I know where Manchan went wrong Instead of a camera crew Manchan should have brought a toddler with him to get a real feel for the state of the Irish Language in Dublin. I guarantee you that every time I speak in Irish to my children in public somebody will say something to us in Irish. This has happened to me near our own home, in town, and near my parents’ home. Sticking a camera in somebody’s face is never the best way to get people to open up. I thought it was put very succinctly by Jack Hyland in a letter to the Irish Times today “A pint is not his point.”
Where are all the Irish speakers?
Gaelport.com – Gearrthóga Laethúla: “There is something absurd and rather tragic about setting out on a journey around a country, knowing that if you speak the language of that country you will not be understood. It is even more absurd when the country is your native one and you are speaking its native language.”
Laethanta Móra don Ghaeilge Foilsigh an rialtas ráiteas i leith na Gaeilge (PDF GA / PDF EN) faoi dheireadh. Agus cathain ar foilsíodh é? Cúpla lá roimh Nollaig agus ar an lá céanna le Tuarascáil Bhinse Fiosraithe Moriarty. Nice one!
Agus arú inné i measc scéalta tablóideach faoi easpa aistritheoirí bhí searmanas ag déanamh teanga oifigiúil agus oibre don Ghaeilge san Eoraip, Tuilleadh ar líne:
Independent Online Edition > Europe: “The Irish language has been given official status in Europe, taking its place as the 23rd language of the European Union. The move yesterday received curiously little attention in the Republic of Ireland, given that the language has at times been regarded as a semi-mystical part of the national identity.”