Code-mixing and context: a Corca Dhuibhne case study

In the current language dynamic of Ireland, the number of L1 speakers of Irish within the Gaeltacht areas is diminishing. The home language of the Gaeltacht is gradually shifting towards Irish-English bilingualism, and English only. This fact has been well documented in research (Ó Riagáin 1992; Ó Giollagáin, Mac Donnacha, Ní Chualáin, Ní Shéaghdha, O’Brien 2007). The decline of the Irish language can be examined in an alternative mode to assessing the number of speakers, by examining the spoken Irish of those living in a Gaeltacht area. The insertion of words from another language, English, French or Latin, into Irish language discourse is by no means a new phenomenon. Today however, it is the English language that is the primary language inserted into Irish during spoken discourse and this mixed speech is the focus of this thesis. Using the Matrix Language Framework, an analytical tool developed by Myers-Scotton (1993, 1998, 2002, 2005), the stability of the coexisting languages can be ascertained. This thesis focuses on data from an original speech sample: young adults speakers of Irish attending a newly-founded Gaeltacht high school and determines, by linguistic analysis whether a shift towards English is underway in their spoken Irish. The data is also located within the context of the language ideological debates in the region and a close examination of Corca Dhuibhne Gaeltacht is carried out to enhance the sociolinguistic factors that contribute to CM. The analysis findings combined with a contextual examination provide a method of understanding the Irish language status on a more individual, realistic basis rather than assessing the number of speakers. The analysis confirms that the bilingual setting of the case study, despite local ideological language debates, is stable with the majority of the analysis adhering to the theoretical principles. The thesis also explores the idea of peak language usage and exposure, and posits that a lack of domains in which monolingual interaction occurs in Irish contributes to the use of code-mixing as a new language variation.