September2018 Established Professor of Modern Irish at NUI Galway to Deliver Lecture on Minority Language Sociolinguistics

A lecture series hosted by the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies at NUI Galway, will continue with the University’s new Established Professor of Modern Irish Tadhg Ó hIfearnáin. The event will take place on Thursday, 4 October at 5pm, in Room GO10 in the Moore Institute.

Drawing on work among speakers of Irish and the other Gaelic languages, Professor Ó hIfearnáin’s talk will discuss three concepts at the core of minority language sociolinguistics; nativeness, anonymity and language transmission.

Maintenance and revival in minority languages have emphasised nativeness, dúchas, the inherent link between a language, its community of speakers and the unique place they are from. In contrast, while widely spoken languages also have their historic homelands, their modern standard varieties owe their power to their anonymity – they are advanced as being the languages of order, reason, commerce and development, international culture and communication. They are seen as the languages of everywhere and yet of nowhere in particular.

Language policy and practice for minoritised language revival has to negotiate a path that values traditional language and culture but moves beyond nativeness alone to make the language more ‘anonymous’ - available to everyone for all normal uses in contemporary society.

Tadhg Ó hIfearnáin is Established Professor of Modern Irish in NUI Galway. He was previously at the University of Limerick from 1996-2017, and with the Department of Breton and Celtic at University of Rennes 2 from 1990, after periods as a lecturer and research student in the University of Ulster at Coleraine and Utrecht University. He holds a BA and PhD in Irish from the University of Ulster at Coleraine. His research and teaching mostly focuses on questions of language and society, from the 17th century to date, and in particular the contemporary linguistics and sociolinguistics of Irish and other minoritised languages.

Dr Seán Crosson, Vice-Dean College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies at NUI Galway, said: “We are delighted to continue this lecture series which provides a great opportunity for the University to make the general public more aware of the world-leading innovative research being undertaken in the college.”

Upcoming speakers in the New Professors’ Inaugural lecture series will include:

• Professor Molly Byrne, School of Psychology, on Thursday, 8 November, at 5pm
• Professor Enrico Dal Lago, History, on Thursday, 13 December, at 5pm

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Léacht faoi Shochtheangeolaíocht Teangacha Mionlaigh le tabhairt ag an Ollamh Bunaithe le Nua-Ghaeilge in OÉ Gaillimh

Tabharfaidh an tOllamh Bunaithe nuacheaptha le Nua-Ghaeilge, Tadhg Ó hIfearnáin, léacht mar chuid den tsraith léachtaí atá á reáchtáil ag Coláiste na nDán, na nEolaíochtaí Sóisialta agus an Léinn Cheiltigh in OÉ Gaillimh. Beidh an ócáid ar siúl ar 5pm Déardaoin, an 4 Deireadh Fómhair i Seomra GO10 in Institiúid de Móra.

Agus é ag tarraingt ar a chuid oibre i measc cainteoirí Gaeilge agus teangacha Gaelacha eile, pléifidh an tOllamh Ó hIfearnáin trí chroí-choincheap a bhaineann le sochtheangeolaíocht teangacha mionlaigh; an dúchas, an anaithnideacht agus seachadadh teanga.

Cuireadh béim i gcaomhnú agus in athbheochan teangacha mionlaigh ar an dúchas, an nasc nádúrtha idir teanga, a pobal cainteoirí agus an áit faoi leith as a dtagann siad. Ar an taobh eile den scéal, cé go bhfuil a ndúiche stairiúil féin ag teangacha a labhraítear go forleathan chomh maith, is í a n-anaithnideacht cnámh droma na leaganacha caighdeánacha nua-aimseartha díobh – deirtear gurb iad sin teangacha an chórais, an réasúin, na tráchtála agus na forbartha, an chultúir idirnáisiúnta agus na cumarsáide.   Glactar leo mar theangacha a bhaineann le gach áit ach glactar leo chomh maith mar theangacha nach mbaineann le haon áit ar leith.

Má táthar ag iarraidh teanga mhionlaithe a athbheochan, caithfear bealach a aimsiú i bpolasaithe agus i gcleachtas teanga ina mbeidh meas ar an teanga agus ar an gcultúr traidisiúnta ach a rachaidh níos faide ná an dúchas amháin chun go mbeidh an teanga níos ‘anaithnide’ - is é sin, go mbeidh sí ar fáil do gach duine le gnáthúsáid a bhaint aisti sa tsochaí chomhaimseartha.

Is é Tadhg Ó hIfearnáin an tOllamh Bunaithe le Nua-Ghaeilge in OÉ Gaillimh. Bhí sé ag obair in Ollscoil Luimnigh ó 1996-2017, agus le Roinn na Briotáinise agus na Ceiltise in Ollscoil Rennes 2 ó 1990, i ndiaidh dó tréimhsí a chaitheamh ina léachtóir agus ina mhac léinn taighde in Ollscoil Uladh, Cúil Raithin agus in Ollscoil Utrecht. Tá BA agus PhD sa Ghaeilge aige ó Ollscoil Uladh, Cúil Raithin. Díríonn sé ina chuid taighde agus a chuid teagaisc ar cheisteanna teanga agus pobail, ón 17ú haois i leith, agus go háirithe ar theangeolaíocht agus sochtheangeolaíocht chomhaimseartha na Gaeilge agus teangacha mionlaithe eile.

Bhí an méid seo le rá ag an Dr Seán Crosson, Leas-Déan Choláiste na nDán, na nEolaíochtaí Sóisialta agus an Léinn Cheiltigh in OÉ Gaillimh: “Tá an-áthas orainn go bhfuilimid ag leanúint leis an tsraith léachtaí seo a thugann deis iontach don Ollscoil an pobal a chur ar an eolas faoin taighde nuálaíoch agus ceannródaíoch atá ar bun sa choláiste.”

Is i mBéarla a bheidh an léacht seo, le díospóireacht dháthteangach  ina dhiaidh

I measc na gcainteoirí a bheidh páirteach i sraith léachtaí tionscnaimh na nOllúna Nua, beidh an bheirt seo a leanas:

• An tOllamh Molly Byrne, Scoil na Síceolaíochta, Déardaoin, an 8 Samhain, ag 5pm
• An tOllamh Enrico Dal Lago, Roinn na Staire, Déardaoin, an 13 Nollaig, ag 5pm

-Críoch-