Studies (the Donegal part of the study).

The present situation of the Irish language is that of a language which is currently and commonly used only in fragmented areas along the western seaboard of Ireland, and by a reduced number of speakers in urban centres, where the Irish language is constantly being threatened by the higher status enjoyed by English. For more than three centuries, the country has witnessed a shift towards English and a decline in the use of Irish. Irish-English bilingualism is the norm in those contexts in which the two languages compete for the same domains of language use. Bilingualism has been one of the characterising features of the Irish language situation since the Norman invasions in the twelfth century. Irish-English bilingualism was brought about by language contact and a number of socio-economic and political factors, and was further encouraged by specific attitudes strictly related to the prestige (or lack of it) and status enjoyed by the two languages. This paper, with the support of findings from a research on language attitudes towards Irish and domains of language use, carried out in the South Connemara Gaeltacht and the Donegal Gaeltacht, will attempt to present the language situation obtaining in Gaeltacht areas, namely the South Connemara and the Donegal areas. Moreover, it will compare Irish language usage between the above-mentioned Irish-speaking areas giving particular attention to use in two specific domains, the local community and the family