Language as symbol in churchyard monuments: The use of Welsh in nineteenth‐ and twentieth‐century Pembrokeshire

Graveyard memorials combine form, decoration and inscription to communicate the social persona of the deceased to those visiting the burial ground. In Pembrokeshire, south‐east Wales, a linguistic divide known as the Landsker is expressed through graveyard memorials by the language chosen for the inscription. Variability in language choice is demonstrated not only through time and space, but also by status and religious affiliation (Anglican or nonconformist). Language differences reflect wider cultural ties and these are also expressed through memorials, with the pedimented headstone popular in north Pembrokeshire being used as an example here.