Burning money... and trees while we are at it

douglashyde

After working on contract with a semi-state agency for a year, I've been thinking about how we translate everything customer facing into Irish.

Let me explain - Everything coming from a state or semi-state agency that the public sees is required to be translated into Irish, this includes web, mail inserts, press releases, reports etc.

From firsthand experience I can tell you now it is no cheap job getting this stuff translated and printed. Also there is very low readership of these Irish versions: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/state-pays-836418m-to-translate-reports-into-irish-1924948.html

I completely understand that Irish is our first language - however is this really necessary?

And here is the kicker, I have heard through the grapevine that a similar requirement for private businesses may be phased in by the The Department of Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Affairs in the next few years.

Head The Wall

This same rubbish was used during the planning phase of the Galway City Outer Bypass. People said they couldn't read the planning as it wasn't in Irish and they had a legal entitlement to do so. Council spent €65,000 translating it and afterwards nobody requested a copy of it as Gaeilge, it was just a stalling tactic. Complete abouse of the law if you aks me

Colm R

Most Irish speaking advocates (and I'm one of them) would prefer if this requirement was scrapped and the money used to actually develop and promote the language, such as:

- assisting summer schools and camps with costs.

- promotion of TG4 and RnaG.

- Irish speaking and literature festivals.


Doing any of the above and more would give me, and most Irish people a sense of pride and involvement in our culture and language. Having the option of filling out a government form in Irish does not - simple as.

astrofool

Colm R wrote: »

Most Irish speaking advocates (and I'm one of them) would prefer if this requirement was scrapped and the money used to actually develop and promote the language, such as:

- assisting summer schools and camps with costs.

- promotion of TG4 and RnaG.

- Irish speaking and literature festivals.


Doing any of the above and more would give me, and most Irish people a sense of pride and involvement in our culture and language. Having the option of filling out a government form in Irish does not - simple as.

It's a pity Irish is always used as a stick to beat people with (compulsary this and that), rather than being treated as a rich language, that people want to learn, and encouraged via the arts.

There is also little to no realism on behalf of militant Irish speakers.

Denerick

The best thing that could ever happen Gaelic would be for the State to ban it. Cryptic movements would spring up everywhere and we'd have midnight meetings at the bog and exchange ancient Gaelic poetry amongst each other. The Gaelgoir would be much like the much féted travelling priest during the Penal era.

What we have now is a situation where the overwhelming majority of people spend 12-14 years learning Irish, only to come out the other end without a word in their head. When a policy has been proven to fail, the rational agent will abandon and adopt a more logical one. The Gaelgoir are the authors of their own demise and they deserve all the bad shít down their creek for their obstinancy.

Winty

Denerick wrote: »

people spend 12-14 years learning Irish, only to come out the other end without a word in their head. .

The teaching time could be better spent with Maths and science

SeanW

Winty wrote: »

The teaching time could be better spent with Maths and science

Or information technology, or Chinese or indeed any of the other things that will help students have a sucessful life in the 21st century.