I have a cousin whose grandmother was Irish, who communicates to me exclusively in Irish, he’s American and has never been in Ireland for more than a brief visit
So… It’s self hatred that prevents me learning Irish and not my utter laziness.
I think we would all love to speak it, but to be honest, learning a language takes up so much time & effort and people have busy lives. Maybe the way it’s taught in school leads to the resentment.
I’m currently learning Spanish, which I will actually need because I plan on spending a lot of time there. If that’s not very patriotic of me, so be it.
It’s being learned globally but it’s not used globally.
People resent anything that’s forced upon them, I think that’s more the issue
People are lazy for the most part and learning a language properly is time-consuming and very challenging. Irish bears few similarities to English, so an English-speaker isn’t going to have an easy time mastering the tongue. Most Irish is learned in school and at secondary level there’s a lot of exam-related pressure on kids, many of whom aren’t thrilled at being compelled to study old poems and the like and a subject that lots of them aren’t interested in. Yeah, some people develop an interest as they age and mature and cultivate an interest in the old culture, but we’re talking about teenagers here so good luck with that. For the record, I don’t believe any subject should be compulsory for the Leaving Cert.
“Colonialism” is just a lazy excuse.
It wasnt taught well here, I’m hearing its better in school now but can’t be sure.
It’s not pushed in our media… think of how much basic Japanese people have because of anime… making good shows and movies in irish would go a long way.
Yeah I mean who speaks Spanish anyway? 450 million people. Making it more spoken than English . Stone useless it is. Learning irish so you can annoy people in Dingle much better
I’d like to learn it but forcing me do stuff I don’t understand isn’t helping
Blaming people’s reluctance to learn Irish on colonialism makes no sense imo, Irish people are reluctant to learn any language.
And like it or not, Irish is not “useful” for most people. Great if you decide to learn it anyways, but there’s not a single person in this country you wouldn’t have been able to communicate with before learning Irish, that you now can. The pool of media unlocked with Irish is also extremely limited.
If it was taught anything like how English is taught as a foreign language to kids using games and puzzles making it fun and interesting instead of forcing a bunch of kids to learn poems that they don’t care about. There’s a huge difference between learning a language and learning all the culture and history behind it.
It was hammered into us aggressively and therefore I resented it. It’s one of my regrets not knowing my native tongue. It’s never too late and I will at some point…Duolingo will help
I’ve been learning Irish since 2020, as a way to stimulate the old noggin and get out of my comfort zone. I get stressed when i’m trying to learn something that i think i “need” so while it would make more sense for me to learn spanish, learning irish has been much better for me.
Incidentally, this has made learning spanish easier and more fun for me.
It would be nice to learn it and have conversations in it but, if I did learn it tomorrow, I would have nobody to talk to in it. It wouldn’t be long leaving the aul head after.
I’d love to learn Irish
It’s demonstrably not useful though is it, when you compare it to Spanish or French.
Learning one language is difficult enough, how are you going to be able to learn two, one of which you will hardly ever use.
I think it’s mostly some of the horrid shit some schools and teachers do to make you learn it and now I just can’t enjoy it fun or not. wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole now
“There are people learning Irish all around the world” – this needs a citation. I’m sure there are *some*… but how many? And who’s to say they think it’s useful, and not just interesting?
It’s a fact that it’s not that useful. There’s no point pretending otherwise. The manner in which it’s taught in schools is also partly responsible.
Personally, I just don’t care that much. I think it’s great if people know it but it’s just not a priority for me.
when i was a kid i went to school in Northern Ireland and didn’t get to learn Irish in school, but when you are not able to learn something that is apart of you identify then you go searching for it.
ach nuair a bhog mé síos ó dheas rinne sé misean de.
I am shite at it, but I am glad I took the time to learn it.
For me it’s pure pragmatism. If I spend the time and effort to become fluent in Irish, I increase the number of people I can communicate with by 0. If I spent that same time learning Spanish, I’ve got half a billion* extra people that I can communicate with.
*minus those that already speak English
If you want to learn Irish because it brings you closer to your roots, or for the love of your history, or because you think it’s beautiful, or any of a hundred other reasons, that’s great.
But calling it “useful” is a stretch.
I also think making it mandatory for all school children while at the same time teaching it in the most boring, disinterested way leads to a lot of resentment. Like I studied Irish for 15 years! It’s an absolute travesty that I cannot speak the language after that many years of practise! But I resented it, because I was told I “had” to. And my teachers taught it in a way that – looking back on it – makes me realize they resented it too.
