Linguistic Landscapes in South Dublin

118 Language Contact 1. Introduction ever, can contribute to a better under-stan- and Language Politics ding of the languages used in the public in Ireland: he Republic of Ireland is a bilingual sphere. In a state with an explicit language state – both Irish and English are the policy that heavily promotes bilingualism, it Linguistic Landscapes is particularly interesting to analyse how the T official languages according to the in South Dublin Irish constitution. Irish is, however, a mino- two official languages are used in every-day Journal Article rity language in Ireland. English is the life and how this relates to the use of other languages in public spaces. Marion Schulte language that is commonly spoken by the vast majority of the population in all domains This paper presents a case study of the This paper describes the language contact of public and private life. The Irish state en- linguistic landscape created by publicly dis- situation in the Republic of Ireland with courages the use of Irish through a variety of played signs in two areas of the capital city, particular focus on English and Irish, and the current language policies that en- language policies (e.g., Gaeltacht Act 2012, Dublin: Dundrum and Stillorgan. In the first courage the use of these official languages. Official Languages Act 2003) and aims to in- two sections the history of the contact situ- Data from regular censuses in Ireland are crease the number of people who are profi- ation between English and Irish as well as the linked to a case study of linguistic landscapes in two South Dublin neighbor- cient in Irish and also use the Irish language current linguistic policies in the Republic of hoods to reveal to what extent English, in their daily lives. Ireland are briefly laid out. A discussion of Irish, and other languages are present in Regular censuses in Ireland offer linguistic landscaping as a technique to public spaces in Ireland’s capital. These gather data, especially in multilingual con- results are compared to the attitudes valuable insights into the perceived linguistic regarding English and Irish held by proficiency and also to an extent into the use texts, follows before the study itself is members of the community in South of the Irish language. Some data on other presented. The results of this study are then Dublin, which are based on semi-guided languages are also generated by the census compared to the reported language use and interviews with young Dubliners from these neighbourhoods. questionnaires, but these are largely limited language attitudes of South Dublin infor- to which languages are being spoken in the mants. This discussion is based on semi- home and to the English language profi- guided interviews conducted in the area. ciency of persons who claim to speak 2. English and Irish Language Contact another language in private. As census data in Ireland rely on self-reports of the participants, they are problematic when assessing actual Irish and English have been spoken in the language usage. Linguistic landscapes, how- island of Ireland for hundreds of years – Irish 1 0 p l u s 1 L I v I n g L I n g u I s t I c s 10plus1: Living Linguistics | Issue 2 | 2016 | Contact Linguistics Marion Schulte | Language Contact and Language Politics in Ireland: Linguistic Landscapes in South Dublin 119 was spoken throughout the island when the often seen as the event that finally cemented compel their countrymen living in Ireland to Anglo-Normans arrived in the 12th century the extinction of Irish as a commonly spoken use English rather than Irish and dress and and brought English, among other languages, language in Ireland (cf. Doyle 2015: 124ff). behave according to the English fashion; with them. Throughout the middle ages, Irish Especially the rural population in the tradi- thus proving that the people were doing remained the majority language; the use of tionally Irish-speaking areas in the west exactly the opposite – namely assimilating to English only significantly increased in the were affected by the famine, and 2.5 million the Irish. After the Tudors and Stuarts Early Modern period, and even then not in all people died or emigrated in its wake (cf. Ó started a policy of plantations in the 16th and parts of Ireland. In the east of Ireland, espe- Riagáin 1997: 4-5). The search for reasons 17th centuries, and “legislation was passed cially in the area around Dublin known as the for the language shift from Irish to English is against the use of Irish within areas of Pale, English was much more common than often coloured by different ideologies. As English rule” (Crowley 2000: 19), the use of in the west, where Irish dominated (cf., for Grillo (2009: 100) remarks, “it is easier to English became more prestigious and example, Crowley 2000: 12ff; Hickey 2007: blame the decline of Irish in the nineteenth widespread especially from the 17th century 30ff). The