ACCOMODATION STRATEGIES PERFORMED BY WELSH PEOPLE

By these 3 different reactions we can analyse their attitudes towards the standard variety of English or Welsh itself. We know that Welsh is a minority language in Wales; therefore its speakers belong to a subordinate group, whereas the English speakers belong to the language spoken by the majority not only in Wales, but also in !. "his last language will be thus the dominant one. In situations when g ou! "e"#e shi! has to #e a$$entuate% an% su!!o te%& s!ee$h %i'e gen$e "a( #e an i"!o tant st ateg( )o %istinguishing onese*) ) o" "e"#e s o) othe g ou!s+ As it is o#'ious& the es!on%ents %i'e ge% ) o" the s!ee$h st(*e an% *anguage o) the !e son a%% essing the" #e$ause the( )e*t th eatene% an% %enig ate%+ The( %isag ee% with his senti"ents an% ha% no %esi e to a$$o""o%ate to his s!ee$h+ That ,non-$on'e gen$e, o %i'e gen$e "a( a$t as a s("#o* whe e#( "e"#e s o) an ethni$ g ou! $an signa* thei intention o) "aintaining thei %istin$ti'eness+ #onsidering that obviously they had to shift into English to reply to the researcher $otherwise he would not have understood them%,if we have a look at the integ ati'e *ea ne s, we observe that& a) Some broadened their Welsh accents "hese ones obviously performed the %i'e gen$e& they changed their speech style from that of the researcher. By doing that, they were reassuring to themselves and to the others $the inter'group in this case is the English speakers% their identity as (We*sh) and we could add (an% ! ou% o) it.. "hese people really felt that identity from head to toe, not only following working or educational interests. "hey learn the language as an end itself, with no further conse*uences or goals. "hey believe Welsh is as rich or important a language as English is. #/ So"e int o%u$e% We*sh wo %s to thei answe s "hese people felt themselves e'en "o e th eatene% and they did not have any doubt in not only reassuring their Welsh identity first $and English speakers identity secondly% like the e+ample a%, but also showing it with Welsh words. $/ So"e use% an agg essi'e tone "hey were feeling more than threatened. "hey wanted to e+press themselves the rejection of the attitude of the English speaker $as a member and representative of the standard variety of English%.

d% The wo"an that %i% not e!*( )o a whi*e but she started conjugating Welsh verbs is a more comple+ case. ,he is included in the group of the integrative learners but sti** nee%s ti"e to assi"i*ate he i%entit( as a We*sh s!ea0e . "hat is why first she does not reply anything $she was hesitating what should be the more suitable attitude towards the English researcher% but then she takes courage and wants to reaffirm her identity, so she starts speaking Welsh. We can move now to the inst u"enta* *ea ning. "his is the knowledge which is made of an accumulation of skills, facts, and actions that yield solutions; a means to an end. -t comes from e+ternal authority that tells you the right skills, facts, and rules you need to produce the results to get what you want; in this case, to get a better job. -n the other hand then, the instrumental learners state clear their position. "hey understand *anguage as an inst u"ent to a$hie'e goa*s . -n this case they wanted to make better their prospective careers and in order to do so, they needed to speak Welsh. But for them, therefore, the language is an instrument they use, but not an end or goal itself. "hey do not have the Welsh identity, they have not assimilated it and, what is more, they attenuate their accents. "hus they render superiority to ./ variety. By doing this they are affirming that they are )i st Eng*ish s!ea0e s but due to some (compulsory) $but (not important) for them% rules, they ha% to s!ea0 We*sh to get a better job. To su" u!& this is a goo% e1a"!*e in whi$h we $an sa( that a$$o""o%ation theo ( has he*!e% us un%e stan% wh( in%i'i%ua*s s!ea0 the wa( the( %o& a$$ounting )o the "anne in whi$h the( inte ! et thei own o*es an% those o) thei inte *o$uto s& as we** as the ! o$e%u es the( eso t to in o %e to a$t "eaning)u**(+ What is "o e& the ,a$$o""o%ati'e ! o$esses, that !eo!*e e"!*o( "a( )u*)i* the )un$tion o) attenuating o a$$entuating thei so$ia* i%entit(+