Abstract: Conchúr Ó Giollagáin
Title:
English’s burden: provision and policy for minority languages in thirdlevel education in English-dominant societies.
Panel:
The view from English-dominant countries
Reference:
Languages and Internationalization in Higher Education: Ideologies,
Practices, Alternatives. Reykjavík, Iceland, July 18-20, 2013
Author:
Conchúr Ó Giollagáin, MA, PhD (NUI)
Affiliation:
School of Political Science and Sociology
National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
E-mail
Tel:
conchur.ogiollagain@nuigalway.ie
+353 91 495434
Abstract:
By design or default, 3rd level education in Ireland has fast-tracked itself into the
internationalization process by virtue of the societal dominance of English and its
current position in the globalized economy. This contribution focuses, however, on
the other side of this debate: the future prospects for educational provision in support
of minority linguistic cultures in the context of a globally-established market where
English has acquired a lingua franca status for cultural production, economic and
technological innovation, and educational and societal aspiration. The primary aim of
this paper is to outline the evolution of the language policy debate in the Irish 3rd level
sector and to examine the nature of the relationship between well-meaning bilingual
aspiration and the reality of provision and outcomes in a strained environment of
cultural minoritization and language endangerment.
It is the contention of this paper that much of the debate relating to bilingual policies
in 3rd level institutions is not focusing adequately on the social and anthropological
aspects of the minority language condition as they affect the linguistic requirements of
the cultural minority.
It is argued here that current policy and provision is anchored in a discursive
framework which is more akin to a heritage model of a minority language culture
rather than a self-confident and rigorous engagement with obvious sociolinguistic
challenges (cf. Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht, Ó
Giollagáin agus Mac Donnacha et al. Dublin: The Stationery Office 2007). The
current model provides for optional minority language acquisition programmes
without addressing the basic requirement of the speaker community for resilient
educational institutions seeking to foster academic and intellectual developments
relevant to its survival as a socio-cultural entity – in other words, it is a case of society
cut adrift from appropriate 3rd level provision. This paper argues that developing the
bilingual competencies of a section of 3rd level students and teachers is merely a
partial response to issues of linguistic diversity as experienced by minority cultures.
Issues surrounding a parallel focus on enhancing the intellectual sophistication and
discursive rigour of minority language speakers will increasingly require the attention
of 3rd level policy makers if we are to adequately address the fragility of the world’s
linguistic heritage. Developing a compelling diagnosis of the reticence of educational
institutions to engage dynamically with issues of societal multilingual complexity
rather than merely individual linguistic competencies might prove to be a welcome
new departure and give a reasoned focus to bilingual aspiration in Ireland.
Keywords: Bilingual and multilingual discourses; the minority language condition;
language fragility; sociolinguistic sophistication of minority language speakers.