Cover not available

In:Dynamics of Linguistic Diversity
Edited by Hagen Peukert and Ingrid Gogolin
[Hamburg Studies on Linguistic Diversity 6] 2017
► pp. 235–258

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
authorization required

Dublin

Linguistic habitus and hierarchies in the (new) multilingual city

 | University of Hamburg
Published online: 24 May 2017
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/hsld.6.12mcm
Abstract
This article offers an overview of the multilingual city of Dublin. We draw on research undertaken for the LUCIDE (Languages in Urban Communities: Integration and Diversity for Europe) network to describe the rapid linguistic diversification that occurred as recently as the 1990s. Yet English, the global lingua franca and Ireland’s second official language (with Irish), remains the dominant language of city life. Dublin is constitutionally bilingual, normatively monolingual, yet actually multilingual. Its historically evolved language policy and linguistic habitus matter to how we describe and discuss this (new) multilingual city. We apply a scalar lens to multilingualism in Dublin to show the vertical layering of language in two districts of economic activity, one regenerated from ‘above’, the other from ‘below’. We show how the city’s linguistic habitus, combined with the conditions of language and cultural diversification from the 1990s, serve to index languages in the urban environment. Some suggestions for further research are also made.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • The LUCIDE research network: Aims and methods
  • Researching multilingual Dublin: Context and background
    • Population diversity in Dublin
    • The language policy context
  • Multilingual Dublin: Economic regeneration, language distribution, ordered indexicalities
    • Multilingualism in the Dublin Docklands: Affordances and challenges of the monolingual habitus
    • The north inner city: Commercialism and contradictions in a highly multilingual area
  • Stakeholder input
  • Conclusion & suggestions for further research
  • Notes
  • References
References (51)
References
Blommaert, J. 2010. The Sociolinguistics of Globalization. Cambridge: CUP. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blommaert, J., Collins, J. & Slembrouck, S. 2005. Spaces of multilingualism. Language and Communication 25: 197–216. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Breckner, I., Peukert, H. & Pinto, A. 2013. The delicate search for language in spaces. Multilingualism as a resource in urban development? In Multilingualism and Language Diversity in Urban Areas. Acquisition, Identities, Space, Education [Hamburg Studies on Linguistic Diversity 1], P. Siemund, I. Gogolin, M.E. Schulz & J. Davydova (eds), 209–226. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carson, L., McMonagle, S. & Murphy, D. 2015. Multilingualism in Dublin. LUCIDE City Report. London: London School of Economics and Political Science/The Languages Company.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Central Statistics Office (CSO). 2012a. This is Ireland. Highlights from Census 2011, Part 1. Cork: Central Statistics Office.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2012b. Profile 6. Migration and Diversity. Cork: Central Statistics Office.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007. Census 2006. Principal Demographic Results. Cork: Central Statistics Office.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cities for Local Integration Policy (CLIP.) 2012. Ethnic Entrepreneurship. Case Study: Dublin, Ireland. European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. 13 January 2012. <[URL]> (4 January 2016).
Coleman, S. 2015. The capital’s long-neglected north inner city is a derelict mess. Irish Independent, 13 January 2015.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Collins, J., Slembrouck, S. & Baynham, M. (eds) 2009. Globalization and Language in Contact. Scale, Migration, and Communicative Practices. London: Continuum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Council of Europe. 2007. Language Education Policy Profile. Country Report Ireland. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cronin, M. 2004. Babel Átha Cliath: The languages of Dublin. New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua 8(4): 9–22. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Deleuze, G. & Guattari, F. 1972. L’Anti-Oedipe. Paris: Les Editions de Minuit.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (DJEI). 2013. Facebook creates more than 100 new roles in fresh investment in Dubli, 18 February 2013, <[URL]> (04 January 2016).
de Swaan, A. 2001. Words of the World: The Global Language System. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Eriksson, S. 2013. Who are you? Cultural associations in (self-)othering and cultural identity negotiation among Russian-speaking adolescents from Russia and Latvia in Ireland. In Negotiating Linguistic, Social and Cultural Identities in the Post-Soviet World, S. Smyth & C. Opitz (eds), 111–140. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
European Commission. 2006. Eurobarometer Survey: Europeans and their Languages. Brussels, February 2006. <[URL]> (4 January 2016).
. 2012. Eurobarometer Survey: Europeans and their Languages. Brussels, June 2012. <[URL]> (4 January 2016).
Expert Group on Future Skills Needs. 2010. National Skills Bulletin 2010. July 2010. <[URL]> (4 January 2016).
Fahey, T. & Fanning, B. 2010. Immigration and socio-spatial segregation in Dublin, 1996- 2006. Urban Studies 47(8): 1625–1642. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fanning, B., & Mac Éinrí, P. 1999. Regional Reception of Asylum Seekers in Ireland: A Strategic Approach. Cork: The Irish Centre for Migration Studies.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fishman, J. A. 1998. The new linguistic order. Foreign Policy 113: 26–40. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Forfás. 2005. Languages and Enterprise. The Demand & Supply of Foreign Skills in the Enterprise Sector. May 2005. <[URL]> (4 January 2016).
