New Patterns of Migration in the
Light of Language Policy : the Case of
Polish Migrants in Wales
Kultura i Polityka : zeszyty naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Europejskiej im. ks. Józefa Tischnera w Krakowie nr 7, 94-106
N EW PATTERNS OF M IGRATION IN THE LIGHT
OF LANGUAGE POLICYTHE CASE OF POLISH
MIGRANTS IN WALES
Abstract
This p a p e r is s itu a te d w ith in th e la n g u a g e policy a n d p la n n in g a re a of th e L IN E E p ro je c t (L anguages in a N etw o rk of E u ro p e a n Excellence) co-funded u n d e r th e 6 th fra m e w o rk p ro g ra m m e of th e E u ro p e a n C om m ission. It deals w ith th e im p act of ‘n e w ’ m ig ra tio n o n officially bi- a n d trilin g u a l regions in E urope.
A fter E U -en la rg em en t in 2004, G re a t B rita in w as on e of a few old m e m b e r states th a t did n o t im pose any la b o u r m o vem ent re stric tio n s u p o n th e n ew m e m b e r states. This facilitated tra n sn a tio n a l w orkforce m obility an d resulted in sizable flows of m ig ra n t w o rk ers fro m Poland to different p a rts of th e country. To date, m ig rato ry m ovem ents w ere directed above all to w ard s m ultilingual cities. R ecent ly d ue to eco n o m ic an d social processes such as to u rism , ou tso u rcin g , dispersed services and industries, m igrants have sta rted to sp read to th e p erip h eries - to r u ra l a reas th a t have ra re ly seen m ig ra to ry m ovem ents o n su ch a scale before.
This te n d e n c y is o b serv ab le also in ru ra l p a rts of Wales. For in stan ce, in r e c e n t years a sm all to w n like Llanelli (w ith 45,000 in h ab itan ts) experienced a n in flux of a b o u t 4,000 Polish m ig ran ts.
S u c h c o n sid e ra b le m ig ra n t flows p o se a g re a t ch a lle n g e fo r g o v e rn m e n ta l bodies c o n c e rn e d w ith social w elfare, im m ig ratio n an d in teg ratio n . Yet, th e situ a tio n in Wales, d eterm in ed by a linguistic asym m etry w ith d o m in a n t E nglish an d m in o rity language Welsh, seen as p e rip h e ra l in th e eyes of B ritish au th o rities and m ig ran ts, seem s to be even m o re com plex.
In th e light of c o n c e p tu alizatio n an d im p lem en tatio n issues of lan g u ag e p o li cy in Wales th is p a p e r seeks to investigate th e ‘n e w ’ m ig ra tio n p a tte rn s of Polish m ig ran ts in u rb a n a n d ru ra l sites in Wales. T hrough analysis of qu alitativ e in te r view s c o n d u c te d am o n g Polish m ig ra n ts d u rin g fieldw ork in O ctober 2008 an d
+ C e c y lia B a r łó g - a s o f 2 0 0 7 a d o c t o r a l s t u d e n t a t t h e I n s t i t u t e o f A p p lie d L in g u is tic s a t
A d a m M ic k ie w ic z U n iv e rs ity i n P o z n a ń . H e r sc ie n tific in te r e s ts c o m p r is e a b o v e a ll a s p e c ts o f in - t e r c u l t u r a l c o m m u n ic a tio n , G e r m a n a s a f o re ig n la n g u a g e a s w e ll a s la n g u a g e p o lic y a n d p l a n n in g . S in c e J u ly 2 0 0 8 s h e h a s b e e n ta k in g p a r t i n L IN E E ( L a n g u a g e s i n a N e tw o r k o f E u r o p e a n E x c e lle n c e ), a r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t o n m u ltilin g u a lis m i n E u r o p e fu n d e d b y t h e E u r o p e a n C o m m iss io n . T o g e th e r w ith r e s e a r c h e r s fro m S o u th a m p to n U n iv e rsity a n d th e U n iv e rsity o f B e r n sh e h a s b e e n in v e s tig a tin g t h e i m p a c t o f c u r r e n t m ig r a tio n u p o n la n g u a g e p o lic y a n d p la n n in g i n o f fic ia lly b ilin g u a l r e g io n s i n E u ro p e .
M arch 2009, as w ell as d a ta o b tain ed fro m Polish in te rn e t fo ru m s an d blogs, th e p a p e r explores th e im p ac t of c u rre n t m ig ra tio n te n d en cies u p o n linguistic co m petence, lan g u ag e acquisition, em ploym ent as w ell as a ttitu d es to w ard s th e d o m in a n t an d m in o rity languages.
Keywords
lan g u ag e policy, d o m in a n t language, indigenous m in o rity language, n ew m i g ratio n , Welsh.
Acknowledgments
This p a p e r is b a se d on re s e a rc h c o n d u c te d w ith in L IN E E (L an guages in a N etw ork of E u ro p ean Excellence), a pro ject co-funded u n d e r th e 6th fra m e w o rk p ro g ra m m e by th e E u ro p e a n C om m ission, w h ich investigates asp ects of m ultilin g u alism a n d linguistic diversity in E urope. The p a rtic u la r p a r t of th e p ro jec t th a t th is p a p e r explores is th e im p act of new m ig ratio n on officially bi- o r trilin g u a l regions in E u ro p e, specifically W ales in th e U nited K ingdom , th e au to n o m o u s region of V alencia in S p ain a n d th e can to n of G risons in S w itzerland. The re se a rc h w as co n d u cted by a te a m of research e rs, nam ely: Prof. C lare M ar-M olinero, Dr. Dick Vigers an d Dr. D arren Paffey (C entre for T ransnational Studies, U niversity of S outham pton); Dr. Verena Tunger (D ep artm en t of Linguistics, U niversity of Bern); a n d myself.
