Irish Gaelic (Part 1, The Celtic Languages)

Several major dialects have developed within Modern Irish. These are, by region: Munster, Connacht, Donegal, Leinster, and Ulster (2). The dialectal differences can be very pronounced, with variance in everything from pronunciation to vocabulary to spelling.

Irish Outside Ireland

Although the Irish emigrated from Ireland in mass quantities and many of them settled in the many ‘new lands’ (Canada, America, Australia, New Zealand) in predominately Irish communities, virtually none of them still use the Irish language. For example, there were Irish emigrating to Canada even before the Famine, and the Irish-speakers formed communities in Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and Newfoundland (5). In many of these settlements, Irish was the dominant language for decades, but gradually English had almost completely eclipsed Irish by around the mid-19th century. There were still some Irish-only speakers in the 20th century, such as in Halifax. So although Irish has been virtually lost as a native language in Canada, there is a recent and significant effort to revive the culture and language, in the form of classes and social and cultural events sponsored by numerous organizations (5). In other countries there are similar movements where Irish settlement was heavy, such as Boston, which has several strong Irish organizations.

Current Status of Irish

Irish is in serious danger of extinction. According to the UNESCO Red Book on Endangered Languages (3: “Irish Gaelic”), the language is extinct in Northern Ireland and endangered in Ireland, where it survives only in scattered 'pockets' in Donegal County and the west and south of the country, known collectively as the Gaeltacht. The report, which was compiled in 1993, also stated that there were probably less than 20,000 speakers in Ireland. These estimates can vary widely, however. Census figures often show much higher numbers: censuses in the early 1980s show that 13% of the population (about 260,000 people) reported themselves as fluent or native speakers (2). In 1991, census figures show that 32% of the population (over 1,000,000 people) are Irish speakers (4: 2.2). Perhaps there are that many people capable of using Irish, but it is doubtful whether they use it on a regular basis.

Whether or not there really are that many speakers, the biggest problem for Irish is that the native speakers who use the language regularly are primarily old, and there are not enough young speakers replacing them. When a native speaker dies, the total number of speakers falls. Albeit this is a gradual process,

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