Schedule (full abstracts below) Languages: E – English, C – Cymraeg / Welsh, GV – Gaelg Vanninagh / Manx, GA – Gàidhlig na h-Alba / Scottish Gaelic, GE – Gaeilge na hÉireann / Irish
Saturday 21st March
09:00 Registration and welcome
09:20 Plenary: Dr. Oliver Padel, Cambridge, ‘What’s Celtic about Cornwall?’ 09:50 David McCay, Edinburgh, ‘Some Complications in Dindshenchas Érenn’ E 10:10 Miriam Elin Jones, Aberystwyth, ‘Syr Meurig Grynswth a dechrau’r traddodiad ffuglen wyddonol yn y Gymraeg’ [Sir Meurig Grynswth and the beginning of the Welsh science fiction tradition] C
10:30 Break
11:00 Lowenna Hosken, Edinburgh, ‘Minority status for Cornwall’ E 11:20 Ben Gilby, Royal Holloway, ‘Sustainable Devolution for Cornwall’ E 11:40 Christopher Lewin, Aberystwyth, ‘Yn Ghaelg as y Chornish: co-soylaghey daa aa-vioghey’ [Manx and Cornish: comparing two revivals] GV
12:00 Break
12:20 Hynek Janoušek, Aberystwyth, ‘Cás na mBan i nGearrscéalaíocht Mháirtín Uí Chadhain’ [The Case of Women in Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Short Fiction] GE 12:40 James January-McCann, Aberystwyth, ‘Portrayals of Continental and English Catholicism in Sixteenth Century Wales’ E
13:00 Shan Morgain, Swansea, ‘The Mystery of the Three Matriarchs of Britain’ E
13:20 Lunch
14:20 Plenary: Dr. Garry Tregidga, Exeter, ‘Future Directions in Celtic Studies’ 14:50 Siôn Aled Owen, Bangor, ‘Welsh is just for school – isn’t it?’ E 15:10 Ffion Eluned Owen, Aberystwyth, ‘Defnydd beirdd cyfoes o ddelweddaeth llanw a thrai i gyfleu argyfwng y Gymraeg yng nghymunedau gwledig Cymru’ [Contemporary poets’ use of ebb and flow imagery to convey the crisis of the Welsh language in the rural communities of Wales] C 15:30 Erin Hill, Huddersfield, ‘Irish immigrant societies in 19 th-century Yorkshire’ E
15:50 Break
16:00 Annual General Meeting (including selection of next year’s host institution)
Sunday 22nd March
09:40 Jacob Dafydd Ellis, Aberystwyth, ‘Ymgyrchu dros hawliau ieithyddol dros addysg a chymuned Gymraeg yn y sector addysg uwch’ [Campaigning for linguistic rights for Welsh education and community in the higher education sector] C 10:00 Joseph Shack, Cardiff, ‘The Significance of Hair and Beard Grooming in Culhwch ac Olwen’ E 10:20 Max Wheeler, Exeter, ‘Women on the Frontier of British Politics: A New Perspective on the Politics of the Celtic Fringe Between the Wars’ E
10:40 Break
11:00 Catrin Bethan Williams, Jesus College, Oxford, ‘Canoloesoldeb Cyfoes: Golwg ar waith Eurig Salisbury, Hywel Griffiths ac Aneirin Karadog’ [Contemporary mediaevalism: a look at the work of Eurig Salisbury, Hywel Griffiths and Aneirin Karadog] C 11:20 Talwyn Baudu, Bangor, ‘Breton: from a community language to a language community? E 11:40 Jamie Wallace, Glasgow, ‘A bheil na Meadhanan Sòisealta feumail do bhuidhnean leasachaidh na Gàidhlig?’ [Are social media useful for Gaelic development bodies?] GA
12:00 Break
12:20 Alastair Nicholson, Leipzig, ‘Communities of Practice within small languages’ E 12:40 Angelika Heike Rüdiger, Bangor, ‘Creu Aralledd yn Straeon y Tylwyth Teg drwy Greu Byd Gwrthgyferbyniol’ [Creating otherness in the stories of the fairies by creating a contradictory world] C 13:00 Kristyna Syrova, Wolfson College, Oxford, ‘Dumae Selga in the context of the Dindshenchas Genre’ E
13:20 lunch
14.20 Chance for discussion of the papers / the future of Celtic Studies / the future of the Association
15:30 Close of conference
Abstracts The following abstracts have been confirmed, and are given here in no particular order.
