The "Irish Language"??

Mr. Spock

Looks like you guys are all speaking/typing English. Are they talking about Gaelic?

phasers

No we're typing in Irish, irish computers have a special programme that translates it for us.

Pygmalion

Mr. Spock wrote: »

Looks like you guys are all speaking/typing English. Are they talking about Gaelic?

What the hell is "Gaelic"?

Are you talking about the Irish language?

Mr. Spock

Pygmalion wrote: »

What the hell is "Gaelic"?

Are you talking about the Irish language?

I don't know how to spell it. Does anyone speak it? I was under the impression that you all spoke English on the reg.

Pygmalion

There isn't really an Irish language tbh, that thing started as some stereotype of the Irish as being incomprehensible due to the thick accents when we started emigrating to America.

Xivilai

Its not usually called Gaelic here.. Gaelic refers to languages that developed out of a language which was spoken widely in Ireland yonks ago..

Its called Irish here and the Scottish version is called "Scottish Gaelic"

Or Gaeilge / Gaidhlig

Insect Overlord

Mr. Spock, there is indeed an Irish language. It's known as Gaeilge/Gaoluinn here, or Gaelic if you're using the Anglicised term. I'm studying it for my Masters. :cool:

Modern Irish is a descendant of a Celtic tongue from the Indo-European branch of languages. Other Celtic languages include Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Breton, Manx and Cornish. There are less than 1,000 native speakers of these last 2 languages. Up until c.1750/1800 the dialect spoken in in Scotland was pretty much identical to that of Ireland.

There are roughly 70,000 native speakers of Gaeilge, with about 200,000 fluent or near-fluent users of the language.

Grindylow

Ireland has its own language?

Wow I never knew..

Taim iontas orm.

Jamie Starr

tá mé..... há mé......hááááááááá!

Screaminmidget

Án mhaith ar fad go mór liom

challengemaster

Insect Overlord wrote: »

There are roughly 70,000 native speakers of Gaeilge, with about 200,000 fluent or near-fluent users of the language.

I highly doubt anywhere near that are fluent, but to put that in context

Thats 0.045% of the population.

Grindylow

challengemaster wrote: »

I highly doubt anywhere near that are fluent, but to put that in context

Thats 0.045% of the population.

No... If it's at 70,000, it's 1.57%

If it's at 200,000, it's 4.5%....

challengemaster

Noel2k9 wrote: »

No... If it's at 70,000, it's 1.57%

If it's at 200,000, it's 4.5%....

there's a reason i hate google

edit: and 4.5% is MUCH harder to believe

Insect Overlord

challengemaster wrote: »

I highly doubt anywhere near that are fluent, but to put that in context

Thats 0.045% of the population.

Between Gaeltacht natives, Irish teachers, students and other enthusiasts (worldwide) I reckon 200,000 is an accurate enough estimation.

Also, it's well above your suggested percentage figure.

You already fixed that!

randylonghorn

challengemaster wrote: »

there's a reason i hate google

edit: and 4.5% is MUCH harder to believe

2nd year Science.

Needs google to work out a percentage!!

Now THAT's hard to believe!! :pac:

challengemaster

Insect Overlord wrote: »

Between Gaeltacht natives, Irish teachers, students and other enthusiasts (worldwide) I reckon 200,000 is an accurate enough estimation.

Also, it's well above your suggested percentage figure.

I'm working off of about 4-5 hours sleep here, and lots of muscle pain. I'm allowed make some mistakes when using google :P

Better apologise before you get offended tho!

Funnily enough, I'd be much more enclined to believe 0.045%, hence why it didn't strike me as being wrong. Sign of the state of the language tbh.

challengemaster

randylonghorn wrote: »

2nd year Science.

Needs google to work out a percentage!!

Now THAT's hard to believe!! :pac:

I don't normally keep a calculator on me at all times... nor am I bothered working out percentages in my head these days

randylonghorn

challengemaster wrote: »

I don't normally keep a calculator on me at all times...

... iphone?

challengemaster wrote: »

... nor am I bothered working out percentages in my head these days

[sympathy] Overstrained it? [/sympathy]



Anyway, fun as it is to bait CM, what's with all the threads springing up re: Irish?

2 in LC to-day, one here, 2 current in AH! >.<

Go bhfóire Dia orainn!!

(I blame Inda!!)

Insect Overlord

randylonghorn wrote: »

(I blame Inda!!)

Got it in one.

