This paper critiques the contribution made by specialists working within the COST Action Network on New Speakers Programme. It then offers an evaluation of the progress made to date in a number of fields such as conceptual advancement, ideological dispositions, migration and international mobility before contributing a series of policy related…

The Welsh language, which is indigenous to Wales, is one of six Celtic languages. It is spoken by 562,000 speakers, 19% of the population of Wales, according to the 2011 U.K. Census, and it is estimated that it is spoken by a further 200,000 residents elsewhere in the United Kingdom. No exact figures exist for the undoubted thousands of other…

Census data from 1901-1971 on the status of Welsh in Wales are used to illustrate the problems of making language planning recommendations on the basis of limited and scale-specific analyses. Using maps and charts, the data are analysed at national, regional, local, and individual levels. Different patterns of language maintenance and usage emerge…

Examines the current revival of Welsh language and culture arguing that the traditional socioeconomic context of a Welsh-speaking environment is being eroded at the same time that the formal incorporation of Welsh into the parapublic sector (e.g., education) is being realized. (DMM)

Geolinguistics is the developing branch of human geography concerned with the relationship of languages and their physical and human settings. It investigates the socio-spatial context of language use and language choice, measures language distribution and variety, assesses the relative usefulness and availability of different languages from…

This paper explores the relationship between ethnolinguistic maintenance and regional economic development in the context of the regional planning policies of the minority language Gaeltacht areas. The Gaeltacht areas, where the Irish language (Gaeliz) is predominant over English, are primarily found in the extreme western portions of Northern and…

Examines the spatial basis of language planning for the Welsh-speaking regions of the United Kingdom and discusses the relationship between language planning and language rights. Conflict between rights of individuals and rights of groups and between rights of Welsh speakers and those of English speakers are also discussed. (Author/PJM)

A discussion of the current status and future of Celtic languages in the United Kingdom looks at the social and linguistic history of the languages, problems facing the community of Celtic language users, specific tensions and relationships, implications for reform of social policy, and the role of formal language planning, legislation, and key…