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For decades, prehistorians thought Celtic languages arrived in Britain about 2400 years ago in the Iron Age, along with "Celtic" art and inscriptions first spotted in Central Europe. "Celtic becomes just one of a succession of languages that migrants have brought to Britain over the course of 2000 years or so: Latin with the Romans, English with the Anglo-Saxons, Norse with the Vikings, French with the Normans.". [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the English language proficiency testing of immigrants in Great Britain. Topics include racial and class divisions in Great Britain, the notion of national unity in relation to the English language, and a White Paper issued by British Home Secretary David Blunkett. Disputes regarding the use of Celtic languages in Great Britain are noted.

This article reviews published work which draws on various kinds of evidence to assess the linguistic situation in Roman Britain. Having reached some interim conclusions about the state of scholarship, it proceeds to examine the particular contribution that place-names can make to the debate on how far Latin may have taken hold in the province at the expense of the native British Celtic. While there is rather more evidence of Latin here than has often been allowed, the widespread continuity of British across much, at least, of Lowland Britain is reaffirmed, in the face of a recent suggestion to the contrary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edward Lhwyd's ambitious Archaeologia Britannica project, for which he undertook an extensive tour of the Celtic-speaking regions of Britain and Brittany from 1697 to 1701, was to include “A Comparison of the Customes and Traditions of the Britains with those of other Nations.” Though this part of the Archaeologia was not written, some of the data that were collected survive. Lhwyd's comments on the material reveal that as an antiquary his primary interests were historical and lay in customs and rites as survivals, rather than in narrative; as an experimental scientist he was consistently sceptical of traditional or popular explanations of phenomena. Edward Lhwyd was the first systematically to record Welsh folklore, and the geographical breadth of his collecting, his structured approach, and his critical responses make him the foremost pioneer in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stronghold of Iudeu, which Bede called urbs Giudi, appears to have been a royal centre held by the seventh-century kings of the Bernician English, and sufficiently prominent to lend its name to the Firth of Forth in the British and Gaelic languages. The name appears not to have survived in any modern place -name, leaving us reliant on Bede's vague description of the site in Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, as well as a few other scraps of circumstantial evidence, in seeking to locate it. The situation naturally encouraged debate among scholars until, in 1959, identification with Stirling was proposed. This article reviews both that hypothesis and the primary evidence relating to Iudeu, and argues that the Stirling identification is far from satisfactory. Two new alternatives – and a third one, discarded in 1947 – are put forward as sites most in keeping with the crucial evidence provided by Bede, but no firm decision between them seems possible in our present state of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports that the British Government has been criticized by a Council of Europe Committee of Experts looking at implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which Great Britain ratified in 2001. Criticism on the introduction of a Gaelic Language Bill in the Scottish Parliament; View by the Committee that the Gaelic language is seriously endangered.

Roma and Irish Traveller communities have endured centuries of persecution and enforced assimilation, whilst remaining under-represented within dominant sedentarist discourses. This has contributed to their suspicion and mistrust of mainstream societies. They have maintained a distinct identity characterised by their Romani or Celtic languages, communal solidarity, close extended family bonds, and cultural traditions surrounding health, morality and social codes. The lives of such groups are grounded in multifaceted poverty stemming from health disparity, inadequate housing provision, and low educational attainment within an inter-generational cycle of social exclusion. This paper discusses health disparities as interlinked with housing situations. It is grounded in the authors’ respective Irish and UK contributions to an EU-wide comparative housing report, ‘Housing Conditions of Roma and Travellers in the European Union’, and associated research materials (commissioned by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in 2009). An inclusive and consultative approach is of paramount importance for these groups to address housing and health care provision, grounded within a culturally sensitive assessment of ethnic, individual, and familial needs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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In 2022 a survey of the languages research community in the UK was undertaken, with 536 responses (150 PhD students, 386 post-PhD researchers), complemented by 29 interviews across all career stages, as part of a Future of Languages Research Fellowship funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). This article reports findings from that survey, presenting data on research expertise, funding applications and successes, engagement with government and other stakeholders, and future directions and areas for development. Presenting the perspective of researchers themselves, our study adds to our understanding of the current state of languages research in UK Higher Education, complementing other sources including the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the British Academy & University Council of Modern Languages (UCML) 2022 report