Language Policy and Social Reproduction: Ireland 1893-1993During the nineteenth century Irish-speaking communities declined almost to the point of extinction. But in 1922 the new Irish state launched a broad strategy to re-establish Irish as a national language. This book is about that policy and its impact over the last seventy years. Ó Riagáin focuses on the evolving structure of bilingualism in Ireland but he is more centrally concerned with the process of bilingual reproduction. His analysis is based on a series of language surveys conducted between 1973 and 1993. In Part I he reviews the evolution of language policy and the main theoretical perspectives emerging in Irish research. In Part II he is concerned with the position of the Irish language in the residual Irish-speaking areas, and in Part III with the present position of the Irish language in the English-speaking areas. He examines the role of policy in education, in the public sector, and in the forming of Irish-speaking networks. He argues that the various dimensions of Irish language policy have been heavily conditioned by the way the Irish economy and, in turn, Irish society has developed since independence. He concludes in Part IV with a discussion of current issues within Irish language policy. |
Contents
Theoretical Perspectives in Irish Research | 28 |
An Overview | 49 |
Language Maintenance and Language Shift as Strategies | 79 |
An Overview of Bilingualism 19261993 | 145 |
Public Attitudes towards Irish and Irish Language Policies | 168 |
Irish Language Production and Reproduction | 193 |
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40 per cent ability in Irish ability levels ability to speak age-groups all-Irish school analysis appear Bord na Gaeilge Bourdieu Breac-Ghaeltacht census data Census of Population cent of respondents changes chapter CILAR context Corca Dhuibhne Daingean decline DEDs differences distribution District Electoral Divisions districts Dublin economic English examination families Fíor-Ghaeltacht Gaelic League Gaeltacht areas Gaeltacht Commission Galway groups guage high levels home bilingualism in-migrants increase interaction Ireland Irish examinations Irish language policy Irish-speaking areas Irish-speaking networks ITÉ Survey 1983 Language Attitudes language planning language revival language shift Leaving Certificate levels of ability linguistic migration Moderate Ó Gliasáin Ó Riagáin occupations Oughterard overall parents patterns percentages of Irish-speakers primary school programmes proportion question Raidió na Gaeltachta regional relationship reported reproduction revival rural areas sample sector significant social class social networks Sociolinguistic spatial speak Irish speaking ability spoken suggest Table tion Total