Minority language revitalisation: The use of Welsh in a public-service context

为什么拯救一门濒危语言如此困难？一个简单的答案是，在人们避免使用少数民族语言的地方，除非他们确定他们的收件人会理解他们，否则多数民族语言将继续得到加强。在威尔士，政府的目标是通过其“Cymraeg 2050”战略打破这一原则，公共部门通过持续提供威尔士语服务（与英语一起）做出贡献。然而，在实践中，这些经常被忽视，阻碍了振兴威尔士语的努力。本项目旨在确定这种不情愿的系统性原因，以格温内德议会为例，作为一个具有高度社会语言多样性的地区的代表性案例研究。标准（社会）语言学方法，包括调查、访谈、观察和话语分析（用认知话语分析解决思维方式；Tenbrink 2020）将用于解决相关问题，如：威尔士媒体服务是否足以提高认识？熟练的讲威尔士语的客户如何回应学习威尔士语的员工？在英语占主导地位的地区，非威尔士语使用者对威尔士语服务的反应如何？地方方言在公共服务口语交流中扮演什么角色？渠道（在线或面对面）如何影响语言的选择？哪些因素决定了人们对数字或印刷威尔士语或英语媒介的偏好？高低正式程度的影响是什么？由此产生的见解将被合作转化为政策建议，以在理事会内外加强少数民族语言振兴工作的效果。

Why is it so hard to save a threatened language? One simple answer is that majority languages continue to be reinforced wherever people avoid using the minority language unless they are certain that their addressee will understand them. In Wales, the Government aims to break this principle through its 'Cymraeg 2050' strategy, and the public sector contributes by consistently offering Welsh-language services (alongside English). In practice, however, these are frequently ignored, hampering efforts to revitalise the Welsh language. This project aims to identify systematic reasons for this reluctance, using Gwynedd Council as a representative case study located in an area characterised by high sociolinguistic diversity. Standard (socio-)linguistic methodologies including surveys, interviews, observation, and discourse analysis (with Cognitive Discourse Analysis addressing ways of thinking; Tenbrink 2020) will be used to address relevant questions such as: Are Welsh-medium services sufficiently visible to raise awareness? How do proficient Welsh-speaking customers respond to Welsh-learning staff? How do non-Welsh speakers react to Welsh-medium services in English-dominated areas? What is the role of local dialects in spoken public-service communication contexts? How does the channel (online or in-person) affect choice of language? Which factors determine preferences for digital or printed Welsh- or English-medium communications? What are the effects of low or high formality levels? The resulting insights will be collaboratively translated into policy recommendations for increasing the effects of minority-language revitalisation endeavours, within the Council and beyond.