Colonialism and displacement have not only led to the migration of millions of Irish people and the endangerment of the Irish language, but also to a subjectivity in which it is possible to struggle against the risk of language loss. This paper explores the importance of sharing stories and information about family at second-language Irish…

Language revival often retains founding overt beliefs rooted in an ideological commitment to a specific language because of its role as the authentic, legitimate cultural vehicle of a distinct people. Revival is thus the reinstatement of cultural distinctiveness based on traditional language. Revivalists have afforded traditional language…

We examined factors determining parental success in transmitting heritage language (HL) and literacy in Russian-speaking migrant families of comparable socioeconomic status (SES) in Cyprus, Ireland, Israel and Sweden. A total of 345 Russian speakers completed a questionnaire about their language use and home language practices. Of those, we chose…

Although traditional, unitary models of language standardisation have been prominent in minority languages, it is contended that this approach reproduces dominant language hierarchies and hegemonies, diminishes linguistic diversity and marginalises speakers who do not conform to prestige models. The polynomic model has been described as an…

Some recent studies have suggested a significant bottom-up or parental component to recent movements for autochthonous minority language-medium education (MLME). This study takes MLME as the outcome of interest and seeks to explain trends in Irish-medium education (IME) in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland since 1920--a unique…

This article will examine the potential for language change from the bottom-up given the new domains in which minority languages are present as a result of the process of language mobility. Drawing on a theoretical notion of sociolinguistic scales, this article aims to discuss how the position of the Irish language has been reconfigured. From this…

Discusses the history of the decline of the use of Irish in Ireland since the 12th century and how present government policies and citizen attitudes have affected this decline. Government actions include establishing a Gaelic Board, setting nominal Irish qualifications for civil servants, and teaching Irish in the primary schools. (SED)

Discusses strategies of social mobility involving education, occupational or residential change, and migration as well as the implications for language behavior of these strategies. The article assesses current theories of language maintenance and shift, drawing on network concepts and referring to change in an Irish-speaking community in…

Argues that there is no pressure to make Irish an official language in Northern Ireland because the sociolinguistic preconditions for bilingualism do not exist. The article demonstrates that those Irish who do not speak or learn Irish have no less a sense of having an Irish identity than do fluent speakers or those learning Irish. (26 references)…