An Analysis of the Irish-Speaking Communities of North America: Who are they, what are their opinions, and what are their needs?
(English Below)
Is beag seans go mbeifear in ann an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn i Meiriceá Thuaidh mar chéadteanga. Níl go leor daoine ann chuige, agus níl baill de phobal na Gaeilge toilteanach cinneadh dá leithéid a dhéanamh. Bímis réalaíoch faoi seo, agus cuirimis an Ghaeilge chun cinn mar dhara teanga.
Ach níl an Ghaeilge á cur chun cinn go maith mar dhara teanga. Tá dhá spriocphobal againn i ndáiríre: inimircigh as Éirinn (a bhfuil Gaeilge acu de shaghas éigin cheana féin) agus a sliocht, agus nílimid ag breith orthu in aon chor. Tá na réamhchlaonta a bhíodh ag daoine in aghaidh na Gaeilge imithe, ach ina n-áit tá fadhbanna an tsaoil - níl an Ghaeilge tábhachtach go leor, ná feiceálach go leor, dóibh. Is deacair a shamhlú cé mar a d'athrófái sin, ó is daoine fásta iad seo le tuairimí dochta. Mar bharr ar sin, is beag ama atá acu le caitheamh ar an nGaeilge, go háirithe agus caithimh aimsire dá gcuid féin acu cheana féin.
Táimid ag déanamh go huafásach ó thaobh Gaeilmheiriceánach de. Agus iad comhshamhlaithe go mór cheana féin, níl gníomhairí na teanga ag déanamh iarrachtaí ar bith breith orthu in aois scoile nó ollscoile. Is deas ann na ranganna Gaeilge atá ar fáil in áiteanna mar Ollscoil Notre Dame agus Ollscoil Toronto, ach ní fiú tráithnín iad gan cumainn Gaelacha ar na campais sin. Molaim go n-úsáidfí múnla na nGiúdach agus cumainn Gaelacha a bhunú sna hollscoileanna agus sna coláistí tríú leibhéal eile a chuirfeadh an cultúr Gaelach chun cinn ar shlí tarraingteach, éadrom, agus go mbeadh an Ghaeilge mar chuid lárnach de na cumainn seo.
Maidir le cainteoirí dúchais agus cainteoirí lán-líofa, tá comharthaí maithe ann gur féidir na cainteoirí seo a mhealladh agus pobal de shaghas éigin a dhéanamh díobh. Cuimhnímis, ámh, nach gramadach ná foclaíocht atá ag teastáil uathu, ach siamsaíocht, díreach mar a bheifí ag súil leis ó chainteoirí lanlíofa teanga ar bith. Ba cheart cinntiú go bhfuil imeachtaí mar chlubanna leabhar, dramaí, turais lae, agus eile, á n-eagrú dóibh.
[English]This paper attempts a survey of the Irish-speaking population of North America, identifying and quantifying eight groups and target groups, paying particular attention to the number of third-level students studying Irish. The number of Irish language students at third-level colleges in North America is needlessly low, and continues to fall. To reverse this trend, we need to acknowledge the figures and address them with aggressive policies. A useful first step would be to examine successful immigrant communities in North America. Jewish studies is a case in hand, with five hundred North American universities offering Hebrew. This author thinks it no coincidence that there are at least five hundred branches of Hillel (the Jewish campus organization) in North America, and suggests that founding Gaelic (not "Irish") societies on campus would lead to increased demand for Irish language classes on campuses, and the development of a Gaelic Irish identity among students, rather than the existing dominant Anglo-Irish identity.
http://wpunj.academia.edu/Brian%C3%93Broin/Talks/61329/An_Analysis_of_the_Irish-Speaking_Communities_of_North_America_Who_are_they_what_are_their_opinions_and_what_are_their_needs
Contrasting Accounts of Olaf Cuarán and his Dublin Family in the Eleventh-Century Irish and Norse Sources
An examination of Olaf Cuarán and Sigtryggr Silkiskegg through the accounts found in Njálssaga, Gunnlaugs Saga Ormstungu, the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland, William of Malmesbury, the Annals of Tigernach, and Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaib.
