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Abstract
This paper explores the potential for creating online environments for bilingual communities in which minority-language use is supported and actively encouraged. It discusses the language behaviour and attitudes of Welsh–English bilingual users in Pen i Ben, a pilot online community of practice for Head Teachers in Wales. The patterns of language use and the functional roles served by the languages are described. Despite the creation of a bilingual environment and the implementation of specific strategies to encourage Welsh use, the trend indicates increasing use of English. However, it is suggested that a wider set of supporting strategies might be successful in maintaining a truly bilingual online community.
The Pen i Ben project was developed and facilitated by the Welsh Assembly Government using an online collaborative environment developed by Ultralab at Anglia Polytechnic University. This is an extended version of a paper (Harries and Cunliffe Citation2004) presented at the 4th International Conference on Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication.