Rhetoric and reality: critical review of language policy and legislation governing official minority language use in health and social care in Wales

A concerted attempt is being made by the Welsh Government to revitalize the Welsh language in Wales through language legislation and policy initiatives. This paper explores the political rhetoric and practical reality of these recent legislative developments, as they pertain to the health care sector. It offers a qualitative analysis of written evidence provided by key stakeholders during the consultation process on the new legally-binding requirements of Welsh Language Standards for health care providers in Wales. We argue that these meso-level service providers are critical linchpins within the health care system and that it is at the meso level that full tensions between the macro rhetoric and micro reality occur. This contribution highlights shortcomings and barriers to Welsh language service provision in health care in Wales and recommends the adoption of wide-ranging, holistic approaches to language planning that meet the language needs of patients outlined by the Welsh Government.Le gouvernement gallois mène présentement une action concertée en vue de revitaliser la langue galloise au pays de Galles grâce à des mesures législatives et à des initiatives stratégiques en matière linguistique. Cet article explore la rhétorique politique et la réalité pratique de ces récents développements législatifs en ce qui a trait aux soins de santé. Il propose une analyse qualitative des preuves écrites fournies par les principales parties prenantes lors du processus de consultation sur les nouvelles exigences juridiquement contraignantes des normes de conduite concernant l’emploi de la langue galloise, applicables aux prestataires de soins de santé. Nous soutenons que ces prestataires de services de niveau intermédiaire sont des pivots essentiels du système de santé et que c’est au niveau intermédiaire que les tensions entre macro-rhétorique et micro-réalité se produisent. Notre analyse met en évidence les lacunes et les obstacles à la prestation de services en gallois dans les soins de santé au pays de Galles et recommande l’adoption d’approches holistiques dans la planification linguistique qui répondent aux besoins linguistiques des patients décrits par le gouvernement.Gwelir ymgais gan Lywodraeth Cymru i adfywio’r Gymraeg yng Nghymru trwy bolisi iaith a deddfwriaeth. Mae’r papur hwn yn archwilio i’r rhethreg wleidyddol a’r realiti ymarferol y datblygiadau deddfwriaethol diweddar hyn, yn benodol yn y sector gofal iechyd. Mae’r papur hwn yn cynnig dadansoddiad o’r dystiolaeth ysgrifenedig a gasglwyd gan rhanddeiliaid yn ystod y broses ymgynghori i ofynion cyfreithiol Safonau’r Iaith Cymraeg ar gyfer darparwyr gofal iechyd yng Nghymru. Rydym yn dadlau fod y darparwyr gwasanaethau lefel meso hyn yn gyswllt hanfodol yn y system gofal iechyd a’i bod yn lleoliad ble mae tensiynau rhwng rhethreg lefel macro Llywodraeth Cymru a realiti lefel micro’r darparwyr gwasanaeth iechyd yn cael ei amlygu. Mae’r cyfraniad hwn yn tynnu sylw at ddiffygion a rhwystrau i ddarpariaeth gwasanaethau iaith Cymraeg mewn gofal iechyd yng Nghymru ac yn argymell mabwysiadu dulliau cyfannol eang o gynllunio iaith sy’n diwallu anghenion iaith cleifion a amlinellwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues

TOWARDS THE LIGHT/ TUA’R GOLEUNI: WELSH MEDIUM EDUCATION FOR THE NON-WELSH SPEAKING IN SOUTH WALES: A PARENT’S CHOICE

The Welsh-medium education system has long been seen as an effective tool of Welsh language production in Wales. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of Welsh medium education in one south Wales Valley, ‘Cwm Rhymni / Rhymni Valley’. The main reasoning behind the primary research is to focus on the reasons why non-Welsh speaking parents chose Welsh medium education for their children. The research focuses on education but recognises the over lapping nature of the main language transmission spheres within Welsh language planning, i.e. family,community and workplace. This study adopts a mainly qualitative research strategy by administering 60 unstructured interviews to parents who chose Welsh medium nursery, primary and secondary schools for their children. However, as a secondary methodological tool, a semi-structured questionnaire was given out prior to the interviews and the interview sample was then drawn from these. Moreover, Welsh language resurgence within Anglicized areas of South Wales is a fairly unexplored field, this study is hoped to be a catalyst for many more future studies in this field and attempts to address the existing lacunae

Defining economic impact on minority languages: The Case of Wales

The relationship between economy and language is thought to be key to language revitalisation efforts, although the nature of the relationship is often discussed only in general terms. Royles sets out to address this ambiguity by defining the different dimensions of this relationship, however the resultant framework is based on a limited body of evidence. Using the case of Wales, we undertake a systematic review of what is known about the impact of economic variables upon language, thus generating a wider body of evidence to verify Royles’ framework. Our investigation reveals that of the 15,414 references generated as part of the review, 73 were found to satisfy the search criteria and all of which were successfully allocated within Royles’ categories. In validating Royles’ framework we advance a new understanding of economic impact on minority languages by moving from general to definitive terms and suggest that the clarity that this provides can be utilised by policy practitioners in their efforts to halt language decline

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

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