Welsh (Cymraeg or y Gymraeg, pronounced [kəmˈrɑːɨɡ, ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]) is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has also been known in English as "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric".
The Welsh Language Board indicated in 2004 that 611,000 people (21.7% of the population of Wales in households or communal establishments[clarification needed]) were able to speak the language. This figure marks a 0.9 percentage point increase when compared with a figure of 20.8% from the 2001 census, and an increase of approximately 35,000 in absolute numbers within Wales. Of those 611,000 Welsh speakers, 57% (315,000) considered themselves fluent, and 78% (477,000) consider themselves fluent or "fair" speakers. 62% of speakers (340,000) claimed to speak the language daily, including 88% of fluent speakers.
A greeting in Welsh is one of 55 languages included on the Voyager Golden Record chosen to be representative of Earth in NASA's Voyager program launched in 1977. The greetings are unique to each language, with the Welsh greeting being Iechyd da i chwi yn awr ac yn oesoedd which translates into English as "Good health to you now and forever".
Ali G (born Alistair Leslie Graham) is a satirical fictional character created and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, as the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, he is also the title character of the film Ali G Indahouse. Cohen's character Ali G, along with Borat and Brüno, has been retired.
The character of Ali G is a stereotype of a white suburban male from Staines (now Staines-upon-Thames) who imitates rap culture as well as urban British and Jamaican culture, particularly through hip hop, reggae, drum and bass and jungle music. Ali G was part of a group called Berkshire Massif, and he ran and grew up in an area of Slough called Langley (both actual locations in the UK). He also lived part of his life in Staines. Baron Cohen has stated that BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood was an influence on the development of the Ali G character – Westwood hosts Radio 1's Rap Show and speaks in a faux Multicultural London English and Hip-Hop dialect. Ali G's middle class credentials mirror Westwood's: the latter was brought up in Lowestoft, Suffolk as a bishop's son.
Daniel Michael "Danny" DeVito, Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of short statured dispatcher Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi (1978–1983), for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.
DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman, founded Jersey Films, a production company known for films such as Pulp Fiction, Garden State, and Freedom Writers. DeVito also owns Jersey Television, which produced the Comedy Central series Reno 911!. DeVito and Perlman also starred together in his 1996 film Matilda, based on Roald Dahl's children's novel. He currently stars as Frank Reynolds on the FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
DeVito was born in Neptune Township, New Jersey, the son of Julia, a homemaker, and Daniel Michael DeVito, Sr., who owned several small businesses, including a dry cleaning store, a dairy outlet, a luncheonette, and a pool hall. DeVito is of Italian descent (his family is originally from San Fele, Basilicata) and was raised a Roman Catholic, growing up in Asbury Park. He boarded at Oratory Preparatory School, in Summit, New Jersey, graduating in 1962, and subsequently trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, from which he graduated in 1966. In his early theater days, he performed with the Colonnades Theater Lab, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and, along with his wife Rhea Perlman, appeared in plays produced by the Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective.
Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton, (born 4 April 1963) is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist. He is the host of comedy chat programme The Graham Norton Show on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US. Hot Press has described him as "the 21st century's answer to Terry Wogan", with both men sharing an Irish background and the common link of being a BBC Radio 2 presenter and the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest. Norton has won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Entertainment Performance on five occassions.
Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, but grew up in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland to a Protestant family. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in County Cork and then University College Cork but did not complete his studies.
In 1992 his stand-up comedy drag act in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a tea-towel clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta made the press when Scottish Television's religious affairs department mistakenly thought he represented the real Mother Teresa.
Rhodri "Rhod" Gilbert, (born 18 October 1968) is a Welsh comedian who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008, he was nominated for the main if.comedy (as the Edinburgh Comedy Awards were then branded).
He appears on television and radio panel shows, has performed stand-up on the Royal Variety Performance, and hosts a weekly show on BBC Radio Wales.
Gilbert was born in Carmarthen, Wales, one of three siblings to two teacher parents and studied languages at Exeter University. For the first three weeks, such was his painful shyness that Gilbert was unable to eat with other students in the canteen or even make friends with the student in the next room.
After graduating, Gilbert travelled for a year and a half around Australia and Asia before returning to Carmarthen and working as an admin assistant for the Welsh Office. After this he worked as a qualitative researcher for a number of different market research agencies in London.
Gilbert got into professional comedy in 2002, after taking a comedy workshop course, but only "thanks to a girlfriend’s constant nagging". Within 18 months, Gilbert had already won several different talent competitions and was nominated for the Perrier Newcomer award for his first solo show in 2005 at Edinburgh Fringe entitled 1984. He has since performed worldwide.