Kristyna Syrova University of Oxford Sisters, Swine and Sorcery: Dumae Selga in the context of the Dindshenchas Genre The Middle Irish texts known as the Dindshenchas, while often studied as a source for the place-name or onomastic studies as a whole, are still only occasionally examined through the close textual study of specific tales within the genre. I would like to address this issue by concentrating on the Dumae Selga tale, an example from a sub-group of boar hunting tales within the Dindshenchas. While being related to others within this subgroup, both in terms of nearness of geographical locations or by sharing a particular character, I would like to argue that this specific tale represents a relatively unique take on the boar hunting motif both in terms of narrative and style and examine it as such. All in all, this paper aims to present the Dumae Selga tale both on its own as well as in relationship to the studies of the Dindshenchas genre and its different recensions.
David McCay University of Edinburgh Some Complications in Dindshenchas Érenn Dindshenchas Érenn (Lore of the Notable Places of Ireland, DE) refers to a group of prose and verse texts in Middle Irish extant in manuscripts dating from the 12th–17th centuries, which bring together a series of items of dindshenchas (etymological narrative) as explanations of significant Irish placenames. The majority of past scholarship has been focussed on identifying the older stratum of material in an attempt to access an ‘original’, however, the nature of the compilation of the texts themselves remains understudied, and we have little understanding of how and why they were used. The talk will begin with a brief examination of the limited scholarship of Dindshenchas Érenn. It is clear that each individual manuscript witness to Dindshenchas Érenn draws on many varying aspects of the wider literary tradition. The main focus of this paper will take the entry on Tara as a case study to demonstrate several hitherto unobserved textual, organisational, and literary relationships between manuscripts which highlight both the dynamic compilatory nature of Dindshenchas Érenn and its role in and response to contemporary medieval Irish intellectual culture. I will conclude with a discussion of the implications of these, and similar insights from European MS studies on future study of Dindshenchas Érenn.
Shan Morgain Swansea University The Mystery of the Three Matriarchs of Britain. The Mabinogi are the oldest prose stories in Britain. They hold claim to primary place in British heritage, as a source literature of Europe. Dating analysis places the compilation as a coherent work by a single author in 12 th-century Wales. The Mabinogi manuscript text is newborn from oral tradition, deceptively simple in style, although subtle in intricacy as literature. My research topic is a multidimensional portrait of Rhiannon, one of the Mabinogi protagonists. Rhiannon is fascinating, as a formidable stateswoman, yet a wrenchingly vulnerable queen. Possibly an eheumerised goddess, her dignity triumphs over her sufferings as mother of an abducted child and victim of false accusations of infanticide. Studying this one key protagonist I am led organically to explore the entire Mabinogi. A cryptic reference to the Three High Matriarchs of Britain is thought to refer to Rhiannon, Branwen, and Arianrhod. I ask what it meant to be named a Matriarch of Britain, as translators have struggled to convey it. I then examine the problematic position of the third candidate, where gender conflict challenges the authority of her position. While Rhiannon appears more secure in her status I suggest a similar conflict is evident for her too.
