This volume presents a collection of the latest scholarly research on language, migration and identity. In a globalised world where migratory patterns are in constant flux, the traditional notion of the 'immigrant' has shifted to include more fluid perspectives of the migrant as a transnational and the language learner as a complex individual possessing a range of dynamic social and contextual identities. This book presents a variety of studies of transnational speakers and communities. It includes research conducted within both established and emerging methodological traditions and frameworks and explores a wide range of contexts and geographical locations, from the multilingual language classroom to the migrant experience, and from Ireland to Eritrea. This book was published with the generous support of the National University of Ireland Publications Scheme.

This volume explores the relationship between 'study abroad' and the acquisition of 'sociolinguistic competence' - the ability to communicate in socially appropriate ways. The volume looks at language development and use during study abroad in France by examining patterns of variation in the speech of advanced L2 speakers. Within a variationist paradigm, fine-grained empirical analyses of speech illuminate choices the L2 speaker makes in relation to their new identity, gender patterns, closeness or distance maintained in the social context in which they find themselves. Using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data, four variable features of contemporary spoken French are analysed in a large population of advanced Irish-English speakers of French. This close-up picture provides empirical evidence by which to evaluate the wide-spread assumption that Study Abroad is highly beneficial for second language learning.

"Multiculturalism and Integration" provides new insights into the important issues of diversity, reasonable accommodation and identity construction in multicultural societies by examining the experiences of Canada and Ireland. While these two societies share many historical and cultural links, their differences help reveal the range of possible approaches to these important issues.

Multicultural and multilingual diversity in contemporary Ireland are fairly recent phenomena, whereas Canada's policies and practices addressing cultural and linguistic diversity are several decades old. This basic difference has influenced their laws, language policies, education systems, cultural creations, and national identities as they have worked to accommodate multiculturalism.

The volume brings together an international group of scholars working in a variety of fields including politics, law, sociolinguistics, literature, philosophy, and history. Their interdisciplinary approach addresses the complex factors influencing integration and multiculturalism, painting detailed and accurate portraits of these issues in Canada and Ireland.