Welsh medium education in south east Wales, 1949-1962 : a critical analysis of development
Concern for the maintenance of the Welsh language has increased since the middle years of the twentieth century and the demand for educational provision is a reflection of this. The use of education as a means to promote the status of a minority language in a bilingual community is a social phenomenon which is paralleled in other places and has considerable research interest. Minority groups often invoke the development of schools which work in the medium of their local language. Such programmes attempt to reverse language shifts which affect the status of minority groups adversely. They have a significant cultural and political dimension as the resulting schools offer a protected linguistic domain for children and young people and tend in consequence to increase the vitality of the given language. These matters have been widely researched in Wales and elsewhere, though few studies of the educational and social development of the bilingual child have considered the contribution of these programmes to the sociological status of the language concerned even though it is recognised that increased use of a minority language in natural daily communication is an effective empowerment of its users in the surrounding
Packer, Rhiannon A. J.
Welsh medium education ; South East Wales ; Welsh language
Welsh medium education in south east Wales, 1949-1962 : a critical analysis of development. Concern for the maintenance of the Welsh language has increased since the middle years of the twentieth century and the demand for educational provision is a reflection of this. The use of education as a means to promote the status of a minority language in a bilingual community is a social phenomenon which is paralleled in other places and has considerable research interest. Minority groups often invoke the development of schools which work in the medium of their local language. Such programmes attempt to reverse language shifts which affect the status of minority groups adversely. They have a significant cultural and political dimension as the resulting schools offer a protected linguistic domain for children and young people and tend in consequence to increase the vitality of the given language. These matters have been widely researched in Wales and elsewhere, though few studies of the educational and social development of the bilingual child have considered the contribution of these programmes to the sociological status of the language concerned even though it is recognised that increased use of a minority language in natural daily communication is an effective empowerment of its users in the surrounding
welsh medium_education south east wales critical_analysis development concern maintenance welsh language increase since demand educational provision reflection this use education mean promote status minority_language bilingual community social_phenomenon parallel place considerable_interest minority_group often invoke development school work medium local_language programme attempt reverse language_shift affect status minority_group adversely significant_cultural political_dimension result school offer protect linguistic domain child young_people tend consequence increase vitality give language matter widely research wales elsewhere though study educational social_development bilingual_child consider programmes sociological status language concern even_though recognise increase_use minority_language natural daily communication effective empowerment user surround