Sigtryggr, despite his name, seemed to begin his reign with only a tentative grasp on the throne of Dublin, and his kingship may only have been acceptable because of his Hiberno-Norse background. Alas, this made him little more than a bastard to poets and scribes on either side. The Norse saw him as the pawn of a dangerous Irishwoman willing to risk everything for vengeance, and a coward to boot, while the Irish saw him as the cowardly representative of foreigners in Ireland. Even Gunnlaugr sees Sigtryggr as so ignorant that he has to be told what a praise-poem is.
Sigtryggr himself is so rich that the presentation of two trading ships to Gunnlaugr is not seen as any unusual gift or loss. Sigtryggr has also never heard a poem in his praise before.
Sigtryggr, then, was a rich king, but not overpowerful, and unsuccessful in war. His proximity to both the Norse and the Irish made him an easy butt for poets and storytellers in later years. An important ally because of his mercenaries, he became the ally of none in posterity.
http://wpunj.academia.edu/Brian%C3%93Broin/Talks/61326/Contrasting_Accounts_of_Olaf_Cuaran_and_his_Dublin_Family_in_the_Eleventh-Century_Irish_and_Norse_Sources
Pilgrimage in deed, but perhaps not word: The Ailithrech as Servant of Rome.
As part of an ASIMS session (American Society of Irish Medieval Studies)
The ailithrech, probably inspired by the eremitical escapes of early Egyptian saints, was a stock character in early Irish Christianity. The Romanisation of the Irish church caused a shift in monastic practice, stressing communal life rather than that of the hermit. Yet ailithre continued. Just as the Roman church repurposed pagan deities, it also repurposed the eastern side of early Irish christianity by altering institutions such as ailithre. Henceforth the ailithrech was to be understood less as a hermit and more as a missionary. Irish holy men, who several generations previously would have made ailithre on a remote island, were now expected to make their (now Romanised) peregrinatio abroad to convert pagan lands, turning their backs on Ireland and offering up their missionary work for the love of God.
This paper examines the shifting meaning of the word ailithre from Old Irish right through to the modern Irish oilithre, questioning the conventional translation of the word as "journey to a foreign land" and examining the Latin index peregrinatio as it shadows the word right through to the modern day.
http://wpunj.academia.edu/Brian%C3%93Broin/Talks/40697/_Pilgrimage_in_deed_but_perhaps_not_word_The_Ailithrech_as_Servant_of_Rome._
Sealbhú na Gaeilge i Naonáin ar Cainteoirí Dúchais Ilteangacha Iad: Anailís ar Chomhréir agus Deilbhíocht" -- Irish Language Acquisition in Multilingu
s annamh a úsáideann fiú cainteoirí dúchais an séimhiú ná ant-urú an t-am ar fad. Go deimhin, ag brath ar cheantar tógála an chainteora dúchais, is féidir le gnéanna áirithe deilbhíochta titim i gcártaí idir 6% agus 66% den am. Cainteoirí dúchais Gaeltachta is mó a aimsíonn an 6%, ach tá sé suntasach go gcailleann fiú siadsan 6% de uruithe agus seimhithe ina gcaint.
Breathnaíonn an páipéar seo ar bheirt chainteoir dúchais Gaeilge idir 2 bhliain agus 5 bliana d'aois agus iad ag teacht i dtír ar dheilbhíocht agus comhréir na Gaeilge. Cad iad na gnéanna is túisce a phioctar suas agus cad iad na cinn is déanaí? Cad iad na cinn nach bhfuil pioctha suas acu in aon chor faoi aois a cúig, agus cén comparáid is féidir a dhéanamh leis na teangacha eile atá á sealbhú ag na páistí seo? Cén uair is féidir linn a rá go bhfuil gné áirithe "sealbhuithe" ag páiste?
Sa chás áirithe seo, teaghlach ina labhraíonn tuismitheoir amháin Gaeilge leis na páistí, cén bhaint atá ag ionchur na Gaeilge leis an aschur ó na páistí iad féin, agus ós é seo gnáth-mhúnla an teaghlaigh Ghaelaigh sa lá atá inniu ann, go háirithe sna cathracha, cad iad na himpleachtaí don Ghaeilge amach anseo?
