Irish - Language Overview

When people say Irish, they mean the Gaelic language which was spoken in Ireland before English replaced Irish in everyday use. Nowadays, Irish is official language in the Republic of Ireland again, although only part of the population can read or speak it and it is only used as everyday language in some parts, especially Western Ireland around Galway.

Irish

Geographical Extension

Irish is only spoken in some parts of Ireland, called the Gaeltacht regions. Irish is officially the first language in the Republic of Ireland, and an acknowledged minority language in Northern Ireland.

Spoken by

It is spoken by approximately 1.5 million people.

Language Family and History

Irish belongs to the Goidelic language family, like Scottish Gaelic and Manx. First written records of the Irish language date back to the fourth century AD. The early, or primitive, Irish was written in the Ogham alphabet, also called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", whose letters consisted of certain notches and strokes. It was named "Celtic Tree Alphabet" because traditions attributed tree names to the letters of the alphabet. Primitive Irish was prevalent throughout Ireland and on the west coast of Great Britain. In the fifth and sixth century, Primitive Irish developed into Old Irish, which then used the Latin alphabet. At around the same time, the former Celtic country started to adopt Christian believes through St. Patrick and other Christian missionaries.

Middle Irish, which evolved from Old Irish during the tenth century, was not only spoken in Ireland but also in Scotland and on the Isle of Man. About two to three centuries later, it split into Modern Irish, Scotish Gaelic and Manx. Modern Irish was used both spoken and in literature thoughout the next centuries.

Under British rule, the use of Irish declined and was associated with poverty since the wealthy elite in Ireland spoke English. The Great Famine 1845-1849 caused a further decline of the Irish speaking population due to death or emmigration.

The Gaelic Revival movement, which started at the end of the 19th century, tried to strengthen the use of Irish again. The Irish language became a symbol of a new-found national identity. In 1922, the Republic of Ireland gained its indepence from British rule. 15 years later, in 1937, Irish became first official language in the Republic of Ireland. Nowadays, Irish is taught at schools and is used in journalism and everyday use again, especially in the Gaeltacht regions.

Grammar Difficulty

Irish grammar shows some of the same grammatical characteristics as Chinese (Mandarin) which, quite honestly, surprised me a lot. It also has grammar structures in common with the Romanic languages. For English natives, Irish grammar may be difficult to grasp due to the great differences in sentence structure, the two genders for nouns, two different verbs for "to be" and other differences.

Pronunciation Difficulty

Irish pronunciation is by far the most difficult pronunciation I have yet encountered. All consonants can be pronounced either as "broad" or "slender" version, with different positions of the tongue. This small distinction in pronunciation also brings different meanings with it which makes it a pitfall for non-native speakers.

Special Facts

Since there were hardly any people around who were still able to write in Irish by the time Irish becamse official language in the Republic of Ireland, spelling and grammar are mostly derived from older written records of Modern Irish as used before British rule.

Irish is strongly influenced by the English language nowadays, especially when it comes to modern words which simply didn't exist in the time Irish was still "naturally" spoken. Some simply use the English words, for example for internet, while others create "Irish" words for it.

In Northern Ireland, Irish was exclusively used by Catholics for a long time and was seen as a symbol of a unified nation. Recently, Protestants in Northern Ireland show an interest in the Irish language as well.