Joseph Shack Cardiff University The Significance of Hair and Beard Grooming in Culhwch ac Olwen Despite the primacy of the two grooming scenes in Culhwch ac Olwen, as well as various tonsorial references found throughout the tale, the topic has been the focus of relatively few concentrated studies. Academics such as Joan Radner and Stephen Knight have given some attention to the role of grooming in the tale, yet their focus has been cursory and in service to their wider interpretations of the text. Bringing together historical sources such as the Welsh laws and the wider corpus of medieval Welsh literature, this paper considers the significance of the grooming scenes in Culhwch ac Olwen, their role in the context of the tale, and the importance of hair and beard dressing in Welsh culture more generally. I argue that the primary grooming scenes, in preceding Culhwch’s induction into separate kin-groups, echo the societal significance of the beard and hair dressing practices in medieval Wales, yet are additionally and inseparably linked to issues of familial identity. In conclusion this paper, by closely examining the narrative of Culhwch ac Olwen as well as the wider social context of grooming practices in medieval Wales, elucidates the neglected topic of the role of beard and hair dressing in the tale.
Ffion Eluned Owen Prifysgol Aberystwyth ‘Fesul tŷ nid fesul ton…’: Defnydd beirdd cyfoes o ddelweddaeth llanw a thrai i gyfleu argyfwng y Gymraeg yng nghymunedau gwledig Cymru. [‘House by house not wave by wave…’: Contemporary poets’ use of ebb and flow imagery to convey the crisis of the Welsh language in rural communities of Wales.] Ni all neb wadu nad y newid amlycaf a mwyaf arwyddocaol yng Nghymru’r hanner canrif diwethaf fu’r crebachu sylweddol i dirwedd ieithyddol a diwylliannol y cymunedau gwledig traddodiadol. Nid pwnc llosg i ddaearyddwyr a gwleidyddion yn unig fu hyn a chafwyd ymateb gonest a goddrychol i’r newidiadau gan y beirdd, gyda’r farddoniaeth yn aml yn adlewyrchu’r profiad personol o fyw yng nghanol yr argyfwng. O gofio lleoliad arfordirol siroedd y Gorllewin, nid oes syndod bod y môr a’i donnau yn hollbresennol yn y cerddi, ac archwilia’r papur hwn ddefnydd y beirdd o ddelweddaeth y llanw a’r trai i bortreadu’r erydiad tiriogaethol a’r mewnlifiad estron yn ystod yr ugain mlynedd diwethaf. Gyda grym y môr wedi bygwth erioed, nid oes amheuaeth nad yw dŵr dros dir yn ddelwedd sydd wedi ei gwreiddio’n ddwfn yn isymwybod y Cymry ac fe gyflwynir y modd y cryfheir y ddelwedd drwy gyplysiad ingol â thrychineb Tryweryn a chwedl Cantre’r Gwaelod.
Erin Hill University of Huddersfield Prime Cattle and Mature Men: Irish immigrant societies in 19 th-century Yorkshire From 1832 onwards, increasing numbers of Irish settled in Northern England. Many Yorkshire mill towns, originally intended to serve only as a stopping-off point between Liverpool and London, became home to many tens of thousands of Irish immigrants. Mill owners ploughed money into new Catholic churches – many of which still stand – in an attempt to attract more cheap labour. Within a generation, although they faced considerable discrimination, the Irish had made deep inroads into business, sport, society and – crucially – politics. There is evidence that the Irish did not form ‘ghettoes’ or gather together geographically to the same extent as many other immigrant communities did during this period. What, then, kept them together even as they consciously attempted to integrate? Religion was important, but perhaps even more crucial were the Irish societies which sprang up during this period. These groups were planning committees, election campaigns, language classes, social groups and sports teams but also an extraordinarily generous and effective form of welfare for their members. This paper seeks to explore primarily the influence these groups had on Irish immigrant identity, but also their practical function, and a political impact which can still be felt today.
Lowenna Hosken University of Edinburgh Minority status for Cornwall: real progress or empty words? This paper will look at how Cornish language, identity and culture have developed in terms of recognition and support since 2000. Recognition under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (2003) and the Framework Convention for National Minorities (2014) has been agreed in respect of Cornwall but what impact has this actually had? Has recognition under these treaties helped to gain quantifiable support for Cornwall and is it likely to do so in the future or is it just empty words? How has this recognition affected attitudes and opinions within Cornwall itself? The paper will also look at what effect, if any, the independence debate in Scotland and the political fallout from it has had and whether discussions in Cornwall around cultural distinctiveness, identity and devolution have altered as a result.
