Identity, place and legitimate language: a comparative study of language attitudes among teenagers in two Irish-medium schools

Thesis

This thesis explores how teenagers in two Irish-medium secondary schools see their relationship with Irish. It is based on research conducted in the school year 2017-2018, involving both participant observation and focus groups.

Ireland’s language policy has long distinguished between ‘Gaeltacht’ areas, where Irish remains the main community language, and the rest of the country, where English is the community language. Research suggests a sharp decline in the level of use of Iris...

Expand abstract

Authors: Coughlan, ESA

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Gaeilge; new speakers; traditional speakers; Celtic languages; language revitalisation; Irish; teenagers; minority languages
• Subjects: Sociolinguistics--Europe; Linguistics; Sociolinguistics