This article examines how Russian speakers in Ireland delimit and describe (their/the) Russian language in relation to representations of standard Russian. It is based on analysis of discussions conducted between speakers of Russian living in Ireland, facilitated by the Our Languages (2008-2011) research project, investigating multilingualism and…

Ideology can be understood as a guide to action, and therefore, language ideology can be viewed as a link between language ability on the one hand, and language use on the other. In this respect, language ideology plays a central role in the success of language revitalization movements. In an effort to understand how new language ideologies are…

The purpose of this article is to examine how struggles over language ownership are played out in a minority language setting, focusing on the case of Irish in the Republic of Ireland. The article examines the more or less serious struggles that emerge between so-called native, or L1, and nonnative, or L2, speakers of Irish in a language learning…

The central role played by language in mediating school experience and the prestige accorded to standard language varieties within the field of education provide the broad rationale for this paper. This qualitative study, based on a friendship focus-group design, was conducted in two groups of 12-year-old children from contrasting "ideal…

This paper investigates the Irish-language adscape through an analysis of the profile of two Irish-language newspapers, "Foinse," published in the Republic of Ireland, and "La," published in Northern Ireland. The advertising in both papers is analysed in terms of products and services advertised, advertisers represented and…

Possible origins for the use of "sorrow" as a negation in Hiberno-English are considered. Much of the evidence examined here comes from English literature. It is concluded that the uses of "sorrow" as negator and as euphemism probably reflect Celtic substrate influence. Structural evidence indicates that "sorrow"…

The atlas offers a cartography of language functions, quantitatively measured in vitality rates, for Western Europe. The atlas has three parts: vitality by language; vitality by domain; and vitality by country. Eighty-three minority languages are covered. Domains considered include: global; religion; schools; mass media; administration; courts;…

This paper provides a summary of the proceedings of a public lecture and a seminar conducted by William F. Mackey, on "Options for Language Promotion by Means of the Education System" and "Implications of Bilingualism," including the question and answer sessions. Part one, summarizing the lecture, discusses the role of the…

A national survey conducted in November-December 1983, similar to one in 1973, investigated attitudes toward, competence in, and use of Irish among adults in Ireland. Of the 1,131 individuals interviewed, all aged 18 or over, about 420 were under age 30. The report summarizes preliminary results. The first section reports general attitudes toward…

A number of issues concerning revival and maintenance of the Irish language are discussed. First, it is found that public attitudes about language use in Ireland, outwardly positive toward revival of Irish usage but not carried through in mass media or education, reflect considerable ambiguity. Linguistic stewardship of the language has been…

Issues in the debate in Ireland over Irish language instruction in the schools are reviewed in light of the establishment of the European Economic Community. In the first chapter, three points of view are compared: results of research on Irish, attitudes of the general public, and those of language interest groups. The second chapter provides a…

A study investigated the extent to which all-Irish primary schools in the Dublin (Ireland) area: (1) provide opportunities for parents not using Irish at home to send children to an all-Irish school; (2) provide impetus for an increase in Irish use in homes of attending children; (3) increase interaction among Irish-speaking families; (4) are…

This study investigated factors facilitating acquisition of Irish in Irish-medium playgroups designed for children who are native English-speakers. Data were gathered in four visits each to two such playgroups, each containing approximately 20 children. Four aspects of conversational exchanges were examined: understanding; code mixing; formulaic…

This paper discusses some of the methodological issues facing language trainers who are required to identify the second language needs of adult learners within a specific vocational context, namely business sales negotiations. It also proposes a research model that responds to the difficulties of matching learner perceptions of language and…

A study addressed educational and psychological issues raised by the phenomenal growth of Irish-medium pre-schools ("naionrai"). Data were gathered in surveys of almost 2,000 parents, over 170 teachers and advisors, and 225 children in 25 Irish-medium pre-schools in both "Gaeltacht" (Irish-speaking districts) and…