"The Acquisition of Irish in Multilingual Native Speakers of Irish: An Analysis of their Syntax and Morphology"
Brian Ó Broin
William Paterson University, New Jersey
It is rare that even native speakers use eclipsis or lenition all the time. In fact, depending on where the native speaker was raised, certain morphological processes can be deleted between 6% and 66%. Native speakers from the Gaeltacht are those who most closely approach 6%, but it is noteworthy that not even they produce all eclipses and lenitions that might be expected.
This paper analyzes two native speakers of Irish between the ages of 2 and 5 as they learn the morphology and syntax of Irish. What do they pick up first, and what do they pick up last? What are the ones not yet picked up by age 5, and what comparison can be made with the other languages that these children are acquiring? When can one say that a particular feature has been "acquired"?
In this particular case, a household in which one parent speaks Irish to the children, what connection is there between parental input and child-language output? And since this is the typical make-up of the average Irish-speaking household at the moment, what are the implications for the Irish language?
Sealbhú na Gaeilge i Naonáin ar Cainteoirí Dúchais Ilteangacha Iad: Anailís ar Chomhréir agus Deilbhíocht" -- Irish Language Acquisition in Multilingual Children - Analysis of Morphology and Syntax
Metaficsean agus an Scéalaí Neamhiontaofa in Fontenoy, le Liam Mac Cóil --Metafiction and the Unreliable Narrator in Liam Mac Cóil's Fontenoy
Metaficsean agus an Scéalaí Neamhiontaofa in Fontenoy, le Liam Mac Cóil
le
Brian Ó Broin
Ní aon rud nua an metaficsean sa Bhéarla, ach tá claontacht ina aghaidh i litríocht na Gaeilge. Fadhb é seo a bhaineann leis an teanga, a léitheoirí, agus go fiú a scríbhneoirí. Ós iad foghlaimeoirí an chuid is mó de léitheoirí na Gaeilge, is beag ama atá acu do chleasaíocht bhreise ón údar. Tá fírinne sa scéal, nó níl.
Sin an fáth go raibh fáilte dhoicheallach roimh Cré na Cille, le Máirtín Ó Cadhain, nuair a foilsíodh é i 1949. Ní hamháin go raibh an Ghaeilge doléite do mhórchuid na léitheoirí, ach ní raibh an léitheoir in ann muinín ar bith a bheith aige sna scéalaithe ach oiread.
Ní bréagadóirí ná geilt iad na scéalaithe in Fontenoy, ámh. Uaireanta is deacair a dhéanamh amach an ann do scéalaí in aon chor. An é rud é nach bhfuil sa leabhar ach píosa grinn - scigmhagadh faoi chriticeoirí agus lucht léinn?
Cuirtear teicníc an cheamara i leith an Chadhnaigh i gcuid mhaith dá scéalta, agus ní féidir sin a shéanadh. Tá tionchar ag an cinéma ar Fontenoy, freisin, ach sa chás seo, ní an ceamara atá i gceist, ach an scéalaí. Is léir go bhfuil tionchar nach beag ag script-scríbhneoirí mar Charlie Kaufman, a bhfuil osréalachas agus ról an scríbhneora ina obair féin le braistint go mór.
http://wpunj.academia.edu/Brian%C3%93Broin/Talks/40694/Metaficsean_agus_an_Scealai_Neamhiontaofa_in_Fontenoy_le_Liam_Mac_Coil_--Metafiction_and_the_Unreliable_Narrator_in_Liam_Mac_Coils_Fontenoy
Urban Irish Systematically Analyzed - Dialect? Pidgin? Creole?
The standard understanding of Irish is that there are three principal dialects, all rural, and all spoken on Ireland's coastal periphery. The presence of Irish-language radio stations in Dublin and Belfast, however, as well as Irish-language programming on local stations in Galway and Cork, suggests that there is a significant Irish-speaking population in Ireland's cities. City speakers have often been derided as speakers of "Nua-Ghaeilge" ("New Irish") by Gaeltacht dwellers, and they very often deride themselves as speakers of "Gaeilge Lofa Líofa" ("Rotten Fluent Irish") but there has been no attention given to the type of Irish that they speak.