1. Introduction
The sta rtin g p o in t fo r th e follow ing artic le w as th e re c e n t m ig ra tio n m ovem ents to specific regions in E u ro p e w h ich aro se as a resu lt of c u rre n t social, p o litical a n d econ o m ic p ro cesses. E specially in re gions w h ere tw o o r m o re languages a re acknow ledged as official, m i g ratio n issues acq u ire high com plexity a n d m ay th erefo re pose a g reat challeng e b o th for local au th o rities a n d th e local com m unity. This sit u a tio n is exem plified in b ilin g u al Wales, w h ich sin ce 2004 h as been experiencin g su b stan tial flows of m ig ra n t w o rk ers fro m C en tral an d E a ste rn E u ro pe, above all fro m Poland.
The in te rp lay of lan g u ag e policy a n d n ew m ig ratio n to Wales, as w ell as rela ted issues of in teg ratio n a n d th e inclusion of m ig ran ts into
th e receiving society is th e subject of research p resen te d in th e article. In this re g ard th e resea rch focus is p u t n o t only on m ultilingual u rb a n a re a s w ith a long m ig ratio n trad itio n , b u t also on p erip h eries, i.e. r u ra l a re a s w h ich have h ard ly ex p erien ced m ig ratio n on su ch a scale before.
As G abrielle H og an -B ru n et al (2009:1-5) state in th e ir re c e n t p u b lication, rapid ly in creasin g m ig ratio n has pro voked pu b lic d ebates on in teg ratio n a n d in clu sio n into th e receiving societies. O ne asp ect of te n d iscu ssed in c o n n ec tio n w ith th is m a tte r co n ce rn s th e r e q u ire m e n t of co m peten ce in a n a tio n al lang uag e seen as a p reco n d itio n for a c q u irin g citizen sh ip . N a tio n a l g o v ern m e n ts seem to b e c o n c e rn e d p rin c ip a lly w ith th e n ecessity of a d a p tin g sp e a k e rs of v a rio u s la n guages w ith in th e fram e of a p re su m e d m o n o ling ual p o p ulation.
This is in line w ith “th e d o m in an t d isco u rse found in m o st E u ro p e a n n atio n -state s, w h ich , alth o u g h n o w ad ay s de facto m u ltic u ltu ra l a n d m u ltilin g u al, n o n eth eless still see them selv es as essentially a n d indisp utab ly m o n o lin g u al” (H og an -B ru n et al. 2009:5).
In o rd e r to m an ag e th e linguistic situ atio n in society, g o v ern m en ta l bodies develop lan g u ag e p la n n in g strateg ies d irec ted to w ard s m i g ran ts. These lan g uag e p la n n in g efforts a re defined by Ja n B lom m ae- r t (1996:207) as “cases in w h ic h a u th o ritie s a tte m p t, by w h a te v e r m eans, to sh ap e a sociolinguistic profile for th e ir society”.
Taking into co n sid eratio n m easu res u n d e rta k e n by officials to c o n ceptualize lan g uag e policy a n d plan n in g , it is evident th a t they a re of te n fuelled by ideological co m p o n en ts aim ing a t su stain ing th e idea of th e n a tio n “as a stab le m o n o lin g u al n o rm w h ich is co n stan tly c h a l lenged by m ultilin g u al re alities” (H ogan B ru n et al. 2009:5).
This issue crea tes th e co re co m p o n en t of activities u n d e rta k e n by cen tral state authorities. Aspects th a t a re view ed as an obstacle to su s ta in th e id ea of th e m o n o lin g u al n a tio n -s ta te seem th e re fo re to be p u sh e d to th e p erip h e ries, i.e. m a rg in alized a n d h ard ly m en tio n ed in th e official discourse. In th is re g a rd p e rip h e ra l is u n d ersto o d as h a rd ly being ta k en into co n sid era tio n by c e n tra l state a n d c e n tra l g o v ern m e n t bodies. This can apply to efforts m ad e by indigenous m ino rities a ttem p tin g to p ro m o te th e ir m in o rity languages. The w o rd “p e rip h e r a l” can also refe r to so cietal b o u n d arie s a n d exclusion th a t m ig ran ts face due to th e ir statu s in th e receiving country.
In th is context th e follow ing sectio n s w ill p re s e n t issues resu ltin g from rese arch co n d ucted in Wales in 2008 a n d 2009 am ong Polish m i g ra n t co m m u nities a n d asp ects re la te d to th e co n cep tu alizatio n a n d im p lem en tatio n of lan g u ag e policy in Wales.
2. Context for research
This sectio n outlines th e context for th e re se a rc h w h ich th e follow ing article is b ased on. In p a rtic u la r it focuses on lan gu ag e policy in Wales as w ell as Polish m igration.
