Languages of Ireland
| Languages of Ireland | |
|---|---|
| Official | Irish (42%)[citation needed] English (94%) (Hiberno-English, Mid Ulster English) |
| Minority | Scots Shelta |
| Immigrant | Polish |
| Foreign | French (20%) |
| Signed | Irish Sign Language Northern Ireland Sign Language |
| Keyboard layout | |
| Source | ebs_243_en.pdf (europa.eu) |
There are a number of languages used in Ireland. Irish is the main language to have originated from within the island, while others have been introduced through foreign settlement. Since the later nineteenth century, English has been the predominant first language: a large minority claim some ability to use Irish, although it is the first language only of a small percentage of the population. Under Bunreacht na hÉireann, the Irish constitution, both languages have official status, with Irish being the national and first official language.
Languages
Prehistoric languages
The earliest linguistic records in Ireland are of Primitive Irish, from about the 5th century AD. Languages spoken in Iron Age Ireland before the arrival of the Celts or Gaels are now irretrievable, although there are some claims of pre-Celtic traces in Irish toponymy.[1]
Modern languages
English
English was first introduced by the settlers in the 12th century. It did not initially take hold as a widely-spoken language as the Norman settlers adopted Irish culture and became 'more Irish than the Irish themselves'. Particularly from the Tudor conquest of Ireland and the 1610-15 Ulster Plantation, the language became that of administration, business, trade and of the landed gentry. Monoglot Irish speakers were generally poorer. Irish was seen as a backward language, suited to agriculture but not useful for those who wanted to engage in a modern career. Consequently most Irish people have spoken English as a native language since 1850 and English medium education was promoted by the British administration and the Roman Catholic Church. Since then the various local or other English dialects, taken as a group, comprise the most common language spoken and understood on the island.
The two main dialects of English spoken natively in Ireland are Hiberno-English (mainly found in the provinces of Connacht, Leinster and Munster) and Mid Ulster English (mainly found in Ulster). The 2002 census found that 103,000 British citizens were living in the Republic, along with 11,300 from the USA and 8,900 from Nigeria, all of whom would speak other dialects of English.[2] The 2006 census listed 165,000 born in Britain and 22,000 from the USA.[3]
Irish
The ancestor of Primitive Irish was introduced by the Celts. Primitive Irish gradually evolved into Old Irish, spoken between the 5th and the 10th centuries, and then into Middle Irish. Middle Irish was spoken in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man through the 12th century, when it began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and the Manx language in the Isle of Man. Today, Irish is recognized as the first official language of the Republic of Ireland and is officially recognized in Northern Ireland and in the European Union. According to more detailed census data, in 2006 22,471 Gaeltacht dwellers used the language on a daily basis, up from 21,626 in 2002 (both these figures exclude children using the language on a daily basis in the education system). Outside the Gaeltacht (and again excluding usage in the education system) Irish was used on a daily basis by 49,500 speakers in 2006.[4]
In the over 80 years since the independence of the South, efforts to revive Irish as an Active daily vernacular of most of the nation have relied on compulsion and have generally failed thus far however in trying to achieve this, more and more people are becoming passive speakers of Irish (who watch Irish language TV, listen to Irish language radio, read Irish language newspapers and magazines) with an estimated 10% (400,000+) of the population of the Republic who would be classified as fluent, near fluent or reasonably good passive speakers.[citation needed]
Although the use of Irish in educational and broadcasting contexts has soared with over 600 Irish-language primary/secondary schools and creches, English is still overwhelmingly dominant in almost all social, economic and cultural contexts. In the media, there is an Irish language TV station TG4, Cúla 4 a children's channel on satellite, 5 radio stations such as the national station RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Raidió na Life in Dublin, Raidió Fáilte in Belfast as well as youth radio stations Raidió Rí-Rá and Anocht FM and three newspapers, Lá Nua a Belfast daily, Foinse a weekly, Saol a monthly. There are also occasional columns written in Irish in English-language newspapers, including The Irish Times, The Irish News, The Irish Examiner, Metro Eireann, Irish Echo and Evening Echo. All of the 40 or so radio stations in the Republic have to have some weekly Irish language programming to obtain their broadcasting licence.[5] Similarly, RTÉ run Nuacht, a news show, in Irish and Léargas, a documentary show, in Irish with English subtitles. The Official Languages Act 2003 gave many new rights to Irish citizens with respect to the Irish language, including the use of Irish in court proceedings.[citation needed] All Dáil debates are to be recorded in Irish also. In 2007, Irish became the 21st official language of the European Union.
Ulster Scots
Ulster Scots is a dialect of Scots spoken in some parts of County Donegal and Northern Ireland. It is promoted by the Ulster Scots Agency, a cross-border body. Its status as a recognized language as opposed to a dialect of Scots is still debated.
Shelta
Shelta is a cant, based upon both Irish and English, generally spoken by the Irish traveller community.
