ERIC Number: EJ1023990
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0143-4632
EISSN: N/A
Twitter and the Welsh Language
Jones, Rhys James; Cunliffe, Daniel; Honeycutt, Zoe R.
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v34 n7 p653-671 2013
The emergence of new domains, such as the Internet, can prove challenging for minority languages. Welsh is a minority, regional language and is considered "vulnerable" by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Welsh-speaking community appears to have responded positively to the Internet and the new media it facilitates. This paper uses an online questionnaire to examine the community's response to Twitter. The results show that Twitter has become a new domain for the production and consumption of the Welsh language, as well as facilitating new connections between members of the Welsh-speaking community. However, while Twitter may provide a new domain for the Welsh language, it is also a new domain for the production and consumption of the English language by Welsh speakers. While the presence of the Welsh language on Twitter should be seen as encouraging, the overall effect of Twitter on the maintenance of the Welsh language remains difficult to determine.
Descriptors: Questionnaires, Welsh, Computer Mediated Communication, Internet, Language Minorities, Social Networks, Language Attitudes, Language Maintenance, Language Usage, Foreign Countries, Mixed Methods Research
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Journal Articles
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Wales)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A