Witaj und 2plus - Sorbischer Schulverein e.V.

Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to provide a
brief description of the work that is currently
being undertaken in Wales to promote the
use of Welsh within families and the raising
of children bilingually. This paper focuses
solely upon the work of Twf, a national project
funded by the Welsh Assembly Government,
managed by the Welsh Language
Board and run by Iaith Cyf, the Welsh Centre
for Language Planning.
Context
At the turn of the 21 st century, the Welsh language
enjoys a higher status than imagined
possible fifty years ago. According to the
2001 decennial census, there has been a further
gain of some 74,000 Welsh speakers over
the age of 3, since 1991, giving a current total
of some 582,000 Welsh speakers. This amounts
to 20.8% of the population of Wales 1.
Around 57% (315,000) of Welsh speakers
are reportedly fluent in the language 2. Table
1 gives an overview of the change between
1991 and 2001 in the average percentage of
Welsh speakers according to age group. These
percentages vary significantly from one
part of Wales to another.
TABLE 1: % able to speak Welsh according to age group 3
Age group
3–4
5–14
15–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55–64
65–74
75 and older
1991
16,2
26,0
17,8
14,1
14,9
16.5
18,4
20,8
25,1
2001
18,8
40,6
24,4
15,9
14,4
14,9
16,4
18,1
21,1
The Earlier
the Better: Promoting
Bilingualism During
Pregnancy
and Immediately
After Birth
As Table 1 indicates, while the proportion of
Welsh speakers over the age of 35 continues
to fall, there has been an increase in the members
of the younger generation (age 3–35)
who are reportedly able to speak the language.
This increase is greatest in the 5–14 age
group which demonstrates the crucial role
Welsh-medium education plays in increasing
the numbers of Welsh speakers. However, as
Fishman’s seminal work on language revitalization
(1991) 4 emphasizes, the promotion
of a minority language within institutions
such as education, government legislation,
the economy and the national media cannot,
of themselves, reverse language shift without
also securing the mechanism of intergenerational
transmission through «the normal,
daily, repetitive and intensely socializing and
identity-forming functioning of home, family
and neighborhood» (1991: 162). Consequently,
there has been considerable concern
in Wales since the 1970’s that, according to
census statistics, there is an inadequate proportion
of young children being brought up
speaking Welsh in the home to ensure the
future vitality of Welsh as a language of the
home, family and community.
The most recent census figures show that the
rate of inter-generational transmission for
3–4 year olds is 82% (3,818) when both
parents report being able to speak Welsh (see
Table 2). However, when only one parent in
1 Welsh Language Board (2007) The Vitality of Welsh: A Statistical
Balance Sheet. www.bwrdd-yr-iaith-org.uk
2 Welsh Language Board (2004)
3 Adapted from Welsh Language Board (2007) The Vitality of Welsh:
A Statistical Balance Sheet. www.bwrdd-yr-iaith-org.uk
4 Fishman, J. (1991) Reversing Language Shift: Theoretical and
Empirical Foundations of Assistance to ThreatenedLanguages. Clevedon,
Avon: Multilingual Matters.