A detailed systematic analysis, comparing newsreaders and presenters on the Gaeltacht station Raidió na Gaeltachta and the urban stations Raidió na Life and Raidió Fáilte strongly suggests that a new dialect, perhaps more accurately described as a Pidgin, is growing among the urban Irish-language population. This dialect, using simplified phonetics and morphology, remains unstable, probably because most urban speakers do not speak Irish at home (and therefore have no native environment in which to speak the language), but also because they have little allegiance to the Gaeltacht, where Irish is still partially spoken as a community language. Because their native language is mostly English, the Irish that they speak, mostly learned at school and from friends, is prone to instability and is likely to remain so until a significant number of urban speakers choose to raise their children in the language, thus creating native speakers and a stable dialect or Creole. Notably, the urban dialect differs from many pidgins in having a comparatively sophisticated lexicon and syntax.
http://wpunj.academia.edu/Brian%C3%93Broin/Talks/40692/Urban_Irish_Systematically_Analyzed_-_Dialect_Pidgin_Creole
An Ghaeilge Uirbeach: Canúint Nua Ghaeilge á Labhairt i gCathracha na nÉireann?" / Urban Irish - A New Dialect being Spoken in Irish Cities?
Cúis dóchais is ea í go bhfuil canúint nua Gaeilge le sonrú i gcathracha na hÉireann. Déantar scagadh ar an gcanúint nua seo.
It's a hopeful sign that there is a new Irish dialect being spoken in Irish cities. This dialect is examined.
http://wpunj.academia.edu/Brian%C3%93Broin/Talks/21987/_An_Ghaeilge_Uirbeach_Canuint_Nua_Ghaeilge_a_Labhairt_i_gCathracha_na_nEireann_Urban_Irish_-_A_New_Dialect_being_Spoken_in_Irish_Cities
Gaeilge Uirbeach: Dearcadh Theangeolaí Amháin, agus a Mhodhanna Ainilíse" / Urban Irish Systematically Analyzed from a Linguistic Perspective
Tá difríochtaí suntasacha le sonrú idir Ghaeilge na Gaeltachta agus Gaeilge na Cathrach. Úsáidim modhanna fóneolaíochta, moirfeolaíochta, comhréire, agus foclóireachta chun na difríochtaí a scagadh.
There are noticeable differences between Gaeltacht Irish and City Irish. I use phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicography to analyze the differences.
http://wpunj.academia.edu/Brian%C3%93Broin/Talks/21986/_Gaeilge_Uirbeach_Dearcadh_Theangeolai_Amhain_agus_a_Mhodhanna_Ainilise_Urban_Irish_Systematically_Analyzed_from_a_Linguistic_Perspective
http://wpunj.academia.edu/Brian%C3%93Broin/Talks/13997/The_Ancient_MedievThe Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern Sources of Modern Nautical Vocabulary
It seems that the proto-Indo-European culture was decidedly land-based, but proto-Germanic culture certainly involved sailing. By the rise of a distinct West Germanic culture, there were several specific terms involving sailing and boat-steerage. Much of the Old English sailing vocabulary was nevertheless borrowed from the North Germanic languages, probably under the influence of the Norse. Sailing technology (and thus vocabulary) changed in late medieval times under the influence of the Normans, but it is undoubtedly Dutch and Low German that were most influential on Modern English sailing vocabulary, and this certainly because the Low German cultures ruled European trading routes for several hundred years right into early modern times.
http://wpunj.academia.edu/Brian%C3%93Broin/Talks/13997/The_Ancient_Medieval_and_Early_Modern_Sources_of_Modern_Nautical_Vocabulary
The Poor Condition of Irish Medieval Studies (particularly in Philology)
Irish medieval studies has been top-heavy with philologists for over a century now, and the field has contracted where it should have expanded. Language scholarship and instruction has been very poor, meaning that few scholars exist who can read or translate the texts. Those who can seem more interested in the language than the texts themselves. A new tendency towards textual scholarship is to be welcomed.
http://wpunj.academia.edu/Brian%C3%93Broin/Talks/13304/The_Poor_Condition_of_Irish_Medieval_Studies_particularly_in_Philology_
Irish Government 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language / Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge
Other Speakers: Breandán Ó Caollaí, Assistant Consul (Consulate of Ireland); Áine Uí Ghiollagáin, FETAC, Thomas Ihde, CUNY.
