Language Policy and the New Speaker Challenge: Hiding in Plain Sight

393 Pages·2023·4.837 MB·

by  Colin H. Williams

Language Policy and the New Speaker Challenge
‘Newspeakers’isatermusedtodescribethosewhohavelearnedaminority
languagenotwithintheirhomeorcommunitysettingsbutthroughbilingual
education,immersionormigration.Lookingspecificallyattheimpactofnew
speakersonlanguagepolicy,thisbookprovidesanauthoritativeanddetailed
examination of minority language policy in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the
BasqueAutonomousCommunity,Navarre,CataloniaandGalicia.Basedon
interviewswithpoliticians,seniorcivilservants,academicsandcivilsociety
activists, it assesses the extent to which interventions derived from a new
speakers’perspectivehavebeenincorporatedintoofficiallanguagepractice.
It describes several challenges faced by new speakers, before proposing
specificrecommendationsonhowtointegratethemintoestablishedminority
language communities. Shedding new light on the deeper issues faced by
minority language communities, it is essential reading for students and
researchersinsociolinguistics,languagepolicyandplanning,languageedu-
cationandbi-andmultilingualism.
colinh.williamsisSeniorResearchAssociateattheVonHügelInstitute,
UniversityofCambridge,andHonoraryProfessoratCardiffUniversity.He
has been a policy adviser to governments in the UK, Ireland and Canada.
Notable publications include Linguistic Minorities in Democratic Context
(2013)andMinorityLanguagePromotion,ProtectionandRegulation(2013).

