This week, it was announced that responsibility for the Welsh course on language learning app Duolingo was being transferred from a small group of volunteers to the Welsh Government’s National Centre for Learning Welsh.

The course had been led by by Welsh tutor Richard Morse since it was launched in 2016. Since the course launched, it has attracted 1.9m learners worldwide.

There are currently 476,000 active learners of Welsh on the app – 42% of which are based outside the UK.

Across the UK, it is currently the sixth most popular language on Duolingo – ahead of Chinese, Russian and Portuguese.

In 2017, the Welsh Government set out plans to reach one million Welsh speakers in Wales by the year 2050.

The Welsh Government’s Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles MS, said the success of Welsh on Duolingo shows there’s a “real demand to learn the language”.

He added: “This is excellent news as we work towards achieving the Welsh Government’s ambition of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.”

Diwrnod Shwmae

Caerphilly County Borough Council has encouraged residents to celebrate diwrnod Shwmae – an annual event celebrating the Welsh language.

The event,  is being held today (Friday, October 15).

‘Shwmae’ is a Welsh word used for greeting people, similar to the English language equivalent “alright”.

This year, Caerphilly County Borough Council has encouraged residents to upload videos and photographs to social media, showing them celebrating Diwrnod Shwmae.

Residents are able to get involved using the hashtags #ShwmaeSumae and #ShwmaeCaerffili

The event has also been celebrated in schools across the borough.

The council tweeted: “Di-Gymraeg, dysgwyr neu’n rhugl yn y Gymraeg – mae’r diwrnod yn eiddo i bawb sydd â diddordeb mewn gweld y Gymraeg yn ffynnu.”

This translates to: “Non-Welsh speaking, learning or fluent in Welsh – the day belongs to everyone that has an interest in seeing the Welsh language grow.”

Diwrnod Shwmae has been celebrated across Wales since 2013, and is held every year on October 15.