Seachtain na Gaeilge 2017 was celebrated from the the 1st to the 17th of March this year. It happens every year, and national movement which attempts to promote the Irish language. Many say that being fluent in Irish isn’t very useful, and having good English is much more important but as the old saying ‘Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam’ translates to, a country without a language is a country without a soul.
You don’t hear quite as much disrespect for other country’s native languages. Pointing out the uselessness of our language seems to be unique to Ireland. Can you imagine if a French person said, “I hate speaking French,” or “Sorry I can’t speak French.”
It doesn’t tend to happen. Other nationalities are proud of their language. Having Irish might not be very useful for those not living in a Gaeltacht, and even those who are, but being able to speak Irish gives you an identity, a strong connection to Ireland and undeniable pride.
The earliest known form of Irish has been around since the 3rd/4th century and today Irish is actually the official language of the Republic of Ireland even though according to the 2011 Census, released by the Central Statistics Office Ireland (CSO), Irish is the third most spoken language in the country, after English and Polish. It also showed that 41.4% can actually speak the language but don’t.
“I understand why we want to keep [the language] alive and maintain its role in our culture,” student Clíona Lee says, “but at the same time it isn’t a very useful language.”
Clíona also feels it shouldn’t be compulsory for Leaving Certificate students.
“I think it should be compulsory until Junior Certificate, but after that I think people should have a choice. If you don’t like languages, like French or German or whatever European language your school offers, you aren’t forced to take it as a subject. The same should apply for Irish”
Maybe it is the fact that it’s forced upon people, that it creates this negative stigma around the language and makes people not want to learn it? In my opinion, the key to keeping the Irish language alive is to give people a choice in whether or not they want to study and learn it. I would like to think that the language has a place in our future and will live on as a loved aspect of our culture.