This paper discusses an ambitious study of adult learners of Welsh in north Wales. Over 1,000 people have taken part in the project, which is studying the experiences of learners throughout the region over a period of three years. This is the most comprehensive study of its kind in the field. The work is led by the North Wales Welsh for Adults Centre and the ESRC Centre for Bilingualism Research at Bangor University. Between September 2008 and August 2010, two questionnaires were distributed to beginners on all north Wales providers’ courses. The results of those questionnaires are discussed below, including aspects such as the learners’ background, their reasons for learning Welsh, their experiences during their course and their satisfaction with the provision. The history of Welsh for Adults is outlined and the research is set in the context of language revitalization and planning in Wales and beyond.

This article is a study of the relationship between nationality and national theatre in Wales from the nineteenth century up to the present day. Welsh nationality is considered in the context of contemporary discussion by the pioneering critics Umut Özkirimli and Hans Kohn on concepts of the nation. The article aims to look into the crucial questions which arise from the historical and current relationships between national theatre, as an arts exercise, and a political expression of national identity in Wales. The significance of national theatre as a tool for expressing national identity is assessed and it is questioned whether the new national theatres of the twenty first century refer back to traditional concepts of the nation and nationality or do they instead exercise a new kind of modern nationality which is defined as ‘an interaction of cultural coalescence and specific political intervention’?

This paper attempts to account for the linguistic variation amongst the Welsh speakers of the Treorci area of the Rhondda Fawr valley at the end of the 1970s. This is done by using and adapting sociolinguistic techniques developed by pioneers in the field, in particular William Labov. The paper begins with a classical phonological description of the Welsh used by the native speakers recorded. It then goes on to explore the relationship between the ‘free’ variation recorded in informants’ speech, through the concept of the linguistic variable and the social network. A detailed analysis of the data is given – both quantitative and qualitative – which adds to our knowledge of Welsh dialects, and also helps us to understand how social factors influence the choice of language by individual speakers.

Although the criminal justice system is not a devolved matter, elements of criminal law administration, which is the process of implementing the law, have developed distinctive Welsh structures and aspects. This can be seen in the context of Assembly Government crime prevention policies, and in particular the issue of youth crime, for example. In a sense, the identity of Wales within the constitution has led to the creation of certain distinctively Welsh processes and policies in terms of criminal justice administration. This paper gives consideration to a specific issue relating to criminal justice and its relationship to identity, within two jurisdictions. The question under discussion is, should there be a right to bilingual juries in certain criminal cases in Wales and Ireland. I shall analyse the relationship between jury service as an obligation and privilege of citizenship, and the competence of Irish and Welsh speakers as a linguistic group for jury service. The analysis will consider also the relationship between the concept of jury service as a privilege of citizenship and the rights and interests of individual speakers within the criminal justice system. It can be seen that this is a matter that demands a multifaceted evaluation from a variety of perspectives. This paper deals also with the objection to bilingual juries, and considers how granting bilingual juries can be consistent with the principle of random jury selection (the basis of the main objection to bilingual juries in Wales and Ireland), thus securing a representative, competent, fair and impartial tribunal.

In many places, devolution has created new regional arenas within which minority nationalist parties have been highly successful in mobilising support for their national projects. However, scholars have paid scant attention to how minority nationalist parties have adapted as they have become major players in regional politics. This article examines such process of adaptation in the cases of two minority nationalist parties: Plaid Cymru in Wales and the Bloque Nacionalista Galego in Galicia. It is argued that the experiences of these parties in adapting to passing the thresholds of representation, relevance and government in their respective regions are far from unique. Rather, they reflect the challenges that any political party faces when it makes the transition from protest to power.

Strengthening and revitalising democracy was a common rationale for establishing regional goverment in Spain and the United Kingdom. In this context, this article aims to assess the impact of regional government on the relationship between civil society and devolved government in Wales and in Catalonia. Based on case studies, the extent to which regional government structures promote civil society participation is assessed and regional government’s impact on the identity of civil society is analysed. Despite the differences, in both cases regional goverments undertook ‘top-down’ efforts to build civil society and the latter has contributed to the Catalan and Welsh nation-building projects. The findings draw attention to the potentially negative democratic implications arising from regional government and civil society relations and the effects of broader political culture.

