Abstract
This chapter examines the various ways in which the participants construct themselves as members of their community in midst or in the aftermath of substantial changes and developments, particularly as members of certain age and gender groups through narratives and identity statements. The chapter begins with a section on memories of cultural and linguistic identity in the past where identity was remembered as intact and Cant as standing for Traveller identity. Older participants described these times and the identity as gone and lost today. Moving to the younger participants then investigates their multidirectional struggle between holding on to their culture and moving on. This struggle is most visible in the different reactions to questions on the spreading of Cant and on the transmission of cultural and linguistic property to the next generation, which point at attitudes and views regarding the strength of cultural boundaries between Travellers and the general population.
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Rieder, M. (2018). Language Ideology and Traveller Identity. In: Irish Traveller Language. Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76714-7_6
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