on trends in language learning in Higher Education, and providing useful data for international comparisons. The article concludes with recommendations for action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sacred kings of Late Iron Age northern Britain are thought to have symbolised fertility and considered responsible for the wellbeing of the lands and people; components of a system of governance maintained by conservative religious beliefs and champions of a local goddess of sovereignty, also associated with the cuckoo and the planet Venus. Their regicide was undertaken by their successors with a sacred spear at cult-sites at eight-year intervals when Venus set at its evening extreme at Samhain. Titled after the cuckoo, the symbol of male fertility across Europe, they mimicked the cuckoo's polygynous behaviour. Others have suggested their exploits were based on myths about the cuckoo. They are recalled in Irish legends, Arthurian tales and the writings of contemporary authors, depicted on stones and confirmed in recent place-name and archaeoastronomy studies, but not previously recognised. This paper explores the evidence for, and significance of, British, Irish and continental European warrior-champions named after the cuckoo. The study strongly suggests a continuity of cosmological beliefs, celestial associations, myths and legends, religious symbolism, sacred kingship and governance of tribal societies from the Indo-European immigrants to Britain until the adoption of Christianity and its associated form of kingship by the Picts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact between Latin and British, the Brittonic Celtic language, in Roman and post-Roman Britain has received considerable attention in the last few years as part of a more general discussion of linguistic contact phenomena in early Britain. Much of the discussion has focused on phonological aspects, although morphological features have sometimes been invoked without discussion. The aim of this paper is to consider some of the morphological features which have been claimed to reflect Latin influence on Brittonic Celtic languages, such as loss of a case system, loss of the neuter gender, the development of compound prepositions, and the acquisition of a pluperfect tense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the ontological politics of research in the field of community studies. Focusing on a migrant community in London, UK, it shows how the community is (re)assembled in different ways through the different research practices of academics and practitioners. Guided by a framework based on material semiotics, this article compares the agendas, methods, and representational texts that inform the different research practices. It argues that community studies researchers have an ethical responsibility to acknowledge the particular enactments of communities that emerge through their research and the role that agendas, methods, and texts play in constructing those enactments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2011 Census in England broke new ground, as a question about language had never previously been asked. After stakeholder consultations and a series of trials, the census authority decided on two questions based on earlier censuses in the USA: one about the respondent’s ‘main language’ and another about proficiency in English. This paper provides a critique of the census questions, showing how the pressure to produce questions which were straightforward to answer and consistent with the predominant monolingual ideology led to the choice of two questions which were problematic in different ways. This raises doubts about the validity of the questions themselves and the usefulness of the data collected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One way to look at some of the scholars in English-language comparative education in the 1960s is to see them as being concerned with ‘methods’. They themselves emphasised that they were re-thinking ‘method’ in comparative education. Victories were won and courses were rewritten. That ‘historic’ moment is taught (if it is taught at all nowadays, because history can be made to disappear) as if all that was at stake is mistakes in method. The general argument of this article is that the complex kaleidoscope of our history can and should be tapped. There was more to the scholars of the 1960s than mere ‘method’, and there is more to be learned from them, for us now. At a time when – especially in England – it is becoming conventional to stress the importance of technically rigorous empirical fieldwork as the kind of ‘robust and relevant research’ work that politicians and national academic quality control agencies think the nation needs – it is sensible to pause and ask: is our ‘history’ of the 1960s, with its remarkable emphasis on discussions about method, a simplification of something more complex? What have we been missing? What questions should we take to the archives, to illuminate the present? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

On 29 and 30 May 2014, this seminar was hosted at Lews Castle College, University of the Highlands and Islands and organised by BAAL member Dr Cassie Smith-Christmas. In total, there were 16 participants from 13 universities across the UK. A total of nine papers were delivered over the two days and an hour-long roundtable was held at the close of the seminar. Keynote speakers were Professor Rosamond Mitchell (University of Southampton) and Professor Wilson McLeod (University of Edinburgh). Professor Kenneth MacKinnon (University of Aberdeen) acted as keynote discussant. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article explores the history of communication in Wales and the role of bilingual elites such as the clergy and gentry in shaping the dynamics of political culture. Emphasis is given to topics such as the vertical integration of political opinion in public politics, the socials statuses of the English and Welsh languages, and the oral transmission of news and gossip.

