Discuss how images of Wales and Welshness vary over time and space
...h culture. But the areas also contain many globalized features which are not distinctly Welsh, and are said to threaten Wales’s strong cultural history such as the Quadrant shopping centre. This outside influence has threatened and diluted many Welsh traditions and has greatly affected the Welsh way of life. The areas of mid and north Wales have also been affected by the ever increasing globalised world but to a lesser extent. Although as I said earlier, many of these modern/global advances have diluted the welsh culture, the advances in politics, namely the formation of the Welsh assembly on the 12th of September 1997 greatly added to the countries pride, stature and sense of uniqueness because it was no longer ruled and became totally independent. This is another defining factor that has given Wales a kind of magical aura, because the pride of being an independent country has gone a long way into strengthening the idea of Welshness. When looking at the effect of the ever increasing globalisation in Wales it is interesting to note the effect this has had on the countries main feature its language. Figure 1 = Areas and percentages of Wales that speak welsh The Welsh speaking population 1901 The welsh speaking population 1971 (Morgan 1984) (Morgan 1984) When comparing these 2 maps of Wales from figure 1, it is clear to see that in a short period of time the percentage of welsh speakers has gone down, and the areas that these welsh speakers occupy have altered. This map clearly shows that images of Wales were clearly going to incur a massive change from 1901 onwards because the percentage of welsh speakers was 50% in 1901 and by 1971 only 540,000 people spoke welsh these worrying statistics clearly show that the Welsh culture was quickly changing. The Eisteddfod is a feature of Wales that you could say personifies the majority of Wales’s cultural images, such as poetry, welsh folk dancing and singing this is a key component in Welsh culture as Carol Trosset says when talking about the eisteddfod “You are right in the heart of welsh culture here” and “This is where we’re all really being the most Welsh” (Trosset 1993) these statements underline the importance of the eisteddfod to Wales and the Welsh people. Welshness is an integral part of Wales it is an idea based on pride and shaped by culture, and welsh language is the most important component that holds together this Welshness. Carol Trosset’s book “Welshness performed” goes someway into defining what welshness is. Trosset “defines Welshness in terms of specific essential components. Some of these components, like the Welsh language are deemed more important than others”(Trosset 1993) Trosset study which was carried out mainly in north Wales comes to the conclusion that the other factors which define Welshness are, “Going to a non-conformist church was more welsh than an Anglican church, voting Plaid Cymru was more welsh than voting conservative and also that the ability to sing well was considered more welsh than lacking the ability” (Trosset 1993). But these traits are associated with the more religious areas in northern Wales because apart from the older generation the majority of the population of south Wales are not church goers, this is another difference that occurs over space in Wales. As mentioned earlier a person who goes to a nonconformist church is seen to be more Welsh than a person who goes to an Anglican church. Figures 2 and 3 are maps of Wales which s...