Welsh Journals

EDITORIAL The role played by language in the structuring of Welsh society is a crucial one. For many, the Welsh language is a critical marker of ethnic identity; now, as in the past, therefore, its survival and even growth is a necessary condition of a distinctive national existence for Wales. This particular construction of 'Welshness' is not universally shared, of course, and alternatives exist which not only mobilise different cultural resources, but may actually be antipathetic to Welsh-language culture. And it is these tensions, in turn, which have set the context for the politicization of linguistic development in Wales, as the state inexorably has become more deeply involved in fostering bilingualism. This state involvement in language change in Wales is currently (in mid 1989) at a crucial juncture. The severe social tensions arising over the future of rural Wales and access to housing in particular, show no sign of abating. Whilst the resource implications of implementing the National Curriculum in Wales seem likely to raise acute questions as to the real value of teaching Welsh in our schools. Moreover, it is improbable that the Welsh Language Board will be able to produce a draft Welsh Language Bill which will do more than emphasize the widely differing views which are held with respect to its appropriate remit and powers. Certainly, there is no indication that the political conflicts over Wales' linguistic future are going to subside; indeed, their intensification is much more likely. Against this background, then, it is especially opportune that this volume of Contemporary Wales should be focussed upon linguistic and cultural change in Wales. Nikolas Coupland and Martin Ball contribute a major review of socio-linguistic evidence, which for the first time provides an account of the nature of both Welsh and English language use in Wales. As they demonstrate, it makes little sense to consider the two principal languages of Wales in isolation from each other.