In Ireland, negative stereotypes of the Traveller population have long been a part of society. The beliefs that surround this minority group may not be based in fact, yet negative views persist such that Travellers find themselves excluded from mainstream society. The language used in discourse plays a critical role in the way Travellers are represented. This study analyses the discourse in the public policy regarding Travellers in the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) 2017–2021. This study performs a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the policy with the overall aims of showing signs of the power imbalance through the use of language and revealing the discourses used by elite actors to retain power and sustain existing social relations. The key findings show that Travellers are represented as a homogenous group that exists outside of society. They have no control over how their social identity is constructed. The results show that the constructions of negative stereotypes are intertextually linked to previous policies, and the current policy portrays them in the role of passive patients, not powerful actors. The discursive practice creates polarity between the “settled” population and the “Travellers”, who are implicitly blamed by the state for their disadvantages. Through the policy, the government disseminates expert knowledge, which legitimises the inequality and supports this objective “truth”. This dominant discourse, which manifests in wider social practice, can facilitate racism and social exclusion. This study highlights the need for Irish society to change the narrative to support an equitable representation of Travellers.

中文翻译：

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爱尔兰公共政策中旅行者代表的批评话语分析

在爱尔兰，旅行者人口的负面刻板印象长期以来一直是社会的一部分。围绕这个少数群体的信念可能并非基于事实，但消极观点持续存在，以至旅行者被排斥在主流社会之外。话语中使用的语言在表示旅行者的方式中起着至关重要的作用。本研究分析了《 2017-2021年国家旅行者和罗姆人共融战略》中有关旅行者的公共政策中的论述。这项研究对政策进行了重要的话语分析（CDA），其总体目标是通过使用语言来显示权力不平衡的迹象，并揭示精英行为者用来保留权力和维持现有社会关系的话语。主要发现表明，旅行者被表示为存在于社会外部的同质群体。他们无法控制自己的社会身份的构建方式。结果表明，消极刻板印象的建构与先前的政策互为关联，而当前的政策则将其刻画为被动患者的角色，而不是强有力的参与者。话语实践在“定居的”人群和“旅行者”之间造成了两极分化，而后者被国家隐性地指责其不利之处。政府通过该政策传播专家知识，这使不平等合法化并支持这一客观“真相”。这种占主导地位的话语表现在更广泛的社会实践中，可以促进种族主义和社会排斥。