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Students commencing their studies of Caernarfon. Caernarfon has the highest percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales and is a centre for Welsh language and culture. Students worked in multinational groups to evaluate their perceptions of the influence of the Welsh language in the town. Townscapes and the Welsh Language Caernarfon is located in north west Wales on the Menai Straits. It had a population of 9474 in 1991. Caernarfon is a very old settlement - there is a Roman fort (Segontium) on the edge of the town. For many years the town was part of an independent Welsh Kingdom. However, the Welsh lost their independence in 1283 when the English King Edward 1 (1272-1307) defeated the Welsh and conquered north Wales. Edward built a ring of castles around the north Wales coast to control his newly-won territory. Caernarfon Castle was built between 1283 and 1330. The town of Caernarfon was also set up at this time and enclosed in town walls. It is a planned medieval town and you will see the 'grid-iron' street plan. Caernarfon is in the Welsh-speaking heartland of North Wales. The town is only two hour's drive from Liverpool and yet English is a minority language here. Over 80% of the population speak Welsh as their first language, although everybody can speak English fluently (and you won't have any problems in communication). In Caernarfon there is a situation of linguistic pluralism = there are two, very different languages, in everyday use in this area. North West Wales is also a centre of Welsh nationalism. This is the political stronghold of Plaid Cymru (the Party of Wales) which has 4 members of parliament. The current member of parliament for Caernarfon is Dafydd Wigley who is the leader of Plaid Cymru. Plaid Cymru seeks greater autonomy - and ultimately selfgovernment - for Wales. Caernarfon has a reputation for being the most nationalist town in Wales. Tourism is an important component of the North Wales economy. Tourism generated £1,933 million in 1996 and accounts for about 9% of total employment. Tourism is increasingly important in Caernarfon. Caernarfon Castle received 248,724 visitors in 1996. It is among the ten most popular tourist attractions in Wales, and is the most popular monument. The main component of Wales' tourist product is heritage tourism - that is, tourism based on historical resources. Heritage tourism is important in Caernarfon and the town - like many other towns in England and Wales - is keen to promote its 'oldness' for tourists. You will see that the environment of the town has been 'oldified' or 'heritagised'.
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