From Home to Here: Reconstructing Perceptions of Multilingual Newcomer
Migration has driven socio-cultural and linguistic change in Northern Ireland since the Celts arrived.
Migration has driven socio-cultural and linguistic change in Northern Ireland since the Celts arrived. Its language ecology was transformed by English and Scottish colonists who brought new varieties to compete with Irish. Linguistic diversity has increased remarkably in the twenty-first century. The speed of change has had important repercussions not only in the education and heritage sectors but more widely.
Working with a range of partners in Northern Ireland, this Newcastle project explored the sociolinguistic consequences of migration. This demonstrated the extent to which historical and contemporary immigration and their impacts were similar. Key objectives were to reconstruct negative perceptions of newcomers and to improve the educational outcomes of bilinguals.
From Home to Here developed a series of initiatives and activities with external partners on the theme of language, migration, and identity. There was input to local government language policies, national exhibitions, public lectures, and debates alongside continuing professional development events for educators across Northern Ireland. There was a poetry competition for schools that developed into an E-Anthology of the prize-winning poems called Voices of Tyrone. Teaching and learning resources for schools were piloted and archived at CCEA’s website for region-wide dissemination. An online exhibition of multilingual arpilleras was co-curated with Conflict Textiles. It built on the ‘From Home to Here’ events at the Linen Hall Library, Belfast, celebrating 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.
Funders
- Arts and Humanities Research Council
- Economic and Social Research Council
- Language Acts and Worldmaking (AHRC OWRI)
Partners