2.1 Language policy and the case of Wales
B e rn a rd Spolsky (2009:39-40) refers to lan g u ag e policy as o p e ra t ing w ith in a specific d o m ain describ ed by h im as any so cial o r p o liti cal g ro u p ran g in g fro m a fam ily to a n o rg an izatio n to a n atio n o r re g io n a l alliance. H e focuses his a tte n tio n on th e n o tio n of lan g u ag e policy as co n sisting of th re e in te rre la te d co m p o n en ts, nam ely: la n guage practices, language beliefs a n d lan g u ag e p lan n in g activities, re ferred to by h im as lan g u ag e m an ag em ent. W hile lan g u ag e p ractices a re view ed by h im as observable b eh av io u rs a n d choices, i.e. linguis tic featu res ch o sen o r th e v ariety of lan g u ag e used, lan g u ag e beliefs a re seen as ideology i.e. as values ascrib e d to languages, th e ir v a rie ties an d features. In c o n tra st to this is lan g u ag e m an ag em ent, defined by h im as “th e ex p licit a n d o b serv ab le effo rt by so m eo n e o r so m e g ro u p th a t has o r claim s au th o rity over th e p a rtic ip a n ts in th e d om ain to m odify th e ir p ra c tic e s a n d beliefs” (Spolsky 2009:4).
The specifics of lan g uag e policy in th e Welsh context a re c h a ra c te r ized by devolution, due to w h ich th e U nited K ingdom as a c e n tra l na- tio n -state g ra n ts a u th o rity to th e reg io n al leg islatu re in Wales. S p ol sky (2009:145) states th a t th is ap p ro a c h is com m only im p lem ented by gov ernm ents to re sp o n d to m in ority d em an d s for autonom y.
This policy of devolution ad o p ted in th e U nited K ingdom delegates te rrito ria l p o w e r to eth n ic m in o rities a n d th e ir languages. The fact of C eltic-speaking regions in th e UK being in d e p en d en t at v ario u s stag es th ro u g h o u t history, as w ell as th e d ev elo p m en t of S co ttish , Irish an d W elsh identity co upled w ith stron g cu ltu ral n atio n alism led even tu a lly to th e e sta b lish m e n t of a d ev o lu tio n policy. This fu elled la n gu ag e m a n a g e m e n t efforts especially in Wales, w h e re th e W elsh As sem bly m a d e la n g u ag e revival a c e n tra l focus. H ow ever, achieving th is goal w as n o t a fait-acco m p li a n d d id n o t develop autom atically. In 1989 th e UK g o v ern m e n t fo u n d ed a n o n -g o v ern m e n tal body, th e W elsh L an g u ag e B oard, w hich, th o u g h u n d e r th e auspices of th e UK governm ent, w as ded icated to p ro m o tin g W elsh an d im proving its p o sition. S u ch language revival efforts also included establishing th e E d u catio n R eform Act (1988), acc o rd in g to w h ich W elsh w as in tro d u ced
as a co re su b ject in th e ed u c a tio n a l system . In 1993 th e W elsh L an guag e B o ard b ecam e a n o n -d ep a rtm en tal statu to ry o rg an izatio n a im ing above all at equality of Welsh a n d English. After th e devolution act w as estab lish ed in 1999, a u th o rity over th e W elsh L an g u ag e B o ard , fo rm erly held by th e W elsh Office of th e UK go v ern m ent, w as ceded to th e N atio n al Assem bly of Wales (W illiams 2006:1-3).
This facilitated th e attem p ts of th e in d ig en ou s m in o rity to ch an ge th e p e rip h e ra l c h a ra c te r of Welsh, w h ich at th e tim e h ad a ra th e r in ferio r statu s in co m p ariso n to d o m in an t English.
Still, th e situ atio n of Welsh m ay b e view ed as challenging n o t only due to th e d om inance of E nglish in this asym m etrical linguistic setting b u t also b eca u se of m ig rato ry flows th a t th e a re a is co n fro n ted w ith.
M igratory m ovem ents in Wales em erg ed m ostly as a resu lt of p o li cy d irec ted to w a rd s citizens of fo rm er colonies of th e B ritish E m pire, as w ell as to w ard s asylum seekers o r refugees. A ccording to statistics, d u ring th e decade 1975 to 1985 o u tw ard m igration in Wales w as high e r th a n inw ard, b u t since 1994 th e converse has o cc u rre d a n d th e vol u m e of in te rn a tio n a l in w a rd m ig ra tio n to W ales h as b eg u n to rise. D ue to EU e n larg em en t in 2004 th e m ig ratio n p a tte rn s ch an g ed an d th e inflow in c re ased by 29 p e rc e n t an n u ally b etw een 2005 a n d 2007 (S tatistics for Wales, 2009: 35-37).
In w a rd m ig ratio n is usually ex perienced in big cities, w h ich can be exem plified by th e n u m b ers of im m ig ran ts com ing to Cardiff. D ue to so cial a n d eco no m ic p ro cesses, su ch as to u rism , o u tso u rcin g o r d is p e rse d services, ru ra l p e rip h e rie s - W elsh speaking are a s - have also b ecam e th e ta rg e t of m ig ratory m ovem ents. These new m ig ratio n p a t te rn s resulting afte r 2004 a re th e re se a rc h b asis for th e article.
2.2 Polish migration in Wales
E a rlie r Polish m ig ratio n in Wales resu lted m ostly fro m UK policy afte r th e S eco n d W orld War. D u rin g th is tim e su b sta n tia l inflows of Polish m ig ra n ts cam e to Wales as w ell, m an y of w h o m w e re fo rm e r soldiers u n ab le to re tu rn to Poland.
