Wales is one the Celtic minority language regions of the UK. The indigenous language, Welsh, is still spoken by some 20% of the population, that is, over half a million people. English, too, has been spoken in Wales since the Early Middle Ages, but it has become the majority language only fairly recently, in the early twentieth century. The language shift has resulted in the local English language adopting features of phonology, grammar and lexis from Welsh, evolving into a distinctive variety, Welsh English.
A new book by Dr Heli Paulasto from the University of Eastern Finland, authored in collaboration with Dr Rob Penhallurick and Dr Benjamin A. Jones from Swansea University, sheds light on the history of Welsh English and its contemporary linguistic features and variation. The book is the first of its kind: it offers a comprehensive synthesis of earlier research on the topic and provides new insight especially into the regional and sociolinguistic diversity in the structures and lexicon of Welsh English. In addition to Welsh language contact and the regional dialects of England, contemporary Welsh English is shaped by the wide-ranging impact of multicultural urban varieties, London in particular, and general spoken language features in British English.
The bilinguality of Wales has a prominent role in the book. The research is based on sociolinguistic interviews and survey data collected by the authors as well as on extensive dialect surveys, the informants consisting of both first language Welsh and English speakers. The research data indicate that although English is clearly the majority language, the Welsh and English languages are intertwined in multiple ways: through crosslinguistic influence, language attitudes and perceptions, and the formation of national and linguistic identities. Hence, besides regional importance, the book also has broader academic relevance for researchers of World Englishes, sociolinguistics, bilingualism, and contact linguistics.
University of Eastern Finland researchers at the centre stage of research into Celtic Englishes
The new book, Welsh English, further strengthens the position of the University of Eastern Finland in the study of Celtic Englishes and their language contacts. Professor Emeritus Markku Filppula is an internationally recognised scholar of Irish English and the historical contacts between English and the Celtic languages, while Dr Paulasto has carried on the legacy through her doctoral dissertation and other publications. Over the years, other doctoral dissertations focusing on Scotland and Ireland have also been published in the English language subject of the university.
Heli Paulasto, Rob Penhallurick & Benjamin A. Jones (2021) Welsh English. Dialects of English 12. Boston & Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614512721
For further information, please contact:
University Lecturer Heli Paulasto, heli.paulasto(at)uef.fi