Miriam Elin Jones Prifysgol Aberystwyth ‘A lle’r awen yw’r lleuad…’: Syr Meurig Grynswth a dechrau’r traddodiad ffuglen wyddonol yn y Gymraeg. [‘And the moon is the place of the muse…’: Sir Meurig Grynswth and the beginning of the Welsh science fiction tradition.] Adwaenir Ceiriog fel bardd rhamantaidd anad dim, a phur anaml y cyfeirir at gyfraniad ei ryddiaith ddychanol at lenyddiaeth Gymraeg. Synnwn mai efe yw’r llenor Cymraeg cyntaf i ddefnyddio un o fotiffau amlycaf y genre ffuglen wyddonol, sef y daith ofodaidd, a hynny yn y bedwaredd ganrif a’r bymtheg, drwy olrhain hanes rhyfeddol Syr Meurig Grynswth a’i gyfeillion i’r lleuad ym mhapur ‘Yr Arweinydd’. Archwilia’r papur hwn sut y cyflwyna’r bardd a ymgartrefodd ym Manceinion ei hun a’i bersona, Syr Meurig, fel ffigyrau alltud, a rhydd iddo’r pellter i allu beirniadu’r gymdeithas Gymraeg. Yn ogystal â hynny, cyflwynir yr arallfydwyr a’r antur ofodaidd gyntaf yn hanes y traddodiad ffuglen wyddonol fodern yn Gymraeg, gan awdur sy’n gyfoeswr i Jules Verne a H. G. Wells, ac yn rhagflaenydd i Daniel Owen.
Max Wheeler University of Exeter Women on the Frontier of British Politics: A New Perspective on the Politics of the Celtic Fringe Between the Wars
I would like to expand upon the research I have already completed in relation to Hilda Runciman, the first female MP for Cornwall and the other women who acted as the first female MPs in the ‘Celtic Fringe’; Megan Lloyd George, Katherine Duchess of Atholl and Countess Markievicz. It should be possible to use the lives of these women as a lens through which we can assess the politics and culture of their regions of the Celtic fringe. Assessing these regions through their first female MPs should give us an interesting insight into the peculiarities of each part of the Celtic Fringe in the British Isles as well as similarities between them. How these women were regarded by the people they worked with, campaigned against and most importantly represented, could shine a light on how the Celtic Fringe dealt with the novelty of Women’s suffrage in the interwar period.
Jody Buckley Coogan University College Cork Marriage in early Irish law. Marriage is but one of the many topics covered by the extensive body of extant Irish legal material from the 7th and 8th centuries. After a brief overview of the textual tradition of early Irish law (no texts survive in contemporary manuscripts, but in MSS from the 14th–16th centuries), the paper will consider the significance of the marriage law texts with regard to the status of women in early Irish society, as well as the ingenuity and precision of the jurists who wrote the texts. Reference will also be made to the linguistic significance of the law texts, which usually betray multiple layers of glossing and commentary in a language later than that of the original text. [Unfortunately this speaker has had to withdraw.]
Catrin Bethan Williams University of Oxford Canoloesoldeb Cyfoes: Golwg ar waith Eurig Salisbury, Hywel Griffiths ac Aneirin Karadog [Contemporary Mediaevalism: an examination of the work of Eurig Salisbury, Hywel Griffiths and Aneirin Karadog] Mae’r papur yn defnyddio cyfrolau diweddar y tri bardd dan sylw fel sail i drafod defnydd canoloesoldeb ym marddoniaeth boblogaidd yr unfed ganrif ar hugain. O wneud hyn, mae’n cwestiynu ansawdd y gyfeiriadaeth ganoloesol sydd i’w gweld yn amlwg yng ngwaith y tri. Wedi hyn, mae’r papur yn mynd i’r afael â dwy brif ystyriaeth. Y gyntaf yw’r elfen berfformiadol – sydd i’w gweld mewn cerddi poblogaidd, comedïaidd yn bennaf – a phwrpas ac effaith canoloesoldeb fel techneg mewn cerddi o’r math. Mae’n defnyddio theorïau ynghylch creu cymunedau ac ymarfer torfol, ac yn archwilio’r elfennau hunan-ymwybodol, meta-farddonol yn y farddoniaeth.
