:01:26.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Welsh and always had the intention to learn\Nit. And I eventually got round to it about
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.55,0:01:31.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,12 years ago. Started learning. Oh no, it\Nwas actually, after I came back from Taiwan,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.16,0:01:36.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I started Omniglot. Because one of the\Njobs I applied for was in Bangor, in the International
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.78,0:01:41.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Office, and they said you have to learn Welsh\Nto do this job if you don't already speak
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.06,0:01:47.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it. So I started learning Welsh at that time\Nand I got Teach Yourself Welsh and I went
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.26,0:01:51.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through it a couple of times and went to my\Ninterview and they said "Do you speak Welsh?"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.30,0:01:58.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I said "A little bit!". But I couldn't,\Nwasn't able to have a conversation at that
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.73,0:02:04.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,time. And then I didn't do much more for a\Nfew years and then I was on holiday in Northern
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.25,0:02:08.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Portugal doing a walking tour and there was\Na couple of Welsh speakers in the group! And
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.68,0:02:10.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought...\NIn Portugal?! I bet you weren't expecting
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.82,0:02:16.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to practise your Welsh in Portugal?!\NWell no! But they happened to be there in
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.02,0:02:20.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the same group and I was sharing a room with\None of them and I tried to speak Welsh to
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.87,0:02:26.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them and I soon ran out of things to say 'cause\Nit was all a while since I'd used it and I'd
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.95,0:02:31.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forgotten a lot and when I got home I thought,\N"I've learnt all these different languages
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.98,0:02:36.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for going on holiday to places, out of interest",\Nand I thought, "which of these do I really
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.79,0:02:42.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,want to learn the most?" and I thought, "Welsh!\N'Cause it's an ancestral language. My family
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.38,0:02:46.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,used to speak it a few generations ago and\NI've always been interested in it. So for
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.47,0:02:51.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the next few years I listened to Welsh language\Nradio on the internet every day at work, all
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.99,0:02:57.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,day, at first I understood hardly anything\Nbut gradually it started to make more sense
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.41,0:03:02.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I got some more courses. I got Colloquial\NWelsh and various other courses, and I started
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.66,0:03:08.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reading things on the Internet, and I got\Nsimple books for learners, which were kind
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.02,0:03:14.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of much..I struggled with at first but eventually\Nit started to make sense and then more and
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.02,0:03:18.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more I got to the stage where I could understand\Nit, I could read it, then I did a summer school
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.59,0:03:22.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Lampeter for two weeks...\NWahey! Lampeter! Ashley, cameraman, who you
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.87,0:03:26.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can't see, went to Lampeter University so..there's\Nthe link there!
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.26,0:03:32.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yeah, so, this was the first time I'd had\Nproper conversations in Welsh. So at first
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.91,0:03:37.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I struggled a bit, but after 2 weeks I was\Nquite happy to babble away in Welsh all day.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.74,0:03:41.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you almost created like, we've just come\Nout of a talk with Alex Rawlings, who was
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.72,0:03:45.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mentioning about if you can't go to the country\Nphysically, about creating a sort of remote
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.52,0:03:48.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,immersion - so that's pretty much what happened\Nto you with Welsh.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.22,0:03:52.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Exactly, yes. That's what I did, yeah.\NAnd then what was your next language along
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.88,0:03:57.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the way, from there? Where did you go? Did\Nyou go to Manx or Cornish or Gaelic?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.02,0:04:02.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, Irish actually. I'd learnt a little\Nbit of Scottish Gaelic when I was in Taiwan
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.96,0:04:07.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I just fell in love with the music.\NWhile I was at school I started playing the
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.91,0:04:15.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tin whistle, listening to songs like Plynad(?),\NEnya, and Capacaely(?) and Runry(?), and I
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.54,0:04:19.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just love the sound of these languages, Scottish\Nand Irish Gaelic and I just wanted to learn
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.83,0:04:25.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them and eventually I got round to it. And\NI went... and I spent a year learning Irish
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.55,0:04:32.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at home. I started with courses on Radio Ulster.\NThey have these little courses and they're
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.59,0:04:37.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,really good 'cause they just do little bits\N'cause it's a radio programme so they just
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.11,0:04:42.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,do, take you through the basics in each programme\Nand then you learn a little bit more and they
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.40,0:04:46.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reinforce what you've learnt already and I\Nfound that really good and I got a book that
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.97,0:04:52.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was based on another radio series called...what's\Nit called?..Irish On Your Own or Now You're
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.90,0:04:55.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Talking.\NAhh, I like that, Now You're Talking! That's
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.76,0:04:56.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cool!\NNow You're Talking!
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.36,0:05:02.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now You're Talking yeah! Brilliant. It looks..I'm\Nnot sure if we have to go back in soonish
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.69,0:05:06.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so we'd better sort of wrap it up but it's\Nbeen an absolute pleasure. Is there a language
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.39,0:05:09.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's next on your list at all?\NWell recently I've been learning Serbian.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.44,0:05:13.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ah ha! To come to the Polyglot Conference!\NExactly! I'm not sure if I'll carry on when
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.65,0:05:19.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I go home. I might do but I'd really like\Nto learn Russian and Czech more. I've done
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.46,0:05:25.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some already and I started learning Swedish\Nearlier this year after the Polyglot Gathering
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.84,0:05:33.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Berlin and I've got other languages I'd\Nlike to learn but at the moment, that's enough!
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.12,0:05:37.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yeah, that's quite a sort of lingering list.\NIt's nice! Brilliant! Well Simon, it's been
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.86,0:05:42.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an absolute pleasure to meet you and I look\Nforward to meeting you again very very soon.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.40,0:05:47.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ok thank you very much!\NMy pleasure!