Learn Gaelic

I like the way people always say learn a useful language yet as I discovered in certain ways it can be more usefil. For example, when I went to Sun Diego on a J1 me and all my mates would talk (albeit in our intermediate standard) as Gaeilge when we didn't want our boss etc. to know what we were talking about.

Regardless of usefulness the language is part of our heritage and who we are and I'm impressed all the more that you want to learn it even though you're not Irish yourself

Beat of luck with it. I started studying it 2 years ago and organised a conversational group in my city. It's seachtain na gaeilge this week, so more the reason to start.

Pay no attention to the "Why not learn a useful language, like French?" If you truly want to learn Irish, go for it - and don't let people who didn't have the balls to learn it themselves, so they downplay it out of spite - dictate what you can or can't learn.

And as far as the French thing goes - Fúck French. I'll never live anywhere that requires me to speak French. France is too expensive, and if I ever wanted to move to Canada, which I don't - I'd move to an English speaking area.

All these people who tell you to learn something useful like French or Spanish will probably never have to use it, outside of ordering a pint in a tourist resort, which could be ordered in English.

Fact of the matter is, I live in Ireland.. Gaeilge is much more useful to me than Spanish or French. The fact that I'm focusing on gaeilge will allow me to get a job in the Irish multimedia market, as there are not many skilled multimedia workers who can also speak Gaeilge. So for me, it's both practical and functional.

If you already speak English, then you already understand the most useful language in the world - So learning a second language as a hobby, with which you could put to use in the Gaeltacht, or with a few friends like I do is something you should be happy of doing, and you should be encouraged.

Go forth! Enjoy. Feck the haters.

dlofnep wrote: »

Up the ra

fyp.

dlofnep wrote: »

lol. scoundrel.

thelordofcheese wrote: »

You'll never live anywhere that requires you to speak irish either.....

I disagree. I'm planning on moving to a Gaeltacht after college. Anything else?

humanji wrote: »

Are you legally obliged to speak only Irish there?

No, neither am I obliged to speak English outside of it. But gaeilge being the functional working language there, would require you to use it..

Adiboo wrote: »

Unfortunately.

LOL. Anyone who moans - in English - about English being an official language of this country should be made, under threat of torture, study Irish until they're fluent (such people generally have a bare pass in ordinary level Leaving Cert Irish) and should only use English when absolutely necessary (i.e. not on a web forum to complain about English).

Bricriu wrote: »

It is generally recognised by sociolinguists that people who call it 'Gaelic' usually have an anti-Irish language or anti-Irish agenda, or don't know much about it historically.

I'd be extremely surprised if everyone who referred to it as "Gaelic" had an anti Irish/Irish language agenda. It's just considered the correct word outside of this country, that's all. There's nothing sinister. The Gaelic language of Scotland is not called "Scottish", it's called Gaelic or Scots Gaelic, so presumably something vaguely similar is applied to Irish. In other languages, it's referred to as "Gaelic" - e.g. in French, it's "le Gaelique". Calling it "l'irlandais" would just make no sense to French people. I did so once when I was in France and was met with bewilderment.

onemorechance wrote: »

It is used for communication, therefore it is very useful.

Not really - said "communication" is not essential.

Thirdfox wrote: »

It does help in your application to join the public sector - bonus points for being interviewed in Irish.

Until recently, lawyers had to know Irish before being allowed to practise. University lecturers too. People working in consulates - our ambassadors are all fluent in the language it seems. Though "knowing" Irish is quite different for job requirements than being able to speak it from what I've seen.

May not be a practical "application" but certainly a requirement that some need to be aware of depending on what jobs people have/want to have.

Agreed. But just saying "it's used for communication, therefore it's very useful" is not accurate.

Harlee Tangy Mustache wrote: »

Irish is essential for certain jobs here. Who communicates it? Quite a lot, mainly on the west coast.

Yeah, but they also have English.

Do you need it to live every day life here? More than you need french or italian here...

I'd disagree. If a fluent Irish speaker runs into medical difficulty, they'll have English to ask for help. If a French or Italian person without English finds themselves in a similar situation, someone with French or Italian willing to act as interpreter could prove a life-saver.

Go for it MIN. It doesn't matter whether it's useful or not - sometimes it's nice to learn a language simply for the sake of learning it. Someone here on Boards who's Chinese has a half-brother who speaks it fluently. And it's not dead - you will have some opportunities to use it. It's true that it's a bonus for getting into certain industries also.