Recently, I mentioned to someone near and dear to me that I was attempting to learn some Irish, but I felt the pronunciation and words keep changing. They said that was because Irish was a dead language. Is it? What exactly is a dead language?
Irish language is not dead. Granted, it came close. As I’ve mentioned before, English rule pretty much demanded English as the only language. Immigrants, wanting to fit in, stopped speaking Irish. The language persisted in more isolated regions and often as an act of defiance.
One article I read pointed out that people have a difficult time with Irish names because they don’t understand that Irish exists as a language and try to put English rules to said names and it just doesn’t work. Once you realize that the rules are different, then it’s easier to understand how names are pronounced. An example is BH will make a W or a V sound. FH is silent. Like any language, once you learn the rules, alphabet, and pronunciation…well, I’m not going to say it’s easy, but it helps. Helpful site here, if interested: https://www3.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/donncha/focal/features/irishsp.html#:~:text=Irish%20does%20the%20same%20sort,bh%20(broad)%20%3D%20w
What makes a language dead? According to Global Language Services, “a dead language is (usually) defined as a language that some people still use, even if there are no native speakers left.” Latin is a prime example. It’s taught and used for educational purposes, but no one speaks it as their primary language. https://www.globallanguageservices.co.uk/difference-extinct-language-dead-language/
Old English is another example. It was spoken about 500 to 1100 CE. Beowulf is the oldest poem existing in Old English. Here are a few lines:
Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas.
I had an English professor who spoke Old English and often read to us in that language. Though interesting to listen to, no one goes around speaking it anymore. And since there are no living people who speak Latin or Old English, we don’t even know if the pronunciation is correct.
Manx is an interesting language. It’s from the Isle of Man and was once dead, but the community revived it; it’s being taught on the Isle and is not longer a dead language; nor is it on its way to an extinct language.
I live close to a Ute reservation and sadly, many of the younger generation (at least here) don’t know the language. Many Native American languages have died.
Back to Irish. It is not dead. But, according to some sources, it is an endangered language. Approximately two million people in Ireland (including Northern Ireland) speak Irish—as a second language. In 1922 the Free State was established (Republic of Ireland). They declared Irish the national language and a revival of all things Irish became popular. It is taught in schools, and in Connacht at least, I heard many people speaking it as their native tongue. The Government will require 20% of new public service employees to speak Irish by 2030. One of my favorite sites has a great little article on this: https://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/irish-language-legacy-cultural-wellbeing
The younger generation is also involved by creating YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram posts to highlight and arrange meetings in the Irish language.
Here are some wonderful songs in Irish you should check out:
You can give Irish a try on Duolingo and Mango (and probably other sites offering language learning). https://www.bitesize.irish/ is a great place for beginners also. This article highlights resources too: https://letslearnirish.com/articles/12-best-free-irish-resources/. Rosetta stone even has an Irish course. Some courses are free and some are not.
On one of the YouTube songs a comment was along the lines of, ‘I speak many languages and Irish is the most beautiful.’
My great grand mothers both spoke Irish. I wish I’d met them and learned a few things from them. Maybe learning a bit now will help me to better connect to them—and help keep the Irish language from dying out altogether.
What do you think? Should the Irish try to continue to revive their language? Is it a lost cause?
All Things *Ancient* Irish 