Discourses of belonging and resistance: Irish-language maintenance in Ireland and the diaspora

Almost 2 million people in the North and South of Ireland identify as Irish speakers and an estimated 70 million around the globe can claim Irish heritage. While Irish ancestry may be distant for many, the Irish language is active in numerous diasporic communities, as documented in some limited research (e.g. Ihde 1994, Ó hEadhra 1998, Noone 2012a) and evidenced by the existence of cultural and language groups. Census figures indicate that over 30,000 people currently speak the language in Canada, the United States and Australia alone, yet no general account of Irish-language use in the diaspora exists. Linguistic practices within Irish communities worldwide vary widely with regard to Irish-language use, with each community subject to distinct concerns, histories and discourses. As such each has different possibilities for creating social meaning through language use. The aim of this thesis is: (i) to explore Irish-language learners’ and speakers’ characterisations of patterns of language use and language-community formations between sites in the Republic and Northern Ireland (chiefly Galway, Dublin, Derry and Belfast) and in the diaspora (Melbourne, Australia; Boston, U.S.; and St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada); and (ii) to examine the (Foucauldian) discourses within which Irish-language use is implicated as a meaningful social practice within and across these communities. Research is based on open-ended qualitative interviews with 86 learners and speakers regarding the Irish language and their own language practices, and in extensive participant observation of cultural and language-related activities in each site. Thematic content analysis of interview data provides the basis for ethnographic descriptions of each site. Foucauldian discourse analysis is used to discover and delineate the predominant discourses (and counter-discourses) within which Irish-language use is implicated as a meaningful social act, and that are enacted or actively resisted within and across communities, as well as key subject positions made available within these discourses. The research predominantly targets learners and teachers of Irish, and those involved in language maintenance in each of these communities, and focuses particularly on elective bilinguals – speakers who have learnt Irish in the classroom and who do not use Irish as their primary language. The focus on this kind of bilingual speaker is of paramount importance for two reasons: firstly, because attitudinal research has been largely silent on elective Irish bilinguals, and secondly, because elective bilinguals are likely to be crucial to the language’s survival. Patterns of bilingualism in Gaeltacht regions are shifting and changing, and, as such, circumstantial bilinguals make up decreasing proportions of the language’s speaker community. Urban language communities (largely made up of L2 speakers), however, are increasing in size and activity. This thesis argues for an incorporation of post-structuralist, social constructionist approaches to identity within sociology of language, particularly with regards to elective bilinguals and in diasporic contexts. As such, in addition to contributing to a broader description of Irish-language communities worldwide, this thesis demonstrates the contributions that a critical discourse analytic approach can make in endeavouring to understand the changing position of linguistic minorities in post-modernity.

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