Losing a language
Eamonn McManus
it refers to are published on the front page.
LOSING A LANGUAGE
Nothing is more likely to promote discussion about the Irish language
than a forecast of its imminent demise. And while Breanda~n O~
hEithir in his report for Bord na Gaeilge did not anticipate the death
of the language, his estimate that only 10,000 native speakers of
Irish now remain in the State suggests that the chances of survival
are fading fast.
The report ... has been described by Bord na Gaeilge as an internal
document; the board has chosen not to comment. Some may argue that
the analysis is unduly pessimistic and quarrel with the estimate. But
these are the personal impressions of one who spent his working life
writing and broadcasting in and about the language, who knew and loved
the people and places he surveyed and the rugged honesty of whose
opinions was never in doubt.
His description of areas where the Irish-speaking population has been
reduced to tiny pockets, yet cling to the title Gaeltacht, has the
ring of truth. His criticism of the Irish language organisations is
characteristically forthright. Many of their members "have not let a
new thought into their heads for many years in case they might have to
change their way of life, which is something they would now be unable
to do."
***
Yet there is a glimmer of hope in the growth of all-Irish schools,
mostly in urban areas; close to Dublin, Ra~th Cairn in County Meath is
both significant and influential as a Gaeltacht; and the report
identifies an immediate course of action for voluntary organisations;
recognising the challenges they face in the next ten years, they must
eliminate overlapping and plan the most efficient use of their funds
and other resources.
Because it is written in O~ hEithir's strong personal style the report
is a particularly vivid reminder of the failures of the Irish language
movement in both its official and voluntary forms. For the language
has fallen prey over the years to political opportunism and the folly
of compulsion. Betrayed by the hypocrisy of the _cu~pla focail_, it
has come to be used by many of its vociferous advocates as a shield of
exclusion rather than a rich source of liberating expression.
The present report, for all its rough edges, may help to produce a
sense of urgency in those who recognise how tragic its loss would be
and how necessary to prevent that loss is the release of the language
from its long captivitiy among the bureaucrats, opportunists and
enthusiastic but unchanging supporters.
--
,
Eamonn's notes:
I'm using the ~-after notation to indicate the fada (acute accent).
Breanda~n O~ hEithir was a journalist and writer in the Irish language
who completed this report shortly before his death last October.
Bord na Gaeilge is the official Irish Language Board.
A Gaeltacht is an Irish-speaking region.
The study of Irish is compulsory in primary and secondary schools, so
that many people acquire an intense antipathy towards it.
The _cu~pla focail_ (couple of words) refers to the tendency of
politicians to ostentatiously use a few words from Irish now and then
to make it look as if they actually care about the language.
,
Eamonn