Always the bridesmaid, never the bride?: Legislating in English and Welsh

Abstract

Abstract Welsh has official status in Wales, where it is spoken by approximately 20 % of the population. All adult speakers of Welsh are also able to speak English. The National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Ministers legislate in both Welsh and English. The Government of Wales Act 2006 provides that the English and Welsh texts of any Act of the Assembly or any subordinate legislation enacted or made in both English and Welsh are to be treated, for all purposes, as being of equal standing. This paper examines the role legislating bilingually plays in confirming the official status of the Welsh language; how the bilingual texts are produced by a process of collaborative translation within an administration where English is the dominant working language; how they are scrutinised by a legislature where legislators are free to use either or both languages, but where, in practice, English dominates; and how they are promulgated in both languages in the form in which they are enacted or made, but only routinely updated in English. It further considers what the principle of ‘equal standing’ may mean and how effect may be given to it; how these bilingual texts may be interpreted by the public and the legal profession, domains in which English dominates; and what implications the production, scrutiny, promulgation and interpretation of bilingual legislation have for the accessibility of the law in Wales.