Migration through a language planning lens: a typology of Welsh speakers’ migration decisions

• Elen Bonner ^[1] ; Cynog Prys ^[1] ; Rhian Hodges ^[1] ; Siwan Mitchelmore ^[1]
  1. [1] Bangor University

     Bangor University

     Bangor, Reino Unido

     
• Localización: Current issues in language planning, ISSN 1466-4208, Vol. 25, Nº. 4, 2024, págs. 394-415
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper seeks to explain the migration decisions of minority language speakers by investigating motivating factors. Viewed through a language planning lens, the study pushes the parameters of some of the discipline's more recent agency concepts within the context of migration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 Welsh speakers aged 18–40 who have stayed, left, or returned to the Welsh language ‘heartlands’ to create a typology representing the diversity in speakers’ priorities when deliberating migration decisions. The data shows that the Welsh language is a significant consideration in the migration decisions of some typology groups, however most groups prioritised other factors. It was found that, in some cases, employment was a means of sustaining speakers within the linguistic community or attracting them back, offering much-needed evidence to support key tenets of the Welsh Government's current language strategy. Furthermore, given the likelihood of minority language speakers’ decision to stay, leave or return to a language ‘stronghold’ to increase or limit opportunities to use the language, we argue that migration is an important context for probing the use of agency by minority language speakers at a micro level. Consequently, we contend that migration should receive greater attention from language planning scholars.