Sociolinguistics Symposium 19
Freie Universität Berlin | August 21-24, 2012
Programme: accepted abstracts
Abstract ID: 300
Part of Session 122: In the Shadow of Empire (Other abstracts in this session)
The Office of Welsh Language Commissioner: The first fruits of legislative devolution.
Authors: Williams, Colin Haslehurst
Submitted by: Williams, Colin Haslehurst (Cardiff University, United Kingdom)
The paper will focus on the development and application of language legislation in Wales, principally the Welsh Language Acts of 1967 and of 1993 and the recent Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, which, in contrast to the earlier Acts, formally declares that Welsh has official status in Wales. A critical and central feature of the new Measure is the establishment of the Office of Language Commissioner for Wales, which will become operational on April 1st 2012. The creation of this office brings the Welsh regulatory regime into closer alignment with Canada and Ireland, both of which have established such a body.
The paper will focus on the challenges faced by the OLC, its form and function and its approach to regulating the implementation of the Language Measure 2011.The crunch question is to what extent the new regulatory framework will influence the sociolinguistic context of Welsh public life.
The new language legislation has been adopted in a changing political and constitutional context in Wales, with the National Assembly for Wales, initially established in 1999, expanding its role and the range of its law-making capacity. Administrative devolution has given way to legislative devolution in Wales and this has ramifications for the territorial governance of the UK and the development of a body of Welsh law. It is anticipated that some insights may be gleaned which will prove of relevance to future Welsh-UK parliamentary and legislative relations.