Language Attitudes in Old and New Gaeltacht Communities
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Language Attitudes in Old and New Gaeltacht Communities RACHELE ANTONINI Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics Newcastle University October 2012 i Abstract This study aims to provide a description and analysis of Irish language use and attitudes towards it in three geographically and ideologically distinctive communities in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, by examining four separate, but related, issues: (i) Attitudes towards Irish in three contrasting Gaeltacht regions (an urban, ‘revival’ area in Northern Ireland and two rural, ‘survival’ Gaeltachtaí in the Republic of Ireland); (ii) The level of Irish-English bilingualism in these regions amongst cohorts of males and females of various ages and from divergent socio-economic backgrounds; (iii) The influence which positive or negative attitudes towards Irish exert on language choice; (iv) Whether psycho-perceptual factors like attitudes are as salient to the process of declining Irish-English bilingualism as socio-economic ones such as social class or personal network ties. Data relating to language use and attitudes were collected in the three study areas by using different methodologies, including the administration of a questionnaire (in two versions: English and Irish) as well as semi-structured interviews. The data collected thus were analysed and compared in order to determine the extent to which different attitudes towards the Irish language existed in these communities that are also distinctive in other ways. Another important objective was to try and identify the factors that influence and shape such differences. In this regard, particular attention was paid to: (i) state intervention (in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) with respect to particular types of support for Irish as well as successful and unsuccessful language policies operating within these two states; (ii) language use in the community and home domains and (iii) Irish in the media. The data gathered by questionnaire was analysed by performing factor and multivariate analysis of variance and the interview data was also interrogated. Both types of analyses were performed with the aim of assessing and explaining different attitudes towards the maintenance and the future of the Irish language in the three study areas as well as usage differences with respect to independent the variables of age, gender, and educational level. The analysis of the questionnaire data revealed which socio- demographic variables have an influence on the attitudinal dimensions taken into consideration and Irish language use in the three study areas where this study took place. ii The interviews carried out in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were instrumental in probing further the issues tackled by the questionnaire. They also functioned to explore additional aspects of language orientation, namely, whether informants held positive or negative attitudes towards different accents and dialects of Irish across the island of Ireland (particularly the newer revival varieties about which there has been much media attention but less scholarly investigation). iii Declaration I declare that the work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original and my own work. The material has not been submitted, either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other university. RACHELE ANTONINI iv Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................ii Table of Contents.............................................................................................................v List of Tables....................................................................................................................x List of Figures................................................................................................................xii Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................xiii Chapter 1: Background to the study 1.1 Introduction to the study....................................................................................1 1.2 Dissertation outline..............................................................................................3 1.3 Historical background.........................................................................................5 1.3.1. The history of the Irish language before 1922...........................................5 1.3.2 The beginning of the decline......................................................................6 1.3.3 The revival effort and Government language policies in Éire.................15 1.4 Irish-speaking areas...........................................................................................19 1.4.1 In Éire.......................................................................................................19 1.4.2 In Northern Ireland...................................................................................24 1.5 Irish language policies in the United Kingdom...............................................30 1.5.1 Recent developments of the Irish language revival in Northern Ireland. .................................................................................................31 1.6 Irish in the European context...........................................................................33 1.7 Irish today...........................................................................................................35 1.8 The Vitality of the Irish language in the Republic of Ireland........................36 1.8.1 The influence of demographic factors.....................................................36 1.8.2 The influence of institutional support and control factors.......................38 1.8.3 Irish in the Media.....................................................................................41 1.9 The vitality of the Irish language in Northern Ireland.................................42 1.9.1 The demographic situation......................................................................43 1.9.2 Institutional support and control factors..................................................44 1.9.3 Irish in institutional settings and in education.........................................45 1.9.4 Irish in the broadcast media.....................................................................45 1.9.5 Irish in the printed media and the web in the North and the South.........46 1.10 The urban phenomenon....................................................................................47 v 1.11 Conclusion..........................................................................................................48 Chapter Two. Language attitudes, revitalization and shift 2.1 Introduction........................................................................................................51 2.2 Attitudes..............................................................................................................51 2.2.1 Nature and definition(s) of attitude..........................................................51 2.2.2 Attitude components................................................................................53 2.2.3 Related concepts......................................................................................55 2.2.4 The formation and function of attitudes..................................................61 2.3 Language attitudes............................................................................................62 2.4 Language shift and death..................................................................................65 2.4.1 Language shift and domain analysis........................................................68 2.4.2 Two case studies of language shift and death..........................................71 2.5 Language revitalization.....................................................................................74 2.6 Irish language attitudes studies........................................................................77 2.7 Conclusion..........................................................................................................80 Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Introduction........................................................................................................82 3.2 The research instruments..................................................................................83 3.2.1 The questionnaire.....................................................................................83 3.3 The pilot study....................................................................................................86 3.3.1 Questionnaire Design...............................................................................87 3.3.2 Typology of questions..............................................................................90 3.3.3 The wording of questions.........................................................................94 3.3.4 Independent and dependent variables......................................................95 3.3.5 Irish as experienced in school..................................................................96 3.3.6 Less Irish.................................................................................................97 3.3.7 More Irish...............................................................................................97