Bilingualism and the politics of language planning and policy-making in Wales

Abstract

The article discusses the debate on bilingualism in Wales from 2001 to 2006. It argues that while the status of Welsh has been improving perceptibly in Wales since the devolution process in 1998, there is still much disagreement on the meaning of a bilingual Wales. Building on Laponce’s concepts of collaborative and competitive bilingualisms, it discusses the positions of the main actors involved in the bilingualism debate in Wales. It also identifies some lessons from the Welsh case for furthering our understanding of the politics of language planning and policy-making.