An bhfuil Gaeilge agat? (Do you speak Irish?)
Many Irish folks claim to speak Irish, but a TG4 (Teilifís Gaeilge — Irish language TV station) broadcaster is gathering evidence to the contrary. Manchán Magan is touring Ireland, speaking only Irish, and finding that most people haven’t a clue what he’s saying. He is documenting his travels in a program called No Béarla (No English), a four part series appearing on TG4. As a sad commentary on the situation, when you visit the web site for the program, you will see this message: This website should, and would be in Irish except that it seems no one would understand it.
(Via MeFi.)
More, including a video from the program, after the jump.
Hubby (who is off-the-boat Irish) has taught me some Irish words and phrases; we include a few expressions here and there in our daily conversations (our phone exchanges always end with something akin to “I love you” in Irish, saving us from any possible teasing from workmates or friends who may be in earshot). After watching the first video on the No Béarla site (embedded below), I managed to understand a couple of things, but overall I could be counted among the clueless. But then again, I’m not Irish. Dave (that’s Dáithí in Irish) fared out better, but he’s surprised at how much of his school-taught Irish he has forgotten. One of Dave’s friends grew up in the Gaeltacht (an Irish speaking region) in Co. Galway and still speaks it fluently. It would appear he’s now one of a very rare breed.
I’d love to see an Irish renaissance — the language carries with it a significant part of Ireland’s culture and history… and it just sounds so, well, exotic, and unlike any other language I’ve heard. The death of Irish would truly be a tragedy — hopefully No Béarla will inspire more Irish to take an interest in the fate of their native tongue.
Below is the first video that appears on the No Béarla site:
UPDATE: LOST IN TRANSLATION
I discovered that there is a post on another blog linking to this post. It’s written entirely in Irish, so is about as clear as mud to me, but from what I could gather, the post’s main idea was that Magan’s documentary is misleading, and misrepresents the real state of the Irish language in Ireland. What is frustrating is the poster links to my blog, using my post to prove a point, and I can’t tell what her point is. (All the other posts on the blog are in English. Go figure.) I really did try in earnest to figure out what it said, but alas, as I stated in my post originally, I don’t speak Irish, and an Irish/English dictionary will only get you so far. Hubby tried to help, but his Irish is pretty rusty, so he was only able to convey general meaning here and there. I even left a comment requesting a translation, but maybe it didn’t go through.
I know the poster takes issue with Magan’s documentary — how strongly she feels, I can’t tell — so I wonder if she’s saying something unfavorable about what I have written? If anyone has any insight, I’d appreciate it! At the very least I’d like an opportunity to offer a rebuttal. And if I’m off the mark, and she’s saying something kind, well that would be nice to know, too.
Posted: January 5th, 2007 by madfac under current affairs, ireland.
Comments: 2
Comments
Comment from madfac
Time: February 6, 2007, 10:56 pm
Thanks so much! That makes things *much* clearer. Nice to know nothing terribly insulting was said:) Whether or not the sampling was scientific, I still believe Magan is doing the language a world of good. Like you, my own personal experience traveling (and living) in Ireland leads me to believe his findings are not necessarily misrepresentative.
I should try and dig up the translation my husband and I did — turns out parts of it were spot on, but other parts were a garbled mess that could have been interpreted in any number of ways….
Comment from Simon
Time: February 6, 2007, 5:14 am
Tá Gaeilge agam (I speak Irish).
Here’s a translation of that Irish post:
“TV shows don’t really prove anything. An bhfuil Gaeilge agat? (Do you speak Irish?) is one example that’s mentioned on many different blogs and is a show in which the presenter travels round the country speaking only Irish. This is said to prove that Irish is not widely-spoken in Ireland. It doesn’t prove anything. He had a camera with him, didn’t use a sufficiently random sample, and his research method wasn’t clear. I respect Manchan as a presenter and as a producer, and it’s obvious that he’s serious about his work. I hope this new series won’t embarrass him. Anyway, that’s what I think of the bits I’ve seen. I missed it last night because we had a visitor.”
I’ve been teaching myself Irish for a few years now and have been to Ireland a couple of times. Few of the people I met there spoke Irish. Even in the Gaeltachtaí, relatively few people speak Irish as their main everyday language.