Yr ail ystyriaeth yw agwedd wleidyddol ac ideolegol y cerddi; mae’r papur yn cwestiynu newydd-deb yr elfen hon ac effeithiolrwydd a chyfraniad canoloesoldeb at farddoniaeth genedlaetholgar gyfoes. Mae’n gwneud hyn yng ngoleuni canu’r ugeinfed ganrif, ac yn cwestiynu a gafwyd datblygiad sylweddol ac effeithiol o’r canu hwn yn yr unfed ganrif ar hugain. Bwriad y papur yw ystyried y math poblogaidd iawn hwn o gyfeiriadaeth yng nghyd-destun penodol yr unfed ganrif ar hugain, gan ddefnyddio gwaith beirdd ifainc a phoblogaidd fel sail i’r drafodaeth.
Talwyn Baudu Bangor University Breton: from a community language to a language community? As the number of Breton speakers decreases at an extraordinary rate, to a point were family transmission has virtually halted, one might wonder if this means the end of Breton as a community language in the near future, despite the number of young speakers between the ages of 15 to 18 years old increasing from 1% to 4% in the last decade. However, regardless of this growth, the numbers remain alarming as the majority of Breton speakers are amongst the older generation, 75% of Breton speakers are 60 years old and over. Moreover, as young new speakers acquire Breton as a school language, the usage of the language outside of the classroom is often limited. Therefore, is Breton inevitably becoming a symbolic language rather than a social one? Considering the great age disparity between the speakers, what does this hold for the future of Breton as a community language? This presentation will look at the evolution as well as the challenges of the Breton language as it shifts from a community language to a language used mainly amongst a community of interested and militant individuals.
Angelika Heike Rüdiger Bangor University Pam nad yw’r Tylwyth Teg yn hoffi haearn: Creu Aralledd yn Straeon y Tylwyth Teg drwy Greu Byd Gwrthgyferbyniol, a Chanlyniadau hynny [Why the fairites do not like iron: Creating otherness in the stories of the fairies through creating a contrasting world, and the results of this] Y mae straeon traddodiadol y Tylwyth Teg yn sôn am dabŵau nodweddiadol sy’n perthyn i’r teulu hudol hwn, megis osgoi halen neu gyffwrdd â haearn. Yn y 19eg ganrif ceisiodd rhai ysgolheigion esbonio’r casineb at haearn gan fynnu fod y Tylwyth Teg yn bobl o’r Oes Efydd a oedd yn gynfrodorion ar Ynys Prydain, ac y goresgynnwyd y bobl hyn gan lwythi a feddai ar ddiwylliant uwch Oes yr Haearn. Ond gyda’r sylweddoliad bod y disgrifiad o gynhanes Ynys Prydain fel cyfres o
oresgyniadau wedi ei seilio ar ddamcaniaethau imperialaidd, ciliai’r syniad mai trigolion cynharaf yr Ynys oedd y Tylwyth Teg. Bydd y papur hwn yn dangos fod y tabŵ yn erbyn haearn yn rhan o ddull naratifolstorïol sy’n disgrifio aralledd y Tylwyth Teg. Y mae’r dull naratifol hwn yn cyfateb i’r meddwl cyferbyniol, deuol hwnnw sydd, yn ôl Clark, yn gyfrifol am y gred mewn gwrachod yn y cyfnod modern cynnar. Bu canlyniadau hyn yn bellgyrhaeddol: dryswyd rhwng dewiniaeth a chred yn y Tylwyth Teg; cyfystyrwyd Annwn ag Uffern, newidiwyd Brenin Annwn yn Ddiafol, ac arweiniodd hyn oll at ddatblygu’r syniad gan Margaret Murray fod y Tylwyth Teg yn widdonod, syniad a ddaeth yn ddylanwadol ym maes neo-baganiaeth.