The present study, situated in the area of variational pragmatics, contrasts tag question (TQ) use in Ireland and Great Britain using spoken data from the Irish and British components of the International Corpus of English (ICE). Analysis is on the formal and functional level and also investigates formfunctional relationships. Findings reveal many similarities in the use of TQs across the varieties. They also point, however, to a lower use of TQs in Irish English and in a range of variety-preferential features on both the formal and functional levels. The paper shows how an in-depth analysis of form-function relations together with a fine-tuned investigation of sub-functions gives an insight into formal preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results are presented of a comparative study of the reasons for parental choice of Scottish Gaelic-medium and Welsh-medium primary education in the year 2000 and of the reasons for pupils' decisions to continue with Gaelic or Welsh-medium education at secondary school in 2007. Parents in both contexts cited the quality of Celtic-medium education to similar extents in the choice of Welsh or Gaelic-medium education, but parents in the Welsh context more frequently cited employment rationales, and parents in the Scottish context more frequently cited heritage and the benefits of bilingualism. The Welsh-medium and Gaelic-medium pupils cited a preference for learning in Welsh or Gaelic, a wish to continue to be educated with friends, heritage, quality of Celtic-medium education and employment rationales to similar extents in the choice of Celtic-medium secondary education. However, Welsh-medium pupils more frequently cited the Welsh-medium education experiences of older family members, and Gaelic-medium pupils more frequently cited valuing bilingualism as a reason for such a choice. The results are discussed in relation to previous research on choice of Gaelic and Welsh-medium education, and in relation to contextual factors, such as linguistic demographics, and the level of institutionalization of Gaelic and Welsh within each national context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cornwall differs from other English counties, not least because a significant percentage of those who live there self-identify as ‘Cornish’ rather than ‘English’ or British'. Sport has helped to underpin ‘the persistence of difference’. Distinctive versions of hurling and wrestling were key signifiers in this respect. In addition, Cornwall developed a particular affinity for rugby, similar to that found in Wales. In the late twentieth century, with indigenous Cornish culture threatened by deindustrialisation and in-migration, the county's rugby team enjoyed considerable success. Sport, in these conditions, became a signifier not merely of difference, but of a self-conscious Cornish identity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the rhetoric and design principles invested in public lunatic asylum architecture in the early nineteenth century. Using case studies from England and Ireland, this article will focus on the creation of a sensory environment conducive to the reform of these institutions, and how this was applied – intentionally or otherwise – in the built environment. Objections to door locks and the noise made by footsteps testify to the weight placed on the importance of the patient’s sensory well-being. It will be argued these initial features of sound control were bound up in a paternalistic, yet moral, approach to insanity and reform, with varying degrees of success. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper deals with a complex situation of English in Scotland. Basically, the English of Scotland is Scottish Standard English (SSE), just as Received Pronunciation might be assumed to be the English of England and General American the English of the USA. However, SSE forms just one end of a continuum at the other end of which lies Broad Scots. There is not a uniform view upon Scots; some claim it to be a separate language, others find it only a dialect of English. The paper seeks to describe the outlines of the situation in Scotland as the discussion has been very limited within English Studies in the Czech Republic. To be able to fully appreciate the problems concerned, a brief historical review is necessary. The present day matters, such as language planning, are discussed in the latter part of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The teleological narrative that has dominated the handling of intelligence by the British state in the events that led up to the 1916 Irish Rebellion in Dublin has been characterised as a cocktail of incompetence and mendacity. Using new and existing archive material this article argues that both the cabinet in London and key members of the Irish Executive in Dublin were supplied with accurate and timely intelligence by the Admiralty's signals intelligence unit, the Royal Irish Constabulary and the Dublin Metropolitan Police with respect to this event. Far from being a failure of intelligence here is evidence to show that there occurred a failure of response on behalf of key decision-makers. The warnings that were given by intelligence organisations were filtered through the existing policy preferences and assumptions. As a result of these factors accurate evaluations and sound judgement were not exercised by key officials, such as Sir Matthew Nathan, in Dublin Castle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses the impact of theNouvelle Droiteon the extreme right in contemporary Britain. Occupying a central focus is the role ofScorpionmagazine, edited by Michael Walker. The author examines the promotion of theNouvelle DroitebyScorpion, and in particular Walker's attempts to encourage the British far right to bury two of its “sacred cows”: conspiracy theory and biological racism. He then identifies howNouvelle Droitethought influenced the ideology and discourse of the 1980s National Front, before moving on to discuss its impact on Nick Griffin's recent attempts to modernize the ideology of the British National Party. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The process of developing and implementing UK legislation for the legal deposit of electronic and other non-print publications has been lengthy and remains incomplete, although the Government has consulted on draft regulations for implementation in 2013. The purpose of this paper is to provide a short account of progress and review the experience, analysing several factors that have influenced the legislative process and helped shape the proposed regulations. It summarises the regulatory and non-regulatory steps taken by the UK legal deposit libraries to address the legitimate concerns of publishers and describes some of the practical implications of implementing legal deposit for non-print publications. