The Irish language
Irish is a Celtic language. A parent language of
Irish was probably spoken by people first referred to by Greek geographers
more than 5 centuries before Christ.
Irish,
often called Gaelic or (Gaeilge) in Irish, has the oldest written
literature of all the surviving Celtic languages. Irish is closely
related to the other surviving Celtic languages such as: Scottish
Gaelic, Manx, and to a lesser degree, Welsh, Breton and Cornish.
Irish was
the language of the vast majority of the population until the early
19th century when the devastating effects of English colonialism started
taking their toll on the native tongue. Censuses taken in Ireland
between 1851 and 1961 show the steady decline in the use of Irish
with the greatest concentrations of speakers located in small pockets
along the west coast of the country.
The development
of Ireland as a free country during the early 20th century brought
with it a cultural revival which was, up to a degree, fuelled by a
sense of national pride and nationalism. The Irish language has made
major gains in the 20th century due largely to a combination of public,
private and government efforts.
The language
is currently going through a major renaissance and more people are
able to speak and write Irish today than have been able to for over
150 years. More books, newspapers and magazines have been published
in Irish in the past century than in the entire history of the language.
Although the decline of the Gaeltachts remains a great concern, it
has been slowed down considerably. The great increase in learning
Irish by children as well as adults in non-Gaeltacht areas and abroad,
is also very encouraging.
Inside
the Gaeltachts, Údarás na Gaeltachta (= the "Gaeltacht Authority",
a state organization) works to support the economic development of
these remote areas. Its aim is to create employment and thus halt
emigration and even to encourage people to take up permanent residence
there.
The state
department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands administers
grants for the building of new houses and the refurbishment of old
houses. Foras na Gaeilge (the Irish Language Foundation, an all Ireland
state organization), promotes the use of Irish through spoken language
departments in universities and through the running of courses, as
well as the publishing of resources in many different areas.
Irish-language pre-schools, the “naíonraí" and all-Irish
schools, the "Gaelscoileanna", have become plentiful as more and more
parents whose Irish may be rusty or non-existent, desire that their
children receive their education through the medium of Irish. All
Irish medium primary and secondary schools are springing up across
the land and an agreement on designating four Irish language universities
is now in place.
Finally,
the Irish language has its own media, Raidió na Gaeltachta, which
operates from stations in the Gaeltachts of Ireland and Raidió na
Life, which operates out of Dublin. In 1996 the Irish language television
station, Teilifís na Gaeilge, (TG4),started broadcasting news, documentaries,
children’s shows and even soap operas as Ghaeilge. Irish is
also rapidly gaining ground in the new computer age of the late 20th
and early 21st centuries. There are now numerous websites, mail lists,
chat rooms, and even courses like Gaeltalk.net, available to Irish
speakers, students and enthusiasts online.
Irish language
books and tapes available online from: http://www.litriocht.com/
For a more
detailed History of the Irish Language please click
here.
