Are you willing to learn Irish to keep the language alive

Depraved

I learned conversational Dutch because I lived in The Netherlands for a while and wanted to fit in.
I am learning Tagalog because I now live in The Philippines and it's widely used (not everyone here speaks English).

I have no reason to learn a mostly dead language.

If a language is to survive, there has to be a practical need for it.

Dramatik

Nein! Tá mé ein cabáiste!

Geniass

I would like to have it, but it wouldn't be worth the effort to acquire it.

With that said my children go to Gael Scoil and are doing very well there.

My wife can also converse in Irish.

I spent two years in a class where we were supposed to be studying Peig. Think it was a horror story or something.

magicmushroom

I'd be willing to learn it if there was any point, but it's not used anymore so there would be no benefit to me taking the time - far more useful to learn Chinese, Spanish or something!

By the way I am English so I wasn't taught the language at school.
It's such a shame that it's taught at school in this country but it's never used so everyone forgets it, such a waste, kids would be far better off putting those few hours each week into something else

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

To the (currently 12) people who said yes: are you leanring it?

Supergurrier

No.

Can it not just die with some dignity atleast and be done with it.

Ficheall

ihavenoname3 wrote: »

I heard a guy talking to his kids in Irish in a supermarket recently, more giving out to them, but if I am honest I was cringing for him, it seemed like he was showing off using Irish. then he got his change from the cashier and said cheers lol. it is sad that these days people who give their kids Irish names, speak Irish and send their kids to gaelscoil's come across as pretentious (the people who dont live in Gaeltacht areas).

How is it pretentious?


OT: I speak Irish on a daily basis, but I don't know if I'd learn it now if I didn't know it. That said, I wouldn't study history, geography, or art either..

Geniass

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

To the (currently 12) people who said yes: are you leanring it?

Or are they already proficient

guitarzero

I think the best we can do is use the Gaeltact like some co-op village type thing where ppl who wish to continue the language, local or not, live there and keep it alive. No one really cares about it and I've met far too many who pretend like they care yet only speak 4 words.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Geniass wrote: »

Or are they already proficient

Thread title said "are you willing to learn", so I kinda ruled them out.

Very Bored

stefanovich wrote: »

I think the fact that I passed both Irish and French at leaving cert and only know the very basics of both said a lot. It is taught badly at school. I wouldn't learn it properly now just due to lack of time.

I think this is the key problem. I spent five years learning German at school and was able to say "my favourite football team is...". I spent two years, as an adult, teaching Italian to myself via books, CDs, newspapers, films and music and practising with Italian friends and am able to discuss, in detail, almost anything. I'm not saying that makes me a good teacher, but I am probably the best person to judge how I, myself, learn.

ancapailldorcha

I'll be doing my best to ensure that any children I may have don't have to learn it. When I think of all the time I was forced to waste on it that I could have used to learn a modern language, IT skills, more time in STEM subjects... The mind boggles.

Alfred Borden

Probably the most useless subject I have ever studied.

Manach

Currently I'm re-learning it on Duolingo. No pressure from the state or teachers, just a willingness to do so, along with 700,000 other people.

Geniass

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Thread title said "are you willing to learn", so I kinda ruled them out.

If only that stopped people from voting

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

ancapailldorcha

Manach wrote: »

Currently I'm re-learning it on Duolingo. No pressure from the state or teachers, just a willingness to do so, along with 700,000 other people.

Is Duolingo any good?

eviltwin

No interest in learning it. I'd like to learn a language but a useful one.

ancapailldorcha

It's spoken by a tiny amount of people in comparison.

nxbyveromdwjpg

Let it die a natural death

megaten

Nope,no aptitude for language. That said I went to a gaelscoil so I could speak and read a fair bit as a child but terrible secondary school teachers took care or that.

Reoil

We had to learn it for one year in school here in Norn Iron.
French and German, we had to study for three years.
Unfortunately, I see it as a foreign language.
It's less prominent than Welsh but more prominent than Scots-Gaelic.

corner of hells

Some of my family use it day to day , I've practically no Irish at all , theres something unnerving about my three year old niece talking fluently in it ...I know shes talking about me ,crazy little fecker.

Geniass

Reoil wrote: »

It's less prominent than Welsh but more prominent than Scots-Gaelic.

I'd be surprised if this is true. What makes you think this?

ballinasloex

God no the English language is challenging enough

Grayson

Ficheall wrote: »

How is it pretentious?


OT: I speak Irish on a daily basis, but I don't know if I'd learn it now if I didn't know it. That said, I wouldn't study history, geography, or art either..

That's the weird thing. I don't want to start leaning a new language like Irish. I'd hardly ever use it and to be honest I don't think I'd enjoy it. That being said I love art and history. I love learning about other cultures (which is part of geography). I probably know a lot more about Irish history than most.

I don't have children but if I ever do, I don't mind them learning Irish. On one condition, It can't be the same way we learned it in school. Otherwise it's a waste of time. They'd probably sit there for years and learn nothing, the way 99% of us did.

Manach

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Is Duolingo any good?

Yes. Put in about 10m a day and available on mobile. Never going to be fluent from it but will aid in remembering dormant skills.

Lollipop95

God no! Last time I properly spoke irish was in school (which made me hate the language) during my leaving cert oral exam and I've no intention of ever speaking it again!

bnt

It seems to me (as a very West Brit) that the language is only in schools at all due to Politics, the official requirement of the Irish State to be "not British". Without that, I think you'd be calling it "Gaelic" (translated from Gaeilge), not "Irish", and it would be to Ireland as Scots Gaelic is to Scotland. As opposed to Welsh, which also has official status (since 2011), and also for political reasons.

Geniass

bnt wrote: »

It seems to me (as a very West Brit) I think you'd be calling it "Gaelic" (translated from Gaeilge), not "Irish",

Nah, when you speak a language you use the word used in the language you are using.

For example when speaking Irish you use Béarla for English.

Similarly when speaking English the correct word to use is Irish for the Irish language.