Jamie Wallace Oilthigh Ghlaschu A bheil na Meadhanan Sòisealta feumail do bhuidhnean leasachaidh na Gàidhlig? [Are social media useful for Gaelic development organizations?] A literature review of minority languages already involved in Social Media to promote their development and a study looking at the current make-up of Gaelic development organisations and how they have been using Social Media, namely Twitter, to further their aims of developing Scottish Gaelic.
Siôn Aled Owen Bangor University ‘Welsh is just for school – isn’t it?’ The paper will describe a research project under the School of Education at Bangor University involving an analysis of the factors influencing teenagers’ use of one minority language outside the classroom and the implications for other minority language contexts. While the uptake of Welsh medium education has been steadily increasing, the use of the language in the playground and outside of school, especially at secondary level, remains limited in many cases, despite many and varied initiatives by schools and community agencies to address the issue. The research described takes the form of a series of purposive case studies in schools in Wales in differing linguistic and demographic contexts supplemented by interviews with experts in this and related fields in Wales and internationally.
Preliminary findings on the factors which consistently seem to play a part in the use / non use of Welsh in social contexts will be presented, and the implications for other minority language contexts will be discussed.”
Ben Gilby Royal Holloway, University of London Sustainable Devolution for Cornwall The paper I wish to present concentrates on the contemporary debates about forms of devolution for Cornwall. Drawing on trends from a wider study of devolution campaigns further afield in Catalonia, Venice and Scotland, the paper argues that, with the push for devolution around the UK now firmer than ever before, Cornwall has to come to an agreement on what form of devolution it wants – whether it be a Cornish assembly, part of a ‘Devonwall’ body, or as a wider South-West England regional parliament. It will review research I have carried out in the field among Mebyon Kernow councillors, Gorsedh Kernow, the media (national and local) and national government which has led me to be able to assert that Cornwall has a realistic chance of winning some form of devolution, but only by arguing with one consistent voice could it be achieved
James January-McCann Aberystwyth University ‘Y gwsanaeth prydwysaidd yn y gwledydd yma’: Portrayals of Continental and English Catholicism in Sixteenth Century Wales The rise of Protestant ‘national churches’ like the Church of England, and the consequent shattering of the unity of Christendom along national and linguistic lines. A good example of this is the English experience, where the newly established Church of England was portrayed as a patriotic, natively English religion opposed to the ‘foreign’ Catholicism promoted by France and Spain. This hardening of national identity is found even in the work of those English writers who remained loyal to Catholicism, who tended to focus more on presenting Catholicism as the truly authentic English religion than on extolling the virtues of the Catholic societies on the continent. The prolific Welsh author and missionary priest Fr. Robert Gwyn by contrast, took a different approach. In his various works, written between 1574 and 1591, Gwyn contrasts the abject condition of the Welsh with the joyfulness of their continental coreligionists, and with those of their English neighbours who remained Catholic. This paper will discuss Gwyn’s use of continental and English conditions as an exemplum
for the Welsh, and contrast them with those instances where he seems to have followed the more nationalistic trends of the time. Through this I will attempt to show that Gwyn was as much an internationalist as a national product.
