Use of the census of population to discern trends in the Welsh language

An aggregate analysis

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8360758
AutoresGary Higgs (0000-0002-2169-6671, University of South Wales, autor de correspondencia), Colin H Williams (Cardiff University), Colin Williams (0009-0006-1901-050X), Danny Dorling (0000-0001-9519-0537, University of Sheffield)
Año2004
Volumen36
Número2
Páginas187-201
Fecha de publicación2004-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaArea (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0004-0894 • E-ISSN: 1475-4762
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.0004-0894.2004.00215.x
OpenAlexW2139833171
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas9

The aim of this paper is to present a preliminary analysis of unitary authority level data from the 2001 census of population on the spatial (and, where available, temporal) patterns in proportions of Welsh speakers in Wales. In so doing we draw attention to the advantages (and limitations) of the census as a source of information on the state of the Welsh language. Although a 2 per cent increase in the percentage of Welsh speakers between 1991 and 2001 has been welcomed, several commentators have drawn attention to the change in the nature of the question asked at the 2001 census which may account for some of this increase. In this paper, we assess what is, and is not, possible to discern from the census, draw attention to other potential sources of information on the language and make some preliminary recommendations for those agencies concerned with monitoring trends in the future, both with regard to the need for more detailed language use surveys and the nature of the question included in subsequent censuses that would permit a more useful comparison of spatial and temporal trends

Census · Geography · Political science · Population · Regional science · Sociology · Unitary state · Welsh · Demography · Historical Studies of British Isles · Law · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity