Resumen de L2 speakers and the pronouns of address in Welsh
This paper discusses the reported patterns of address of 45 children, all L2 speakers of Welsh attending 3 Welsh‐medium primary schools in South Glamorgan. The L2 patterns are compared with those of L1 speakers of Welsh from the same schools and elsewhere. Whereas the L1 speakers had clear norms of address, the L2 speakers did not, and it is tentatively suggested that this may be an outcome of an apparent process of ‘accommodation’ on the part of the L1 speakers to the L2 speakers’ ‘Interlanguage’ (IL). There is evidence that the L1 speakers are adopting a code of Welsh in the school‐setting which bears many of the characteristics usually associated with the IL of L2 speakers of Welsh. In adopting such a code, it may be argued that the L1 speakers are not providing their L2 peers with a target‐language norm and this has implications for the level of competence the L2 speaker may attain.
