The uniqueness of the Irish case: an endangered official language

This study attempts to deal with the unique status of the Irish language inside the territory of the Republic of Ireland. Ireland is a bilingual state in which Irish is recognised by the constitution as the county’s “national and first official language” of the country, despite being used daily by just a minority of the population. On the other hand, English is arguably the country’s most widespread language and is described as “a second official language”. Its aim consists of the provision of a theoretical framework concerning the language policy and language endangerment’s fields of study, analysing then the Irish language policies – with a focus on those aiming the revitalisation of the Irish language – in order to identify its critical areas and reflect on the language’s future challenges, expected developments and role. The method adopted to achieve the mentioned objective consists of the administration of a questionnaire to a sample of “Irish speaking” subjects. That investigation aims to collect language learners and speakers’ attitudes towards the language, their use of the language and their opinions in relation to the current language policy. The paper develops itself into four chapters treating respectively the development of the language planning discipline throughout the years, language policy’s main issues and areas of study. It continues then with the investigation of the Irish language’s current situation, to conclude then with the analysis of the questionnaire’s results.