remnants of this distribution can century on the education system (as did onwards. The perception of the Celtic still be seen today: current census figures Douglas Hyde, for example), or the Catholic languages spoken in the British Isles in reveal that the percentage of Irish speakers Church, or Daniel O’Connell, than accept general became more and more negative. is much higher in the western counties, that for many people English represented Grillo points out that “[t]he climate of especially in rural areas, than in the east the only ‘rational’ choice in their economic opinion in the seventeenth, eighteenth and (CSO, Census 2011). Especially during the and social circumstances”. nineteenth centuries was thus hostile to the 19th century, Irish speakers increasingly used Language contact between Irish and languages and cultures of inhabitants of the English without maintaining the Irish English is, in fact, closely intertwined with Celtic fringe, seeing them as ‘barbarous’, language and/or passing it on to the next the political situation in Ireland. English dangerous, and in the case of Ireland and the generation. A number of factors contributed arrived as the language of an occupying Highlands, priest-ridden […]” (Grillo 2009: to this decline of Irish as a community force from the outside and language use and 89). By the 19th century, Irish was seen by language, among them the favouring of ethnicity were closely connected in medieval many as an obstacle to economic success and English in the education system (cf. the Ireland, as Arne Peters’ article in this journal as a language spoken by the rural poor (cf. Ó remarks in Grillo 2009: 97-102), the per- shows very vividly. Crucially, the distinction Riagáin 1997: 5ff). ceived advantage of English language skills in between Irish and English was not just made The language revival movement that the labour market of the British Empire, and by the native Irish population, but also by the began in the late 19th century was closely the resulting higher prestige of English. The English powers. With the Statutes of Kil- associated with the nationalist movement Irish Famine of the 1840s and 1850s is also kenny (Hardiman: Article 3) they tried to and the fight for Irish independence. The 10plus1: Living Linguistics | Issue 2 | 2016 | Contact Linguistics Marion Schulte | Language Contact and Language Politics in Ireland: Linguistic Landscapes in South Dublin 120 Irish language became a strong source of official documents, for example, “the text in schools also exist all over the country. A Irish identity that was unique to the Irish and the national language shall prevail” (Consti- particularly good example for the state thus served to distinguish them as a people, tution of Ireland 2012, Article 25 §6). support for Irish within the education and as a nation, from the British. Following The state does not only grant official system is the availability of extra points for Irish independence in 1922, the revival of status to Irish and English, it also actively students who take their leaving certificate the Irish language was strongly supported by promotes the use of the Irish language exams through Irish rather than English. In the Irish state. The following section will lay through various policies. In spite of its offi- spite of such efforts by the Irish state to out how this official support has continued cial status, Irish is a minority language in increase the knowledge and use of Irish, Ó until the present day and which measures most parts of the country (see below), and Laoire (2008: 195) points out that the role of are currently taken to achieve both in- the Irish state aims to increase the number the English language, and any other creased speaker numbers and higher profi- of people who use Irish daily, especially languages that are also spoken in Ireland, is ciency levels of Irish among the Irish popu- outside of the education system. In order to largely ignored when it comes to official lation. achieve this, a number of strategic docu- language policies. ments have been published (e.g., Gaeltacht The extent of use of Irish is documented 3. Current Language Policy and Act 2012, Official Languages Act 2003) that in regular censuses that are created every 5 Language Use in Ireland should ensure an increased quality and years. As part of each census, residents over extent of Irish language services, especially the age of 3 are asked to self-report whether Article 8 (§§2,3) of the Irish constitution regarding public institutions, and a variety of they can speak Irish. Those who respond states that “[t]he Irish language as the organisations and projects are funded that positively are then asked how often they use national language is the first official promote the status and use of the Irish the language and whether they use it inside language” and “[t]he English language is language.

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