Can you speak Irish?

PK2008 · 29-03-2010 09:50PM #1

A follow on from the Irish language thread, it seems there is some debate about whether we should keep teaching Irish in school. Now we all know the Irish language is a little entwined with our (fractured) sense of national identity and all that entails so its possible alot of people vote to keep it a mandatory school subject due to a sense of guilt rather than an actual love of the language.

So the simple questions is this after all your years sitting in Irish classes how would you rate your Irish language skills:

ciano1 · 29-03-2010 09:52PM

Poll?

I speak it well

ergonomics · 29-03-2010 09:52PM

Did my degree in it.

Naos · 29-03-2010 09:53PM

Rubbish.

They should just make everyone go to a Gaelscoil for Primary & Secondary school, yes - everyone.

Within two generations everyone would be speaking Gaelige.

alwaysadub · 29-03-2010 09:54PM

Couldn't hold a conversation in Irish. Wish i could though,gonna maybe join a class and learn it all over again.

Melion · 29-03-2010 09:55PM

Cant speak a word, and have no interest in it.

karlog · 29-03-2010 09:55PM

After all my years of learning Irish from Primary to Secondary school the only sentence i can string together is:

'An bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas'

we'llallhavetea_old · 29-03-2010 09:55PM

no

and my mam and all her family are fluent. i'm a disgrace

AnonoBoy · 29-03-2010 09:55PM

Ta mo Irish bon, mais nil mo francais gut.

My name is URL · 29-03-2010 09:55PM

Not very well.. I can understand some things when they're being spoken but for 14 years of education on the subject.. I suck

MrStuffins · 29-03-2010 09:56PM

PK2008 wrote: »

Can you speak Irish?

Oui!

Ruu_Old · 29-03-2010 09:57PM

Very little!

PK2008 · 29-03-2010 09:58PM

ciano1 wrote: »

Poll?

I speak it well

Sorry, I thought it wouldnt post until I finished putting the poll together

Nulty · 29-03-2010 10:00PM

I can read it fluently (95%) but theres some words in English I still don't know!

I'm posting in there recently to try to improve my Gaelge. For the love of the language, not because of guilt.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 29-03-2010 10:00PM

Hey, I'm the first native to say so. Woohoo.

Head_Hunter · 29-03-2010 10:01PM

Irish is poorly taught and taught too young, at an age when you barely have a grasp on English. I spent 13 years learning Irish and still speak french far better, which I only studied for 6 years. Many people that have learned Irish throughout their school life still only have a basic grasp of the language, which is very poor considering the amount of time spent trying to learn it.

pog it · 29-03-2010 10:03PM

http://www.gaelchultur.com

If you wana brush up on your Irish or pick it up again this is a great place to go for classes (it's in Temple Bar, Dublin). I didn't like Irish in school but I'm back learning it for a year now and absolutely smitten. The curriculum has a lot to answer for regards horrific standard people leave school with, but do not let that stop you from getting fluent yourself. It is so worth it!

AnonoBoy · 29-03-2010 10:03PM

Head_Hunter wrote: »

Irish is poorly taught and taught too young

Teaching people a language at a young age is a good idea. Kids pick up language better than them grown up types.

Head_Hunter · 29-03-2010 10:07PM

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Teaching people a language at a young age is a good idea. Kids pick up language better than them grown up types.

Not a second language and at 5/6 years old, they have enough to learn already without another difficult language forced upon them. Just my opinion, but I'm sure some people will agree.

TheKells · 29-03-2010 10:10PM

Head_Hunter wrote: »

Not a second language and at 5/6 years old, they have enough to learn already without another difficult language forced upon them. Just my opinion, but I'm sure some people will agree.

No I'm pretty sure a young kid can pick up 3 languages fairly easily. It's once your older that you start to struggle with it.

.SONIC. · 29-03-2010 10:20PM

currently learning irish in school, and think the curriculum is bull!!!!

when are we honestly going to need irish storys or poems???

i love the language though and am happy that the irish have something most other countrys dont

:)

WesternNight · 29-03-2010 10:24PM

Went to Irish speaking primary and secondary schools. Never had a problem learning it very young. I can only imagine that people's hatred of the language is a result of the way it's taught. Which is a shame, really. It's not a terrible language

WesternNight · 29-03-2010 10:27PM

.SONIC. wrote: »

when are we honestly going to need irish storys or poems???

They're to help your develop your understanding of the language. Not to put on your CV.

Rented Mule · 29-03-2010 10:31PM

This sounds like a job for Des Bishop.

Send in the Americans !!

Corkfeen · 29-03-2010 10:32PM

I'm fluent but doubt that being able to read it will be useful after the leaving cert.

uch · 29-03-2010 10:45PM

I never did Gaeilge in school but now I can speak with reasonable fleuncy after returning to night classes, but my grasp of written is a bit limited due to dyslexia, hence why I didn't do it in school, I came from the generation that if you had a learning disability you were just considered thick and lazy

Novella · 29-03-2010 10:45PM

Proficient.

My grandparents and my mum speak Irish fluently so I was always very interested in it. Loved it when I was in school. Don't use it on a regular enough basis now to be fluent, but I could hold a conversation.

dlofnep · 29-03-2010 10:46PM

Very able to hold a conversation on most topics. Find myself getting lost in conversations at points with real fluent speakers though - as there's always words that I don't yet understand. Have been meeting up with a few people for the past 3 years now - so my Irish is reasonably good at this point.

So, certainly proficient - but not yet truly fluent.

donmeister · 29-03-2010 10:49PM

I got a B3 in foundation Irish for the Leaving Cert. So the answer would be no.

uch · 29-03-2010 10:50PM

Head_Hunter wrote: »

Not a second language and at 5/6 years old, they have enough to learn already without another difficult language forced upon them. Just my opinion, but I'm sure some people will agree.

Nah dont agree with you there, my brothers kids who are 2, 5 and 9 can speak three languages, English Irish and Swahili, their mother is from East Africa and insisted that they all learn both parents native language.

Diabhal Beag · 29-03-2010 10:51PM

I am fluent in Irish. People should really take an interest in learning our own language or it will die out

Can you speak Irish?

Rate your level of Irish 376 votes

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