The future of Irish

Aimsigh · 16-06-2012 09:57PM #1

So, given your choice, what would you like to see as the future of the Irish Language?

This is all about what you would like to see not what you think will happen, also there is no time limit it, you can answer for however far into the future you want.

Personally I would like to see a majority Irish speaking Ireland, I think it could happen, but a lot would have to change from the education system to how the language is promoted, given the right conditions I'd say it could be done in 150 years or so, in time for our great grand kids to enjoy.

Biggins · 16-06-2012 09:59PM

Here we go again ...happy as can be...

Naomi00 · 16-06-2012 10:00PM

Oh yay, another one of these..

R.F. · 16-06-2012 10:00PM

Its a romantic thought.

But at the end of the day kids doing their leaving have to dedicate 1/7th of their time studing something they will never need

Aimsigh · 16-06-2012 10:00PM

Biggins wrote: »

Here we go again ...happy as can be...

Its OK Biggins, I give you permission not to take part if you really don't want to.;)

Scioch · 16-06-2012 10:01PM

Nil a shít agum.

PrincessLola · 16-06-2012 10:03PM

Aimsigh wrote: »

So, given your choice, what would you like to see as the future of the Irish Language?

This is all about what you would like to see not what you think will happen, also there is no time limit it, you can answer for however far into the future you want.

Personally I would like to see a majority Irish speaking Ireland, I think it could happen, but a lot would have to change from the education system to how the language is promoted, given the right conditions I'd say it could be done in 150 years or so, in time for our great grand kids to enjoy.

In order for that to happen, coercion would be required. Not good.

English is a dominant global language, people aren't going to start spontaneously speaking Irish unless you force them to in some manner.

And I am firmly against forcing people to do things they don't want to.

So I don't like where you are going with this little plan.

Fromthetrees · 16-06-2012 10:03PM

A dodo dick has a better chance of being alive in a 150 years. Would like to see it revived but can't see it happening ever.

andrew241983 · 16-06-2012 10:03PM

Ba mhaith a fhoghlaim beag ag an am ach is breá a bheith líofa...

Learning a little at a time but would love to be fluent...

Naomi00 · 16-06-2012 10:04PM

R.F. wrote: »

Its a romantic thought.

But at the end of the day kids doing their leaving have to dedicate 1/7th of their time studing something they will never need

I'm doing my LC too.

Only the things I 'will never need' are all the useless things I learnt for Chemistry, project maths, and the random Biology definitions we have to memorise. I love how people always say these are the important ones :pac:

I can see myself using Irish, French, Art and obviously English.

PickledLime · 16-06-2012 10:05PM

I wouldn't want to see it gone completely (although it is a dead language), but don't make it mandatory at secondary school.

As someone's already said, what a waste of time, time that would be better spent teaching the fundamentals of grammar or maths, you know, stuff that's actually useful in the real world.

akura · 16-06-2012 10:05PM

I dont see much of a future for it unfortunately

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 16-06-2012 10:06PM

In before Deise.

What do I think will happen? Nothing. It will soldier on, addicted to the life support system as it is, wasting the time of peopel who do not want to learn it and the resources of those who do, under the complete mistaken idea that it is in some way important to everyone born on this island.

im invisible · 16-06-2012 10:07PM

The future is bright, The future is bright orange

dlofnep · 16-06-2012 10:09PM

Doesn't matter what I want. All that matters is the reality. Irish will gain a bit of strength over the next decade or two, but it won't be the majority language in Ireland. The future of the Irish language is not in the Gaeltacht, that much is for sure.

PickledLime · 16-06-2012 10:10PM

Naomi00 wrote: »

I'm doing my LC too.

Only the things I 'will never need' are all the useless things I learnt for Chemistry, project maths, and the random Biology definitions we have to memorise. I love how people always say these are the important ones :pac:

I can see myself using Irish, French, Art and obviously English.

You clearly don't want a career in the sciences (which is grand, different strokes for different folks and all that), but try to embark on one without a good grounding in those subjects and you won't get very far.

Aimsigh · 16-06-2012 10:10PM

PrincessLola wrote: »

In order for that to happen, coercion would be required. Not good.

English is a dominant global language, people aren't going to start spontaneously speaking Irish unless you force them to in some manner.

And I am firmly against forcing people to do things they don't want to.

So I don't like where you are going with this little plan.

Your right, Coercion would be required, but not for individuals, government bodies and private companies on the other hand will need some persuasion, that is the experience elsewhere at any rate.

