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Code-Mixing and Context: a Corca Dhuibhne Case Study

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Code-Mixing and Context: a Corca Dhuibhne Case Study Code-Mixing and Context: A Corca Dhuibhne Case Study by Guinevere Darcy Doctoral Thesis Supervisor: Dr Tadhg Ó hIfearnáin Submitted to the University of Limerick, November 2014 Code-Mixing and Context: A Corca Dhuibhne Case Study Guinevere Darcy Abstract In the current language dynamic of Ireland, the number of L1 speakers of Irish within the Gaeltacht areas is diminishing. The home language of the Gaeltacht is gradually shifting towards Irish-English bilingualism, and English only. This fact has been well documented in research (Ó Riagáin 1992; Ó Giollagáin, Mac Donnacha, Ní Chualáin, Ní Shéaghdha, O’Brien 2007). The decline of the Irish language can be examined in an alternative mode to assessing the number of speakers, by examining the spoken Irish of those living in a Gaeltacht area. The insertion of words from another language, English, French or Latin, into Irish language discourse is by no means a new phenomenon. Today however, it is the English language that is the primary language inserted into Irish during spoken discourse and this mixed speech is the focus of this thesis. Using the Matrix Language Framework, an analytical tool developed by Myers-Scotton (1993, 1998, 2002, 2005), the stability of the coexisting languages can be ascertained. This thesis focuses on data from an original speech sample: young adults speakers of Irish attending a newly-founded Gaeltacht high school and determines, by linguistic analysis whether a shift towards English is underway in their spoken Irish. The data is also located within the context of the language ideological debates in the region and a close examination of Corca Dhuibhne Gaeltacht is carried out to enhance the sociolinguistic factors that contribute to CM. The analysis findings combined with a contextual examination provide a method of understanding the Irish language status on a more individual, realistic basis rather than assessing the number of speakers. The analysis confirms that the bilingual setting of the case study, despite local ideological language debates, is stable with the majority of the analysis adhering to the theoretical principles. The thesis also explores the idea of peak language usage and exposure, and posits that a lack of domains in which monolingual interaction occurs in Irish contributes to the use of code-mixing as a new language variation. i Declaration I hereby declare that this doctoral thesis is entirely my own work, and all sources used have been referenced. Any mistakes or oversights within the work are entirely my fault and will be corrected. Signed: Guinevere Darcy Date: 26 November 2014 ii Buíochas /Acknowledgments Thar aon ní eile, gabhaim buíochas ó chroí le stiúrthóir an taighde, an Dr Tadhg Ó hIfearnáin as ucht a chuid comhairle, a chuid foighne agus a chuid tacaíochta le linn an tráchtais seo. I am greatly indebted to the School of Languages, Literature, Culture and Communication at the University of Limerick for a generous postgraduate scholarship. I would also like to graciously thank the Irish Research Council for a generous postgraduate scholarship. Over the course of this study, my family and friends, in Ireland, Scotland and Singapore have been extremely supportive and I thank them for their constant encouragement. A special thank you to Richard and Niamh for supplying unending reassurance and inspiration. iii Table of contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... i Declaration ................................................................................................................................. ii Buíochas /Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... iii Table of contents ....................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... ix List of Appendices ..................................................................................................................... x List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ xi Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction to the Thesis ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Focus of the thesis ................................................................................................................ 3 1.2.1 Research Questions ............................................................................................................ 3 1.2.2 Chapter Two: An Approach to a Theoretical Analysis ...................................................... 4 1.2.3 Chapter Three: A Review of Irish-English CM Research ................................................. 5 1.2.4 Chapter Four: The Sociolinguistic Context of the Project ................................................. 5 1.2.5 Chapter Five: Fieldwork Methodology .............................................................................. 6 1.2.7 Chapter Six: Participant Profiles ........................................................................................ 6 1.2.6 Chapter Seven: Analysis of the Corpus ............................................................................. 6 1.2.8 Chapter Eight: Discussion and Conclusion ........................................................................ 7 1.3 The Irish Language: A Brief History ................................................................................. 7 1.4 The Gaeltacht ..................................................................................................................... 10 1.4.1 The Foundation and Development of the Gaeltacht ........................................................ 10 1.4.2 The Gaeltacht Today ........................................................................................................ 14 1.5 The Irish Language Today ............................................................................................... 15 1.5.1 Irish in the Education System .......................................................................................... 18 1.5.2 Irish in the broadcast Media ............................................................................................. 20 1.5.3 Attitudes towards the Irish Language .............................................................................. 22 1.5.4 Recent Irish Language Developments ............................................................................. 23 1.6 Cultural Entity and Cultural Identity ............................................................................. 25 1.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter Two: An Approach to the Theoretical Methodology ........................................ 28 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 28 2.2.1 Diglossia ........................................................................................................................... 30 2.2.2 Efforts to stabilise or avoid language contact developments ........................................... 34 2.3 Individual Bilingualism ..................................................................................................... 35 2.3.1 Language Ability and Speaker Categorisation ................................................................. 36 2.4 Code-mixing and code-switching ..................................................................................... 37 2.4.1 Loanwords ........................................................................................................................ 40 2.4.2 Sites of CM ...................................................................................................................... 42 2.4.3 Prevention ........................................................................................................................ 44 2.5 Theoretical Analysis of Code-Mixing .............................................................................. 45 2.5.1 Development .................................................................................................................... 45 2.5.2 Conversation Analysis ..................................................................................................... 47 2.5.3 Investigating Stance ......................................................................................................... 48 2.5.4 The Matrix Language Framework ................................................................................... 48 iv 2.6 Brief Discussion and Conclusion ...................................................................................... 53 2.6.1 Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 53 2.6.2 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................
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