Edinburgh Research Archive logo

Edinburgh Research Archive

University of Edinburgh homecrest
View Item 
  •   ERA Home
  • History, Classics and Archaeology, School of
  • History and Classics PhD thesis collection
  • View Item
  •   ERA Home
  • History, Classics and Archaeology, School of
  • History and Classics PhD thesis collection
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Language and identity amongst Irish migrants in London, Philadelphia and San Francisco, 1850-1920

View/Open
Nolan2020.pdf (1.365Mb)
Date
26/06/2020
Embargo end date
26/06/2021
Author
Nolan, Bobbie
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
This thesis examines the Irish language in London, Philadelphia and San Francisco in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Exploring the ways in which Irish speakers used and maintained their language in the diaspora between the years 1850 and 1920, this thesis argues that the language transformed from being a component of a private, personal identity to a public expression of an Irish diasporic identity. While the imperial context of London and the republican contexts of Philadelphia and San Francisco presented specific circumstances and opportunities for the use and maintenance of the Irish language, the sociolinguistic situation in Ireland directly impacted the language’s development overseas. The focus of this thesis is on the continued use of the Irish language as a vernacular in the period 1850-1880 and the structures which allowed this, however, this thesis also examines the impact of the Gaelic Revival movement on the language and its role in Irish cultural identity. It explores the ways in which different urban environments affected the survival of the language, as well as the genesis, development and outcomes of the revival. Using comparison, this thesis locates the Irish language in three cities which have previously been overlooked in the history of the Irish language abroad and identifies the transnational links between Ireland, London, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Examining these Irish communities over a seventy-year period and incorporating both the pre-revival and revival periods allows for the exploration of this minority language over time, addressing the changing role of the language within each city.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1842/37090

http://dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/391
Collections
  • History and Classics PhD thesis collection

Related items

Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

  • Use of Irish in teaching children from English-speaking homes: a survey of Irish National schools 

    Macnamara, John (The University of Edinburgh, 1963)
  • Subaltern aesthethics: Tracing counter-histories in contemporary Scottish, Irish and Northern Irish literature. 

    Lehner, Stefanie Florence (The University of Edinburgh, 2009)
    This PhD thesis proposes an Irish-Scottish comparative framework for examining a range of shared ethical, socio-political and theoretical concerns, pertaining to aspects of class and gender, in contemporary Irish, Northern ...
  • Irish romantic tales and their relationship to Irish and Scottish Gaelic oral tradition 

    Bruford, A.J. (The University of Edinburgh, 1985)

Library & University Collections HomeUniversity of Edinburgh Information Services Home
Privacy & Cookies | Takedown Policy | Accessibility | Contact
Privacy & Cookies
Takedown Policy
Accessibility
Contact
feed RSS Feeds

RSS Feed not available for this page

 

 

All of ERACommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsPublication TypeSponsorSupervisorsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsPublication TypeSponsorSupervisors
LoginRegister

Library & University Collections HomeUniversity of Edinburgh Information Services Home
Privacy & Cookies | Takedown Policy | Accessibility | Contact
Privacy & Cookies
Takedown Policy
Accessibility
Contact
feed RSS Feeds

RSS Feed not available for this page