Bím ag caint as gaeilge go ríalta le mo chustamáirí anseo I mBÁC. Tá ár teanga beo.
When I did my CELTA training to become an ESL teacher we had a tutor from East Timor who thought us how to speak some of one of the languages they speak there. After 45 minutes we could all introduce ourselves and talk about what we liked or didn’t like. It was an eye opener of language learning/aquisition.
In all honesty though.
It’s not that useful to have in your arsenal. There are a very select few jobs that you will get that require fluent Irish. The majority of said jobs are not very well paid.
​
Yes it’s sad that our native tongue is dying off but, it’s of absolutely no use to anyone who doesn’t plan to use it on a daily basis. My sister attended a Gael Scoil (Solely Irish Speaking) was pretty much fluent, her and any of her classmates have never used the language again. Bar the one person who went on to teach in the Gaeltacht, That’s 1 of 87 people.
​
There’s a lot of rose tinted glasses being worn in regards to saying the truth about Irish language, most will say it is not a die’ing & borderline ‘useless’ language but, there is no denying that as years are going by it is becoming more and more useless and I honestly think it may come to the stage where it will be an optional subject and allowing for more time & focus on more useful subjects.
​
Unless it becomes the main language taught in ALL schools it’s going to become even more & more useless.
Probably be down voted to oblivion for saying all that though.
I went my entire life to school here in Ireland and I can only have like simple conversations, the way they taught us Irish is horrible
My hot take on this is people aren’t learning Irish because they find it useful. They’re learning it to feel more OIrish.
Whereas, living in Ireland, we feel Irish enough already, so don’t bother.
Its actually mad when you think about it like most of us study Irish for like what 10-12 years in school yet we can speak fuck all of it.
I just remember it being so boring in school. I did German for half as long and can still speak way more German than Irish.
I am not underatanding what’s being said after “but”. They don’t say learn Irish and Spanish too. What does this mean?
Spanish is useful in multiple countries, I haven’t got the time, energy, motivation, or reason to learn a language used in probably a few counties
See a lot of “I’m an adult but I can’t separate my childhood experience from my adult life” comments and the usual “the language is of no practical use”
Trouble is, it is of practical use. It has thousands of years of our history, culture and our very identity encoded in it. I can’t think of something more useful.
If most people said f**k it let’s learn even basic Irish and start introducing words or sentences into every day life.. things would change but doing that is hard.
If someone wants to learn Irish good for them, but can we stop pretending it has any actual use apart from as a hobby
It’s poorly taught, for the most part.
I’d love if we were all fluently speaking it and could all speak English aswell like they do in Dutchland and scandi places
Great to hear (if true) that people are learning Irish all over the world and finding it useful, there is a side of me that would love to see the language gain prominence. But if people don’t say “Learn Irish & Spanish too” it’s probably more because that would be silly and unrealistic advice, it’s difficult and a big commitment for native English speakers past secondary school to pick up one extra language, never mind two.
If you’re learning one, you’re realistically not going to learn the other at the same time unless you are seriously committed to your dream of becoming a polyglot. It’s a great feeling being somewhere and being able to interact with them in their own language rather than them always having to accommodate you and you get that a lot more with Spanish than with Irish.
Our girls started in a Gaelscoil and honestly I’m convinced the way we were taught has killed the language – my girls are 5 and they just use a mix of Gaeilge and Bearla without thinking. It’s lovey and we try to use a mix in the house now, even the young lad (2) is using a mix.
“Its not globally useful” yeah bc what language that was nearly wiped out *is* useful? The language was forcefully erased from the Irish. If you want it to have global use it *starts* by actually bringing it back.
“Its not globally useful” is more a testament to the success of British’s long term attempt to erase Irish people than it is the actual use of the language or the value of Irish globally.
I’m Spanish and started learning Irish during my time there. If I ever return I’ll learn it as I think is a beautiful language (a difficult one, tho).
The fact that we’re learning it as a “second” language is a direct result of colonialism but I don’t think people not taking to it in their day-to-day has much to do with a postcolonial mindset, more that there are not many perceived opportunities to use it.
The only way I was able to get fluent in another language was immersion, being forced into situations where English wasn’t going to be an option. I’m not sure that these opportunities really exist in Ireland anymore, sadly.
To say that it’s dead, won’t get you anywhere etc etc is false though. I know of a few people working in media who wouldn’t have been able to get a foot in the door without fluent Irish.
