Land of 'My 9': Welsh-English Bilingual Girls Creating Spaces to Explore Identity

Based on ongoing research into the literacy practices of bilingual girls from different UK communities, this article focuses on the experiences of 11- to 13-year-old Welsh-English bilingual girls in Wales. Examples of the girls' talk about their bilingual lives are explored within the social, political, educational and literary context of the Welsh language today. The position of these young Welsh speakers within both the wider dominant, English language context and that of the Welsh language and culture proves to be riven with paradox. However, the girls make creative use of their situation to explore and demonstrate their own identities. One way in which this is evident is in their use of electronic text, and examples are drawn here of their use of personal websites and Instant Messaging in order to provide an insight into their experience.