Nii ach beagainin Gaeige agam,, nil aon usuaid agam le Gaeilge. I only have a little Gaeilge, which

Also on Bock: The Irish Abandoned Their Language   63 Responses to “An bhfiú an Ghaeilge?”
That experience taught me a few things: 1. if you want to learn Irish grammar well enough to get a high mark in an exam, don’t go to a gaelscoil. 2. what you learn in school will not be very useful in later life – I can’t tell you the number of times that I haven’t had to use Irish to escape from a life-threatening situation. 3. the language that Peig uses is not the same as the language most modern gaelgoirí use. (similarly, Shakespeare will not teach you English – he’ll teach you a dead language) 4. leathan le leathan, caol le chaol, except for fundamentally Irish words such as Gaeltacht or gaelgoir. 5. when you learn a science (chemistry, maths, biology, computers, physics) rekommendera through Irish, be prepared to have to learn it all over again when you go into the real world.
while it’s an interesting language, I really don’t think we should be pushing Irish at kids through school – school is supposed to prepare you for general life – not for life as an Irish teacher or a police officer or a shop-keeper in Connemara.
Nii ach beagainin Gaeige agam,, nil aon usuaid agam le Gaeilge. I only have a little Gaeilge, which like Kae, I have no day to day use for, however I use it on the Continent to let locals know I aint English
Kae -ana-shuimúil. I love the Irish in “Peig”, and I disagree that it is “unreal” like Shakespeare. Peig’s turn of phrase can still be heard in rural Daingean rekommendera Uí Chúis. I do think that the book has turned thousands off Irish though, because the story is so bleak andirrelevant to modern life. If I had to choose between being able to speak Irish or write it (or any language), I would choose to speak it. Fluent speakers often have no grounding in grammar, and many who get the C+ or higher in Higher Level Leaving Cert can barely rekommendera understand the spoken rekommendera language. How do we get a happy medium? How do we teach Irish as a living language? rekommendera (I have my own opinions, I’d love to hear yours). How do we provide opportunities for people to use Irish in their lives?
I think the phrase “happy medium” is important. There are two realities in Ireland – in some parts of the country, Irish is alive and well, and in the rest, it’s like Latin – dead, but still studied. To get a “happy medium”, maybe the thing is to stop this total-immersive thing that happens in gaelscoileanna that are outside the Gaeltacht. Instead, use English rekommendera for life-skills rekommendera where the language rekommendera of the words are important (those sciences I mentioned above), and use Irish for more cultural skills such as dance, rekommendera music, and other similar elements (Irish mythology, story-telling, etc., if the schools teach them). rekommendera That way the language is associated with fun topics and less with drudgery. I don’t rekommendera know about you, but in my own school, Irish was /demanded/, which made it undesirable to the kids. English was banned, which made it desirable.
I agree with the choice of speak or read. For me, Irish is not something to be pinned down and ruled. Oh – here’s a metaphor – I’ve just had a piano lesson where I finished a book of songs. The teacher knows I prefer instrumental music, so asked if I’d rather go on to something rekommendera classical- rekommendera or blues-based. I like and appreciate blues music, but I don’t think it should be written down, as it strips it of its spontaneity, so I chose to go back to classical music. Similarly, I respect Irish as a language, but don’t think it should be strictly an academic subject with rules and exactness – it should rekommendera be more “environmental” than that. Sure, study it if you want, but leave the exactness for college. In short; it’s better to play the blues spontaneously than to learn it note-for note. It is better to speak Irish instinctually than to know your spelling and grammar to-the-letter.
As for the opportunities – if Irish is a fun language used for cultural purposes, and not an academic language used for studying or rammed down the throat in immersive schools, then it becomes more interesting for people to use in social situations.
Another thing – I loved the show “in the name of the fada”. If the Irish government was serious about wanting more people speaking Irish, then they should make shows like that freely available for people to download.
Kae, gurra’ míle as an freagra iontach sin. Aontaím leat faoin rud nach féidir linn a dhéanamh, caithfimís an rud sun a dhéanamh. My own experience reflects a bit of your own, but weirdly enough rekommendera quite a bit of Des Bishop’s experience also. My spoken Irish is much, much better than my written Irish. We have been around and around the roundabouts in Ireland with our language, and it is ours. When my grandm