Welcome to Wrexham, Philadelphia and the Welsh language.

Rob McElheny's attempts to learn the Welsh language and learn about Mystara Urdd

Rob McElheny's attempts to learn the Welsh language were a highlight of the TV show Welcome to Wrexham. But if things had been different, the language might not have been so foreign to him - he could have spoken it at school or even at home.

It was the intention of settlers in parts of his native Philadelphia for the government and people to use the Welsh language. However, attempts in 1681 were not as successful as later in Patagonia, Argentina.

The map of this area is nevertheless dotted with Welsh names - Bryn Mawr, Hughes Park, Uwchlan, North Wales, Bala Kinuid, Haverford, Narberth, Gwynedd Valley and Penllin. There is even a Church of St. Asaph,'''\''Penn's Woods'\'' was chosen in honor of Penn's father, to whom the king was indebted,'' Duffy adds.

In the late 1600s, the idea of a Welsh Quaker colony didn't work out, but the Welsh founders left their mark. In the late 1800s, when the Pennsylvania Railroad was established, paving the way for the development of Philadelphia's suburbs, it passed through the Welsh Colony area. The places that received new Welsh names were a sign of prosperity for the wealthy residents who settled there.

Nowadays, new settlements occasionally refer to the founders with Welsh street and place names. In his presentations, Duffy tells''about Welsh traditions and heritage.

According to Dylan Foster Evans, head of the Welsh language department at Cardiff University, Pennsylvania has "two levels of Welsh culture in two parts." After the failure of the idea of establishing a Welsh Quaker colony by the late 1600s, the Welsh language was almost disappearing from families after only two generations. However, the first Welsh-language book published in the United States appeared in Philadelphia in 1721, and Anglican services in Welsh were held in the early 18th century.

The legacy of the Welsh settlers continued as they were considered the 'founding fathers' of the area. Foster Evans also believes that there are now a large number of their descendants.

Their numbers were nevertheless negligible compared to the''that's exactly where it is. And while only a few people retain Welsh now, its use was common until the mid-20th century, mostly in homes and churches.

Although locals are used to place names from many cultures, Philadelphia remains the "big locus" of immigration from Europe, as Kate Jiggins, president of the Lower Merion Historical Society, points out. She notes that while Welsh history may not be an everyday topic of conversation, it certainly hasn't been forgotten.