Neoliberalism and Language Shift: Lessons from the Republic of Ireland Post-2008: 115 (Contributions to the Sociology of Language [CSL], 115) - Hardcover

Ó Ceallaigh; Ben

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3110768860 ISBN 13: 9783110768862

Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton, 2022

Synopsis

While "economic forces" are often cited as being a key cause of language loss, there is very little research that explores this link in detail. This work, based on policy analysis and ethnographic data, addresses this deficit. It examines how neoliberalism, the dominant economic orthodoxy of recent decades, has impacted the vitality of Irish in the Republic of Ireland since 2008. Drawing on concepts well established in public policy studies, but not prominent in the subfield of language policy, the neoliberalisation of Irish-language support measures is charted, including the disproportionately severe budget cuts they received. It is argued that neoliberalism’s antipathy towards social planning and redistributive economic policies meant that supports for Irish were inevitably hit especially hard in an era of austerity.

Ethnographic data from Irish-speaking communities reinforce this point and illustrate how macro-level economic disruptions can affect language use at the micro-level. Labour market transformations, emigration and the dismantling of community institutions are documented, along with many related developments, thereby highlighting an issue of relevance to communities around the world, the fundamental tension between neoliberalism and language revitalisation efforts.

About this title

About the Author

Ben Ó Ceallaigh, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK.

From the Back Cover

Exploring the link between macro-level economic disruption and language shift at the micro-level, this ethnographic study examines how neoliberalism, the economic hegemony of recent decades, has affected the vitality of Irish in the Republic of Ireland since 2008. Extensive data from Irish-speaking areas are presented and concepts popular in public policy studies employed to chart the neoliberalisation of Irish-language support measures, including the disproportionately severe budget cuts they received. It is argued that neoliberalism's antipathy towards social planning and redistributive economic policies places it in fundamental tension with many language revitalisation efforts, with the vitality of Irish thus suffering greatly in an era of austerity.

Edition details

• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3110768860
• ISBN 13: 9783110768862
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320