galaxyrocker wrote:
http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/comment-the-gaeltacht-must-be-broken-and-remade-to-save-irish-1.2625367
Céard a cheapanns sibh?
Quote:
1 Irish linguistic zones (Tearmann na nGael): Similar to ecological protection, these will provide a habitat for the geographic protection of the remaining Gaeltacht speaker base, if and as endorsed by the community organisations.
2 Community Trust for Gaels (Iontaobhas na nGael): This co-operative structure will manage the various resources of group members and will administer the beneficial schemes for its members. These will include employment and housing schemes, dividends and social reward systems, tax incentives, educational and cultural supports. We suggest a mixed model of public, private and philanthropic sources for funding to encourage greater financial independence.
3 Assembly for Gaels (Dáil na nGael): This assembly will provide a democratic mechanism for political solidarity, empowerment and leadership to endorse practical initiatives for the Community Trust.
4 Academy for Gaels (Acadamh na nGael): To undertake research and disseminate knowledge for the benefit of the community and to offer strategic support for organisational structures.
I don't know, is it me or do they seem to be largely reinventing the wheel?
1. Isn't that just the Gaeltacht under a different name?
2. Isn't this just an additional middle man (body) for speakers to get schemes that they are entitled to anyway. And doesn't Údarás na Gaeltachta already have a body set up in each Gaeltacht to try and stimilate the local economy already?
3. Something that seems fairly new, but doesn't the individual bodies of Údarás na Gaeltachta already voice the concerns of the Gaeltacht people? At the moment, this just seems to be another board (I don't want to use the term Quango though).
4.Most Gaeltachts have access to primary and secondary Irish-medium education. What is this academy suppose to be? A college just for the Irish language and its speakers? What is it suppose to research that you can't study in any Irish-language college dept. or institution already? If it is suppose to be about environment, I have never seen any Irish-language department foster anything but an Irish-speaking community amongst themselves? I suppose they are calling for something like
Sabhal Mór Ostaig? does anyone know how that operates and what is unique about
Sabhal Mór Ostaig that you can't get/ experience with a conventional university degree?
Why is nobody actually addressing the most fundamental issue: i.e. why parents, who are native speakers, are not bothering to speak Irish with their children at
home?
I get the fact that parents think that the language may not be economically viable or whatever - and the economic schemes and bodies may combat this mentality to a degree- but this issue is far more complex than just economics. Why aren't we focusing on this?
Edit added in red: Also, we need to think of a way to normalise the language. Personally, whenever I get a chance to speak Irish in public, everyone else in the room starts staring at your conversation 
. Usually in amazement and are nearly always encouraging if they come up to you after and ask you questions. But this is a major problem in itself, its bloody awkward to have a conversation when the whole room is staring at you. I suppose the only way for normalisation to occur is for more people to speak in Irish out in the street, until nobody cares anymore. We might then have a social context for school children to actually speak the language outside of school etc...Cian
_________________
Is Fearr súil romhainn ná ḋá ṡúil inár ndiaiḋ
(Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin)
Please wait for corrections/ more input from other forum members before acting on advice
I'm familiar with Munster Irish/ Gaolainn na Mumhan (GM) and the Official Standard/an Caighdeán Oifigiúil (CO)
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