Posted: Aug 17, 2011 12:43 am
I know this is a bit of thread necromancy, but I couldn't resist.
How much is a "huge" amount? Is this more than on wars? Is it not the government's role to protect your cultural and linguistic heritage, as well as respect the rights of minorities (including Gaelic-speakers)?
I believe most of them would've been distinct, though.
It's not just about the opportunity to learn it, but also the opportunity for use. Without living Celtic-speaking communities in the world, it'll be very difficult to learn these languages to native-level fluency. The sad fact is that English and Celtic languages are competing for the same ethnocultural spheres, and without more people in the British Isles adopting Welsh, Scottish Gaelic or Irish as a native language (from use in the community since childhood) the Celtic languages will die out. Thankfully, Welsh is increasing in speakers, although the situation of Scottish Gaelic seems much more precarious.
Having English as an official first language and speaking it as a mother tongue are two different things. The de jure first official language of Ireland is Irish, but English is still the main medium of communication.
Chinese, on the other hand, is not an endangered language that has high sentimental value for many Irish. Nor does Ireland have many qualified teachers of Chinese. Sure, it'd be good for the Irish to learn Chinese (or any other foreign language), but I think taking care of one's own linguistic heritage is more important.
MacIver wrote:
A huge amount has recently been spent in my local area making all the road signs bilingual in both English and Gaelic,
How much is a "huge" amount? Is this more than on wars? Is it not the government's role to protect your cultural and linguistic heritage, as well as respect the rights of minorities (including Gaelic-speakers)?
which was ridiculous because many of the place-names are derived from Gaelic names anyway so both languages have the same name, spelt the same.
I believe most of them would've been distinct, though.
I can understand why people want to learn their native Celtic languages, whether it be Irish, Welsh or Gaelic, and they should have the opportunity to do so.
It's not just about the opportunity to learn it, but also the opportunity for use. Without living Celtic-speaking communities in the world, it'll be very difficult to learn these languages to native-level fluency. The sad fact is that English and Celtic languages are competing for the same ethnocultural spheres, and without more people in the British Isles adopting Welsh, Scottish Gaelic or Irish as a native language (from use in the community since childhood) the Celtic languages will die out. Thankfully, Welsh is increasing in speakers, although the situation of Scottish Gaelic seems much more precarious.
But changing the official first Language to something other than English? That seems to me like a step backwards. Being native English speakers allows us many opportunities as HughMcB has already outlined.
Having English as an official first language and speaking it as a mother tongue are two different things. The de jure first official language of Ireland is Irish, but English is still the main medium of communication.
Ireland already has the infrastructure (as well as will on the behalf of its people) in place to become predominantly Irish-speaking within a generation. All that Ireland needs is an expansion of this infrastructure (a majority of students going to Irish-medium schools, and then more and more Irish programming, and so on).What would make much more sense would be keeping English as Ireland’s first language and learning Chinese as a second one.
Chinese, on the other hand, is not an endangered language that has high sentimental value for many Irish. Nor does Ireland have many qualified teachers of Chinese. Sure, it'd be good for the Irish to learn Chinese (or any other foreign language), but I think taking care of one's own linguistic heritage is more important.