TIL that in the Irish language there are no words for “yes” or “no”

14 comments
  1. It bleeds through to how we speak English, too. Keep an ear out for how often Irish people respond to a yes or no question with some version of the question’s verb, or at least “it is” or “it isn’t”, vs British or American English speakers.

  2. That’s why a lot of Irish people (especially the closer to Gaeltacht regions you go, such as Kerry, Galway and Mayo) usually repeat the verb when answering.

    “Do you want tea?” I do

    “Will you put out the washing?” I won’t, fuck off mam

    Edit: forgot word. Why use many word when few word do trick

  3. Reading these comments has really opened my eyes to how shoddy Irish language education is in this country.
    I was only taught that Tá or Níl meant yes or no. Until in secondary school when I was told it wasn’t, with no further explanation as to why.

Leave a Reply