Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities Series Editor: Gabrielle Hogan-Brun, University of Bristol, UK Worldwide migration and unprecedented economic, political and social integra- tion in Europe present serious challenges to the nature and position of language minorities. Some communities receive protective legislation and active support from states through policies that promote and sustain cultural and linguistic diversity; others succumb to global homogenization and assimilation. At the same time, discourses on diversity and emancipation have produced greater demands for the management of difference. This series publishes new research based on single or comparative case studies on minority languages worldwide. We focus on their use, status and prospects, and on linguistic pluralism in areas with immigrant or traditional minority communities or with shifting borders. Each volume is written in an accessible style for researchers and students in linguistics, education, anthropology, poli- tics and other disciplines, and for practitioners interested in language minorities and diversity. Titles include: Jean-Bernard Adrey DISCOURSE AND STRUGGLE IN MINORITY LANGUAGE POLICY FORMATION Corsican Language Policy in the EU Context of Governance Nancy H. Hornberger (editor) CAN SCHOOLS SAVE INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES? Policy and Practice on Four Continents Anne Judge LINGUISTIC POLICIES AND THE SURVIVAL OF REGIONAL LANGUAGES IN FRANCE AND BRITAIN Yasuko Kanno LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION IN JAPAN Unequal Access to Bilingualism Janet Muller LANGUAGE AND CONFLICT IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND CANADA A Silent War Máiréad Nic Craith EUROPE AND THE POLITICS OF LANGUAGE Citizens, Migrants and Outsiders Máiréad Nic Craith (editor) LANGUAGE, POWER AND IDENTITY POLITICS Bernadette O’Rourke GALICIAN AND IRISH IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT Attitudes towards Weak and Strong Minority Languages Anne Pauwels, Joanne Winter and Joseph Lo Bianco (editors) MAINTAINING MINORITY LANGUAGES IN TRANSNATIONAL CONTEXTS Australian and European Perspectives Susanna Pertot, Tom M. S. Priestly and Colin H. 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Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England Galician and Irish in the European Context Attitudes towards Weak and Strong Minority Languages Bernadette O’Rourke Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh © Bernadette O’Rourke 2011 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: 978–0–230–57403–8 hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne To my mother and father It might be said with a certain metaphoric licence that languages are seldom admired to death but are frequently despised to death. (Nancy Dorian 1998: 5) Contents List of Tables ix Acknowledgements x Introduction 1 1 Language Attitudes 5 Introduction 5 Defining language attitudes 6 Socially grounded approaches to language attitudes 10 Language attitudes as predictors of behaviour 12 The merits of language attitude research 15 The multidimensional nature of language attitudes 18 The ‘integrative’ or ‘solidarity’ dimension 19 The predictive power of the ‘integrative’ or ‘solidarity’ dimension 21 The ‘instrumental’ or ‘status’ dimension 22 A review of methodological approaches and techniques 24 Direct and indirect methods 27 Different layers of attitudinal experiences 28 The quantitative-qualitative dichotomy 28 Concluding remarks 32 2 Evolution of Attitudes towards Irish and Galician 34 Early sociolinguistic histories 35 Changing status of Irish and Galician 36 Language revival movements and the rise of nationalism 46 The Irish language movement 47 The Galician language movement 49 The ‘Re-stigmatization’ of Galician 52 Concluding remarks 55 3 A New Policy for Ideological Change 58 Defining language policy 58 Language policy and ideology 59 Language policy and planning 60 Changing attitudes 61 vii viii Contents Language policy and context 61 Under what conditions? 63 Language policy in Ireland and Galicia 64 Constitutional and legal change 64 Early years of language policy 67 Language planning for Irish and Galician 70 Corpus planning and standardization 71 Status planning 74 Socio-economic, political and cultural context 77 Changes in language policy for Irish 82 Changes in language policy for Galician 87 Concluding remarks 90 4 Effects of Language Policies on Attitudes 91 The early years of Irish language policy 91 The early years of Galician language policy 93 Survey research on Irish 95 Survey research on Galician 97 Theoretical considerations in Irish and Galician survey research 98 Attitudes towards Irish 99 Attitudes towards Galician 101 Who favours these languages most? 102 Language attitudes as predictors of language use 105 Exploring the mismatch between attitudes and use 108 Concluding remarks 114 5 A Cross-National Study of Young People’s Attitudes 116 Introduction 116 Choice of respondents 116 Profile of Irish and Galician students 119 Young people’s attitudes to Irish and Galician 121 Attitudes to the societal presence of the minority language 121 Attitudes towards language and identity 126 Variations in language attitudes 127 Explaining differences across contexts 129 Concluding remarks 144 Conclusion 148 Notes 155 Bibliography 160 Index 179 Tables 5.1 Students’ reported ability to speak the minority language 120 5.2 Support for the language and its future 122 5.3 Modernization and spread of the minority language 123 5.4 Strategies of social reproduction 125 5.5 Language and identity 127 5.6 Explicative model for Galician 128 5.7 Explicative model for Irish 129 ix Acknowledgements Many friends and colleagues have contributed to the writing of this book. I cannot possibly mention them all but would like to mention a few in particular. I owe a great deal to Fernando Ramallo for his time and expertise and to his family for welcoming me into their home dur- ing my many trips to Galicia. I am also indebted to Anxo Lorenzo Suárez, Clare Mar-Molinero, Muiris Ó Laoire, Pádraig Ó Riagáin and Bill Richardson for advice and comments at various stages of the project. A very special thanks to Pierre and Oisín, for their patience and encour- agement. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Irish and Galician students who agreed to be part of the research project. x Introduction ... the immortal star of Celticism rises again ... will it shine for the Ireland of the South? (Vicente Risco 1921: 20)1 The Torre de Hercules is a well-known landmark for visitors to the Galician city of A Coruña in north-western Spain. Legend has it that on a clear day from the top of the tower it is possible to get a glimpse of Ireland in the distance. This popular legend reflects aspirations on the part of nineteenth-century Galician nationalists to join the Celtic nations of the North by becoming the Ireland of the South. Comparisons and con- nections between the Irish and Galician contexts can be found mainly in literary and cultural studies (see, for example, White 2004; McKevitt 2006) where cross-cultural connections between the two communities have drawn on a similar historical past, emigration, shared myths, sym- bols and sense of communal landscape. Traditionally, such comparisons between these two Atlantic commu- nities have been framed within the perhaps mistakenly named field of Celtic Studies, given Galicia’s sometimes disputed claim to a Celtic past. While there does seem to be sufficient archaeological evidence to justify Galicia’s attachment to its Celtic origins, Celtic influences in its autochthonous language, Galician, are more difficult to find.