Irish language speakers

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: MartinRyan
Date: 04 May 04 - 08:02 PM

Is fíor sin, gan dabht.

Le meas

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: Jim McCallan
Date: 04 May 04 - 07:57 PM

Though in fairness also, I have been in some communities, especially in Donegal, and Connemara, where if the people didn't have to speak English, they wouldn't.

Jim

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: MartinRyan
Date: 04 May 04 - 07:50 PM

In fairness, it would be quuite unusual to end up in a town in Ireland, small or otherwise, where only Irish was spoken! Don't worry about it.

Regards

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: Sunga
Date: 04 May 04 - 07:05 PM

I am planning a trip to Ireland in August and have been talking to people about their experiences there. One couple I spoke with told me that they found themselves in small towns where only Irish was spoken.

Seems to me that not only is it not a dead language, but it would be very useful to learn some basics prior to visiting there - just as one would want to do when travelling in any country where your language (in my case, American English) is not the primary language spoken.

I picked up a book for learning Gaelic, but it turned out to be Scottish and also was not well thought out in its teaching. If anyone can recommend a book with or without tapes/cds, it would be much appreciated.

Slainte,
Sunga

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: GUEST
Date: 04 May 04 - 12:18 PM

i'd like to learn irish...but i wouldn't know where to find out where I can learn...

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: Celtaddict
Date: 03 May 04 - 11:04 PM

Now it also offers Portuguese, in one day no less!
Fergie, by "here" I meant on (in? at?) the Mudcat.
I have just enough Irish to be polite when I visit in the Gaeltacht where I have some dear friends and chosen family and family-once-removed. I can follow the most basic of conversations and use everyday sayings. It is a joy to see the response of those I know and the strangers I meet; I have seen repeatedly the pleasure people of a variety of places take in a visitor taking the time, making the effort, to use the local language, even if only a bit. I hope one day to be able to read more of the poems and songs in their original language, as of course there have been so many gifted Irish writers in both languages.

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: MartinRyan
Date: 03 May 04 - 09:05 PM

GUEST
You'd be surprised (pleasantly or otherwise)by how many households would greet Gaelic with welcoming smiles rather than blank stares! Apart from that - es mas facil apprender el tercero despues del segundo!

Regards

p.s. I'm fascinated to find the two ads at the foot of this page offering classes in IRISH - and ARABIC! Wonder what that second association is about?

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: GUEST,Statesthebleedingobvious
Date: 03 May 04 - 06:47 PM

MartinRyan, it is not at all bleeding obvious; but even if it is, it is still English. Why do people learn Irish when it would be more productive to learn French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, anything but bloody pointless Irish? I am quite aware of other cultures but it seems to me that if you go into any household in Ireland then the language that they will be speaking will be English. To try and comunicate in Gaelic will probablly be received with blank stares and in fact would be considered the height of rudeness. As my name states, I am only stating the bleeding obvious.

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: Big Mick
Date: 03 May 04 - 05:01 PM

George, I say this with great respect, as I have always enjoyed your posts. In the US there is great diversity of language. In fact there are whole neighborhoods in every great American city where the signage is in any number of languages. With regard to Gaeilge, it has been said that during the last half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth centurty there were probably more speakers of Gaeilge in the States than there were in Ireland. Every major city, and many secondary cities have tuition available in the language.

Mick

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: mack/misophist
Date: 03 May 04 - 04:56 PM

In a life spent mostly in San Francisco (where there is a large Irish community), I've met two native Gaelic speakers. The estimates I've seen say native speakers are found mostly in the west of Ireland and reckon them to be 3-7% of the population.

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From:
Date: 03 May 04 - 04:34 PM

Guest:Bleeding Obvious, it isn't a dead language, and neither is Scottish Gaelic. Both are living languages, though with few enough speakers around the world. There are still millions of speakers of either when you consider it world-wide.

You may be from some place like the USA where many people seem to speak only the one "true" language, English (although some of you do it in funny ways). I'm a Canadian and we TRY to recognize there are other languages in the world, and as a country we are officially bi-lingual with French AND English as official languages.

The Europeans are amazing for the most part in that it often seems when I encounter someone from the European continent, that they speak a minimum of 3 languages and often more.

Give it up and learn other languages. It'll make your "bleeding obvious" into "WOW-Other Cultures!"

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: Fear Faire
Date: 03 May 04 - 11:40 AM

Tá corr dhuine fánach ann - na gliomaigh.

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: MartinRyan
Date: 03 May 04 - 05:26 AM

But to answer the question... I haven't seen evidence of native speakers of Irish here - but plenty of people with a command of written Irish that suggests their spoken version would be fluent.

Regards

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: MartinRyan
Date: 03 May 04 - 05:15 AM

..an English which would have been quite different but for the (bleeding obvious) influence of Irish, BTW.

Regards

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: GUEST,Statesthebleedingobvious
Date: 03 May 04 - 04:14 AM

Since they all speak English, I just speak to them in English. What's the point in leanring to speak a dead language? Its worth remembering that Yeats, Joyce, Doyle, etc. all wrote in English.

Subject: RE: Irish language speakers
From: Fergie
Date: 03 May 04 - 04:00 AM

It would help to know where you are based.
Fergus

Subject: Irish language speakers
From: Celtaddict
Date: 02 May 04 - 09:15 PM

I have run across many 'Catters with varying levels of proficiency in the Irish language. Do we have any idea how many native/fluent speakers there are here?
(A majority of the people I know with the interest know enough to have an idea of the song, and enough to "be polite" in Irish, but it is a very difficult language to learn with fluency, in part no doubt because there is little opportunity for ongoing practice without moving to the Gaeltacht.)