Language Policy and Social Reproduction: Ireland 1893-1993 (Oxford Studies in Language Contact) - Hardcover

Ó Riagáin, Pádraig

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198235186 ISBN 13: 9780198235187

Publisher: Clarendon Press, 1997

Synopsis

During 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. O Riagain 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.

About this title

Review

he devotes most of his book to a re-assembly of statistical data from a series of language surveys, census returns and administrative files ... Prof. Ó Riagáin usefully brings diverse sets of data into this single volume. (Patrick Cummins, Journal of Linguistics Institute of Ireland, 36/36)

this book is critical reading for anyone interested in either the Irish language or minority language policy in general. He brings together the key findings of previous studies along with an in-depth analysis of more recent research...a handy reference book. (irish Journal of Sociology)

Having meticulously laid the foundations for his study, he sets about considering the nature of theoretical perspectives in sociolinguistic research in general, and in Irish in particular ... excellent research is characterised by its clarity of argument, its objectivity and attention to detail. This book is to be recommended by all who are interested in language, and particularly those who are involved in minority language planning. (The Month)

This is an interesting, challenging contribution to studies of language policy and language planning in general, as well as to our understanding of Irish-English biligualism in Ireland ... The book ... contributes to the development of hypotheses about the fate of linguistic minorities in the modern world. (Monica Heller, American Journal of Sociology, May 1999, 104:6)

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0198235186
• ISBN 13: 9780198235187
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 312