My good friend Derwin Brennan has a blog post up about the recent Irish language protests in which he attempts to dispel what he perceives as myths about compulsory Gaeilge. I disagree, and I think Irish serves an important function in this country and that its status as compulsory is vital.
First of all, I think it's important to note that we don't educate people solely to increase their potential earnings in whatever career they end up in. It's not about turning pupils into money-making machines. The people who make arguments that claim that Irish should not be compulsory because there's little chance of using it in any career outside of teaching and working for TG4 seem to neglect this fact. If it was the case that we only educated people so that they can generate wealth, we wouldn't have compulsory English literature classes or compulsory advanced mathematics in the Senior cycle of secondary education. Of course, preparing pupils for successful careers is a function of education, but it's just one function, and certainly not the most important function of going to school. Whether or not pupils will use Irish to earn a living, the fact is they are learning a beautiful, complex language and that, in and of itself, is worthwhile as learning any language is useful in terms of increased linguistic understanding and further knowledge about language in general. It's also fairly well accepted that learning a language from a young age can help in the accquisition of other languages.
Moreover, there is an important cultural dimension. Derwin dismisses this argument, claiming that to be Irish and to be speak the Irish language are different things. I agree, one's Irishness is not conditioned on one's ability to speak the native language. This would be absurd, and would exclude the vast majority of Irish people, both on this island and in the diaspora. However, this seems like a red herring. No one says that to be Irish, one must speak Irish. The point, rather, is that the Irish identity and yes, Irish culture has strong links with Gaeilge.
Like it or not, our ancestors spoke this language. They wrote poems lamenting the gradual loss of the language under the oppressive Penal Laws and suppression by a colonial power. I think it's important that the reason we no longer speak Irish is because of violent oppression. The people of Ireland did not choose to abandon the language because English was just handier. In fact, many people fought and died for the right of the Irish to speak this language and I think, for this reason, it deserves at least some respect and certainly the successor state of that struggle has a duty to promote and preserve the language. That oppression and struggle characterises Irish people in a significant way.; it's ingrained in our psyche. How could it not be? The Irish diaspora is so huge precisely because so many were forced to immigrate as a result of that oppression. That's why we celebrate the 1916 rising and study that history in primary school. Learning Irish helps us to interact with that history, to better understand the struggle for Irish liberty. Laments like Mo Ghile Mear lose something important when translated.
The Irish language clearly plays an important role in this country. The kind of English we speak, Hiberno-English is influenced by Irish grammar, vocabulary and pronounciation. Irish is on all road signs, Rail and Luas announcements. People speak Irish every day in the Gaeltacht, at school or at social gatherings organised by groups like Conradh na Gaeilge. Our constitution is written in Irish. Whenever there's an ambiguity in the text, the Irish interpretation is accepted. If Irish is no longer compulsory at advanced levels, we end up in the situation where citizens are not being prepared to properly and fully understand their own constitution. Our national anthem is always performed as Gaeilge. Irish is recognised as an official language of the European Union. The recent leader's debate on TG4, where all 3 potential Taoisigh showcased their fluency, was by far the best debate so far and was watched by around 140,000 people. Any notion that the language is dead seems like nonsense as far as I'm concerned.
As I've already explained the state has a duty to promote and preserve the language. It promotes the language by ensuring that people can interact with the state, by and large, in Irish if they so choose. The compulsory nature of the Irish language in secondary schools is important to preserve the language. I acknowledge that we're not doing the best job of teaching Irish, that we've fallen short in putting together a good curriculum that properly allows pupils to enjoy learning the language and to become competent in it. However, I know that putting together the best and most effective curriciulum is difficult. Irish is so important that the failings of the Dept. of Education should not lead to it's demise. The compulsory status is a safety net.
Let's work on improving the standard of Irish education and better providing for pupils to access all of the cultural and educational benefits of the language. It'll be difficult, of course, but it's better than just giving up.
First of all, I think it's important to note that we don't educate people solely to increase their potential earnings in whatever career they end up in. It's not about turning pupils into money-making machines. The people who make arguments that claim that Irish should not be compulsory because there's little chance of using it in any career outside of teaching and working for TG4 seem to neglect this fact. If it was the case that we only educated people so that they can generate wealth, we wouldn't have compulsory English literature classes or compulsory advanced mathematics in the Senior cycle of secondary education. Of course, preparing pupils for successful careers is a function of education, but it's just one function, and certainly not the most important function of going to school. Whether or not pupils will use Irish to earn a living, the fact is they are learning a beautiful, complex language and that, in and of itself, is worthwhile as learning any language is useful in terms of increased linguistic understanding and further knowledge about language in general. It's also fairly well accepted that learning a language from a young age can help in the accquisition of other languages.
Moreover, there is an important cultural dimension. Derwin dismisses this argument, claiming that to be Irish and to be speak the Irish language are different things. I agree, one's Irishness is not conditioned on one's ability to speak the native language. This would be absurd, and would exclude the vast majority of Irish people, both on this island and in the diaspora. However, this seems like a red herring. No one says that to be Irish, one must speak Irish. The point, rather, is that the Irish identity and yes, Irish culture has strong links with Gaeilge.
Like it or not, our ancestors spoke this language. They wrote poems lamenting the gradual loss of the language under the oppressive Penal Laws and suppression by a colonial power. I think it's important that the reason we no longer speak Irish is because of violent oppression. The people of Ireland did not choose to abandon the language because English was just handier. In fact, many people fought and died for the right of the Irish to speak this language and I think, for this reason, it deserves at least some respect and certainly the successor state of that struggle has a duty to promote and preserve the language. That oppression and struggle characterises Irish people in a significant way.; it's ingrained in our psyche. How could it not be? The Irish diaspora is so huge precisely because so many were forced to immigrate as a result of that oppression. That's why we celebrate the 1916 rising and study that history in primary school. Learning Irish helps us to interact with that history, to better understand the struggle for Irish liberty. Laments like Mo Ghile Mear lose something important when translated.
The Irish language clearly plays an important role in this country. The kind of English we speak, Hiberno-English is influenced by Irish grammar, vocabulary and pronounciation. Irish is on all road signs, Rail and Luas announcements. People speak Irish every day in the Gaeltacht, at school or at social gatherings organised by groups like Conradh na Gaeilge. Our constitution is written in Irish. Whenever there's an ambiguity in the text, the Irish interpretation is accepted. If Irish is no longer compulsory at advanced levels, we end up in the situation where citizens are not being prepared to properly and fully understand their own constitution. Our national anthem is always performed as Gaeilge. Irish is recognised as an official language of the European Union. The recent leader's debate on TG4, where all 3 potential Taoisigh showcased their fluency, was by far the best debate so far and was watched by around 140,000 people. Any notion that the language is dead seems like nonsense as far as I'm concerned.
As I've already explained the state has a duty to promote and preserve the language. It promotes the language by ensuring that people can interact with the state, by and large, in Irish if they so choose. The compulsory nature of the Irish language in secondary schools is important to preserve the language. I acknowledge that we're not doing the best job of teaching Irish, that we've fallen short in putting together a good curriculum that properly allows pupils to enjoy learning the language and to become competent in it. However, I know that putting together the best and most effective curriciulum is difficult. Irish is so important that the failings of the Dept. of Education should not lead to it's demise. The compulsory status is a safety net.
Let's work on improving the standard of Irish education and better providing for pupils to access all of the cultural and educational benefits of the language. It'll be difficult, of course, but it's better than just giving up.
Excellent post. Well written and fair. Well done!
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