Language Policy and the New
Speaker Challenge
Hiding in Plain Sight
Colin H. Williams
CardiffUniversity
UniversityofCambridge
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education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781316517758
DOI:10.1017/9781009047326
©ColinH.Williams2023
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexceptionandtotheprovisions
ofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,noreproductionofanypartmaytake
placewithoutthewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress&Assessment.
Firstpublished2023
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
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LibraryofCongress
ISBN978-1-316-51775-8Hardback
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oraccuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhis
publicationanddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
Contents
ListofFigures pagevi
ListofTables vii
Acknowledgements viii
1 TheEmergenceoftheNewSpeakerPhenomenon 1
2 Popinjays,PragmatismandPolicy:ANewSpeakerTriptych 31
3 Wales:NormalisedExpectations 53
4 Scotland:CautiousConsideration 110
5 Ireland:TemperedAcceptance 154
6 TheBasqueAutonomousCommunityandNavarre:Enthusiastic
Endorsement 212
7 CataloniaandGalicia:UnalloyedSupport? 254
8 ThePolicyCommunityandRecommendationsonNewSpeakers 306
9 Conclusion:ContemporaryChallenges 336
Appendices 345
Bibliography 348
Index 376
v
Figures
3.1 Proportionofpeople(agedthreeandover)abletospeak
Welsh,byLSOA,2011(Source:2011Census) page56
3.2 NumberabletospeakWelshbycommunity,2011(By
permissionoftheWelshGovernment) 57
4.1 NumberofGaelicspeakersin2011bylocaladministrativeunits
(BypermissionofBòrdnaGaidhlig) 113
4.2 LocalauthorityareaswithindigenousGaelic(Bypermissionof
BòrdnaGàidhlig) 115
5.1 Gaeltachtareasin2016(BypermissionofOrdnanceSurvey
Ireland) 179
5.2 GaeltachtLanguagePlanningDistrictsandServiceTowns(By
permissionofJohnWalsh,UniversityofGalway) 191
6.1 NumericalrepresentationofBasquespeakersinBAC,2016 221
6.2 ProportionalrepresentationofBasquespeakersinBAC,2016 222
6.3 EvolutionofBasquespeakersinBAC,1986–2016 228
7.1 Placeofbirthofpopulation,1981–2020 262
7.2 Studentsofforeignoriginwithinstatutoryeducation,2009–20 263
7.3 RegistrationsonCPNLcourses,2017–20 273
vi
Tables
3.1 SchoolswhereWelshisthesoleormainmediumof
instruction,2020–1 page67
3.2 Overviewofsabbaticalcourseprovision,2021 101
5.1 LeadOrganisationsbythematicresponsibilities 176
6.1 Proportionatechangeinschoolattendancebytype 224
7.1 Firstlanguage,languageofidentificationandusuallanguage,
percentages2013–18 260
7.2 ThosewhodeclarethattheycanspeakCatalanin2018 260
7.3 Totalandforeignpopulationseries,2000–11,Catalonia 261
vii
Acknowledgements
Ihaveaccumulatedmanydebtsofgratitudewhileworkingonthisbook,which
grewoutofmyinvolvementwiththeEUCOSTNewSpeakersNetwork.Three
determined colleagues, Bernie O’ Rourke, Maite Puigdevall i Serralvo and
KathrynJones,inveigledmetobeinvolvedwiththeprojectandhavingfinally
succumbedIofferedtofocusontheissueswhichfacenewspeakersandpolicy
makers in formulating new strategies to cope with the demands of language
learners, migrants and refugees, three very different categories posing quite
distinctchallenges.
Thevolume’simmediateoriginsweretwoinvitationsIreceivedin2017and
2018.ThefirstwastodelivertheplenaryopeningaddresstotheCOSTNew
Speakers Network, Final Action Conference, University of Coimbra,
14 September 2017, which was graciously presented by Dr K. Jones in my
enforced absence as a result of recent surgery. The second was the plenary
address to the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Federal and Provincial
MinistersResponsibleforFrancophoneAffairs,Montreal,7November2018,
entitled ‘Three Conundrums for Language Policy’. In these presentations
I developed variants on a critique of the new speaker phenomenon. My
underlyingmessagewasthatintoomanycasespolicymakerswerenotdealing
with theissues raised by newspeakers in a systematic and inclusive manner.
Isoughttoincreasetheirawareness,hencetheargumentsofthisbook.
I should like to express my gratitude to St Edmund’s College, Cambridge
Universityforinvitingmein2015tobecomeaVisitingFellowandcontinueas
a Senior Research Associate of the Von Hügel Institute under its directors
DrPhilipMcCoskerandDrVittorioMontemaggi.Thefirstdraftsofthevolume
werewritteninCambridgeinamoststimulatingandfascinatingenvironment.
I am happy to acknowledge the support of Dr Dylan Foster Evans, head of
school, School of Welsh, Cardiff University where I remain an Honorary
Professor.
I am also verygrateful to thefollowing individuals and organisations who
furnisheddata,copiesofofficialdocumentsandcriticismsofearlierdraftsof
this volume and without whose detailed insights about their own language
planning processes I would not have been able to understand the nuances of
viii
Acknowledgements ix
policy formulation and implementation. They are Liam Andrews, Jasone
Aldekoa Arana, Julia Barnes, Albert Bastardas Boada, Daibhidh Boag,
N. O. Bretón, Emili Boix-Fuster, Jasone Cenoz, Ane Crespo, Michael
Cronin, Xabier Erize, Xose Gregerio Ferreiro Fente, Mireya Folch-Serra,
Pierre Foucher, Jone Goirigolzarri Garaizar, Durk Gorter, Michael Hornsby,
Meirion P. Jones, Xavier Lamuela, Joe Le Bianco, Joe Mac Donnacha, Liam
Mac Mathúna, Bláthnaid ní Ghréacháin, Pádraig Ó hAoláin, Pádraig Ó
Ceithearnaigh, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, Pádraig Ó Duibhir, the late Peadar Ó
Flatharta, Tadhg Ó hIfearnáin, Eamonn Ó Neachtain, Fernando Ramallo,
Dónall Ó Riagáin, Itxaso Rodríguez-Ordóñez, the late Miquel Strubell
iTrueta,HuwThomas.
Institutional representatives who deserve especial mention include
Graham Fraser, former OCOL Commissioner, together with Commissioner
RaymondThébergeandhiscolleaguesattheOfficeoftheCommissionerof
OfficialLanguages,Canada;SeánÓCuirreáinandRónánÓDomhnailland
their colleagues at the Coimisinéir Teanga, Ireland; Meri Huws, Aled
Roberts and Eleri James and their colleagues at the Welsh Language
Commissioner’s Office; David F. Vila, Marta Xirinachs i Codina and
Vicent Climent-Ferrando of the Secretaria de Política Lingüística
Catalonia; Joxean Amundarain, Estitxu Alkorta and Beñat Egues Cuesta of
the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, the Basque Autonomous Community;
Seán Ó Coinn and his colleagues at Foras na Gaeilge. Bláthnaid ní
Ghréacháin,CiaraNiBhroinandClareSpáinneachofGaeloideachas;mem-
bersandstaffofBòrdnaGàidhlig;DouglasAndsellandhiscolleaguesatthe
Scottish Government; members of Soillse, particularly Iain Campbell and
Conchúr Ó Giollagáin; and the Welsh Government, particularly Bethan
Webb, Iwan Evans, Llŷr Jones, Catrin Redknapp, Jeremy Evas and Hywel
Befan Owen.
IacknowledgewithrealthanksthesmallgrantfundingreceivedfromtheEU
COST New Speakers Network, Soillse, the Welsh Government and IAITH,
which enabled me to undertake fieldwork over the period 2013–21.
Iinterviewedfourcategoriesofinformants,namely:ministersandpoliticians;
senior public servants responsible for language and education policy; civil
society agents and activists; academic scholars and think tank researchers.1
In most cases those interviewed were happy to be identified, given their
particular roleswithintheir organisations, andIam gratefulto themfor their
perspectives and insights. Others who were interviewed wished to remain
anonymous.
1 OwingtoCovid-19restrictions,someoftheproposedface-to-faceinterviewsplannedfor2020–
1 were conducted either by Zoom or as an exchange of emails, hence the disproportionate
referencestonamedindividualsfollowedby2021,pers.comm.