Article published In: Pragmatics of Active Social Inclusion
Edited by Yoshiko Matsumoto and Heidi E. Hamilton
[Pragmatics and Society 15:1] 2024
► pp. 67–84
Attitudes to language and bilingualism in residential care for older persons in Ireland
Inclusiveness and construction of positive identities
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.
For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.
Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with University of Duisburg-Essen.
Published online: 21 December 2023
https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.23064.mul
https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.23064.mul
Abstract
Language as a primary vehicle for communication and cognition is intimately linked to the construction of identities and social relationships, and to social participation and inclusion. By means of appraisal analysis (a tool grounded in Systemic Functional Linguistics) of interview data, we explored attitudes to language(s), speakers and language use in a nursing home for older people in Ireland, where a large proportion of residents and staff are bilingual in Irish and English. We found that in their interviews, participating residents accord high value to their bilingualism and status of native Irish speakers. Participating staff members emphasize the value of Irish for relationship building and positive interactions among residents and staff. Residents’ strong bilingual identities and language preferences set a standard for deliberately bilingual practices, which affirm the local linguistic and cultural identity, while also actively including non-Irish speaking residents by treating both languages as resources for belonging.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1Social engagement and language in residential care
- 2.Methods
- 2.1Participants and data gathering
- 2.2Data analysis
- 3.Results
- 3.1Cross-participant summary and categories of items appraised
- 3.2Individual profiles
- 3.2.1Resident: Jane
- 3.2.2Resident: Lisa
- 3.2.3Staff member: Amanda
- 3.2.4Staff member: Karen
- 3.2.5Staff member: Owen
- 3.2.6Staff member: Paula
- 4.Discussion
- 4.1Strengths and limitations
- 4.2Implications
- Acknowledgements
References
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