English in Wales

doi:10.1017/9781108769617.011

8 - English in Wales

from Part I - English

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 October 2024

Heli Paulasto

Edited by

Susan Fox

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Susan Fox: Affiliation:
Universität Bern, Switzerland

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Summary

This chapter presents on overview of present-day Welsh English(es) with a focus on regional variation and diachronic developments over the past fifty years. The Anglicisation of Wales has progressed in several phases over the centuries, which is why the accents and dialects of English in Wales are regionally distinctive, the Welsh language and neighbouring English English dialects impacting them to different degrees. The chapter takes the Survey of Anglo-Welsh dialects (Parry 1999) as a starting point and uses corpus and survey data compiled in the twenty-first century as well as recent research publications, thereby examining the main trends of development in the different domains of English. Phonological variation and change are described across a broad North–South continuum, whereas in morphosyntax the greatest differences can be found between the predominantly English-speaking Southeast and the bilingual, historically Welsh-dominant North and West Wales. In regional lexicon, sociolinguistically and nationally salient items are relatively few, originating from both Welsh and English. Finally, the chapter draws attention to recent research, and highlights some caveats and future directions for the study of English in Wales.

Keywords

Welsh English Wales phonology morphosyntax lexicon discourse pragmatics variation change language and dialect contact sociolinguistics

Type: Chapter
Information: Language in Britain and Ireland , pp. 208 - 228

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769617.011 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2024

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8 - English in Wales

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