Gaelic Language Revitalization Concepts and Challenges

Based on research in Scotland and Nova Scotia, the papers in this collection focus on a number of interconnected themes, including language ideologies and affective stances about what it means to be a Gaelic speaker, media discourses of Gaelic language death and revitalization, the intersection of neoliberalism and minority language revitalization, the theoretical frameworks of Reversing Language Shift (RLS) and communities of practice as they apply to Gaelic language revitalization efforts, and issues of power and knowledge in research and representation of Gaelic communities. Essays include the author's previously published articles and book chapters spanning the period 2005-2013, as well as three previously unpublished papers. Suitable for undergraduate and graduate-level courses in linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, Celtic studies, and education.


"I'm glad that a new volume strong on Gaelic survival, persistence, and revitalization is now on offer, with due emphasis on social setting and social factors. Congratulations [to the author] on bringing such a strong body of work out in a form where it can be appreciated as a whole." -Dr. Nancy C. Dorian, Professor Emerita of Linguistics, Bryn Mawr College

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction xi

Part 1: Knowledge and Representation 1

1 Sociolinguistic ethnography of Gaelic communities 3

2 Research and representation: Gaelic and Uist 43
Part 2: Discourses of Death and Revitalization 59

3 Discourses of death and denigration: Ethnolinguistic differentiation and the ideology of contempt 61

4 "Gaelic doomed as speakers die out"? The public discourse of Gaelic language death in Scotland 95

5 Language revitalization discourses as metaculture: Gaelic in Scotland from the 18th to 20th centuries 115
Part 3: Neoliberalism and Language Revitalization 149

6 Neoliberal discourses of Gaelic language revitalization: The "Gaelic economy" and "rocketing spending" 151

7 Neoliberalism and minority language planning in the Highlands of Scotland 179
Part 4: Language Ideologies and Affect 197

8 Ideology, affect, and socialization in language shift and revitalization: The experiences of adults learning Gaelic in the Western Isles of Scotland 199

9 Ideologies and experiences of literacy in interactions¿between adult Gaelic learners and first-language Gaelic speakers in Scotland 245

10 Working at "9 to 5" Gaelic: Speakers, context, and ideologies of an emerging minority language register 267
Part 5: New Speakers and Reversing Language Shift 285

11 Gaelic revitalization efforts in Nova Scotia: Reversing Language Shift (RLS) in the 21st century 287

12 "Ìle ga Bruidhinn": A community-based Gaelic dialect revitalization proposal 315

References 333

Index 365