“My Polish is dying, and I'm really upset about it”: First language experiences of the 1.5 generation of immigrants in Ireland
Children who immigrated to Ireland in the mid to late 2000s during the largest peak in net-inward migration that the country experienced are now young adults. This group represents what is known as the 1.5 generation (Rumbaut, 1994; Rumbaut, 1997, 2004; Rumbaut & Ima, 1988), a group of immigran...
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| Language: | English |
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The Irish Association for Applied Linguistics
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Teanga: The Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics |
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| Online Access: | https://journal.iraal.ie/index.php/teanga/article/view/7695 |
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| author | Patricia Toth Emma Riordan |
| author_facet | Patricia Toth Emma Riordan |
| author_sort | Patricia Toth |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Children who immigrated to Ireland in the mid to late 2000s during the largest peak in net-inward migration that the country experienced are now young adults. This group represents what is known as the 1.5 generation (Rumbaut, 1994; Rumbaut, 1997, 2004; Rumbaut & Ima, 1988), a group of immigrants who were born into a language community but migrated to another community where they completed their education. This study explores the language experiences of such immigrants through an exploratory questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The descriptions of the participants’ relationship to their first language indicates a combination of first language attrition relating to, for example, lexical retrieval, interference from the dominant L2, and incomplete language acquisition relating to specific domains of language use. The self-reported effects of this experience of their first language in the 1.5 generation migrant context impact their cultural and personal identity. Participants reported a range of emotions relating to their language loss. The findings of this study can contribute to the emerging field of research in first language attrition and may have implications for the development and implementation of language maintenance policy such as those outlined in Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017-2026: Languages Connect (Department of Education and Skills, 2017).
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ee8fa03b25dc4e89bf1219db43b1a862 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0332-205X 2565-6325 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | The Irish Association for Applied Linguistics |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Teanga: The Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics |
| spelling | doaj-art-ee8fa03b25dc4e89bf1219db43b1a8622025-02-06T21:39:41ZengThe Irish Association for Applied LinguisticsTeanga: The Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics0332-205X2565-63252024-11-0131“My Polish is dying, and I'm really upset about it”: First language experiences of the 1.5 generation of immigrants in IrelandPatricia Toth0Emma Riordan1University College Cork, IrelandUniversity College Cork, Ireland Children who immigrated to Ireland in the mid to late 2000s during the largest peak in net-inward migration that the country experienced are now young adults. This group represents what is known as the 1.5 generation (Rumbaut, 1994; Rumbaut, 1997, 2004; Rumbaut & Ima, 1988), a group of immigrants who were born into a language community but migrated to another community where they completed their education. This study explores the language experiences of such immigrants through an exploratory questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The descriptions of the participants’ relationship to their first language indicates a combination of first language attrition relating to, for example, lexical retrieval, interference from the dominant L2, and incomplete language acquisition relating to specific domains of language use. The self-reported effects of this experience of their first language in the 1.5 generation migrant context impact their cultural and personal identity. Participants reported a range of emotions relating to their language loss. The findings of this study can contribute to the emerging field of research in first language attrition and may have implications for the development and implementation of language maintenance policy such as those outlined in Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017-2026: Languages Connect (Department of Education and Skills, 2017). https://journal.iraal.ie/index.php/teanga/article/view/7695Languages ConnectFirst language attritionIncomplete first language acquisitionheritage language maintenance1.5 generation immigrants |
| spellingShingle | Patricia Toth Emma Riordan “My Polish is dying, and I'm really upset about it”: First language experiences of the 1.5 generation of immigrants in Ireland Teanga: The Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics Languages Connect First language attrition Incomplete first language acquisition heritage language maintenance 1.5 generation immigrants |
| title | “My Polish is dying, and I'm really upset about it”: First language experiences of the 1.5 generation of immigrants in Ireland |
| title_full | “My Polish is dying, and I'm really upset about it”: First language experiences of the 1.5 generation of immigrants in Ireland |
| title_fullStr | “My Polish is dying, and I'm really upset about it”: First language experiences of the 1.5 generation of immigrants in Ireland |
| title_full_unstemmed | “My Polish is dying, and I'm really upset about it”: First language experiences of the 1.5 generation of immigrants in Ireland |
| title_short | “My Polish is dying, and I'm really upset about it”: First language experiences of the 1.5 generation of immigrants in Ireland |
| title_sort | my polish is dying and i m really upset about it first language experiences of the 1 5 generation of immigrants in ireland |
| topic | Languages Connect First language attrition Incomplete first language acquisition heritage language maintenance 1.5 generation immigrants |
| url | https://journal.iraal.ie/index.php/teanga/article/view/7695 |
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