Full Description
In recent times, there has been a growing interest in how Celtic languages are acquired, due to ongoing efforts for minority language revitalisation through immersion education. With contributions from a team of leading scholars, this is the first volume to bring together state-of-the-art studies on language development in both children and adults learning the three most prominent Celtic languages spoken in the UK and Ireland: Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Irish. It focuses on how core language areas - phonology, lexicon, morphology and syntax - are acquired by different groups of learners, providing key insights into theoretical and empirical debates around bilingual language development and linguistic change more generally. The volume also covers the socio-cultural and educational context within which these languages are learnt, highlighting how these factors affect linguistic outcomes in a minority language context. It is essential reading for academic researchers and students in developmental linguistics, sociolinguistics, bilingualism, and Celtic languages.
Contents
Introduction; The acquisition of Celtic languages as a paradigm for addressing current issues in bilingualism and (minority) language development Vicky Chondrogianni, Ciara O'Toole and Enlli Thomas; Part I. The Socio-Educational Context: 1. The acquisition of Scottish Gaelic: sociolinguistic and policy dimensions Wilson McLeod; 2. Sociocultural and educational aspects of Irish language acquisition Padraig Ó Duibhir and Aisling Ní Dhiorbháin; 3. Sociolinguistic aspects of children's Welsh Peredur Webb-Davies; Part II. Acquisition of Phonology and Phonetics: 4. The acquisition of Scottish Gaelic phonology Claire Nance; 5. Acquisition of Irish phonology Nicole Müller and Martin J. Ball; 6. Acquisition of Welsh phonology Robert Mayr, Ronwen Lewis and Jonathan Morri; Part III. Acquisition of Vocabulary: 7. The acquisition and processing of Scottish Gaelic vocabulary Vicky Chondrogianni; 8. The acquisition of Irish vocabulary Ciara O'Toole; 9. The count and beyond: vocabulary knowledge in Welsh bilinguals Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole; Part IV. Acquisition of Morphology and Syntax: 10. The acquisition of Scottish Gaelic morphology and syntax Vicky Chondrogianni and Morag Donaldson; 11. The acquisition of Irish morphosyntax Tina M. Hickey and Thea Cameron-Faulkner; 12. The acquisition of Welsh morphosyntax Enlli Thomas, Hanna Binks and Siân Lloyd-Williams; 13. Concluding remarks on the acquisition of Celtic languages: implications and future directions Vicky Chondrogianni, Ciara O'Toole and Enlli Thomas; Index.