R ecent m ig ratio n to Wales resu lting fro m EU e n larg em en t in 2004 a n d A ccession 8 is c h ara cterized by econom ic factors. The p ro p o rtio n it has re a c h e d in m any p a rts of th e region could b e view ed as s u rp ris ingly high. E sp ecially in sm all a g ric u ltu ra l to w n s th a t h av e h ard ly ever ex p erien ced any in te rn a tio n a l m ig ratio n a t all, Polish m ig ran ts could b e p erceiv ed as a ch allen g e for th e local com m unity.
The rea so n th a t larg e n u m b ers of Poles trav el to Wales is th e avail ability of w o rk a n d th e possibility to apply for it a t jo b agencies in Po
land. M any Polish m ig ran t w o rkers also com e to Wales th ro u g h social o r fam ily netw orks.
3. Research methodology
R esearch p re se n te d in th e artic le w as co n d u cted d u rin g jo in t field- w o rk in O ctober 2008 a n d M arch 2009. The focus w as b o th on an u r b a n site, i.e. th e city of Cardiff, as w ell as on ru ra l a n d sem i-ru ra l a r eas, i.e. L lanelli a n d L lanybydder in th e county of C arm arth en sh ire, w h ich e x p erien c ed a su b sta n tia l inflow of eco n o m ic m ig ra n ts fro m P oland afte r 2004. The re se a rc h m ethodology co m p rised q u alitativ e in stru m e n ts, i.e. s e m i-stru c tu re d interview s w ith o p en -en d e d q u e s tions, as w ell as eth n o g rap h ic observation of lan g u ag e practices. Alto gether, th re e g ro u p a n d eighteen individual interview s w ere co n d u ct ed w ith th irty Polish m ig ra n ts d u rin g th e field w o rk in W ales. This m ostly refers to m igratio n m ovem ents th a t o ccu rred after Accession 8 w as im p lem ented in 2004. As an exam ple of e a rlie r m ig ratio n te n d e n cies, one g ro u p interview w as c a rrie d o ut w ith rep resen tativ es of th e e a rlie r Polish m ig ratio n to Wales afte r th e S econd W orld War.
The choice of lan g uag e u sed for th e p u rp o se of th e interview s w as d ep en d en t u p o n interview ees’ preferences. The m ajority chose Polish, as th ey presu m ab ly felt m o re secu re expressing th e ir th o u g h ts in th e ir m o th e r tongue.
D uring th e jo in t fieldw ork, a tte n tio n w as also p a id to includ in g a g e n d e r d im ension. T herefo re a focus w as p u t on achieving an equal p ro p o rtio n of m a le a n d fem a le in terv iew ees ta k in g p a r t in th e re search . However, g e n d e r aspects w ere n o t of m ain re se a rc h interest.
4. New patterns of migration - the case of Polish migrants in Wales
The follow ing sectio ns cover analysis of d ata collected d u rin g th e jo in t fieldw ork m e n tio n ed above. They focus on new m ig ratio n te n
dencies resulting fro m social a n d econom ic processes, as w ell as n ew ly estab lish ed reg u latio n s, th e ir im p a c t u p o n lin g u istic co m p etence, lang u ag e acquisition, as w ell as attitu d es to w a rd s d o m in a n t E nglish an d m in ority lan g u age Welsh.
4.1 New migration
N ew m ig ratio n refers to c u rre n t m ig ratio n ten d en cies em erging as a re s u lt of social, econ om ic a n d p o litic al p ro cesses facilitatin g
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p ie ’s mobility. D ue to th e se p ro cesses, c u rre n t m ig ratio n ten d en cies gain a m o re te m p o ra ry a n d c irc u la r c h a ra c te r in co m p ariso n to p r e vious m ig rato ry tre n d s. As in d icate d above, m ig ra n t d e stin a tio n r e veals an ongoing shift, as it is d irec ted n o t exclusively to w ard s m u lti lin gu al a n d m u ltic u ltu ral cities, b u t sp read s a n d reach es p erip h eries. This is reflected also in th e re se a rc h sites in Wales.
A ccording to statistic s th e re w e re over 21,000 reg istra tio n s fro m A8 n a tio n a ls to th e W orker R eg istratio n S ch em e in W ales b etw ee n 2004 a n d 2008, a n d tw o -th ird s of th e m w ere fro m P oland (S tatistics fo r Wales, 2008:1-2). It is estim ated th a t in Llanybydder, a n a g ric u l tu r a l c e n tre , a b o u t 300 Poles a re em p lo y ed in a m e a t factory. In Llanelli, a larg e to w n situ a ted in th e county of C arm arth en sh ire, th e n u m b e r of Polish m ig ra n t w o rk ers is estim ated a t 4-8,000.
The m ajority of m ig ran ts interview ed confirm th a t th e m ain reaso n for going to Wales w as econom ic a n d resu lted fro m un em p lo ym en t o r u n s a tisfa c to ry low w ag es o r s a la rie s in P oland. Thus, th e y v iew ed th e ir m ig ra tio n as a n o p p o rtu n ity to find a b e tte r jo b a n d im p rov e th e ir finan cial status. A lthough m any of th e m in sisted th a t th ey w ere in terested in long-term settlem en t in Wales o r in th e UK, only one p e r son expressed a w ish to a cq u ire B ritish citizenship in th e future. This m ay b e link ed to n ew reg u la tio n s w h ich facilitate p e o p le ’s m obility w ith in th e EU a n d th e fact th a t lo n g -term settlem en t in a p a rtic u la r EU co u n try does no t re q u ire having citizenship in th a t country.
