Wars of Words: The Politics of Language in Ireland 1537-2004 - Softcover

Crowley, Tony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199532761 ISBN 13: 9780199532766

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008

Synopsis

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 deman to be heard in the new societies on both sides of the border.

About this title

About the Author

Tony Crowley is a Professor of Modern English Literature at the University of Manchester.

Review

"Crowley's War of Words is a valuable and stimulating book, bringing together an impressive array of primary and secondary sources from more than five centuries in a carefully crafted argument... the defining account of a historical formation"--Chris Morash, Times Literary Supplement

"A first-rate piece of scholarship that deserves to be read by any student of Ireland and her history."--Contemporary Review

"A sourcebook, a treasure trove.... Crowley brings a welcome sensitivity to the complexity of his subject.... Tony Crowley's War of Words and his earlier The Politics of Language in Ireland are seminal texts for our understanding of how that dichotomy has evolved over the centuries. Crowley has raised profoundly important questions and provided a context in which they can be thought about and planned for in the hope that future wars over words will be far less bitter and prolonged."--Irish Literary Supplement

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0199532761
• ISBN 13: 9780199532766
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 264