ERIC Number: EJ1126153
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0790-8318
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Available Date: N/A
"Is It Really for Talking?": The Implications of Associating a Minority Language with the School
Smith-Christmas, Cassie
Language, Culture and Curriculum, v30 n1 p32-47 2017
This paper examines how caregivers in a bilingual family discursively link Gaelic to a school context when interacting with Maggie, an eight year-old who is currently enrolled in Gaelic Medium Education on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. The paper argues that the caregivers achieve this discursive framing primarily through treating Gaelic as a performance language and through orienting to discourses that de-normatise Maggie's use of her minority language. The paper argues that although the caregivers believe they are "encouraging" Maggie's use of Gaelic, by framing the language in a school context, they link Gaelic to authority. It is further argued that this association of Gaelic with authority may be one of the many contributing factors to Maggie's low use of the language overall. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of this argument in terms of language policy and planning.
Descriptors: Language Minorities, Second Language Learning, Native Language, Language Usage, Language Planning, Language of Instruction, Indo European Languages, Bilingualism, Foreign Countries, Family Relationship, Discourse Analysis, Educational Environment, Ethnography, English, Code Switching (Language)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (Scotland)
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