26.855, Diss: Irish; Anthropological Ling, Discourse Analysis, Socioling: Vaughan: 'Discourses of Belonging and Resistance: Irish-language Maintenance in Ireland and the Diaspora'

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LINGUIST List: Vol-26-855. Tue Feb 10 2015. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 26.855, Diss: Irish; Anthropological Ling, Discourse Analysis, Socioling: Vaughan: 'Discourses of Belonging and Resistance: Irish-language Maintenance in Ireland and the Diaspora'

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Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2015 20:04:40
From: Jill Vaughan [j.vaughan at unimelb.edu.au]
Subject: Discourses of Belonging and Resistance: Irish-language Maintenance in Ireland and the Diaspora

 
Institution: University of Melbourne 
Program: School of Languages and Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2014 

Author: Jill Vaughan

Dissertation Title: Discourses of Belonging and Resistance: Irish-language
Maintenance in Ireland and the Diaspora 

Dissertation URL:  http://bit.ly/1MaYGCA

Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics
                     Discourse Analysis
                     Sociolinguistics

Subject Language(s): Irish (gle)


Dissertation Director(s):
Jean Mulder
Barbara Kelly

Dissertation Abstract:

Almost 2 million people in the North and South of Ireland identify as Irish
speakers and an estimated 70 million around the globe can claim Irish
heritage. While Irish ancestry may be distant for many, the Irish language is
active in numerous diasporic communities, as documented in some limited
research (e.g. Ihde 1994, Ó hEadhra 1998, Noone 2012a) and evidenced by the
existence of cultural and language groups. Census figures indicate that over
30,000 people currently speak the language in Canada, the United States and
Australia alone, yet no general account of Irish-language use in the diaspora
exists. Linguistic practices within Irish communities worldwide vary widely
with regard to Irish-language use, with each community subject to distinct
concerns, histories and discourses. As such each has different possibilities
for creating social meaning through language use.
The aim of this thesis is: (i) to explore Irish-language learners’ and
speakers’ characterisations of patterns of language use and language-community
formations between sites in the Republic and Northern Ireland (chiefly Galway,
Dublin, Derry and Belfast) and in the diaspora (Melbourne, Australia; Boston,
U.S.; and St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada); and (ii) to examine the
(Foucauldian) discourses within which Irish-language use is implicated as a
meaningful social practice within and across these communities.
Research is based on open-ended qualitative interviews with 86 learners and
speakers regarding the Irish language and their own language practices, and in
extensive participant observation of cultural and language-related activities
in each site. Thematic content analysis of interview data provides the basis
for ethnographic descriptions of each site. Foucauldian discourse analysis is
used to discover and delineate the predominant discourses (and
counter-discourses) within which Irish-language use is implicated as a
meaningful social act, and that are enacted or actively resisted within and
across communities, as well as key subject positions made available within
these discourses.
The research predominantly targets learners and teachers of Irish, and those
involved in language maintenance in each of these communities, and focuses
particularly on elective bilinguals – speakers who have learnt Irish in the
classroom and who do not use Irish as their primary language. The focus on
this kind of bilingual speaker is of paramount importance for two reasons:
firstly, because attitudinal research has been largely silent on elective
Irish bilinguals, and secondly, because elective bilinguals are likely to be
crucial to the language’s survival. Patterns of bilingualism in Gaeltacht
regions are shifting and changing, and, as such, circumstantial bilinguals
make up decreasing proportions of the language’s speaker community. Urban
language communities (largely made up of L2 speakers), however, are increasing
in size and activity.
This thesis argues for an incorporation of post-structuralist, social
constructionist approaches to identity within sociology of language,
particularly with regards to elective bilinguals and in diasporic contexts. As
such, in addition to contributing to a broader description of Irish-language
communities worldwide, this thesis demonstrates the contributions that a
critical discourse analytic approach can make in endeavouring to understand
the changing position of linguistic minorities in post-modernity.







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