What do you think?
Rate this book
Wars of Words: The Politics of Language in Ireland 1537-2004
Wars of Words is the first comprehensive survey of the politics of language in Ireland during the colonial and post-colonial periods. Challenging received notions, Tony Crowley presents a complex, fascinating, and often surprising history which has suffered greatly in the past from over-simplification. Beginning with Henry VIII's Act for English Order, Habit, and Language (1537) and ending with the Republic of Ireland's Official Languages Act (2003) and the introduction of language rights under the legislation proposed by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (2004), this clear and accessible narrative follows the continuities and discontinuities of Irish history over the past five hundred years.
The major issues that have both united and divided Ireland are considered with regard to language, including ethnicity, cultural identity, religion, sovereignty, propriety, purity, memory, and authenticity. But rather than simply presenting the accepted wisdom on many of the language debates, this book re-visits the material and considers previously little-known evidence in order to offer new insights and to contest earlier accounts. The materials range from colonial state papers to the writings of Irish revolutionaries, from the work of Irish priest historians to contemporary loyalist politicians, from Gaelic dictionaries to Ulster-Scots poetry.
Wars of Words offers a reading of the crucial role language has played in Ireland's political history. It concludes by arguing that the Belfast Agreement's recognition that languages are 'part of the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland', will be central to the social development of the Republic and Northern Ireland. The final chapter analyses the way in which contemporary poets have used Gaelic, Hiberno-English, Ulster-English, and Ulster-Scots, as vehicles for the various voices that demand to be heard in the new societies on both sides of the border.
The major issues that have both united and divided Ireland are considered with regard to language, including ethnicity, cultural identity, religion, sovereignty, propriety, purity, memory, and authenticity. But rather than simply presenting the accepted wisdom on many of the language debates, this book re-visits the material and considers previously little-known evidence in order to offer new insights and to contest earlier accounts. The materials range from colonial state papers to the writings of Irish revolutionaries, from the work of Irish priest historians to contemporary loyalist politicians, from Gaelic dictionaries to Ulster-Scots poetry.
Wars of Words offers a reading of the crucial role language has played in Ireland's political history. It concludes by arguing that the Belfast Agreement's recognition that languages are 'part of the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland', will be central to the social development of the Republic and Northern Ireland. The final chapter analyses the way in which contemporary poets have used Gaelic, Hiberno-English, Ulster-English, and Ulster-Scots, as vehicles for the various voices that demand to be heard in the new societies on both sides of the border.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
264 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 27, 2021
I'm already in love with any book willing to go to bat on behalf of Gaeilge, and this one is no exception. I love that there are no kid gloves here, and the oppression faced by the native Irish by the invading English is spelled out in black and white. While it did leave off on a tentatively hopeful note (the Irish language revival is slowly but surely marching forward), there's a lot to unpack here, and what has been lost to history is sobering.
November 26, 2017
This is one of my favourite historical books. This contains insights into the subtle oppressive forces of the British occupation of Ireland. Surprising insights are drawn into the relationships between church, language and state. A must read for anybody interested in Irish history.
December 29, 2015
Language revitalization efforts are near and dear to my heart. The situation of the Celtic languages and Ireland's place specifically is distinct from similar efforts in the Americas and the anomalous case of Hebrew. (Where can I find a book-length treatment of Hebrew's revival into a daily language? I need to read that.) This book covers the whole story, from the middle ages until its publication (ten years ago), and its central observation—that economic, material conditions were and are the reason for the dying of Irish—is one I'd never heard before.
I'd give a limb for a comparative study of language revitalization efforts. Imagine something that treated the Celtic languages, both North American languages and Polynesian languages (i.e. tongues spoken in former British colonies), revitalization efforts in Latin America, especially South America like the state-sponsored programs in Venezuela or the status of large languages like Quechua and Guarani, and Modern Hebrew. That would be a perfect book.
In the meantime, though, this book has given me what feels like a key piece of the puzzle.
I'd give a limb for a comparative study of language revitalization efforts. Imagine something that treated the Celtic languages, both North American languages and Polynesian languages (i.e. tongues spoken in former British colonies), revitalization efforts in Latin America, especially South America like the state-sponsored programs in Venezuela or the status of large languages like Quechua and Guarani, and Modern Hebrew. That would be a perfect book.
In the meantime, though, this book has given me what feels like a key piece of the puzzle.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews