Language learning app Duolingo is pausing its Welsh course and has confirmed it will no longer update it from the end of the month. This is despite the company saying in 2020 that the language was the fastest growing in the UK.
The news comes just weeks after Duolingo appeared to show its famous bird as "melting". Duolingo is usually represented by the logo of a green owl, which was initially chosen as a joke, because the brand's co-founder allegedly hated the colour green.
However, according to some app users, the well-known Duolingo owl logo now looks as if it is starting to melt, in an attempt to get potential users to click on the app.
Here is what we know.
Why is the Welsh course no longer being updated?
The company said it would be channeling its resources into courses that were more popular among users.
A petition, launched by users who fear the course will stagnate, is calling on First Minister Mark Drakeford to urge Duolingo to reconsider.
"We hope that our petition would move you to persuade Duolingo to continue to have a vibrant Welsh curriculum that would allow us to achieve a functional fluency," the petition's creator wrote.
Duolingo said it would pause updates when the National Centre for Learning Welsh stops creating material in November.
How many Welsh speakers are there?
According to the most recent data in the Annual Population Survey from July 2022 to June 2023 from the Welsh Government, there are 889,700 Welsh speakers in the UK.
The report said: "For the year ending June 30, 2023, the Annual Population Survey estimated that 29.2 per cent of people aged three or older were able to speak Welsh. This figure equates to around 889,700 people."
What are the most popular languages on Duolingo?
According to statistics, French and Spanish are the most popular languages studied on Duolingo with both having over 29 million learners.
Duolingo has over 300 million active users on the platform.
What are other popular language apps
Other apps include Babble, which teachers a new language in "everyday situations" and offers lessons in 14 languages but Welsh is not one of them.
One of the language teaching apps to score best in overall ranking profiles is Mondly, which says it offers "fun, easy and effective language courses designed by language experts. Learn 41 languages from your native language. Anytime, anywhere, on any device." However, Welsh is not offered on this platform either.
Rosetta Stone is another platform that used to offer a Welsh class but no longer does, although the software can be purchased on sites such as Amazon.
One learning platform that does offer Welsh lessons is SaySomething and it offers a free trial here.
