Peredur Davies

A systematic comparison of factors affecting the choice of matrix language in three bilingual communities

In this paper we compare the code-switching (CS) patterns in three bilingual corpora collected in Wales, Miami and Patagonia, Argentina. Using the Matrix Language Framework to do a clause-based analysis of a sample of data, we consider the impact of structural relationships and extra-linguistic factors on CS patterns. We find that the Matrix Language (ML) is uniform where the language pairs have contrasting word orders, as in Welsh-English (VSO-SVO) and WelshSpanish (VSO-SVO) but diverse where the word order is similar as in Spanish-English (SVO-SVO). We find that the diversity of the ML in Miami is related to the diversity of degrees of proficiency, ethnic identities, and social networks amongst members of that community, while the uniformity of the ML in Wales is related to the uniformity of these factors. This is not so clear in Patagonia, however, where there is little CS produced in conversation. We suggest that the members of the speech community use Spanish or Welsh mostly in a monolingual mode, depending on the interlocutor and the social situation.

Code switching and the future of the Welsh language

Abstract In this article we argue that Alan Thomass (1982) ideas about the linguistic conditions for language death were ahead of his time, and in fact anticipated those of a prominent code-switching theorist, Myers-Scotton (1998). Both scholars postulated similar stages representing language shift, and both could be interpreted as presenting a scenario for language shift in Welsh–English bilinguals towards monolingualism in English. The ideas of the two scholars are tested empirically by our analysis of a sample of Welsh–English data in order to determine whether or not the linguistic conditions favouring language shift or language death can be found. Our analysis shows that the data are clearly at the first stage, classic code-switching in Myers-Scottons (1998) terms, with Welsh providing the main grammatical frame, while English provides some content words and phrases. We argue that this stage is associated with stable bilingualism, especially if the socio-political circumstances favour that stability. We then present evidence that the recent socio-political climate has favoured the revitalization of Welsh, and suggest that there is no cause for pessimism about the future of Welsh, although “eternal vigilance” is necessary.

Age Variation and Language Change in Welsh: Auxiliary Deletion and Possessive Constructions

This chapter discusses age as a factor in morphosyntactic variation in contemporary Welsh, presenting analysis of corpus data. First, auxiliary verb deletion is discussed, where synchronic age variation is interpreted as showing language change, and internal evidence suggests that the construction shows convergence to a more English-like word order. Second, variation in the use of different types of Welsh possessive construction is discussed: an analysis of age variation in the use of different first plural and third singular possessives sees an increased use of an innovative construction—previously primarily associated with child speech—by younger adults, which is again used as an argument for language change, although this change looks to have developed differently across the first and third person forms.