The Governance of Language Revitalisation: The Case of Wales

In this chapter Huw Lewis considers how the growth of focused language policy in support of European regional and minority languages has proceeded in the context of significant structural transformation in the operation of the state and in the location and exercise of political authority. These transformations have involved both a diffusion of power and control among a range of governmental institutions operating at different territorial levels and a blurring of the boundary between these institutions and a variety of societal actors, such as civil society groups, interest groups and private businesses. These issues are then explored in detail in relation to the governance of language revitalisation in Wales, and in particular in connection with the implementation of the Welsh Government’s most recent national language strategy.