Sign languages
Irish Sign Language is the sign language of most of Ireland. It has little relation to either spoken Irish or English, and is more closely related to French Sign Language than to British Sign Language.
Northern Ireland Sign Language is used in Northern Ireland, and is related to both ISL and BSL in various ways. ISL is also used in Northern Ireland.
Immigrant languages
With increased immigration into Ireland, there has been a substantial increase in the number of people speaking languages (the top ten listed) such as Greek, Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Spanish, Cantonese, Japanese, Mandarin, Hindi and Arabic.
Extinct languages
None of these languages was spoken by a majority of the population, but are of historical interest, giving loan words to Irish and Hiberno-English.
Latin
Latin was introduced by the early Christians by c.500. It remained a church language, but also was the official language after the Norman conquest in 1171. It was used by the Roman Catholic church for services until the Vatican II reforms in 1962-65.
Norman language
Norman settlers introduced the Norman or Anglo-Norman language during the Norman invasion of Ireland of 1169. From it derived "Law French", that continues to be used today for certain legal purposes in both jurisdictions on the island.
Yola
Yola was a dialect of Middle English, surviving in County Wexford up to the 19th century.
Fingalian
Fingalian was similar to Yola but spoken in Fingal up until the mid-19th century.
Language education
Republic of Ireland
In primary schools, most pupils are taught to speak, read and write in Irish and English. The vast majority of schools teach through English, although a growing number of gaelscoileanna teach through Irish and English. Most students at second level choose to study English as an L1 language and Irish and other Continental European languages as L2 languages. Irish is not offered as an L1 language by the Department of Education. Prof. David Little (November 2003) said that there was an urgent need to introduce an L1 Irish Gaelic Curriculum. He quoted from a report by An Bord Curaclaim agus Scrúduithe (The Curriculum and Examinations Board) Report of the Board of Studies for Languages, Dublin 1987: "It must be stressed … that the needs of Irish as L1 at post-primary level have been totally ignored, as at present there is no recognition in terms of curriculum and syllabus of any linguistic differences between learners of Irish as L1 and L2."[6]. The Continental European languages available for the Junior Certificate and the Leaving Certificate include French, German, Italian and Spanish; Leaving Certificate students can also study Arabic, Japanese and Russian. Some schools also offer Ancient Greek, Hebrew Studies and Latin at second level.
Students who did not immigrate to Ireland before the age of ten may receive an exemption from learning Irish. Pupils with learning difficulties can also seek exemption. A recent study has revealed that over half of those pupils who got exemption from studying Irish went on to study a Continental European language.[7] The following is a list of foreign languages taken at Leaving Certificate level in 2007, followed by the number as a percentage of all students taking Mathematics for comparison (mathematics is a mandatory subject).[8]
| Language | Higher Level | Ordinary Level | Total candidates | % of Maths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 English | 31,078 | 17,277 | 48,355 | 98.79% |
| L2 Irish | 13,831 | 25,662 | 44,018 | 89.94% |
| L2 French | 13,770 | 14,035 | 27,805 | 56.695% |
| L2 German | 4,554 | 2,985 | 7,539 | 15.372% |
| L2 Spanish | 1,533 | 1,127 | 2,660 | 5.424% |
| L2 Italian | 140 | 84 | 224 | 0.457% |
| Latin | 111 | 111 | 0.226% | |
| L2 Japanese | 90 | 90 | 0.184% | |
| L2 Arabic | 117 | 13 | 130 | 0.265% |
| L2 Russian | 181 | 181 | 0.369% | |
| L2 Latvian | 32 | 32 | 0.065% | |
| L2 Lithuanian | 61 | 61 | 0.125% | |
| L2 Dutch | 16 | 16 | 0.033% | |
| L2 Portuguese | 27 | 27 | 0.055% | |
| L2 Polish | 53 | 53 | 0.108% | |
| L2 Romanian | 25 | 25 | 0.051% |
Total Mathematics students in 2007 was 49,043.
Northern Ireland
The predominant language in the education system in Northern Ireland is English. The ULTACH Trust coordinates the promotion of Irish in some schools, and some promote the use and study of Ullans.
See also
References
- ^ D. Ó Corrain, 'A future for Irish placenames', in: A. Ó Maolfabhail, The placenames of Ireland in the third millennium, Ordnance Survey for the Placenames Commission, Dublin (1992), p. 44.
- ^ Source; search for 2002; downloaded April 2010
- ^ Census 2006; see table O on page 26
- ^ Nic Pháidín, C. & Ó Cearnaigh, S. A New View of the irish Language Cois Life 2008 ISBN 978-1-901176-82-7
- ^ BROADCASTING ACT, 2001; see section 28 (2) and (3)
- ^ Language in the Post-Primary Curriculum, a Discussion Document/TEANGACHA SA CHURACLAM IAR-BHUNOIDEACHAIS plécháipéis [1]
- ^ Irish language opt-outs soar
- ^ Results of Exams in 2007 Using mathematics as comparison, as its examination is near-universal at some level and had the largest number of candidates in 2007.
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