Colin Baker

Aspects of Bilingualism in Wales (Multilingual Matters 19) Colin Baker

Wales is a small nation with a long and varied tradition of bilingualism, but the minority language and culture is under threat. This book seeks to take the temperature of the Welsh language and finds evidence of a language moving slowly towards extinction.

The aim of each chapter is to examine an issue which is of significance in most minority language situations, but is exemplified in the Welsh context. The effect of television and other mass media, the potential and threat of the microelectronic revolution, the existence and erosion of heartlands are issues which are part of the nervous tension of contemporary Wales and of many other minority language regions.

The role of bilingual education is a central issue in this book. A bilingual education model is described as a basis for analysing some of the problems and issues of Welsh and worldwide bilingual education. Another chapter analyses different approaches to curriculum development in minority language contexts and argues for an approach combining central initiatives and teacher-based action research. Regional variations in the policy and provision of bilingual schooling in Wales are portrayed, and two further chapters present recent research into Welsh education. This research points to the crucial nature of immersion and active participation in the minority culture as a lifeline for the future of the Welsh language.