Language assimilation among the native peoples of the British Isles in the 19th century

  • O. Kazakevych
Keywords: ethnic and linguistic processes, British isles, language shift, anglification, Welsh, Gaelic

Abstract

The article is devoted to the language shift deeply affected the population of Ireland, Wales and Scotland in the 19th century. It is stated that the native languages, such as Irish or Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Scots, weren‘t officially banned. However, the ruling elite of the British Empire discouraged the everyday use of the native languages by all means and undermined their social prestige. At the same time, the intellectuals and political activists of Ireland, Scotland and Wales had paid little attention to the problem of the national languages survival until the late 19th century. That is why the number of those who used the native languages on the regular basis decreased dramatically by the early 20th century.

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Published
2020-07-09
How to Cite
Kazakevych , O. (2020). Language assimilation among the native peoples of the British Isles in the 19th century. Zaporizhzhia Historical Review, 1(48), 283-286. Retrieved from https://istznu.org/index.php/journal/article/view/374