Relationships between Attitudes to Irish, Social Class, Religion and National Identity in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

Abstract

Research on language attitudes in the Republic of Ireland has been greatly influenced by stratification theories. That is to say, differences in attitudes are seen to reflect the positions individuals occupy in the social structure. Research on language attitudes in Northern Ireland is less developed, but has tended to view such attitudes as cultural indicators within intergroup conflict perspectives that stress the importance of ethnoreligious rather than class variables. In the context of a large-scale all-Ireland survey, the findings of these two bodies of research are combined in a framework which reconsiders the connection, if any, between ethnic and religious differences, the pattern of class inequalities and language attitudes in both societies. Data for the paper come mostly from a survey that was conducted simultaneously in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. One thousand randomly selected adults over 18 years were interviewed face-to-face in each jurisdiction, giving a total sample of 2000 respondents.

Keywords:

• Ireland
• Northern Ireland
• Irish
• identity
• social class
• religion