Language and class fractioning in a peripheral economy

Abstract

Abstract Neither sociolinguists nor the sociology of language have taken seriously the role of language in the labour market. This paper aims to consider the specific nature of the class structure in a peripheral economy in Wales, and the role of language in the creation of class fractions. Drawing upon data from research carried out in Gwynedd at the end of the 1980s, the work focuses on the new middle class which, on account of being both employers of labour whilst at the same time being employees of capital, are in a contradictory class location within the class structure and may be expected to orientate either upwards towards the bourgeoisie or downwards towards the proletariat. The cultural division of labour within the peripheral economy in Wales involves a tendency for the private sector management to be non‐Welsh, being drawn from the English core, whereas the public sector management contains a significant number of Welsh speakers. Employing social relationships as an indicator of class orientati...