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This article focuses on attitudes to language and identity in Caernarfon, a town in the Welsh language “heartland” county of Gwynedd. While the salience of language in attitude and identity varies, it plays an important role where different language groups come into contact. We argue that diglossia, far from indicating social consensus with respect to code alternation, indicates conflict, especially in cases of colonisation, with the attendant language dominance of the colonising group, such as occurred in Wales. Although current language attitudes (in terms of cognitive, affective, and behavioural components) are fragmented in Wales generally, critical historical events remain salient in Gwynedd. Against this background, we examine attitudes through analysing three recent episodes where language is implicated, together with a set of interviews. The conclusion is that while the role of the Welsh language in Welsh identity is equivocal, Welsh speakers in Caernarfon are (in line with conflict theory) contesting hitherto English domains. The implications of these findings for the Welsh Assembly Government's language policy are examined.
