Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Learning to speak Irish:
On our trip to the Aran Islands, we were given the opportunity to learn to speak Irish, or Gaelic as it's known elsewhere. Most street signs and information provided by the government is written in Irish and then in English. The Aran Islands is primarily Irish speaking. There is very little written English, and because it's such a difficult language to teach and to learn, the government provides monetary grants to people who can speak it, which is an incentive for the people living on the Islands. In addition, Irish speaking couples are given stipends if they have children because of the increased likelihood that their child will learn to speak the language.
It is a very hard language to understand, and even harder to learn. The language varies depending on the region where it's spoken. Cork Irish and the Aran Islands Irish are very different, which makes it difficult to keep the language alive. Despite the efforts of the government and the people of Ireland, it's expected to fade out of modern culture in the next 50 years.
Nuiar atá tú im Baile Átha Cliath
When in Dublin . . .
Noor ataw too ih mah-ill-yaw ah-ha clee-aw
Is ainm dom Danielle Marie
My name is
iece (like niece without the “n”) ann-um dome
Táim i ngrá leat
I love you
Tawm ih ngraw leah-t
Is aoibheann liom beoir
I love beer
iece (like niece without the “n”) evin lum be-ore
Ask me about it when I get home and I’ll let you know if I learned to say your name!
- comments