DUBLIN — Shoved off the radar by arguments over Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union and the sexual harassment scandals in the British Parliament, Northern Ireland is quietly falling deep into crisis. With the power-sharing government that has kept the peace in the province for nearly 20 years in paralysis, Northern Ireland is in danger of coming once again under direct rule from London.

The problems began 11 months ago with a scandal over public funds, but it is a bitter and emotionally charged argument over the role of language that has emerged as the biggest obstacle to ending the damaging standoff.

Parties representing the Irish nationalist and republican community, which is mainly Catholic, want the government to pass legislation to ensure the rights of Irish speakers, a small minority.

Politicians from the Democratic Unionist Party, whose constituency is mainly Protestant and favors union with Britain, where its lawmakers provide crucial votes for the government of Prime Minister Theresa May, have rejected that demand.