D ecisions co n cern in g lo n g-term settlem ent, as results fro m th e in terview s, are above all d ependent up o n th e econom ic situation in Wales a n d fam ily status. Generally, m ig ran ts w ho com e to Wales w ith th e ir fam ilies a n d ch ild ren choose to stay for a longer p erio d of tim e a n d do n o t show as m u c h in terest in fu rth e r m obility to o th e r p a rts of th e UK o r to o th e r c o u n tries as single people. N evertheless, th ey do n o t ex clude fu rth e r m ig ratio n either, if th e em p lo y m en t situ a tio n o r sta n d a rd of living in Wales sh o u ld w orsen.
T h ere is also som e evidence of te m p o ra ry a n d c irc u la r p a tte rn s of m ig ratio n am ong Polish new com ers. T here a re m igrants w ho d eclare their stay in Wales short-term and would like to return to Poland after som e m o nths. In som e cases, p eo p le m a n ag e to re tu rn , b u t th e eco n o m ic situation in Poland and lack of future prospects often forces them to move back to Wales again. Interestingly, regulations facilitating Polish m obil ity to th e UK a n d p a st m ig ratio n experiences m ake decisions on fu r th e r m ig ratio n easier. S om e in form ants m en tio n ed th e ir earlier m igra tion experiences, e.g. working in Switzerland, Germ any or Sweden, w hich m ad e th e m m o re a d a p ta b le a n d facilitated th e ir settlem ent in Wales. Som e o th er interview ees also expressed a w ish to move to o th e r E u ro
p e a n co un tries in th e future, e.g. C roatia, o r to a n o th e r English-speak- ing country, su ch as A ustralia o r USA, w h ere th ey could use th e ir la n guage co m p eten ce acq u ired in th e UK. An exam ple is given below:
R ig h t n o w I w o u ld like to stay h e re b u t so m etim es I th in k of c h a n g in g th e country. (...) For su re som e E nglish speaking country. I w o u ld n ’t b e able to le a rn a n o th e r lan g u ag e (...). N ew Z ealand fo r exam ple. B ecau se m aybe I could go to a co m p an y th a t’s sim ilar to th e o ne I w o rk a t h e re (...) w ith th e sam e qualifications th a t I acq u ire d here.(male informant, Llanybydder)
An im p o rta n t facto r c h ara cterizin g th e c u rre n t Polish m ig ratio n in W ales is tra n sn atio n alism . This issue w ill b e d escrib ed in th e follow ing section.
4.2 Transnationalism
T ran sn atio n alism influences to a g re a t extent th e n a tu re of c u rre n t m ig rato ry m ovem ents in g eneral. It refers to processes a n d activities th a t go b e y o n d in te rn a tio n a l b o rd e rs a n d in c lu d es, am o n g o th e r things, ongoing ties m ig ran ts m a in tain w ith th e ir co u n tries of origin. As stated , tra n s n a tio n a l p ro cesses a re facilitated m ostly by dev elo p m e n t of m o d e rn c o m m u n ic a tio n a n d tr a n s p o r ta tio n te c h n o lo g y (B aubock 2008:3). In th e context of Polish m ig ratio n it is visible in m i g ran ts having easy access to teleco m m u n icatio n s a n d Polish TV p r o g ram m es, sho p p ing exclusively in Polish shops, co m m u n icatin g w ith th e ir relatives in Poland on a daily b asis a n d h ard ly having any c o n ta c t w ith th e h o st co m m u n ity in Wales:
W h en it com es to Poles, th e y live to g eth er, th e y w o rk to g eth er, th e y w a tc h only Polish TV, an d th ey a re som etim es closed off, th ey d o n ’t w a n t to o p en up to o th e r people, (male informant, Cardiff)
This asp ec t is also co n n e c ted w ith c rea tin g a n d su stain in g so cial n etw o rk s am o n g Polish m ig ran ts. M any m ig ra n ts d ecid ed to go to W ales as th e ir friends o r relatives h a d alread y b een here. An info rm a n t fro m Llanelli stated:
Actually, w e didn’t know w h e re w e w ould go a t all. Well, yes, w e knew th a t w e go to L lanelli, th e r e w as a jo b th e re , so o n e of m y frien d s to ld m e [to co m e to L lanelli]. (male informant, Llanelli)
On th e one h and, so cial netw o rk s help Polish m ig ran ts to o p erate a n d find su p p o rt d u rin g th e ir stay in Wales. On th e o th e r han d , such social netw o rk s m ay isolate new Polish m ig ran ts fro m th e ho st com munity. R em aining w ith in th e confines of Polish netw orks m ay signif ic an tly influ ence d em o tiv atio n w h e n it com es to a c q u irin g th e la n
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guag e of th e h o st com m unity. The fact th a t th ey can speak Polish b oth in th e w o rk p lace a n d after w o rk m ean s th a t m any m ig ran ts le a rn n ei th e r E ng lish n o r Welsh. If th ey n eed to solve a p ro b le m in E nglish, th ey co n tact th e ir E nglish-speaking frien d s o r an advice centre:
In general, people h e re [Polish people] ca n n o t sp eak English, th ey don’t know th e language. They go [to th e Advice Centre] if they have a problem . I don’t m ean th a t all p eople go th e re , b u t th e m ajo rity of th e m do (male informant, Llanelli).
