Rant about the fallacy of linguistic nationalism

But still, it’s not my Ireland. The whole time I spent in the Gaeltacht, I enjoyed it. But I didn’t feel part of it. It’s not the Ireland I know. Some over-Anglosized Dubliners got a guilt complex about this in the thirties and decided to try and make Ireland into this imaginary Gaelic state called Eire. It failed, but there’s still such a guilty feeling about being seen as in any way Anglo that all State documents must have the Irish version of the text preceeding the English. I liked the Gaeltacht, but it doesn’t make me inferior. It’s nice to hear people speak Irish in conversation, but as a local told me, it’s not as it always seems. Tory Island, and a lot of the rest of the Donegal Gaeltacht, get British digital satellite television which has one Irish-speaking television station and one Irish speaking radio station. The speaking Irish in public, he claimed, has a lot to do with not wanting the English-speakers to hear what they’re saying. I still don’t believe Irish should be mandatory in schools, I still don’t believe Irish deserves the large, pointless, presence it has in out daily lives. Little over 100,000 people speak Irish daily. If the same amount all went around in tunics and tiaras calling themselves Fionn and Nuala, does that mean we all have to because one time, hundreds of years ago, everyone in Ireland did? Why must we continously flog this irrelevant language?

Last week, Dublin City Council tried to erect signs for a new traffic system in the city centre. The Minister ordered them to be taken down, on the basis that they were unclear but also because the city centre was simply designated as “An Lar” – the Irish for “centre”. Locals would have known where the centre was anyway, but if they didn’t then why was it put in a language that hasn’t been spoken by natives since some horny Danes in long boats raped and pillaged their way up the Liffey back in late 10th century? Visitors from mainland Europe would have surely recognised the word “centre”, especially those from France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. But no. We’re Irish. So we have to keep pretending we speak it more than English, because what kind of nation doesn’t have it’s own native language?

I’ll give you a good example of one; the United States of America. Does that make America less of a country than Ireland?

FANatic

September 2, 2002

what I dislike about Irish is the way it was drilled into you in primary school like some sort of dirge. And everything is in the past tense “Rinne mé cáca milis agus srl.” whereas it should be taught in a more conversational way like French (not that I can speak much of that but you get an 8 year head start on Irish so you’d want to know more of that!) The LC course was ridiculous I was learning

stuff about the rhythm and meter of poetry…things that I could barely (if at all) discuss in English. They’d really want to make it a bit less high faluting. And the annoyance to find out that all the stories/poems we were doing were worth about 20 marks in the exam. AAAAARGH! sorry, the scars remain! But I do like my cúpla focail so I do. Made us feel v smug in Rome on the crowded Metro

Baineann sé le chultúr na tíre. Dá mbeadh ár dtodhchaí i mBéarla amháin, bheadh gach dáin agus scéal Éireannach imithe. Is teanga álainn í an Ghaeilge. Thuigim nach bhfeiceann tú an fiúntas inti, ach ní cheart duit a rá go mbeadh Éire níos fearr gan í. Mise mé féin, níl sé ró-thábhachtach dom. Féach ar na bhotúin atá déanta agam! Ach thuigim go mbeadh rud iontach caillte againn leis ár dteanga.

In short… Irish has little relevance for me personally. I never really took to any languages in school. But I perceive Irish as a rich language, rich especially in Irish literary tradition. If speaking the language itself isn’t important, I think keeping the language alive will keep alive the art that this country produced before and during our occupation…

…before paranoia, a national inferiority complex and Irish begrudgery became part of our national identity.

….how was the wedding? did you meet the king then? Car

I believed that Ireland had a litter problem because of post-colonial thinking, but if Northern Ireland is spick and span that rules that thought out, as it is a colonial warzone! If I was fluent in Irish I’d be very proud of it and use it as much as possible, but all the Leaving Cert thought me was about the need to the “feminach”s to be “geibheann” from their cage.

boys is certain to kill the language

Paddy comes from a different part of the Gaeltacht than you were in and I can assure you that not a week goes by that he doesn’t laugh at their manner of speaking: it’s not Irish, it’s not English, it’s a joke! Here are a couple of examples: At a football match, one player shouted: “Crosail an f*cking thing”. Good old Gaoth Dobhair Utd! About his job mixing cement: “Job Toughail mixa

Sorry, that last one was: “Job Toughail ag mixail cement”. I sh*t you not!! And, despite what yer man thought there are a hell a lot of people down that way that don’t chat Englsh at all hardly….Paddy’s famly chat Gaelge all the tme (can you spot the letter thats not n use?) damn computer!!

ahem Was nterrupted there…. Paddy spends half hs tme translatng for me… To me ts a great pty that more people don’t chat our natve language… my opinion (YES! I’s work again!!) is that it should be mandatory…after all, it does intrigue foreigners!! Anyhow, did you enjoy the wedding….and waving at the general direction of my house? ;o)

Caffy

September 6, 2002

Maybe Irish isn’t relavant on a day to day basis for many people anymore. But continuing to use it in government documents and street signs amounts to more than pretending that we speak an obsolete language. Maybe it means that not everything done in this country should pander to the needs of European or American tourists. Maybe it means that we’re not entirely Americanising ourselves…

Hell, we probably are pretending but I’d still prefer that we pretended rather than abandoning our language at the first opportunity.