Languages In Britain And Ireland

This book builds on the success of Glanville Price's The Languages of Britain, published in 1984, which was widely acclaimed as the most lively, reliable and comprehensive survey of the great number of languages that have at one time or another taken root in Britain.

The British Isles are home to a vast range of different spoken and signed languages and dialects. Language continues to evolve rapidly, in its diversity, in the number and the backgrounds of its speakers, and in the repercussions it has had for political and educational affairs. This book provides a comprehensive survey of the dominant languages and dialects used in the British Isles. Topics covered include the history of English; the relationship between Standard and Non-Standard Englishes; the major non-standard varieties spoken on the islands; and the history of multilingualism; and the educational and planning implications of linguistic diversity in the British Isles. Among the many dialects and languages surveyed by the volume are British Black English, Celtic languages, Chinese, Indian, European migrant languages, British Sign Language, and Anglo-Romani. Clear and accessible in its approach, it will be welcomed by students in sociolinguistics, English language, and dialectology, as well as anyone interested more generally in language within British society.

Seminar paper from the year 2001 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1.0 (A), RWTH Aachen University (Political Science), language: English, abstract: At the beginning of the third millennium English has clearly established itself as the leading language of the world. It is spoken around the globe as either first or second language and this widespread use and distribution has quite led to the emergence of several distinct varieties so that the global situation today is comparable to the fragmentation of single countries, like Great Britain, into dialect areas. [...]

English has been spoken in Ireland for over 800 years, making Irish English the oldest variety of the language outside Britain. This 2007 book traces the development of English in Ireland, both north and south, from the late Middle Ages to the present day. Drawing on authentic data ranging from medieval literature to authentic contemporary examples, it reveals how Irish English arose, how it has developed, and how it continues to change. A variety of central issues are considered in detail, such as the nature of language contact and the shift from Irish to English, the sociolinguistically motivated changes in present-day Dublin English, the special features of Ulster Scots, and the transportation of Irish English to overseas locations as diverse as Canada, the United States, and Australia. Presenting a comprehensive survey of Irish English at all levels of linguistics, this book will be invaluable to historical linguists, sociolinguists, syntacticians and phonologists alike.

"This volume contains nine articles which taken together constitute a survey of the minority languages spoken in the Nordic Countries and the British Isles. The aim of the volume is to examine the languages in question from a sociolinguistic and linguistic point of view and to provide some insight into features which characterise minority languages in general."--ABSTRACT.

A history of Ireland in 100 words has been shortlisted for 'best Irish-published book of the year' at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2019. November 2019. Did you know that Cú Chulainn was conceived with a thirst-quenching drink? That 'cluas', the modern Irish word for 'ear', also means the handle of a cup? That the Old Irish word for 'ring' may have inspired Tolkien's 'nazg'? How and why does the word for noble (saor) come to mean cheap? Why does a word that once meant law (cáin) now mean tax? And why are turkeys in Irish French birds? From murder to beekeeping and everything between, discover how the Irish ate, drank, dressed, loved and lied. This book tells a history of Ireland by looking at the development of 100 medieval Irish words drawn from the Royal Irish Academy's Dictionary of the Irish Language. Words tell stories and encapsulate histories and this book captures aspects of Ireland's changing history by examining the changing meaning of 100 key words. The book is aimed at a general readership and no prior knowledge of the Irish language is required to delve into the fascinating insights it provides. The book is divided into themes, including writing and literature; food and feasting; technology and science; mind and body. Readers can explore words relating to particular concepts, dipping in and out where they please.

Britain and Ireland are home to a rich array of spoken and signed languages and dialects. Language is ever evolving, in its diversity, and in the number and the backgrounds of its speakers, and so, too, are the tools and methods used for researching language. Now in its third edition, this book brings together a team of experts to provide cutting-edge linguistic and sociolinguistic information about all the major varieties of language used across Britain and Ireland today. Fully updated, this edition covers topics including the history of English, the relationship between standard and nonstandard Englishes, multilingualism in Britain and Ireland, and the educational and policy planning implications of this linguistic diversity. Chapters are also dedicated to specific language varieties, including comprehensive descriptions of the Celtic languages, nonstandard regional varieties, sign languages, and urban contact varieties. It is essential reading for academic researchers and students of sociolinguistics and education.

For over a thousand years Ireland has been a host to a surprising variety of languages and cultures. Every area of Irish life and cultural expression has been informed by this contact with diverse language groups. This book is an innovative collection of essays that for the first time assesses the multilingual and, by extension, multicultural inheritance of Ireland over two millennia. Leading scholars in language and translation studies from all over Ireland offer a comprehensive overview and accessible insight into the origins, development and intercultural fortunes of different languages on the island of Ireland from the early medieval period onwards. Among the languages and cultures presented in the volume are Irish, English, French, German, Ulster Scots, Ancient Greek and Latin. Contributors will also be situating the multilingual history of Ireland in terms of larger debates on globalization, the future of language diversity and the nature of diasporic cultures. The publication of this book is most timely as Ireland is faced with the challenges of a multicultural and multilingual society and the volume will be an important contribution to national self-understanding and cultural debate.

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2.0, University of Cologne (Englisches Seminar), course: Varieties of English, 17 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Irish English (IrE) or Hiberno English is a variety of English spoken in Ireland. It has mainly been influenced by vernacular Irish and varieties of English and Scots. At first English was mainly spoken by a few English settlers who lived in the south east of Ireland and during this time their language was exposed to considerable Gaelicisation. Later several political and social changes allowed English to spread across the country and displace Irish as a native language roughly from east to west. This book investigates historical and linguistic influences on different varieties of English spoken in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Irish English shows a wide range of loan words from Latin, Irish, English, and Scots. This work gives a choice of these loan words and traces their derivation. The choice of an accent used by a speaker can depend on various conditions, e.g. social context, educational background, or regional influences. This book discusses several accents spoken in Ireland and compares their phonological features to those of Received Pronunciation. Like the use of phonological features, the syntactic architecture chosen by speakers of IrE depends on the context of use. Written IrE mostly follows the Standard English norm, whereas informal IrE speech shows several differences to Standard English. This thesis takes into account typical grammatical features of IrE and explains where and in which context they occur.