Gaelic renaissance and Irish obituary

[Wilson Gray]

Dia dhuit, a Mhark! About a quarter-century ago, I took a course in
Irish taught by a native speaker of the Munster dialect. So, I would
say TEE-shack and not Tee-shuck. But I agree that it's long strings of
vowels, such as the string -aoi- that spells merely [i], that is at
least as challenging as the consonant clusters, which are certainly
not to be dismissed out of hand.

I've seen "dhuit" spelled "duit." Perhaps it varies according to dialect.

-Wilson

On 6/18/06, Mark A. Mandel <mamandel at ldc.upenn.edu> wrote:
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> Poster:       "Mark A. Mandel" <mamandel at LDC.UPENN.EDU>
> Subject:      Gaelic renaissance and Irish obituary
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>
> The New York Times ran an article on the teaching of Gaelic, last Wednesday=
> ,=20
> June 14, on page B9 of the Metro section, in the Education (rubric?=20
> department?). The URL is (reachable via) http://tinyurl.com/onoqw, but by=
> =20
> now probably only if you have a subscription, so I append the article below=
> =2E
>
> The second paragraph of the article is: "Irish-language schools and an=20
> Irish-language television station are booming in popularity, despite=20
> Gaelic's seemingly unpronounceable strings of consonants. And now the=20
> language's supporters, who have long bemoaned the impending death of the=20
> ancient tongue, have set their sights overseas." This makes me wonder=20
> whether the writer of the article was thinking of Welsh. Oh, there are=20
> initial sequences like "bhr" and "mh", but written Gaelic, for me, is more=
> =20
> characterized by impressive strings of vowel letters.
>
> And in fact the facing page, B8, offers a pertinent example in the obituary=
> =20
> of Charles Haughey, three-time prime minister of Ireland. About two thirds=
> =20
> of the way through the article we read: "He went on to serve as minister fo=
> r=20
> health and social welfare and, in 1979, completed an extraordinary comeback=
> =20
> when Fianna Fail selected him as head of the party and thus prime minister,=
> =20
> or taoiseach (pronounced TEE-shuck, meaning 'leader' in Gaelic)."
>
> -- Mark A. Mandel
> [This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]
>
>
> http://tinyurl.com/onoqw
>
> June 14, 2006
> Irish Tongues Are Wagging in U.S. Classrooms
> By BRIAN LAVERY
>
> DUBLIN =97 For generations, Irish schoolchildren have grown up despising=20
> Gaelic, this country's native language and a mandatory subject from=20
> kindergarten through high school. But these days the language, which most=
> =20
> people here simply call "Irish," is experiencing something of a renaissance=
> =2E
>
> Irish-language schools and an Irish-language television station are booming=
> =20
> in popularity, despite Gaelic's seemingly unpronounceable strings of=20
> consonants. And now the language's supporters, who have long bemoaned the=
> =20
> impending death of the ancient tongue, have set their sights overseas.
>
> The government department responsible for promoting the language began a=20
> fund last year that will dole out grants, of up to $36,000, to help=20
> international colleges establish programs teach Gaelic. This fall, the loca=
> l=20
> branch of the Fulbright program will, for the first time, send=20
> native-speaking teaching assistants to American universities.
>
> "Their immediate response was: 'Yes, yes, yes! We can't get enough=20
> teachers!' " said Carmel Coyle, director of the Irish Fulbright Commission.
>
> Four assistants are going to colleges with Irish studies programs =97 New Y=
> ork=20
> University, Boston College, Notre Dame and the University of St. Thomas in=
> =20
> Houston.
>
> In some ways, Ireland is catching up. Of the 51 universities outside Irelan=
> d=20
> that teach Irish, 29 are in the United States. The Fulbright program has=20
> sponsored foreign language teaching assistants to work and study at America=
> n=20
> universities since 1968. Those modest one-year fellowships have generally=
> =20
> gone to teachers of perennially popular languages, like Spanish and French,=
> =20
> and more recently are going to languages like Arabic, Hindi, Turkish and=20
> Urdu.
>
> Still, a language that has few practical applications besides deciphering=
> =20
> road signs in Connemara and reading old Irish literature is a less obvious=
> =20
> choice.
>
> Slightly more than half of Irish language students at Notre Dame are=20
> descendants of Irish immigrants, a result of what Christopher Fox, director=
> =20
> of the university's Keough Institute for Irish Studies, called "the=20
> third-generation effect." Societal bias meant that earlier generations=20
> "couldn't be ethnic in America," he said in a telephone interview. "Now it'=
> s=20
> O.K., and they want to connect."
>
> Mr. Fox added, "The Irish language is seen as one way of doing that."
>
> But Gaelic also appeals to students who are interested in linguistics, the=
> =20
> preservation of indigenous cultures, or the role languages play in=20
> international politics, Mr. Fox and other university professors said.
>
> And there are those who simply like Irish culture.
>
> Meghan Donaldson, 22, a senior at Notre Dame with no Irish roots, studied=
> =20
> French and Spanish before she decided to take Irish this semester, after=20
> spending time abroad in Ireland. She also got involved in Irish=20
> organizations on campus, like teams that compete in traditional step-dancin=
> g=20
> and in the sport of hurling.
>
> "It's geared toward learning the language rather than passing the tests,"=
> =20
> she said. "They make it a lot of fun."
>
> Notre Dame first taught the language in the 1860's, but stopped offering=20
> courses in the 1950's. Since it restarted the program in 1994, student=20
> interest "has been astonishing," Mr. Fox said. The number of students=20
> enrolled in Irish-language classes has jumped to 296 from 114 in three=20
> years.
>
> That enthusiasm certainly surprises people in Ireland.
>
> "It's a big battle for kids here to learn their national language," said=20
> Aibhistin O Coimin, an Irish-language teacher at Wesley College, a school i=
> n=20
> Dublin encompassing the American equivalent of kindergarten through Grade=
> =20
> 12.
>
> Mr. O Coimin, 27, is going to teach at Boston College this fall as part of=
> =20
> the Fulbright program.
>
> "They think it's odd," he said, referring to the reaction of his class that=
> =20
> he would be teaching in the United States. "They think it's very strange."
>
> Ms. Coyle said the fellowship recipients "go out as ambassadors for the=20
> country."
>
> But with a bit of reverse psychology, the government wants the program to=
> =20
> improve attitudes here, too, with the rationale that, if American students=
> =20
> like it, it must be worthwhile, said Deaglan O Briain, a policy officer in=
> =20
> the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
>
> "We can raise the perceived status of the language at home by showing that=
> =20
> it's taught abroad as well," he said.
>
>
> Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
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