Maybe that was his plan all along! Reviving interest in Irish by making a (perceived) threat to it!

dlofnep

challengemaster wrote: »

I highly doubt anywhere near that are fluent, but to put that in context

Thats 0.045% of the population.

Fluent or near fluent, it sounds about right. Gaeltacht population is nearly 100,000, of which over 70% are fluent. So about 70k, then on top of that you have people who moved from the gaeltacht to cities (probably about another 30k or more) - that brings us to 100,000 fluent speakers.

Now add onto that all children that attended gaelscoileanna - No idea myself, but we'll say 50,000. That brings us to 150k. Add onto that another 50k from people who are just good at speaking it, or are engaged with conversational circles, primary school teachers, or doing well at school at it.

Putting that into context - is 200k really that ambitious? We've had 100+ people that have popped into our local conversational circle here in Waterford, many of which were fluent or near fluent. There are more people than you think have good Irish.

My Irish is decent, terrible grammar mind you - but more than confident at speaking it and a wide enough vocab to discuss most topics.

randylonghorn

Insect Overlord wrote: »

Got it in one.

Maybe that was his plan all along! Reviving interest in Irish by making a (perceived) threat to it!

He's got a plan?!

The more I see of him, the more I doubt it tbh! >.<


dlofnep, I recently overheard snippets of two separate conversations in Irish in an hour's shopping in Kilkenny, much to my surprise I have to admit!

And while I know Kilkenny isn't a million miles away from an Rinn, the accents weren't right ... in fact, one had a strong Kilkenny accent but was speaking what I am sure was West Kerry Irish!

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Several times people have assumed I'm fluent because I'm from the west I can hardly speak a word of Irish and the nearest Gaelthacht is an hour away.

dlofnep

randylonghorn wrote: »

dlofnep, I recently overheard snippets of two separate conversations in Irish in an hour's shopping in Kilkenny, much to my surprise I have to admit!

And while I know Kilkenny isn't a million miles away from an Rinn, the accents weren't right ... in fact, one had a strong Kilkenny accent but was speaking what I am sure was West Kerry Irish!

There's a conversational group in Kilkenny as far as I know. We've been planning on dropping up to them for ages - Haven't made it up yet - procrastination and all that!

Since I got involved in the Irish language, you'd actually be amazed at how often you might hear it because your ear is trained to listen to it. Normally you don't pay attention to people talking, but something as simple as an Irish word can alert you straight away.

Namlub

I can't speak English

rorrissey

I've spoken Irish gach aon lá do mo shaol le mo thuismitheoirí agus conáim i gCathair Chorcaí... Woo for me being the odd one out?

LeopoldButters

Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste! - well for another few years anyway but we are getting there

Insect Overlord

I keep programming the car stereo so that I can find Raidió na Gaeltachta, but my mother keeps replacing it with Lyric FM! >_<

rorrissey

Insect Overlord wrote: »

I keep programming the car stereo so that I can find Raidió na Gaeltachta, but my mother keeps replacing it with Lyric FM! >_<

They actually have a class show on at night, An Taobh Tuathail they call it. I think it's on weeknights at 11pm. Really cool music it's worth checking out, it's the only thing I really listen to on there. Totally not just mentioning this because my cousin is the DJ... (;

Wolfe Tone

Is maith liom caca millis

Insect Overlord

rorrissey wrote: »

They actually have a class show on at night, An Taobh Tuathail they call it. I think it's on weeknights at 11pm. Really cool music it's worth checking out, it's the only thing I really listen to on there. Totally not just mentioning this because my cousin is the DJ... (;

Haha, nice plug.

I tend to flick over to RnaG when I'm driving, just to catch up on the news or to hear the odd piece of music. Some of their day-time interviews can be excellent as well though.

Tucker688

Is Lads an Ghaeilge uafásach a bheith ag labhairt ar an bhfóram seo, pointless go bhfuil fiú é sna scoileanna seo lá gcuirfidh sí faoi deara ach strus do na páistí nach mbeidh a úsáid

Palytoxin

Tucker688 wrote: »

Is Lads an Ghaeilge uafásach a bheith ag labhairt ar an bhfóram seo, pointless go bhfuil fiú é sna scoileanna seo lá gcuirfidh sí faoi deara ach strus do na páistí nach mbeidh a úsáid

Nah lad, it's a great language.

Jamie Starr

^
Croitheadh-necro.

Palytoxin

Agnostic Mantis wrote: »

^
Croitheadh-necro.

wnolan1992

There's a more recent Irish thread, use that instead of needlessly bumping zombie threads from almost two years ago.

Más é do thoil é.