These tra n s n a tio n a l p ractices can be view ed as creatin g a p arallel society, w h ere m ig ran ts re ta in ties exclusively w ith th e ir hom eland, at th e sam e tim e n o t acq u irin g th e lan g u ag e of th e host co m m un ity an d th e refo re isolating them selves. O perating solely w ithin th e confines of th e Polish co m m u n ity gives m ig ran ts a feeling of security, b u t it ex cludes th em from such opportunities as, for example, obtaining a b etter jo b as th a t w ou ld req u ire, am ong o th e r things, b e tte r lan gu ag e skills.
4.3 English language competence
The E nglish la ng u ag e co m p etence of th e interview ees v arie d c o n siderably, ranging from no language skills to high proficiency. This m ay b e a resu lt of different ed u ca tio n al b ack g ro u n d s a n d o p p o rtu n ities to le a rn English. Only a few m ig ran ts m ad e som e lan g u age p re p a ra tio n p rio r to d e p a rtu re for Wales. A lo n g er stay in Wales does n o t p re s u p pose p ro g ress in E nglish either, especially w h en m ig ran ts p erfo rm u n skilled activities a n d w o rk exclusively in a Polish en v iro n m en t. O ne interview ee fro m Llanelli describ es his situ atio n as follows:
Well, I h a d really p o o r lan g u ag e skills. I th in k it is also b e c au se Polish people (...) w o rk am ong them selves a n d don’t have m u ch of a possibility to have co n ta c t w ith English. The m ajo rity in all su ch co m p an ies w ork in g th ro u g h agencies a re Polish. The su p e rv iso rs, th e w o rk e rs a re Polish. T h a t's w hy p eo p le d o n ’t have m u ch c o n ta c t w ith English. They have r a th e r p o o r lan g u ag e skills.
S om e m ig ran ts expressed a desire to le arn English, b u t due to long w o rk in g h o u rs a n d b e in g c o n s ta n tly am o n g P olish m ig ra n ts th is tu rn e d o u t to b e extrem ely difficult. An exam ple is given below:
A nd I w o n ’t le a rn th e la n g u a g e b e c a u se I ’m n o t ab le to do th is, b e c a u se at w o rk th e re a re only Polish people. So I sp e a k Polish all th e tim e.(M ale in fo rm ant, L lanybydder)
A lthough m ig rants do n o t have m uch o p p o rtu n ity to atten d English classes if they work, it can be possible to learn English from everyday com m u n icatio n w ith th e locals. A Polish m ig ra n t fro m Llanelli illustrates:
Well, I w as s o rt of d e sp e ra te to le a rn th e lan g u ag e. F irst I w as w o rk in g in L lanybydder, ju s t like th e m a jo rity in a m e a t factory. At first I w o rk ed w ith m eat, I w as packing m eat, th e n after six m o n th s I got a jo b as a c a r m e ch an ic an d th e re I got m o re c o n ta c ts w ith E n g lish sp e a k in g co lle a g u e s (...) A nd y e a r by year, m o n th by m o n th , m y E nglish w as getting b e tte r a n d better. R ight now it’s ok.
On th e w hole E n glish lan g uage co m p etence is asso ciated w ith b e t te r statu s a n d th e possibility of gettin g m o re skilled jobs. Those w ho d id n o t h av e a n o p p o rtu n ity to le a rn E n g lish p r io r to leav in g fo r Wales, a re in te rested in acqu iring it if they p la n lon g-term settlem en t in Wales. However, they often in d ic ate w o rk in g h o u rs o r h o u seh o ld duties as a n obstacle in atten d in g lan gu ag e classes.
Still, th e re w e re also m any statem en ts given by m ig ran ts w ho felt th a t th ey did n o t n eed to le arn English. Those w ishing to stay for only a s h o rt te rm in W ales do n o t w a n t to in v est th e ir tim e in a c q u irin g English, do n o t view it as an asset an d m an ag e to live in Wales w ith out E nglish skills.
4.4 Attitudes towards Welsh, the minority language
On th e w hole, W elsh is view ed by Polish m ig ran ts as an ad d itio n al o b stacle in everyday life situ a tio n s in Wales. They c a n n o t really see any purp ose in acquiring it an d argue th a t it is spoken by very few Welsh residents, m ostly elderly people, a n d th a t its u se is lim ited en tirely to th e a re a of Wales. Additionally, th ey often explain th a t W elsh speakers sp eak E nglish anyw ay so E n glish skills a re sufficient to co m m u n icate w ith them . O ne Polish m ig ra n t fro m L lanybydder states as follows:
I th in k it is o n e of th e languages th a t a re a b o u t to end. They do everything to m a in ta in it as long as it is possible in Wales, b u t is it im p o rtan t? I th in k th a t fo r th e young g en era tio n in Wales n o t m uch. B ecause th ey am o n g st them selves, they p ro b ab ly sp eak Welsh w ith th e ir p a re n ts, b u t am o n g st them selves th ey sp ea k in E nglish, it’s e a sie r fo r th em . M aybe am o n g young W elsh p eo p le w ho a re eig h t een, n in e tee n years old, only sixty p e rc e n t know Welsh correctly. The re s t know only som e w ords.
O ne in fo rm a n t ex p ressed his d isap p ro v al of W elsh a n d of p eo p le speaking W elsh in his presence:
I know th a t Wales, Ireland, S cotland, they have th e ir ow n [language] b u t if th e official la n g u a g e is E n g lish , w e sh o u ld sp e a k in E n g lish . It re ally gets o n m y nerves, I h a d som e p roblem s a t h o m e an d I called so th ey cam e. I spoke in E n g lish as m u c h as I co u ld , a n d th e n th e y a m o n g st th em selv es s ta r te d to sp e a k Welsh. So I didn’t u n d e rsta n d anything at all. And I got so irritated! I found it dis respectful.
