Any irish speakers??

[Smashbox]

Who helps him with his English?

His dad?!

 

[speirbhean]

There is potentially a more annoying problem: the quality of Irish used, both in textbooks and in classroom interaction. Not all teachers in gaeilscoileanna are as fluent in Irish as I would like them to be, and not all translations of textbooks are as good as they should ideally be (there is a shortage of good English-Irish translators). But such problems are annoying rather than insurmountable.

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Yes this is what worries me. I'm far from being perfect myself but have a reasonably high standard of grammer and fluency, and I am worried when I hear some (and I stress some) teachers make quite basic mistakes. But I still want my children to attend a Gaelscoil and see Irish as part of their daily lives rather than just some language Mamaí speaks to them... I guess the answer is send them to the Gaelscoil and keep a close eye on the grammar at home! A bit like with other subjects really...
GRMA

 

[mathepac]

Here is a site I find useful - with links to clip-art, uncial fonts for Mac & PC and so on as well as reciprocal links with Welsh, Scottish, Cornish, Breton and I think Catalan sites.

Let me know what you think.

 

[samanthajane]

Who helps him with his English?

ha ha! I know the poor child has no hope.

I'm assuming your talking about to the "know" and i should of put "knew" and i spelt difference wrong. (but got it right this time)

My grammer and spelling is very bad when i'm writing ( i'm a bit dislexic, so dont be too hard on me)

 

[Caveat]

..

 

[samanthajane]

Sorry lads for broadening this thread out but it brings to mind something that has been worrying me of late... myself and the spéirfear are expecting a réaltín )) later this year and thoughts are turning to Gaelscoileanna. I'm a fluent Irish speaker, however I didn't go to an all Irish school, so didn't study subjects like Maths through Irish and those questions had me completely stumped. I speak Irish every day on a home and professional basis but I still couldn't make head nor tail of them. Is it me? Would I be unable to help my little ones with homework from early on without spending hours going through the dictionary? Or is it the case (as I fear) that terms are used in school that are never used outside? Opinions would be much valued... as thanks to the pressure on schools in our area I've been told we have to register the little one for primary pretty much on our way home from hospital! I am determined to speak Irish to him/her but wonder is it better that he/she gets the Irish at home or in a Gaelscoil or both...
grma
s

I wouldn't worry to much your child will learn and pick it up, and he'll be flying because you speak it all the time at home as well.

I wouldn't of needed to help him read his homework this time last year, it's just because of the 2 terms not doing any irish apart from speaking it that has him that little bit behind.

His dad did all of his education in irish and he speaks irish every day, not just to the children, and he didn't have a clue about the questions either.

They have classes that are starting soon for the parents and i was thinking to taking them so i could help him when i needed to if dad wasn't around, but i'm beginning to think whats the point. Even some of you who have been speaking irish all your life or learnt a lot in school where at a loss with these questions.

Why has the language seemed to change over the years. It's not like we could start calling a spoon a fork, it just wouldn't happen, a spoon is a spoon.

I know there are different slang terms for words, off the top of my head, in scotland a baby is a burn ( wrong spelling probably) but it's still a baby as well, thats just a slang term.

Often his dad will say the irish they are learning today is totally different to what he learnt at school and that was only 10 years ago.

 

[mathepac]

... Why has the language seemed to change over the years. It's not like we could start calling a spoon a fork, it just wouldn't happen, a spoon is a spoon...

I suppose a sign that a language is "alive" and evolving / adapting is that it changes over time - refer back to examples of written English from medieval times, through to Victorian times (Dickens) and to spoken TV/radio ads from the 1950 / 60's to today.

While I accept that the ability to change and adapt is good, some of the changes I see and hear in Irish are alarming.

The Irish of my youth and school-days always had a musical and poetic quality for me, a way of indirectly saying things that engaged the imagination in the process of understanding that was softer somehow and less harsh and analytical - feminine if you like.

A brief, simple but maybe poor example :

English - "He is a man".
Irish today - "Tá sé fear" - a literal translation that was grammatically incorrect, but seems acceptable today.
My Irish - "Is fear é" literally (almost) "It is man he is"
A more poetic and indirect translation could be "Tá sé ina fhear" literally "He is in his man[liness].

These native Irish constructs brought to our other official language were I believe what made our spoken and written English in Ireland unique, more attractive and a superior language to English elsewhere, certainly in literary circles.

We now seem to have lost the plot and officialdom is not only striving to Anglicise Irish but to further Anglicise already Anglicised place-names and sign posts. An example is the village of Toomevara in Co Tipperary. The original Irish place name is "Tuam Uí Mheára". This has now meen mangled to "Toomyvara" on sign-posts to fit the Anglicised pronunciation.

... I know there are different slang terms for words, off the top of my head, in scotland a baby is a burn ( wrong spelling probably) but it's still a baby as well, thats just a slang term...

I think the word is "bairn" in common regular use in Donegal / Derry and robbed by the Scots (just like whiskey [note the correct spelling], piping, Gaelic (pronounced "Gay-lick" not Gallic, which pertains to things French), etc

... Often his dad will say the irish they are learning today is totally different to what he learnt at school and that was only 10 years ago.

I agree and I don't think its better.