The Welsh Language in Cardiff: A Quiet Revolution

This paper examines recent developments in the growth and distribution of Welsh speakers within Cardiff-the capital city of Wales. Of particular interest is the relationship between the incidence of Welsh speakers and selected socio-economic attributes. The study highlights a significant and highly distinctive resurgence of interest in the language within a longanglicized metropolitan region. The patterns that emerge suggest a reversal of Hechter's classic model relating to a 'cultural division of labour', for these Welsh speakers are characteristically upwardly mobile professionals, and not members of a disadvantaged proletariat.