http://tuairisc.ie/10-mbliana-fagtha-ag ... ighde-nua/


Céard a cheapann sibh uilig?

That's a very discouraging prognosis, going by the title alone.

It ain't looking good …

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32939134

Dubh dóite do na haltannaí sin. Deirtear le corradh 's 100 bliain go bhfuil an Ghaeilg ar leabaidh 'n bháis, agus char tharlaigh sé go fóill.
An síleann na nuaíochtóirí go dtarlóchaidh sé níos gaiste má deireann siad achan bhliain é?

Úsáideochaidh mise 'n Ghaeilg fhad's a bheas daoiní ábalta í a thuigbheáilt. Bhail, fiú amháin muna mbeadh Gaeilgeoir ar bith fágtha ach mé féin, leanfainn do bheith 'labhairt Gaeilg liom féin agus do bheith á scríobh. Ach b'fhearr liom é dá mba na cainteoirí Gaeltachta cosúil liom féin ar an phointe sin, nó is acu sin atá an Ghaeilg shaibhir agus níl's acu féin, go minic.

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

One of these is sort of detailed report are done every few years, with each one showing a worse state than the last.

They all get shelved, after a little bit of hand wringing. Sometimes the growth of Irish outside the Gaeltacht is pointed at to show its not all bad news. But its just a smoke screen to hide official inaction behind. If they cant but in place supports which help existing community's retain their language how can they expect new urban ones to come into existence.

The very vocal anti Irish lobby also use these reports to demonstrate that vast sums of money are being wasted and that people are abandoning the language.

None of which is really true. It really wouldn't take a herculean effort to reverse the shift. There are plenty of good recommendations and examples from around the world that can be implemented, rather than the constant inaction.

I cant find any reliable figures on the amounts spent on Irish,but the department of arts, heritage and the gaeltacht has a budget of 200 million, id be surprised if even a third of that was spent on Irish language supports. Even if they spent 70 million, it pales in comparison to the 890 million a year we spend on defence, or the 70 billion spent annually by the state.

And very few people consciously abandon the language, its slowly eroded to the pervasive use of English by the state, tv, internet, etc, etc. It doesn't help that there are very few supports people moving to the Gaeltacht to learn Irish, where there are for people moving to Ireland to learn English.

Some simple but effective supports would be,
1. an extended Naíonara system, much like the Maori language nest idea, where children from 0-5 spend a large portion of their day interacting with older members of the community and more importantly , building a peer group in which using Irish is normal.
2. After school activity's and summer activity's arranged for children of all ages. Provides the opportunity to reinforce their irish usage in their peer group in a non class room environment
3. provide proper adult education opportunity's for people moving to or working in the Gaeltacht. Something like a FÁS course, where people have the opportunity to study more intensively and are paid a normal FÁS training allowance, so they can actually take the time to complete the course.
4. Government employees working in and with the Gaeltacht required to be fluent.

On a rough calculation it would cost 60-80 million a year to implement these measures, not very much in the scheme of state spending and certainly not a lot in saving something the majority of Irish people think is worth saving.

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Bíonn rudaí maithe mall

Aontaím leat - cheapfá go bhfuil siad ag iarraidh fanacht go dtiocfadh meath ar an teanga - beidh an Ghaeilge thart i gcónaí agus muid uilig básaithe

I'd like to add one. 5. Allow people who live outside of Ireland, but can speak a certain level of Irish (say, B2 since that's what's 'required' by the Civil Service) the ability to get a visa and work in Ireland much easier. Maybe that's just wishful thinking because it would completely impact me...

I always thought that having a better Irish collage system could be a big bonus. If every school child were to spend 2- 4 weeks in the Gaeltacht , it would not only be for their benefit but a big economic boost to the Gaeltacht and a positive reason for speaking Irish. The kids Irish would massively improve and it would provide much needed local employment. A good few young people who are passionate about Irish head off to be teachers and end up leaving the area, providing this sort of employment could help them stay.

I notice people who are happy enough to chat to me in English most the time will make an effort to talk only Irish with me when the Gaeltacht students are about, there is a good reason to suffer through my bad Irish.

If around 400,000 students made the trip every year, it would probably bring about 400 million to the Gaeltacht economy, ( 4 weeks @€1,000 per pupil). Sounds like a lot of money, but its less than 5% of the current education budget, or about half a percentage of total state spending.

There is often talk from certain quarters on the amounts "wasted" on Irish, if a single penny is spent on it they see it as a waste.
I think though if there was an open discussion on the subject the majority would back spending half a percent or more on something many think is central to our culture and identity.

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Bíonn rudaí maithe mall