Christopher Lewin Aberystwyth University Yn Ghaelg as y Chornish: co-soylaghey daa aa-vioghey [Manx and Cornish: comparing two revivals] Ayns y phabyr shoh ta foym baght y ghoaill jeh ny haghtyn ta aa-vioghey yn Ghaelg as aa-vioghey yn Chornish er ve casley ry-cheilley chammah as ny lhiettrimmyssyn eddyr yn jees bentyn da strughtoor cummaghyn ny glaraghyn as aghtyn-smooinaght yn sleih ta loayrt ad. Va baarney jeh ymmodee sheelogheyn eddyr baase yn Chornish hradishoonagh as toshiaght yn aa-vioghey ec toshiaght yn feedoo lhing, as shimmey argane t’er ve ayn mychione cre’n eash jeh’n ghlare lhisagh ymmyd y ve jeant jeh myr undin da’n ghlare aa-vioghit, as cre’n sorçh dy aght-screeuee s’cooie ta. Ayns y Ghaelg ta ny sloo dy lhiettrimmyssyn eddyr ny caghlaaghyn eashyn as ta aght-screeuee stundayrtagh er ve ayn er-dyn hoghtoo lhing jeig. Marish shen, ta sleih ayn jiu dynsee y Ghaelg oc, ayns ayrn, voish yn sleih s’jerree va Gaelg oc voish y chlean. Son shen as ooilley, ta’n daa aa-vioghey ny smoo gollrish y cheilley na t’eh jeeaghyn voish yn çheumooie. Ga nagh vel scarraghyn mooarey er ve ayns gleashaght aa-vioghey yn Ghaelg, ta caghlaaghyn barel er ve scanshoil as jannoo er yn aght ta sleih jeeaghyn er ‘baase’ as ‘aa-vioghey’ glare. In this paper I will examine the similarities and differences between the Manx and Cornish language revivals in relation to the formal linguistic structure of the revived languages and the ideologies of their speakers. There was a gap of several generations between the extinction of traditional Cornish and the beginning of the revival at the turn of the twentieth century, and there has been much argument over what period of Cornish to base the revived language on and what kind of orthography to use. In Manx there are fewer differences between different periods and there has been a standard orthography since the eighteenth century. Moreover, there are people today who learnt their Manx in part from the last native speakers. Nevertheless, the two revivals are more similar than they might appear on the surface. Though there have been no major schisms in the Manx revival movement, differences of opinion have nonetheless been important and effect the way language ‘death’ and ‘revival’ are conceptualized.
Alastair Nicholson University of Leipzig Communities of Practice within small languages
My paper will report on my research on small languages that act as ‘Communities of Practice’. A community of practice is an educational model that looks at how people learn within institutional organisations. It can be imagined as a circle with the centre being the people who know the most , moving out to those who know the least. This process can be recognised within small language communities where revitalisation programmes create communities of semi fluent learners. Kernewek with few mother tongue speakers is a clear example of this process. As a learner at the periphery you interact with the fluent community and this should cause you to naturally get pulled towards the centre of fluency . This doesn’t always happen and my research will speculate on reasons for this through the link between culture community and language revitalisation at these peripheral areas. I will describe my supporting research into small constructed languages such as Signalong Makaton and Esperanto using them as examples that illustrate good and poor practice of community of practice development. The aim of this research is to specifically to support the revitalisation programmes of Kernewek and Sorbian. This presentation will be accompanied by digital images to illustrate the text.
