Bilingual life after school? Language use, ideologies and attitudes among Gaelic-medium educated adults
View/ Open
Dunmore2015.doc (9.152Mb)
Date
02/07/2015Author
Dunmore, Stuart
Metadata
Abstract
Gaelic-medium education (GME) as it exists today started in 1985, when two classes
offering instruction through the medium of Gaelic opened within primary schools in
Glasgow and Inverness. GME grew rapidly throughout the first decade of its
availability, and 1258 students were enrolled in the system by 1995. This thesis
examines outcomes of this system in terms of the degree to which former pupils who
started in GME during this period continue to use Gaelic in their daily lives, and
provides an assessment of their language ideologies and attitudes. The 2011 census
showed a diminution in the decline of Gaelic speakers in Scotland, but marginal
growth of 0.1% was recorded in the number of speakers under the age of 20. Whilst
this growth has been understood by politicians and policy-makers as evidence of the
role of GME in revitalising the language, the census figures give a limited picture of
the actual language practices of reported speakers, the extent to which they use
Gaelic, or of their beliefs, feelings and attitudes regarding the language.
Internationally, little research appears to have been done on the life trajectories of
adults who received a bilingual education through a minority language; that is to say,
on the effect that the bilingual classroom has on such individuals’ relationship to the
language after formal schooling is completed. The first students to receive GME at
primary school are now in their late 20s and early 30s, and prospects for the
maintenance and intergenerational transmission of Gaelic by this group are currently
unknown. The principal research questions of this investigation comprise the
following:
- What role does Gaelic play in the day-to-day lives of former Gaelic-medium
students who started in GME during the first decade of its availability; how
and when do they use the language?
- What sets of beliefs and language ideologies do these Gaelic-medium
educated adults express in relation to Gaelic?
- How do these beliefs and ideologies relate to their actual language practices,
to their attitudes concerning the language, and to future prospects for the
maintenance of Gaelic?
Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, I provide an
assessment of Gaelic use, language ideologies and attitudes among a sample of 130
Gaelic-medium educated adults. A thematic, ethnography of speaking methodology
is employed to analyse qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 46
informants. Additionally, responses to an electronic questionnaire are evaluated by
statistical analysis using Spearman’s rank order correlation co-efficient to investigate
the relationships between non-parametric variables of reported language use, ability,
socialisation and attitudes. The results are discussed with reference to extensive
research literatures on language, culture and identity, language revitalisation in the
international context, and the perceived limitations of GME which have previously
been identified with regard to the revitalisation of Gaelic.