Welsh-medium education has long been seen as an effective language planning tool in order to transmit the Welsh language in Wales. According to the 2001 Census, there has been a substantial increase in the numbers of Welsh speakers 3–15 years old, especially in south–east Wales, since the 1991 Census. The aim of this paper is to elaborate upon this quantitative data by providing qualitative data with regard to the main reasons and incentives for parents to choose this educational option for their children. The study location is Cwm Rhymni, Caerffili county. A combination of quantitative questionnaires and qualitative in-depth interviews were administered amongst parents from the meithrin, primary and secondary school sectors in Cwm Rhymni. The reasons why parents choose this educational system for their children were cultural, educational, economic and personal. However, it is pertinent to note from the outset, that the parents chose Welsh-medium education for their children in this area for mainly cultural reasons, rather than economic reasons which featured heavily in past studies such as research by Williams et al. (1978) on bilingual education in the Rhondda. This study is the first in a larger corpus of work and one that hopes to address the existing lacunae in the Sociology of Language in Wales, especially as there is a lack of Sociology of Language studies through the medium of Welsh in Wales.

A resource pack including examples of how to use statistical techniques in an undergraduate thesis. It contains 12 self-training chapters for second-year students, including: the use of appropriate resources and data, instructions on how to use a Geographical Information System (GIS). The package includes a handbook and data files.

The manuscripts of Iolo Morganwg (1747-1826), as well as his collection of native folk-songs, give us a unique insight into an important period in the history of Welsh culture during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The central focus of this study is the love-songs found in his collection, together with the wider social context and background which serve to underpin the folk songs. One can trace this tradition to the poets of the nobility, and especially to the age of Dafydd ap Gwilym. Also one folk-tune in particular will be discussed in detail, ‘The Lady of Sker’. The love story, the folk-tune and the words which are normally associated with ‘The Lady of Sker’ are all well-known in several circles, however the folk-tune recorded by Iolo is totally unknown.

Policies introduced to revive the prospects of minority languages have often been the source of substantial disquiet. At times, objections to these policies are expressed in moral terms, with certain measures being accused of transgressing normative principles such as individual freedom and equal opportunity. Given their nature, these moral objections pose interesting questions for liberals. Therefore, how should liberals respond? This article will explore this question by focusing on one controversial aspect of language policy in Wales: the steps taken to set Welsh-language requirements for some jobs in the public sector. This is a practice which has generated substantial debate, with opponents claiming that it undermines the liberal commitment to equality of opportunity in the field of employment and, in particular, transgresses the principle of appointing on the basis of merit. Do such arguments stand up to scrutiny? Do minority language requirements in the field of employment go beyond what liberals would consider acceptable, or can a coherent defence that is clearly rooted within a liberal framework be developed?

With the uncertainty of climate change, reconstructions from parameteorological and phenological records provide a strong basis for the analysis of past and present climate. However, very little research has been completed on the historical climate of Wales, which is variable throughout the country due to factors such as topography and atmospheric circulation. This is particularly so for west Wales, which has a diverse range of environments from the upland ‘green desert’ to the fertile coastal plains, where an extensive history may potentially be reconstructed from un-tapped documentary resources. The potential is immense as possible sources of meteorological information include all religious, official and personal documentation, which may provide an insight into the relationship between the Welsh and the weather.

Bilingual education (i.e. Welsh and English) occurs widely in Wales. By now, considerable variation exists in the provision of bilingual education and, as in the case of minority languages in other European regions, bilingual education in Wales is a combination of education in language heritage/ maintenance (1st Language Welsh) and immersion education (2nd Language Welsh). Because the bilingual education throughout Wales is characterised by “kaleidoscopic variation” (Baker 1993:15), teachers use a wide variety of teaching methods and bilingual teaching. Following interviews / observations at bilingual secondary and primary schools throughout Wales during 2007-2009, this paper will explain the aims and methodology of the research project in question, before moving on to discuss some initial findings. Specific reference is made to purposeful concurrent use of language, as teachers use both languages concurrently during the lesson. The conclusion is reached that further research is necessary into the 'kaleidoscopic variation' of bilingual educational practice in schools in Wales, as well as the analysis and evaluation of the bilingual teaching modules which were observed.