Irish language and lifestyle

Factual Questions
1

My interest has turned to my ancestral roots, and I find that I am predominantly Irish. I have absolutely no knowledge of the Gaelic languages, which is a bit frustrating in my research. My first question is, does anyone have an opinion on the Rosetta Stone language learning software, specifically the Irish version? Secondly, would anyone who speaks Irish translate Céad mile failte and Dia le hÉireann for me?

Any other tips on where to find solid information (not just the tourist stuff) on Ireland and the language and lifestyle from the last 200 years would be helpful and appreciated.

2

The Irish phrases are “Welcome” (lit. “100 000 welcomes”) and, word-by-word, “God with Ireland.” The modern Irish language is pretty easy as languages go (in contrast, Old Irish is the hardest language I’ve ever studied), but the biggest stumbling block for beginners is usually the spelling system. So, I’d say pick anything that has a good, long unit on pronunciation, preferably with pronunciation by native speakers.

3

Céad me failte means welcome.

It translates (very roughly) as “a hundred welcomes”.
EDIT: Pardon, its 100,000

4

Thanks for the translations, and for the hints on learning the language. I have been listening to some songs in Irish, and while I have been able to learn one phonetically, (Na Conghailigh) I have no idea what the song is about. Languages have come easily to me, I am hoping that this holds true for Irish.

5

Is Dia le hÉireann not more correctly translated as “God be with Ireland”, as in a blessing?

6

Depending on what part of Ireland your ancestors came from they might not have spoken Irish for generations before they left these shores. Do you know what part of Ireland they hailed from?

200 years ago about half the population of this island spoke Irish but the language has been pretty much in terminal decline since. If you have an interest in Irish and learning to speak it that’s great but if you only want to track your family genealogy I’m not sure how much you would need to be able to speak Irish. Go n-éirí an t-adh leat (good luck)!

7

That’s why I only gave the word-by-word: I’m not familiar with the specific phrase. Out of context and without a verb, it’s hard to say, but that certainly would have been my guess.

As far as learning the language, I learned Welsh first which meant that Irish grammar held no nasty surprises (though Irish is a good deal harder than Welsh, I think). But even pre-internet, I was able to find enough resources from overseas to make it feasible. It is true that the language is in decline though I hold out hope that it’s not terminal. One of the ways to help reverse that is if non-Irish people, that is, dollars on the hoof, support the language. Buy Irish books!

8

Go here, scroll down to the table of “prepositional pronouns,” and tell me again that modern Irish is “pretty easy.” :stuck_out_tongue:

-FrL-

(That page also says something agreeing with my impression after having taken a look at the language once–the spelling seems pretty much regular, just very different than the English use of the letters. I wonder why it turns out to be such a stumbling block.)

9

I appreciate your input An Gadaí. I am working with my aunt to determine the exact locations my ancestors were from. There is a lot of Scottish back there too, but for now I am focusing on Ireland. I have a fascination for languages, especially those that are dying out, and Irish seems to fall under that distinction. I have been learning Alutiq, which is a Native Alaskan language that is being recorded by the few elders who still speak it, and lessons are being offered by both the Native museum as well as a course at the college. My interest in learning Irish isn’t to help my research, but because I didn’t know that it was not widely spoken, and that’s a shame. It’s a lovely language to listen to, and some day when I visit Ireland, it would be wonderful to speak the language, and to have an understanding of Irish customs and ways. Particularly as an American, it would be dreadful to be seen as a gauche yank.

I think that I will have to begin with the Rosetta Stone software, and see where that leads me. I would certainly like to know more than “My dress is red”, so I will have to see what some of the more advanced lessons have to offer. Any ideas as to where I might find information online regarding the spelling, pronunciation would be fabulous.

Dr. Drake the phrases are from a song, and the chorus is as follows;

Oh, oh, the holy ground
Céad mile failte, there’s saints and there’s scholars to see
Oh, oh, the holy ground
Faraway hills ain’t as green as they once used to be

The bridge has a couple of lines,

Dia le hÉireann, suckle the empire.
Dia le hÉireann, suffer the loss.

which I take to be a reference to Irish/English politics, and the translation you offered made perfect sense.

Again, thank you. I appreciate the translations and the comments. Any recommendations as to which Irish books to purchase? A long winter looms, and I would like to work on something more creative than simple pleasure reading.

