Immigration waves globally have enriched linguistic and cultural landscapes through the spread of Heritage Languages (HL). In Northern Ireland, the Indian community, one of the longest-established ethnic minorities since the 1920s, represents a vital yet often overlooked part of the region's diversity. While local policy focuses on Irish and Ulster-Scots, the linguistic dynamics of migrant families remain under-researched.

Presentation

Immigration waves globally have enriched linguistic and cultural landscapes through the spread of Heritage Languages (HL). In Northern Ireland, the Indian community, one of the longest-established ethnic minorities since the 1920s, represents a vital yet often overlooked part of the region's diversity. While local policy focuses on Irish and Ulster-Scots, the linguistic dynamics of migrant families remain under-researched.

Drawing on ethnographic data from Belfast-based families, this lecture explores:

Linguistic Hierarchies: How English and Heritage Languages interact within the domestic sphere.

Maintenance Strategies: The conscious and subconscious choices parents make to preserve their cultural identity.

Borders of Identity: The factors determining the success or failure of language maintenance in a transnational context.

The seminar investigates the shifting boundaries of ethnic identity and the "anxiety of cultural erasure" faced by first-generation migrants in the United Kingdom.

February 25, 2026

• Anik Nandi (Woxsen University) - Transnational Migration and Language Policies in Northern Ireland, UK: Family Dynamics towards Heritage Language Maintenance

About the Speaker: Dr. Anik Nandi is an Associate Professor and Founding Director of the Centre for Languages and Multicultural Communication at Woxsen University, Hyderabad. He leads the first Galician Studies Centre in Asia and is a leading expert in language policy. With a distinguished career including research at Queen’s University Belfast and the University of the Basque Country, his work focuses on multilingualism, literacy practices, and intergenerational language transmission. He is an editor for Language Science Press and a board member for the Language Policy series by Springer Nature.

Join the discussion! Explore the intersections of migration, language policy, and cultural heritage in contemporary Europe.

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