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As acq u irin g Welsh only really co n cern s ch ild ren atten d in g schools in W ales, th e re w e re m an y o p in io n s given on th is issue. G enerally, p a re n ts do n ot see any p u rp o se in org an izin g W elsh classes a t school. They believe it h arm s acq u isitio n of E nglish a n d is an ad d itio n al diffi culty w h ich ch ild ren often c a n n o t cope w ith. N evertheless, in th is r e g a rd th e re w e re also p o sitiv e s ta te m e n ts m ad e. O ne w o m a n fro m L lanelli gave h e r opinion:
I th in k w e re in E n gland, w e re in Wales, a n d if o th e r c h ild re n le a rn it, w hy w o u ld n ’t m y c h ild re n ? I t ’s obvious th e y w o n ’t le a rn it fluently b u t so m e basics (...) My attitu d e to w ard s languages is generally positive, m aybe b ecau se I couldn’t le a rn th em . My d a u g h te r le a rn s F ren ch as w ell, next y e a r she w o u ld like to le a rn S p an ish . I t ’s very good! I a m ha p p y w ith it.
Still, one has to b e a r in m in d th a t su ch statem en ts a re ra th e r ra re a n d fo r th e m o st p a rt, W elsh co m p eten c e is n o t tre a te d as an asset th a t could be u sed as com m only spoken English.
5. Conclusions
L ang uag e co m p eten ce p resen ts a co re asp ect w hile analyzing th e m ig ratio n in a specific h o st com m unity. Taking into co n sid era tio n of ficially bilin g u al regions c h ara cterized by linguistic asym m etry w ith a d o m in an t a n d m in ority lan g u ag e acq u ires even g re a te r complexity.
In th e context of th e new Polish m ig ratio n in Wales, m u ch in terest h as b een sh o w n in acq u irin g E nglish o r atten d in g E nglish classes, es p ecially w h e n lo n g -te rm se ttle m e n t is th e in ten tio n . K now ledge of E nglish is m ainly u n d ersto o d as a p rereq u isite for b e tte r jo b o p p o rtu nities an d th u s also has fin an cial advantages. A lack of proficiency in E nglish, in tu rn , m ay lim it m ig ran ts to unskilled w ork, w h ich due to long w o rk in g h o u rs w ill n o t en ab le th e m to a tte n d E n g lish classes. Consequently, su ch a situ a tio n m ay force m ig ran ts to te m p o ra ry s e t tle m e n t o r to s tre n g th e n in g tra n s n a tio n a l ties w ith P oland a n d th u s c reatin g Polish enclaves in p a rtic u la r area s in Wales.
The d o m in an ce of E nglish over th e W elsh lan gu ag e is evident. The p e rip h e ra l c h a ra c te r a n d constantly dim inishing im p o rtan ce of Welsh stressed by m ig ran ts resu lts m ostly fro m th e inability to use Welsh as an in stru m en t for jo b p u rpo ses, e.g. as a language of in stru ctio n in th e w orkplace.
Paradoxically, b ilin g u al W elsh in h a b ita n ts also c o n trib u te to th is ongoing p ro cess of red u cin g th e d o m ain of W elsh if th ey use E nglish exclusively in o rd e r to co m m u n ica te w ith o th e r E nglish-speakers.
References
B aubóck, R ainer. 2008 (O ctober). Ties across borders: The growing salience o f transna tionalism and diaspora politics. IM ISO C E Policy b rie f N o. 13. R etrieved 13 Jan. 2010, fro m http://w w w .im iscoe.org/publications/policybriefs/index.htm l B lackledge, A drian. 2009. “B eing E nglish, sp eak in g E nglish. E x ten sio n to E n g
lish la n g u a g e te stin g leg islatio n an d th e fu tu re of m u ltic u ltu ra l B rita in .” In Discourses on Language and Integration: critical perspectives on language testing re gimes, G. H og an -B ru n , C. M ar-M olinero, an d P. S tevenson (eds.). A m sterdam : Jo h n B enjam ins: 83-108.
B lo m m aert, Jan. 1996. “L anguage p la n n in g as a d isco u rse o n lan g u ag e a n d so ciety: th e lin g u istic ideology of a sch o la rly tr a d itio n .” Language Problems and Language Planning 20(3): 199-222.
H ogan-B run, G abrielle, C lare M ar-M olinero, an d P a trick Stevenson. 2009. “Test ing regim es. In tro d u c in g cro ss-n atio n al p erspectives on language, m ig ratio n a n d c itiz e n sh ip .” In Discourses on Language and Integration: critical perspectives on language testing regimes, G. H o g a n -B ru n , C. M ar-M olinero, a n d P. S tev en so n (eds.). A m sterdam : Jo h n B enjam ins: 1-14.
Spolsky, B e rn ard . 2004. language policy. C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press. Spolsky, B ernard. 2009. language Management. Cam bridge: C am bridge U niversity
Press.
