An Introduction to Irish English: (Equinox Textbooks & Surveys in Linguistics)

This book is a general introduction to the English spoken in Ireland, its most characteristic features, and its historical development. It provides a practical introduction to the topic of Irish English (also known as Hiberno-English), the variety of English that arose in Ireland as a consequence of contact between the Irish and the English languages. As well as looking at the specific examples where substratum from Irish can be observed, the book analyzes other features unique to Irish English, from different perspectives (taking into account, for example, the pragmatic implications of certain syntactic structures in current spoken Irish English). It offers the reader a comprehensive coverage of the history and most salient features of this variety of English, while discussing key concepts such as bilingualism and language shift. The material is presented in a simple and accessible manner. It encourages the reader to discuss and think critically about some of the topics and to use the last section of each chapter as a basis for further investigation. "An Introduction to Irish English" contains exercises and practical activities with each chapter, as well as suggestions for further reading. It deals with both real data and fictional representations of this variety and it includes excerpts from Literature, media and film scripts, as well as other contexts, including everyday conversation, political debates, newspapers, e-mail, blogs, etc.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Some Key Notions 2. The History of the English Language in Ireland 3. The Grammar of Irish English 4. The Vocabulary of Irish English 5. The Sounds of Irish English 6. Fictional Representations of Irish English 7. Meaning What They Say: The Pragmatics of Irish English 8. Searching Corpora for Data 9. Implications for EFL Teachers and Learners

About the Author :
Carolina P. Amador-Moreno is a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Extremadura in Spain. Her research interests are Irish English, stylistics, dialectology, sociolinguistics, language contact, discourse analysis, and corpus linguistics. She is the author of The use of Hiberno-English in Patrick MacGill's Early Novels: Bilingualism and Language Shift from Irish to English in County Donegal. (The Edwin Mellen Press, 2006).

Review :
'Amador-Moreno's book is an accomplished introduction to the oldest example of what Hickey (2004) calls "transported" English. It is written in a clear and engaging style, and for the most part achieves the often difficult balance between introductory clarity and expository depth. I would particularly recommend it as a supplementary reader for any course concerned with the study of World Englishes. Finally, the book is also, in its quiet, understated way, a welcome plea for linguistic and cultural diversity: for maintaining and encouraging the range of dialects, vocabularies, grammars, discourses, and all the other linguistic ingredients that enable the rich variety of Englishes around the world to grow and flourish.' Japan Association for Language Teaching Journal 'An Introduction to Irish English shows that writing an introductory textbook is a skill that Carolina P. Amador-Moreno masters; the book is quite inspiring and inspired, it offers many thought-provoking ideas, and its structure and language are clear.' Sociolinguistic Studies 'A good choice for a course on international varieties of English [and] as a supplementary text on the variety of English in Ireland.' Journal of Sociolinguistic Studies 'The discussion throughout is clear and uncomplicated, generally devoid of issues of theory, and amply supplemented by relevant interactive activities. Throughout, the narrative presents a good introductory survey of the source material. The discussion of fictional representations is especially good.' E-Language: Digital Publishing in Linguistics 'The book creates a wonderful balance between the theory and the Irish English data. It is rich with illustrations of different features with examples from the author's own research and observations over the years, in particular her classroom experiences. This is an excellent book, well written in an engaging style. It will be attractive to the audience of people interested in the study of Irish English. It will also prove interesting and engaging to the general reader interested in Irish English or Hiberno-English.' Brian Nolan, Head of the Department of Informatics at the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown in Dublin, Ireland 'In one important respect this book is a welcome innovation in the literature on varieties of English. It is deliberately constructed as a textbook.' Raymond Hickey, Department of Anglophone Studes, University of Duisburg and Essen, English World-Wide 'Amador has provided us with an excellent contribution, both scholarly and didactic at the same time that must be recommended not only for those who want to enlarge their linguistic scope but for everybody interested in real and alive Ireland.' Inés Praga, Professor of English, University of Burgos, Spain, Estudios Irlandeses Yuasa's contribution is unique and innovative in that it is ... the first scholarly work to examine the contribution pitch range makes to the construction of identity. Journal of Sociolinguistics