16-06-2012 10:19PM

I believe people should be free to choose what language they speak and should not be forced to learn Irish. I could see Irish disappearing that way. I take pleasure in the fact that Ireland will never be a majority Irish language speaking country.

GaryIrv93 · 16-06-2012 10:33PM

I'd rather it be removed as a compulsory subject in the near future anyway, and have it replaced with more relevant, IT related subjects. In my opinion there's no logic whatsoever to have it forced on students which the strong majority will never speak a word of it again. Compulsion just hasn't worked, and there's more important things than so-called 'national identity' that need to be focused on than trying to keep a minority language alive.

In my view, people who want to dedicate themselves to keep Irish alive should do so with their own time and money. Leave the rest of us alone!

Ficheall · 16-06-2012 10:33PM

R.F. wrote: »

But at the end of the day kids doing their leaving have to dedicate 1/7th of their time studing something they will never need

Ah, come on. I'm fairly sure I've used feck all of anything I studied in the leaving cert cycle. Maths and English and French, perhaps, and I speak Irish with some friends, but Biology, Physchem, and Applied Maths have yet to prove any way useful.

PrincessLola · 16-06-2012 10:45PM

Aimsigh wrote: »

Your right, Coercion would be required, but not for individuals, government bodies and private companies on the other hand will need some persuasion, that is the experience elsewhere at any rate.

You want to force people and private companies to speak Irish all the time?
How would you pull that off?
Are we just going to throw freedom out the window?

Seriously though, the Irish language supporters need to get better aquinted with reality.

Ficheall · 16-06-2012 10:55PM

PrincessLola wrote: »

Aimsigh wrote: »

, government bodies and private companies on the other hand will need some persuasion,

You want to force people and private companies to speak Irish all the time?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dyuxRA2gis

16-06-2012 10:57PM

Ficheall wrote: »

Ah, come on. I'm fairly sure I've used feck all of anything I studied in the leaving cert cycle. Maths and English and French, perhaps, and I speak Irish with some friends, but Biology, Physchem, and Applied Maths have yet to prove any way useful.

For YOU. Obviously those studying science related subjects would find Biology, Chemistry, etc. useful. I don't study science but I found Biology extremely useful for health, fitness, etc.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 16-06-2012 11:05PM

Aimsigh wrote: »

Your right, Coercion would be required, but not for individuals, government bodies and private companies on the other hand will need some persuasion, that is the experience elsewhere at any rate.

There's a slight contradiction here: coercion implies that you don't persuade, you just go in and force.

If you're going to go down the road of force, though, you might as well admit to ****ign freedom out the window.

byhookorbycrook · 16-06-2012 11:11PM

Irish is not a dead language. You don't understand the term if you believe this to be so. Gaelscoileanna have been the single best promotion of the language in the last 20 years .

Naomi00 · 16-06-2012 11:14PM

PickledLime wrote: »

You clearly don't want a career in the sciences (which is grand, different strokes for different folks and all that), but try to embark on one without a good grounding in those subjects and you won't get very far.

The same can be said for everything though.

Naomi00 · 16-06-2012 11:15PM

Domo230 wrote: »

You'll pry the english language from my cold dead west brit hands.

It a great language, it allows us to communicate with many countries in the world and to e competitive and makes us a more viable location for investment.

That's not what the thread's about.

Jester252 · 16-06-2012 11:41PM

Would love to see nature run its course with Irish but that will never happen as long as people are forced to learn take a daily class in it from the age of 4-5 to 17-18 it

SusieBlue · 16-06-2012 11:52PM

I'd love for it to be revived and to be spoken regularly by more people but that probably won't happen.
Ideally, I'd love if all Irish and English were both used equally here but that's also wishful thinking.
I think the entire education system needs to be overhauled because young people seem to be frustrated with the syllabus and frankly I don't think any improvements will be made in the national level of fluency until the language seems more accessible to students.

poppyvally · 16-06-2012 11:59PM

GaryIrv93 wrote: »

I'd rather it be removed as a compulsory subject in the near future anyway, and have it replaced with more relevant

Yeah. like a european language or mandarin. Much more useful for the future

Monsieur Folie · 17-06-2012 12:00AM

I'd probably be much more willing to be enthusiastic about learning Irish if it wasn't such an exam focused subject. I plan on flushing it out as soon as I finish the LC.

If they taught it properly people might be more willing to interact with it, learn it properly, and use it occasionally.

Waste of time at the moment though..

The future of Irish

What would you like the future of the Irish to be? 172 votes

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