Hynek Janoušek Aberystwyth University ‘Nach iomaí mo leithéid eile istigh sa bpobal?’—Cás na mBan i nGearrscéalaíocht Mháirtín Uí Chadhain [‘Aren’t there many others like me within the people?’ – The Case of Women in Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Short Fiction] Más iad na fir is mórthaibhsí sna scéalta sin de chuid an Chadhnaigh a léiríonn cruachás an duine cathrach nua-aimseartha (m.sh. ‘An Pionta’), is iad na mná na carachtair is tábhachtaí agus is beoga sna scéalta a chuireann síos ar shaol shochaí thraidisiúnta na Gaeltachta. Cén fáth agus cén chaoi a dtarlaíonn sé go bhfuil na carachtair mhná chomh feiceáleach sin i gcomórtas lena macasamhla fir? Is iad an dá cheist seo atá á gcíoradh sa bpáipéar seo trí ghrinnléitheoireacht a dhéanamh ar chúig ghearrscéal de chuid Mháirtín Uí Chadhain. Roghnaigh an Cadhnach ionad faire na mná, seachas an fhir, agus é i mbun staidéir ar an saol ar fásiceadh as é. Chuir sé sin ar a chumas drochthréithe áirithe na sochaí traidisiúnta firinne a nochtadh. Ní tíopaí sóisialta ná máireoigíní bréagbheoga atá á gcruthú aige sna scéalta seo, áfach, ach samhail éalaíonta de dhuine beo. Más amhlaidh gurb é an comhthionól fuinniúil fuinte atá á scrúdú aige, ní imíonn cumraíocht chasta na hindibhide daonna ó léargas air choíche. Scrúdaítear an comhcheangal atá ag an gCadhnach idir beachtaíocht shósialta agus aigneolaíocht ghéarchúiseach. Tugtar iarracht ar a mhíniú cén chaoi ar éirigh leis an dá chuspóir seo dá chuid scríbhneoireachta a choinneáil ar a gcothrom. Tugann an mionléamh a dhéantar ar na scéalta léargas glinn dúinn ar an gcomhbhá a bhí ag Máirtín Ó Cadhain le staid na mban i sochaí na Gaeltachta go sonrach agus ar an léiriú cumasach a thug sé ar ghluaiseacht is ar sheachrán na haigne daonna i gcoitinne.
Jacob Dafydd Ellis Prifysgol Aberystwyth Ymgyrchu dros hawliau ieithyddol dros addysg a chymuned Gymraeg yn y sector addysg uwch [Campaigning for linguistic rights for Welsh education and community in the higher education sector] Mae gennym fel cenedl ac yn wir fel sector addysg uwch lawer i ymfalchio ynddi. Ond, pryderaf nad ydym, fel rheol, yn derbyn tegwch a chysondeb ieithyddol ar draws ein sefydliadau addysg uwch. Mae’n fater o angenrhaid i brifysgolion, colegau addysg bellach ac undebau myfyrwyr edrych o ddifrif ar y ffordd yr ydynt yn trin y Gymraeg mewn cyfnod o gymathu ac ehangu er mwyn i ni gynnig addysg a chymuned Cymreig a Chymraeg i holl fyfyrwyr ein gwlad – ni allwn barhau i gynnig handouts damheigiog o ewyllys da i bocedi neu i ranbarthau penodol. Fel Swyddog yr Iaith Gymraeg Undeb Cenedlaethol Myfyrwyr Cymru 20132015 rwy’n llawn ymwybodol o waith ddiflino myfyrwyr i sicrhau cysondeb ieithyddol ac yn mynnu hyn drwy anfudd-dod sifil. Rwy’n cydnabod fod llawer o waith i wneud cyn y gallem ymlacio. Bwriad y cyflwyniad byr yma ydy rhoi rhagflas i chi o’r hyn sydd rhaid wneud yn y sector addysg i fod yn bont rhwng iaith gartref a iaith y gymuned – a hynny trwy ymgyrchu! Brodor o Fro Morgannwg, Cymru ydy Jacob Ellis, ac graddiodd y llynedd mewn Cymraeg a Gwleidyddiaeth Ryngwladol. Mae hefyd yn Lywydd ar Undeb Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Aberystwyth ac yn dechrau ar gwrs meistr mewn Newyddiaduriaeth Darlledu ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd ym mis Medi. Mae wedi dros y tair mlynedd diwethaf ymwneud â hawliau phobl ifanc a myfyrwyr yng Nghymru gyda phwyslais arbennig ar hawliau iaith. Mae hefyd yn Lywydd ar Gymdeithas Myfyrwyr Astudiaethau Celtaidd Iwerddon a Phrydain, yn Gyn-gadeirydd ar Fwrdd Syr Ifanc Urdd Gobaith Cymru ac yn Gyn-gadeirydd ar Weithgor Gwyl Ieuenctid Celfyddydau Cymru. Mae bellach yn gynrychiolydd myfyrwyr i’r Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol ac yn datblygu systemau cynrychioliadwy iddynt.