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws upon the personal experiences of the authors, who have been directly involved in the legislative process and negotiations with publishers and other stakeholders. Findings – The paper provides new information and a summary of key issues and outcomes, with explanations and some insights into the factors that have influenced them. Originality/value – This paper provides new information about the development of legal deposit in the UK and a review of the issues that have affected its progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the Irish Free State was founded in 1922, the Irish language was a substantial feature of the politics that led up to this event. Subsequently the language was recognised as the national and first official language of the Irish Free State. Since then, the de jure position of Irish appears to have evolved. Most recently, legislation was introduced in the Republic of Ireland, and statutory duties were placed upon certain public bodies with regard to the Irish language in Northern Ireland. This article examines this historical shift in the status of Irish in the two political jurisdictions in Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland [as a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ( UK)], and explains its significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the nineteenth century nationalism and historiography were closely linked, and the absence of separatist nationalism in Scotland had consequences for academic history. This article looks at the content of university history teaching, using sources such as lecture notes, textbooks, and inaugural lectures. The nature of the Scottish curriculum made the Ordinary survey courses more significant than specialised Honours teaching. While chairs of general history were founded only in the 1890s, the teaching of constitutional history in law faculties from the 1860s transmitted an older tradition of whig constitutionalism, based partly on the idea of racial affinity between the English and Scots, which was reinforced by the influence of the English historians Stubbs and Seeley. Academic historians shared contemporary views of history as an evolutionary science, which stressed long-term development and allowed the Union to be presented in teleological terms. Their courses incorporated significant elements of Scottish history. Chairs of Scottish history were founded at Edinburgh in 1901 and Glasgow in 1913, but their holders shared the general unionist orientation. By 1914, therefore, university history courses embodied a distinctive Scoto-British historiography, which was a significant factor in the formation of British identity among the Scottish middle classes; there were many European parallels to this state-oriented form of national history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a group of late 18th and early 19th century English academics, clergymen, and politicians who had a shared appreciation of the third century B.C. Hellenistic Greek poet Lycophron, which included statesman Charles James Fox, scholar Gilbert Wakefield, and politician Lord Royston. The author describes Lycophron as a rather obscure figure, of which little study and reading had been done outside of this group. The author traces the study of Lycophron's poem "Alexandra" by the scholar Henry Meen that resulted in Meen's 1800 publication "Remarks on the Cassandra of Lycophron, a monody" and its influence on the interest in Lycophron by other academics.

Since 2001, political concerns over social and ethnic cohesion have stimulated new debates over citizenship and belonging in the UK. A central feature of which has been a civic requirement of new citizens to learn English. Such a debate however coincides with concerns around in-migration in Wales, and the highly contested notion that non-Welsh speakers have a civic responsibility to learn Welsh. This article aims to explore the contradictions between these two cases via research with adult language learners in Wales -- a group often ignored within literature on language, identity and citizenship. In analysing learners' discourses, the article identifies the ways in which learners come to terms with such notions of responsibility. However, the article argues that by positioning language learning in Wales in relation to the development of Welsh civic institutions, and by locating learning itself as a means of expressing such civic identification to place, so the demands for linguistic accommodation by monolingual English speakers may be increasingly articulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the colonial origins of the movement to standardize and nationalize American English. The central fact of colonials' experience is that they act as agents of an expansionist imperial society. As users of the koine nativize their common tongue, they continuously render normative judgments about alternative usages. Colonials' adoption of the metropolitan standard of English and their manner of applying it appear in three kinds of evidence: contemporary observers' evaluations of colonial speech, higher-status colonials' descriptions of British immigrants' non-standard English speech, and colonials' formal efforts to educate themselves in metropolitan standard English. That metropolitan speech was the measure of good English is confirmed in part by negative evidence. The alertness of masters to servants' regional accents, to their bad and broken English and their occasional good or plain speech, complemented British observers' praise of colonial speech as pure and perfect, accurate and elegant. Over several centuries, state policies gradually encouraged national language rationalization. The English Crown launched standardization of the English language during the late Middle Ages. Throughout the seventeenth century, both colonization and culture expressed the emerging English national consciousness. In the mid-eighteenth century, the movement entered a new phase by developing an explicit ideology of standardization. Like their Scottish counterparts, members of the British North American elites, along with educated ambitious people in the middling ranks, enlisted in an eighteenth-century colonial crusade to shape English usage.