Dic Siôn Dafydd ([dɪkʃoːnˈdavɨ̞ð], "Dick [son of] John [son of] David") is apejorative term forWelsh people who disdain theculture of Wales and becomeAnglophiles instead. The term was coined by Welsh poetJohn Jones in his satiricalballadCerdd Dic Siôn Dafydd to mock Welsh people who moved to England and adoptedits culture in order to ingratiate themselves with the English. It is used today as a political insult.
During the late 18th century, Welsh poetJohn Jones published the satiricalballadCerdd Dic Siôn Dafydd, following the story of fictional Welshman Dic Siôn Dafydd as he moves toLondon and begins to disdain theculture of Wales, instead adoptingEnglish culture in order to succeed in England.[1] The ballad notes that Dafydd grew up speaking Welsh but becomes pompous after moving to London, insisting on speaking solely English even to his Welsh-speaking mother.[2]
The term "Dic Siôn Dafydd" has also been used as a political insult in Wales, most commonly to describe a Welsh person perceived as betraying their country for financial and political gain. As an insult, the term has been used to describe Welsh people who become part ofthe Establishment in Britain while ignoring their Welsh roots.[2] It has also been used to describe Welsh people who only speak English, becomeAnglophiles or hold Welsh culture in low regard.[3][4]
Gwrandewch ar hanes Dic Siôn Dafydd, | Listen to the history of Dic Siôn Dafydd |
The name is also mentioned in the folk songYma o Hyd:
Er gwaetha pob Dic Siôn Dafydd, | Despite every Dic Siôn Dafydd, |
Several Welsh poets have written works in the style of Jones' ballad, includingTalhaiarn, who publishedDammeg Dic Siôn Dafydd yr Ail ("The Parable of Dic Siôn Dafydd the Second") in 1862.[7] During the 1824National Eisteddfod inPowys, a competition was held where satirical poems following theenglyn form were submitted under the predetermined title "Beddargraff Dic Siôn Dafydd" ("The Epitaph Of Dic Siôn Dafydd").[8]
one of the most derided figures in Welsh literature of the nineteenth century isDic Siôn Dafydd, a Welshman who claims to have forgotten his language and national identity since living in London and so becomes a traitor to his cultural heritage.
Dic Siôn Dafydd, the Anglophile, anglicised, self-loathing Welshman, has become a proverbial character in Welsh culture, reinforcing the linguistic difference and animosity between English and Welsh cultures, and above all their separateness; it is no coincidence that this character emerged in the eighteenth century, brought to life in the eponymous poem by the radical London Welshman John Jones (Jac Glan-y-Gors; 1766–1821).