On preview: thanks Frylock for the link, I have bookmarked it, and will promptly go and see!

10

kaiwik, I sent you an email there. If you need any help on this end in your research don’t hesitate to pm me and I’ll be of any assistance I can.

11

Learning the Irish customs and ways is far more important than learning the language. Unless you go to a Gaeltacht region, you won’t find many people speaking Irish anyway. My wife grew up in a Gaeltacht region, took all of her schooling (including university) in Irish, and her family all can speak Irish, but they only speak it infrequently.

I married an Irish woman and we spend a lot of time in Ireland. It’s easy to fit in if you are open to their culture and their differences. Don’t be a loud slob who only wants to eat at McDonald’s and you’ll be fine.

12

That may (or may not) be the case but it’s still pretty freaking hard. The word order’s totally different to English, there’s the whole initial mutations thing, and it’s an extremely idiomatic language which makes translating fairly difficult. Tosaitheoirí* really shouldn’t be under any illusions about the task ahead of them. Don’t let that discourage you - but consider yourself warned :slight_smile:

Another reason to find out where exactly your ancestors came from is that Irish has evolved into fairly distinct dialects. The encroachment of English on this island resulted in a situation where decreasing pockets of Irish speakers were separated from each other and consequently the language developed in markedly different ways. There is also a “standard” Irish which is taught in schools - it takes bits and bobs from each of the dialects - but it’s a bit artificial. If you have to make a choice other than choosing on the basis of where your ancestors came from, I don’t recommend the Ulster dialect as it’s just a bit too different from the others. Beyond that it’s personal preference (I lean towards Munster myself).

I don’t know anything about Irish language software. If you decide to use the book-and-CD method, Learning Irish by Mícheál Ó Siadhail seems to be widely regarded as the best. It’s Connemara dialect, I think. You also need to get Ó Dónaill’s Irish-English dictionary (I can’t stress this enough, it’s an absolute must) and any English-Irish dictionary should do.

This site seems like a good resource for Irish language learners in America. You might even be able to find classes in your area.

I’d also really recommend reading Brian Friel’s Translations, a play about the death of the language.

An Gadaí and Gus are right that you certainly don’t need to learn it to visit here but it will enrich your visit. The language is still everywhere even if most people aren’t speaking it. All official signage is bilingual and many state institutions are only referred to by their Irish names. Also, many of Hiberno-English’s distinguishing features are direct imports from Irish (such as the common phrase “I’m after doing x” meaning “I have just done x”, or the use of the present habitual tense) and it’s kind of fun to pick them out.

That wouldn’t even necessarily mark you as a foreigner these days.

*beginners

13

Tomás De Bhaldraithe’s English-Irish dictionary is considered the companion of the above.

14

True. But kaiwik shouldn’t feel s/he has to get that one - it’s not essential in the way Ó Dónaill is.

15

:dubious:

It’s easy to fit in if you go there expecting the country to be a part of Western Europe. Y’know, feel free to walk about the paved streets and avail of the clean tap water, that sort of thing.

Am I missing something or is Board Failte not sending enough brochures across the Atlantic?

16

Yeah it doesn’t seem to be too clear to people on the other side of the water that Ireland is one of the most Americanised countries in the world.

17

He must not have visited. You guys are definitely the most welcoming country that I have ever been to, and I think you have more Burger Kings than we do.

18

If you can track it down online you should check out the TV series “In the Name of the Fada.” It’s a show about an American guy who has been living in Ireland for years and suddenly decides to start learning the language. It’s a mixture of him moving to the gaeltacht to learn it and his standup all about it.

I also recommend you check out what dialect is being taught before you commit to a program. I wouldn’t go for the Donegal dialect, my preference would be the Connemara dialect.

19

Please for the love of God don’t be one of those Americans who on the bus, discusses their private rash so anyone can hear.

Please don’t take a sip of Guinness, and then loudly remark “Hey, honey! The Guinness tastes real different, they must have a special brand in Ireland!”

Do NOT point at a passing dwarf and say loudly, “look honey, a leprauchaun!”
I’ll have more advice later.

20

Yeah, that’s Des Bishop. A New York standup comic, who’s become quite fluent in Irish. You can see the show here. As far as I am aware, RTE doesn’t geotag their video, so you should be able to see it in the US.