‘Defnyddiwch y Gymraeg’: Community sport as a vehicle for encouraging the use of the Welsh language

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Author
Evans, Lana
Bolton, Nicola
Jones, Carwyn
Iorwerth, Hywel
Date
2019-02-07Acceptance date
2018-11-12
Type
Article
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
ISSN
1743-0445
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Despite cultural and statutory changes, including significant investment in Welsh medium education, latest census data show a drop in the percentage of Welsh speakers. Moreover there is a concern that many of those who are able to speak Welsh are not using it – the language is not ‘alive’. The Welsh Language Commissioner has identified sport as a space where Welsh can be used, encouraged and promoted. The aim of this study was to investigate whether community sport clubs can provide a space to encourage the use of Welsh. Using qualitative methods we found that strategies to promote Welsh in sports clubs are potentially divisive. The dominant and ‘operational’ language of many community sport clubs is English. Increasing the use of Welsh in these clubs risks excluding non-Welsh speakers, but ignoring the language denies Welsh speakers the opportunity to participate in Welsh.
Journal/conference proceeding
Sport in Society;
Citation
Evans, L., Bolton, N., Jones, C. and Iorwerth, H. (2019) ‘‘Defnyddiwch y Gymraeg’: Community sport as a vehicle for encouraging the use of the Welsh language’, Sport in Society. doi: 10.1080/17430437.2019.1565399
Description
Article published in Sport in Society available at https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2019.1565399
Sponsorship
Cardiff Metropolitan University (Grant ID: Cardiff Metropolian (Internal))
Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol
Collections
- Sport Research Groups [1088]
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