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Linguistic Relativity and Dialectical Idiomatization : Language Ideologies and Second Language Acquisition in the Irish Language Revival of Northern Ireland

  • Zenker, Olaf Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Bern
    2014
Published in:
  • Journal of Linguistic Anthropology. - Wiley. - 2014, vol. 24, no. 1, p. 63-83
Irish language revival
language ideology
second language acquisition
indexical idiomatization
iconical idiomatization
linguistic relativity
ethnicity
English A considerable number of Irish Catholics in West Belfast, originally native English speakers, have started learning the Irish language throughout the Northern Irish conflict in order to feel more Irish. Many of these have developed a strong conviction that the Irish language contains a different worldview from the one embodied in English. However, rather than constituting a plausible representation of relevant differences embodied in the languages themselves, this article puts forward the hypothesis that such a neo-Whorfian endorsement of linguistic relativity might rather be the product of dialectical idiomatization, following from the interplay of prevailing language ideologies and effects of second language acquisition.
Faculty
Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines
Department
Département des sciences sociales
Language
  • English
Classification
Anthropology, ethnography
License
License undefined
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/305477
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