
Irish Traveller Language
An Ethnographic and Folk-Linguistic Exploration
Maria Rieder(Author)
Palgrave Macmillan (Publisher)
Published on 8. February 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
XXV, 260 pages
978-3-030-09562-8 (ISBN)
Description
This book explores the Irish Traveller community through an ethnographic and folk linguistic lens. It sheds new light on Irish Traveller language, commonly referred to as Gammon or Cant, an integral part of the community's cultural heritage that has long been viewed as a form of secret code. The author addresses Travellers' metalinguistic and ideological reflections on their language use, providing deep insights into the culture and values of community members, and into their perceived social reality in wider society. In doing so, she demonstrates that its interrelationship with other cultural elements means that the language is in a constant flux, and by analysing speakers' experiences of language in action, provides a dynamic view of language use. The book takes the reader on a journey through oral history, language naming practices, ideologies of languageness and structure, descriptions of language use and contexts, negotiations of the 'authentic' Cant, and Cant as 'identity'. Basedon a two-year ethnographic fieldwork project in a Traveller Training Centre in the West of Ireland, this book will appeal to students and scholars of sociolinguistics, language in society, language ideology, folk linguistics, minority communities and languages, and cultural and linguistic anthropology.
More details
Series
Edition
Softcover Reprint of the Original 1st 2018 ed.
Language
English
Place of publication
Cham
Switzerland
Publishing group
Springer International Publishing
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
XXV, 260 p.
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 148 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
376 gr
ISBN-13
978-3-030-09562-8 (9783030095628)
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-76714-7
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
10/2018
Palgrave Macmillan
€96.29
Shipment within 10-15 days
Person
Maria Rieder is Lecturer in Sociolinguistics at the University of Limerick, Ireland. Her research is focused on discursive constructions of social and economic inequality. She has published on issues of minority communities and languages, economic discourse in the press, social movements and intercultural communication, specifically focusing on the role of language in the production of power differences and social conflict.
Content
Chapter 1: Introduction: Setting the Scene.- Chapter 2: Traveller Culture in Transition.- Chapter 3: When is it Used? - The Role of Cant within Traveller Culture.- Chapter 4: What is it Called? - Naming Practices and Folk Classifications of Cant.- Chapter 5: Folk Views on the Structure and Formation of Cant.- Chapter 6: Language Ideology and Traveller Identity.- Chapter 7: Conclusion.