Language and migration in Ireland

Abstract

This report looks at the linguistic landscape in Ireland in 2017, using the words of migrants to describe their experiences in a changing and multilingual context. According to the 2016 Census, 612,018 people in Ireland speak a foreign language at home and this report gives a platform for some of these voices to be heard. It bases its findings on the stories recounted by migrants in surveys, focus groups and interviews to understand the reality of being a non-native speaker in Ireland. It examines the place of language in the migrant experience and questions whether the policies regarding languages and integration are having their desired effect. The migrant experience is often studied from a sociological, economic, psychological or political viewpoint but the linguistic aspect of migration is rarely taken into consideration. This report seeks to address this lacuna and to highlight the importance of language in the migrant experience and its impact on the daily lives of those who function in a multilingual context.