About | Fúinn

Language is central to how people make sense of the world, relate to one another and participate in society. Yet languages and their speakers do not have equal status, visibility or access to resources. As societies change through migration, mobility, technological development and shifting social and political conditions, so too do the ways in which languages are learned, used, valued and understood.

CALM's research explores these processes across diverse linguistic contexts and throughout the lifecourse. We are interested in multilingualism not simply as the presence of multiple languages, but as a social, cultural, political and lived phenomenon. Our research examines the experiences and practices of individuals, families and communities, as well as the institutions, policies, technologies and wider structures that shape linguistic life.

At CALM, we ask questions such as:

• How do people become, and come to be recognised as, speakers of languages?
• How do language, identity, belonging and inequality intersect in multilingual societies?
• How are languages valued, regulated and legitimised, and with what consequences for speakers and communities?
• How are language practices, learning and communication changing across families, education, healthcare, workplaces and digital environments?
• How can research contribute to more inclusive and linguistically equitable practices, policies and services?

Our research encompasses a wide range of linguistic contexts, from Irish and the Gaeltacht to multilingual communities in Ireland and internationally. We engage with questions of language and education, minoritised languages, language policy and planning, sociolinguistics, language and identity, language learning and acquisition, speech and language therapy, and language in media and digital environments. Across these contexts, we connect local and regional questions with wider international debates about language, multilingualism and society.