“S ta tistics o n m ig ra n t w o rk e rs in W ales”. 2008. W elsh A ssem bly G overnm ent. R etrieved: 05 Jan . 2010, fro m http://w ales.gov.uk/docs/statistics/2009/090915 m ig ran tw o rk 2 0 0 8 en .p d f
“Wales Population. A D em o g rap h ic O verview 20 0 9 ”. 2009. W elsh A ssem bly Gov e rn m e n t. R etrieved: 05 Jan . 2010, fro m http://w ales.gov.uk/docs/statistics/20 0 9 /090326w alespop09en.pdf
W illiams, Colin H. 2006. “Legislative devolution an d lan g u ag e reg u latio n in U nit ed K in g d o m .” Geolinguistics: Journal o f the American Society o f Geolinguistics (32). R etrieved: 05 Jan. 2010, fro m http://geolinguistics.org/geo32articles/G E O -32- W illiam s-art.pdf
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Cecylia Barłóg - od 2007 r. d o k to ra n tk a w Instytucie Lingw istyki S tosow anej U niw ersytetu im. A dam a M ickiew icza w Poznaniu. Jej za in te re so w an ia naukow e o b ejm u ją p rz e d e w szystkim za g a d n ie n ia kom u n ik acji in terk u ltu ro w ej, język n ie m iecki jako język obcy o raz politykę językow ą. Od lip ca 2008 r. uczestniczy w LI- N E E (L anguages in a N etw o rk of E u ro p e a n E xcellence), p ro jek cie badaw czym fin an so w an y m ze śro d k ó w K om isji E uropejskiej dotyczącym w ielojęzyczności w
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E u ro p ie. R azem z b a d a c z am i z U niw ersytetu w S o u th a m p to n o ra z U niw ersyte tu w B e rn ie zajm o w ała się b a d a n ie m w pływ u m ig ra c ji n a politykę języ k o w ą w oficjalnie dw ujęzycznych re g io n a c h w E uropie.
Streszczenie
Nowe wzory migracji w świetle polityki językowej. Przykład pobkich imigranów w Walii N iniejszy artykuł o d n o si się do b a d a ń p rze p ro w ad zo n y ch w ra m a c h o b szaru polityki językow ej p ro jek tu badaw czego L IN E E (L anguages in a N etw o rk of E u ro p e a n Excellence) w spółfinansow anego p rzez 6. P ro g ra m R am ow y K om isji E u ropejskiej. S k u p ia się o n n a b a d a n iu wpływ u „now ej” m ig ra c ji w dw u- i trzyję- zycznych re g io n ach w E uropie.
Po ro zszerzen iu U E w 2004 ro k u W ielka B ry tan ia była je d n y m z niew ielu k ra jów , k tó re n ie nałożyły żad n y c h re stry k c ji o g ra n ic z a jąc y c h sw o b o d n y n ap ły w p ra c o w n ik ó w z n ow ych k ra jó w c złonkow skich. To w dużej m ierze zw iększyło m o b iln o ść siły rob o czej, czego efek tem był z n a czn y p rzep ły w p ra c o w n ik ó w z Polski do różnych części tego k raju. D otychczasow e ru ch y m ig racy jn e sk iero w a n e były p rzed e w szystkim do dużych w ielojęzycznych m iast. O statnio w zw iązku z p ro c esam i ekonom icznym i i społecznym i tak im i ja k tu ry sty k a czy outsourcing napływ' im ig ran tó w zaczął d o c iera ć do o b szaró w peryferyjnych - te re n ó w ro ln i czych, które do tej pory nie dośw iadczyły zjaw iska im igracji n a ta k szero k ą skalę. Tę te n d e n c ję m o ż n a ró w n ie ż zao b se rw o w a ć n a ro ln iczy ch o b sz a ra c h w Walii. P rzykładem je st choćby m iasteczko Llanelli (ok. 45 000 m ieszkańców ), do którego w o statn ich la tach przybyło około c ztery tysiące polskich im igrantów . Tak zn acz ny napływ' im ig ran tó w stan o w ić m oże w yzw anie dla instytucji rządow ych zajm u jący ch się o p iek ą społeczną, k w estiam i im igracji o ra z integracji. Je d n a k sytuacja w W alii c h a ra k te ry z u ją c a się a sy m e trią języ k o w ą z d o m in u ją c y m języ k iem a n gielskim i m niejszościow ym w alijskim , w id z ia n y m jak o peryferyjny zaró w n o w o czach w ład z brytyjskich, ja k i im igrantów , w ydaje się jeszcze b ard ziej złożona.
N iniejszy artykuł p odejm uje p ró b ę z b a d a n ia “n o w y ch ” w zorów m ig racji p o l skich im ig ran tó w n a m iejskich i rolniczych o b sz a ra c h W alii w św ietle konceptu- alizacji i im p lem en tacji polityki językow ej w o m aw ian y m regionie. N a p odstaw ie analizy w yw iadów jakościow ych p rzep ro w ad zo n y c h w śró d polskich im ig ran tó w w czasie b a d a ń teren o w y c h w p aźd ziern ik u 2008 r. o ra z m a rc u 2009 r., ja k ró w nież an alizy d an y c h z p o lsk ich fo r in te rn e to w y c h o ra z b logów b a d a o n w pływ b ieżących ten d en c ji m igracyjnych n a u m iejętn o ści językow e, n a b y w an ie języka, za tru d n ie n ie , ja k ró w n ie ż n a sta w ie n ie w o b ec języ k a d o m in u jąceg o i m n ie jsz o ściow ego.
Słowa kluczowe
Polityka językow a, język dom inujący, rd z e n n a m niejszość, język m niejszościo wy, n o w a m ig racja, w alijski.