Gittens, G. 2011. Eastern promise as city bosses plan official Oriental quarter, herald.ie. 20 April 2011, <[URL]> (4 January 2016).
Gogolin, I. 1994. Der monolinguale Habitus der multilingualen Schule. Münster: Waxmann.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gogolin, I., Siemund, P., Schulz, M. & Davydova, J. 2013. Multilingualism, language contact, and urban areas. In Multilingualism and Language Diversity in Urban Areas. Acquisition, Identities, Space, Education [Hamburg Studies on Linguistic Diversity 1], P. Siemund, I. Gogolin, M.E. Schulz & J. Davydova (eds), 1–15. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Graddol, D. 1997. The Future f English? A Guide to Forecasting the Popularity of the English Language in the 21st Century. London: British Council.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Houses of the Oireachtas. 2013. Skills Shortages. 21 February 2013. <[URL]> (4 January 2016).
Integration Centre. 2012. Monitoring Integration in Dublin City: Challenges and Responses. Full Report March 2012. <[URL]> (4 January 2016).
Jaspers, J. 2010. Inleiding. In De klank van de stad. Stedelijke meertaligheid en interculturele communicatie, J. Jaspers (ed.), 7–32. Leuven: Acco.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Keogh, E. & Hilliard, M. 2012. Paypal forced to ‘import’ 500 workers and warns of language skills crisis. Irish Independent, 17 July 2012.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Krings, T., Wickham, J., Bobek, A. & Salamońska, J. 2008. Migrant Workers and the Irish Software Sector. A Preliminary Report from the Migrant Careers and Aspirations Research Project. Dublin: Trinity College, Trinity Immigration Initiative.18 December 2008. <[URL]> (4 January 2016).
Läpple, D. 1991. Essay über den Raum: Für ein gesellschaftswissenschaftliches Raumkonzept. In Stadt und Raum: Soziologische Analysen, H. Häußermann (ed.), 157–207. Pfaffenweiler: Centaurus.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Leeman, J., & Modan, G. 2010. Selling the city: Language, ethnicity and commodified space. In Linguistic Landscape in the City, E. Shohamy, E. Ben-Rafael & M. Barni (eds), 182–198. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lefebvre, H. 1991. The Production of Space, trans. by D. Nicholson-Smith. Malden MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Little, D.G. & Lazenby Simpson, B. 2009. Teaching immigrants the language of the host community: Two object lessons in the need for continuous policy development. In The Politics of Language Education. Individuals and Institutions, J.C. Alderson (ed.), 104–124. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mottiar, Z. & Walsh, L. 2012. Leisure space reflecting changing city demography: Tracking the phase of an international quarter development in Parnell Street East, Dublin. Leisure Studies 31(1): 21–32. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC). 2006. Annual report 2006. Dublin: ORAC.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
O’Sullivan, L. 2014. Dublin’s Chinatown has really improved. Irish Independent, 22 September 2014.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Royal Irish Academy 2011. National Languages Strategy. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy National Committee for Modern Language, Literary and Cultural Studies. <[URL]> (4 January 2016).
Schroedler, T. 2016. The Irish Economy and its Language Needs: An Analysis of the Perceived Economic Value of Foreign Language Learning in Ireland. PhD dissertation, Trinity College Dublin.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Singleton, D., Regan, V. & Debaene, E. (eds). 2013. Linguistic and Cultural Acquisition in a Migrant Community. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Skrandies, P. 2016. Language policies and the politics of urban multilingualism. In The Multilingual City. Vitality, Conflict and Change, L. King & L. Carson (eds), 115–146. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Szmytkowska, M. 2011. Polish migrants in urban space of Dublin. Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series 16(16): 139–152. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tufi, S. & Blackwood, R. 2010. Trademarks in the linguistic landscape: Methodological and theoretical challenges in qualifying brand names in the public space. International Journal of Multilingualism 7(3): 197–210. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
UN-Habitat. 2004. The State of the World’s Cities 2004/2005. Globalization and Urban Culture. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vogl, U. 2012. Multilingualism in a standard language culture. In Standard Languages and Multilingualism in European History [Multilingualism and Diversity Management 1], M. Hüning, U. Vogl & O. Moliner (eds), 1–45. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wallerstein, I. 2004. World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction. Durham NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Weckler, A. 2014. Growing pains of Dublin’s Silicon Docks. The Independent, 15 May 2014.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
White, E.J. 2002. Forging African diaspora spaces in Dublin’s retro-global spaces: Minority making in a new global city. City: Analysis of Urban Trends, Culture, Theory, Policy, Action 6(2): 251–270. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhou, M. 2007. Revisiting ethnic entrepreneurship: Convergencies, controversies, and conceptual advancements. In Rethinking Migration. New Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives, A. Portes & J. DeWind (eds), 219–253. New York NY: Berghahn Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Schulte, Marion
2023. Dublin English and Third-Wave Sociolinguistics. In The Oxford Handbook of Irish English, ► pp. 339 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2023. The Sociophonetics of Dublin English [Studies in Language Variation, 30], DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 11 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue