The Irish Language in Northern Ireland: The Politics of Culture and Identity [Hardcover]

Camille C. O'Reilly (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312217900 | ISBN-13: 978-0312217907 | Publication Date: June 12, 1999

The phrase "our own language" has come to symbolize the importance of the Irish language to Irish identity for many Nationalists in Northern Ireland. However, different interests compete to have their version of the meaning and importance of the Irish language accepted. Talk about the Irish language can usefully be divided into three discourses, all of which are vehicles for competing constructions of the meaning and significance of the Irish language for Irish people in the North today. One of these discourses has been adopted in part by institutions and individuals in positions of power and influence, while the other two present alternative, oppositional ideological constructions. This book investigates the role of the Irish language movement in the social construction of competing versions of Irish political and cultural identity in Northern Ireland, arguing that for some Nationalists, the Irish language has become an alternative point of political access and expression.

Editorial Reviews

Review

... Ms. O'Reilly's is a surprisingly fair-minded and coherent survey of confused and confusing strife and a wonderful demonstration of how language can be a political weapon.... Geolinguistics

About the Author

Camille C. O'Reilly is Lecturer in Social Anthropology at Richmond, The American International University in London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 233 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (June 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312217900
• ISBN-13: 978-0312217907
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,963,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book - but terribly expensive!, July 19, 1999

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Panu Höglund - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Irish Language in Northern Ireland: The Politics of Culture and Identity (Hardcover)

Camille O'Reilly is already a well-known name to everybody involved in the Irish language scene. She has been trying to answer the difficult and important question, if and to what extent the Irish language in Northern Ireland can be called "terrorist lingo", as lots of its opponent see it. Her book is interesting to everybody who wants to get acquainted with the peculiar sociolinguistic experiment of reviving a minority language in vernacular use outside its demesne. I myself bought it during my half-year stay in Galway, but I still think that it was terribly expensive. I am not QUITE sure if it was worth the high price, and consequently i give it only four stars. If it had cost half its price, I would have no hesitations to give it five stars.