Cohesion, sharing and integration? Migrant languages and cultural spaces in Northern Ireland's urban environment

This article investigates the position of migrant languages in Northern Ireland's two largest cities, Belfast and Derry/Londonderry. The paper comments on how deliberations around public policy objectives in a post-conflict era have led to a broader understanding of cultural identity and conseq...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current issues in language planning 2012-08, Vol.13 (3), p.187-205
Main Author: McDermott, Philip
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Art Activities
Asians
cohesion
Conflict Resolution
Cultural Background
Foreign Countries
immigration
Indians
Language Minorities
Language Planning
Libraries
migrant languages
Migrants
multiculturalism
Museums
Native Speakers
Northern Ireland
Peace
Public Policy
Second Languages
Self Concept
sharing and integration
Social Integration
Urban Environment
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Summary:This article investigates the position of migrant languages in Northern Ireland's two largest cities, Belfast and Derry/Londonderry. The paper comments on how deliberations around public policy objectives in a post-conflict era have led to a broader understanding of cultural identity and consequently to an 'opening-up' of urban spaces for speakers of migrant community languages. For such linguistic minorities, museums, libraries, community festivals, arts projects and grass roots community initiatives can be noted as especially important in contributing to higher levels of inclusion and accessibility to urban spaces. Nonetheless, while the debates on such 'peace-oriented' policy frameworks have certainly accommodated the wider visibility and use of migrant languages in city spaces, there is more that can be done by planners in these sectors to further enhance opportunities for social cohesion.
ISSN:1466-4208
1747-7506
DOI:10.1080/14664208.2012.722377