39 comments
I have a cousin whose grandmother was Irish, who communicates to me exclusively in Irish, he’s American and has never been in Ireland for more than a brief visit
So… It’s self hatred that prevents me learning Irish and not my utter laziness.
I think we would all love to speak it, but to be honest, learning a language takes up so much time & effort and people have busy lives. Maybe the way it’s taught in school leads to the resentment.
I’m currently learning Spanish, which I will actually need because I plan on spending a lot of time there. If that’s not very patriotic of me, so be it.
It’s being learned globally but it’s not used globally.
People resent anything that’s forced upon them, I think that’s more the issue
People are lazy for the most part and learning a language properly is time-consuming and very challenging. Irish bears few similarities to English, so an English-speaker isn’t going to have an easy time mastering the tongue. Most Irish is learned in school and at secondary level there’s a lot of exam-related pressure on kids, many of whom aren’t thrilled at being compelled to study old poems and the like and a subject that lots of them aren’t interested in. Yeah, some people develop an interest as they age and mature and cultivate an interest in the old culture, but we’re talking about teenagers here so good luck with that. For the record, I don’t believe any subject should be compulsory for the Leaving Cert.
“Colonialism” is just a lazy excuse.
It wasnt taught well here, I’m hearing its better in school now but can’t be sure.
It’s not pushed in our media… think of how much basic Japanese people have because of anime… making good shows and movies in irish would go a long way.
Yeah I mean who speaks Spanish anyway? 450 million people. Making it more spoken than English . Stone useless it is. Learning irish so you can annoy people in Dingle much better
I’d like to learn it but forcing me do stuff I don’t understand isn’t helping
Blaming people’s reluctance to learn Irish on colonialism makes no sense imo, Irish people are reluctant to learn any language.
And like it or not, Irish is not “useful” for most people. Great if you decide to learn it anyways, but there’s not a single person in this country you wouldn’t have been able to communicate with before learning Irish, that you now can. The pool of media unlocked with Irish is also extremely limited.
If it was taught anything like how English is taught as a foreign language to kids using games and puzzles making it fun and interesting instead of forcing a bunch of kids to learn poems that they don’t care about. There’s a huge difference between learning a language and learning all the culture and history behind it.
It was hammered into us aggressively and therefore I resented it. It’s one of my regrets not knowing my native tongue. It’s never too late and I will at some point…Duolingo will help
I’ve been learning Irish since 2020, as a way to stimulate the old noggin and get out of my comfort zone. I get stressed when i’m trying to learn something that i think i “need” so while it would make more sense for me to learn spanish, learning irish has been much better for me.
Incidentally, this has made learning spanish easier and more fun for me.
It would be nice to learn it and have conversations in it but, if I did learn it tomorrow, I would have nobody to talk to in it. It wouldn’t be long leaving the aul head after.
I’d love to learn Irish
It’s demonstrably not useful though is it, when you compare it to Spanish or French.
Learning one language is difficult enough, how are you going to be able to learn two, one of which you will hardly ever use.
I think it’s mostly some of the horrid shit some schools and teachers do to make you learn it and now I just can’t enjoy it fun or not. wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole now
“There are people learning Irish all around the world” – this needs a citation. I’m sure there are *some*… but how many? And who’s to say they think it’s useful, and not just interesting?
It’s a fact that it’s not that useful. There’s no point pretending otherwise. The manner in which it’s taught in schools is also partly responsible.
Personally, I just don’t care that much. I think it’s great if people know it but it’s just not a priority for me.
when i was a kid i went to school in Northern Ireland and didn’t get to learn Irish in school, but when you are not able to learn something that is apart of you identify then you go searching for it.
ach nuair a bhog mé síos ó dheas rinne sé misean de.
I am shite at it, but I am glad I took the time to learn it.
For me it’s pure pragmatism. If I spend the time and effort to become fluent in Irish, I increase the number of people I can communicate with by 0. If I spent that same time learning Spanish, I’ve got half a billion* extra people that I can communicate with.
*minus those that already speak English
If you want to learn Irish because it brings you closer to your roots, or for the love of your history, or because you think it’s beautiful, or any of a hundred other reasons, that’s great.
But calling it “useful” is a stretch.
I also think making it mandatory for all school children while at the same time teaching it in the most boring, disinterested way leads to a lot of resentment. Like I studied Irish for 15 years! It’s an absolute travesty that I cannot speak the language after that many years of practise! But I resented it, because I was told I “had” to. And my teachers taught it in a way that – looking back on it – makes me realize they resented it too.
