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[Icefire2314]

Dia dhuit!

My Irish is a little rough and I'm still learning. (I probably forgot an accent in that greeting). But I think it's a beautiful language and I want to learn, but it's hard to learn when I'm an American and it's a minority language even it its homeland. Has anyone else been interested in learning to speak it, or does speak it? It'd be great to have someone to talk with or get pointers from.

[Owlbread]

I can speak Scottish Gaelic, which is close (like Spanish/Portuguese) and generally has the same sort of grammar. At a push I can read Irish. If there's any way I could assist you a' charaid/mo chara, let me know.

[FearfulJesuit]

Dia dhuit!

My Irish is a little rough and I'm still learning. (I probably forgot an accent in that greeting). But I think it's a beautiful language and I want to learn, but it's hard to learn when I'm an American and it's a minority language even it its homeland. Has anyone else been interested in learning to speak it, or does speak it? It'd be great to have someone to talk with or get pointers from.

Are you using Duolingo? That's sort of the Irish course par excellence at the moment.

[Owlbread]

Surely there will be lots of Irish teaching facilities in New York and Boston? I will look into it but I think there's such a thing as online language tutoring services. I knew an American woman once who became fluent in Scottish Gaelic through online tutorials via skype.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Surely there will be lots of Irish teaching facilities in New York and Boston?

Ha, no.

[Owlbread]

Surely there will be lots of Irish teaching facilities in New York and Boston?

Ha, no.

I just googled it and found 4-5 services on the first results page in Boston alone. There is most likely more in New York. I will post them when I have access to a computer.

[BlitzDungeoneer]

*raises hand*
Pretty much all Irish schools, at least, in the ROI, have to teach Irish, so I'm currently learning it.

[Icefire2314]

I can speak Scottish Gaelic, which is close (like Spanish/Portuguese) and generally has the same sort of grammar. At a push I can read Irish. If there's any way I could assist you a' charaid/mo chara, let me know.

Scottish Gaelic is actually descended from Middle Irish (I think?) so that makes sense. Go raibh maith agat

Dia dhuit!

My Irish is a little rough and I'm still learning. (I probably forgot an accent in that greeting). But I think it's a beautiful language and I want to learn, but it's hard to learn when I'm an American and it's a minority language even it its homeland. Has anyone else been interested in learning to speak it, or does speak it? It'd be great to have someone to talk with or get pointers from.

Are you using Duolingo? That's sort of the Irish course par excellence at the moment.

I actually became aware of Duolingo through my highschool Spanish class, and I do like and use it. I do have Rosetta Stone for Irish, but I like them both a lot, I'm not quite sure which is better. Anyone have any opinions as to Duolingo vs Rosetta Stone?

*raises hand*
Pretty much all Irish schools, at least, in the ROI, have to teach Irish, so I'm currently learning it.

My understanding was that mandatory Irish teaching in Irish schools wasn't very effective. I don't live there but I had read that they weren't very effective, that for most the Gaelscoil were the best choice for learning, especially at a younger age. What do you think?

[BlitzDungeoneer]

Primary school isn't great as far as Irish goes, yeah.
The teachers in secondary school certainly seem aware of it, though, sice they pretty much start right at the beginning as far as teaching Irish goes, and Irish education is pretty good there.

[Icefire2314]

Primary school isn't great as far as Irish goes, yeah.
The teachers in secondary school certainly seem aware of it, though, sice they pretty much start right at the beginning as far as teaching Irish goes, and Irish education is pretty good there.

That's good to hear, I had thought that anything short of the Gaelscoil was ineffective completely.

If anyone wants to join in this topic, you don't need to know Irish outright, we're here to learn and you can come here with no prior knowledge at all. Just jump in and ask some questions since that's the best way for us all to learn.

[Scoops Novel]

What have you gained from speaking irish? Does it have things other languages don't?

[Owlbread]

What have you gained from speaking irish? Does it have things other languages don't?

It gives you access to Irish culture, literature, music and history in a way no other language can. If you are interested in those things then it's fun to learn it. If you're Irish or of Irish heritage it's an excellent way to connect with your ancestors/Ireland in general, and by learning it you can feel good that you've helped an endangered language on the road to recovery.

Icefire, if you don't mind me asking, in which US state do you live? I have a link here to the Gaelic League of New England's website. Don't let the web-page design put you off, they have links to beginners classes being held in the Spring and Autumn in Manchester/New Hampshire, Webster/Massachusetts, Brattleboro/Vermont and North Haven/Connecticut. They also recommend contacting them for more information. This article may be of use - it says Irish language classes are taught at the University of New York, one of 11 institutions that offer Irish language classes in New York City. Then there's this website which shows Irish language classes across America (as far as I can tell). Then there's the Irish Language Society of Boston... there's loads of stuff out there. I've only given these cursory looks but you may find stuff on them.

According to this page there's an Irish language class/society of some kind in Raleigh, North Carolina.

[BlitzDungeoneer]

It also lets you say things such as 'Gae Bolg' without it being sexual in any way

On a far more serious note, what Owlbread said. There's relatively few people who actually care about Irish, at least in my area, so...

[Owlbread]

It also lets you say things such as 'Gae Bolg' without it being sexual in any way

On a far more serious note, what Owlbread said. There's relatively few people who actually care about Irish, at least in my area, so...

The thing I don't understand is this; seeing as how every teacher in Ireland has to have some kind of proficiency in Irish in order to teach any subject, why isn't every school in Ireland a Gaelscoil? I know GME (Gaelic Medium Education) isn't a silver bullet but it certainly helps.

[BlitzDungeoneer]

I honestly couldn't tell ya, although I'll try.
First of all, I assume you know what a Gaelscoil is? If not, well... It's a school in which everything, save for English, is taught in Irish. And I mean everything.
For kids who already have one language, their native one, an English, that'd make it very difficult for them to actually learn much of anything. Expecting a 6-year old to be able to learn and be proficient with 3 languages is, quite frankly, ridiculous.
And while all teachers have some grasp of Irish, relatively few of them, in my experience, have a good enough grasp to teach their subject in Irish.
I might be wrong though. It's quite likely, in fact.