AbstractLanguage policy in the Republic of Ireland has an unusual starting point: the geographical base of the Irishlanguage is very weak and territorially dispersed, yet the constitutional status of the language is extremely strong. The articleexplores this paradox. It sets Irish language policy in two contexts: that of successful nationalist movements mainly in Centraland Eastern Europe in the early twentieth century, and that of the struggling Celtic languages of Western Europe. It explores theevolution of the language and its weakening demographic status since the nineteenth century, noting that while its demographicweakness mirrors that of the other Celtic languages, its constitutional entrenchment resembles that of the national languages ofCentral and East European states. It attempts to explain this by suggesting that the language has played a marginal role innationalist mobilisation; the language served as a symbol of a specific cultural heritage rather than as the vital lingua francaof the community. The central role of the language in nationalist ideology, however, failed to address the reality of continuingdecline in the Irish-speaking districts, notwithstanding the emergence of a sizeable population of ‘new speakers’ of the languageoutside these districts.

中文翻译：

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地理上的退却和象征性的进步？

摘要 爱尔兰共和国的语言政策有一个不同寻常的起点：爱尔兰语的地理基础非常薄弱，领土分散，但该语言的宪法地位却极强。文章探讨了这个悖论。它将爱尔兰的语言政策设定在两个背景下：20 世纪初主要在中欧和东欧成功的民族主义运动，以及西欧陷入困境的凯尔特语。它探讨了自 19 世纪以来该语言的演变及其日益弱化的人口地位，并指出虽然其人口弱点反映了其他凯尔特语言的人口弱点，但其宪法巩固类似于中欧和东欧国家的民族语言。它试图通过暗示语言在民族主义动员中发挥了边缘作用来解释这一点。该语言是特定文化遗产的象征，而不是社区的重要通用语。然而，语言在民族主义意识形态中的核心作用未能解决爱尔兰语地区持续衰落的现实，尽管在这些地区之外出现了大量的语言“新使用者”。