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Revive the Irish language

I think it is vitally important that the Irish language is revived. People who insist that it is a waste of time have probably never learned the language or visited a Gaeltacht area of Ireland. It is a beautiful inspirational language and it should be the day-to-day language used in Ireland. It was only in the last 100 years that it has declined because of foreign interference. It is up to the government of an Saorstát na héireann to invest money into the language and to change the curriculum and stop forcing it into the young people of Ireland and making them hate it but to show people the advantages of learning their native language. ³§±ôá²Ô agus go raibh maith agat, goodbye and many thanks.

Sent by: ¶Ù±ð²¹²µ±ôá²Ô

Comments

Sue Hickey, Grand Falls-WIndsor, Newfoundland, Canada 2010-10-07

It's not just about languages but accents and dialects. I live in Newfoundland, Canada, where our way of speaking is totally different from mainland Canada. As the first English colony, her people developed in isolation (English, French, Irish, Welsh settlers). The English we speak is a throwback to Elizabethan England. We spoke Irish but that's died out, though some of the words and the verb pattern survives. Unfortunately American mass "culture" is threatening our way of speaking.

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Brian, Sligeach 2010-09-19

@Anne, USA. Spelling in Irish is far more logical than spelling in English. You may not think so but that's because you speak English, not Irish. Take the English -gh combination. This can be pronounced like Scottish /ch/, it can be pronounced as an /f/ or not pronounced at all. The letter can be pronounced /ai:/, /i/ or /i:/. The Irish spelling has a structure, learn it and you'll never have a problem - English has no spelling structure!

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Ian, Orlando, USA 2009-12-27

I've begun learning Irish as a way to celebrate my Irish roots and identify with the culture of my forefathers. Perhaps it is because there is no practical use for it here in Orlando, I love learning it all the more!

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Anne, USA 2009-05-12

Irish orthography is a challenge. Sure it is nice to have the history of your language in your spelling but it hurts people gain literacy when they have learning disabilities. How do the Irish think about spelling?

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Astrid 2009-04-03

I am from the north western part of Germany. The do speak Frisian there as well! And since I live in the UK I discover quite a lot of similarities.

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Félix 2008-08-06

The masses learn a language when they feel their economic well-being is attached to learning that language. I don't live in Ireland, so I don't know the answer to the question I'm about to ask: Has the government implemented any sort of programme whereby businesses operating in Irish and hiring Irish-speaking staff receive some sort of credit or funding?

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seorsia mac hale 2008-06-15

Learning Irish in Dublin schools hindered my education as it was compulsary. A waste of time. Latin would have been much better and more helpful. I'm now living in Canada and have no use for it.

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Caoimhghin Ó Cearbhaill 2008-05-27

There is a simple way to revive the Irish Language, and it's not necessarily about throwing more money at it, or even demanding that the Irish Government do a better job of promoting it (which of course they should). Its much simpler than that. All people have to do is learn it and use it. Even change start with the individual. So let's start the Irish language revival ourselves. ³§±ôá²Ô.

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Dave 2008-05-30

I don't like the way they teach Irish in schools there should be a better system put in place. I think they should be learning the language instead of also throwing Irish literature in.

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Liam 2008-12-10

Learning Irish in Dublin schools hindered my education ... Couldn't agree more, Seorsia. I had to make a hard choice between Tech Drawing & French (in both of which I was very, very strong) to accommodate compulsory Irish. I'd love to learn it now, but back then it was an enforced burden, and cut my options before I'd even had time to realistically determine my post-secondary school fate.

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