Bím ag caint as gaeilge go ríalta le mo chustamáirí anseo I mBÁC. Tá ár teanga beo.
When I did my CELTA training to become an ESL teacher we had a tutor from East Timor who thought us how to speak some of one of the languages they speak there. After 45 minutes we could all introduce ourselves and talk about what we liked or didn’t like. It was an eye opener of language learning/aquisition.
In all honesty though.
It’s not that useful to have in your arsenal. There are a very select few jobs that you will get that require fluent Irish. The majority of said jobs are not very well paid.
​
Yes it’s sad that our native tongue is dying off but, it’s of absolutely no use to anyone who doesn’t plan to use it on a daily basis. My sister attended a Gael Scoil (Solely Irish Speaking) was pretty much fluent, her and any of her classmates have never used the language again. Bar the one person who went on to teach in the Gaeltacht, That’s 1 of 87 people.
​
There’s a lot of rose tinted glasses being worn in regards to saying the truth about Irish language, most will say it is not a die’ing & borderline ‘useless’ language but, there is no denying that as years are going by it is becoming more and more useless and I honestly think it may come to the stage where it will be an optional subject and allowing for more time & focus on more useful subjects.
​
Unless it becomes the main language taught in ALL schools it’s going to become even more & more useless.
Probably be down voted to oblivion for saying all that though.
I went my entire life to school here in Ireland and I can only have like simple conversations, the way they taught us Irish is horrible
My hot take on this is people aren’t learning Irish because they find it useful. They’re learning it to feel more OIrish.
Whereas, living in Ireland, we feel Irish enough already, so don’t bother.
Its actually mad when you think about it like most of us study Irish for like what 10-12 years in school yet we can speak fuck all of it.
I just remember it being so boring in school. I did German for half as long and can still speak way more German than Irish.
I am not underatanding what’s being said after “but”. They don’t say learn Irish and Spanish too. What does this mean?
Spanish is useful in multiple countries, I haven’t got the time, energy, motivation, or reason to learn a language used in probably a few counties
See a lot of “I’m an adult but I can’t separate my childhood experience from my adult life” comments and the usual “the language is of no practical use”
Trouble is, it is of practical use. It has thousands of years of our history, culture and our very identity encoded in it. I can’t think of something more useful.
If most people said f**k it let’s learn even basic Irish and start introducing words or sentences into every day life.. things would change but doing that is hard.
If someone wants to learn Irish good for them, but can we stop pretending it has any actual use apart from as a hobby
It’s poorly taught, for the most part.
I’d love if we were all fluently speaking it and could all speak English aswell like they do in Dutchland and scandi places
Great to hear (if true) that people are learning Irish all over the world and finding it useful, there is a side of me that would love to see the language gain prominence. But if people don’t say “Learn Irish & Spanish too” it’s probably more because that would be silly and unrealistic advice, it’s difficult and a big commitment for native English speakers past secondary school to pick up one extra language, never mind two.
If you’re learning one, you’re realistically not going to learn the other at the same time unless you are seriously committed to your dream of becoming a polyglot. It’s a great feeling being somewhere and being able to interact with them in their own language rather than them always having to accommodate you and you get that a lot more with Spanish than with Irish.
Our girls started in a Gaelscoil and honestly I’m convinced the way we were taught has killed the language – my girls are 5 and they just use a mix of Gaeilge and Bearla without thinking. It’s lovey and we try to use a mix in the house now, even the young lad (2) is using a mix.
“Its not globally useful” yeah bc what language that was nearly wiped out *is* useful? The language was forcefully erased from the Irish. If you want it to have global use it *starts* by actually bringing it back.
“Its not globally useful” is more a testament to the success of British’s long term attempt to erase Irish people than it is the actual use of the language or the value of Irish globally.
I’m Spanish and started learning Irish during my time there. If I ever return I’ll learn it as I think is a beautiful language (a difficult one, tho).
The fact that we’re learning it as a “second” language is a direct result of colonialism but I don’t think people not taking to it in their day-to-day has much to do with a postcolonial mindset, more that there are not many perceived opportunities to use it.
The only way I was able to get fluent in another language was immersion, being forced into situations where English wasn’t going to be an option. I’m not sure that these opportunities really exist in Ireland anymore, sadly.
To say that it’s dead, won’t get you anywhere etc etc is false though. I know of a few people working in media who wouldn’t have been able to get a foot in the door without fluent Irish.