An Ghaeltacht sign in the region / Image credit: TCD
Gaeltacht community anger over names in English
In a 2015 annual report by the Irish Language Commissioner, the highest number of complaints under the new Eircode postal system related to the translation of place names in the Gaeltacht region.
Rónán Ó Domhnaill, head of the office of An Coimisnéir Teanga expressed that he was not surprised at the level of anger in the Gaeltacht communities. More than 70 complaints were noted in the report. All complaints related to the English translation of Irish names and addresses without any Irish version.
Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language group, stated that up to 50,000 household in the Gaeltacht area are affected by the new system and called on the department to amend it.
Rónán Ó Domhnaill also reported that the Department of Communications had ‘breached a statutory language obligation during the rollout of the postcodes – Eircode’.
Irish Proficiency
As of today’s report, there is a reluctance on behalf of certain government departments to identify jobs requiring a proficiency in the Irish language. Mr Ó Domhnaill stated on the ‘serious questions that arise on the State’s willingness to provide services of the same standard in both languages’.
A Celtic round tower and monastery in Glendalough, County Wicklow, Ireland / Instagram
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2014: it’s Irish language week
To spread the word of the Irish language and its history, we’ve dedicated this post to it.
Irish is the official language of Ireland, although only 41% of its population can speak it. From the 1st to the 17th March this year, the people of Ireland are encouraged through festival events and cultural happenings to speak Irish. Seachtain na Gaeilge is a non-governmental organization, first established by Conradh na Gaeilge in 1903. This cultural event has taken place this time of year for more than a hundred years.
Irish is one of the oldest written languages in the world. First records of written Irish date back as far as the 6th century AD. Prior to written Irish, its archaic form was that of stone inscriptions known as Ogham writings: Ogham was carved on small monuments throughout the Irish sea from the 4th to the 7th centuries. As many of you probably know, Irish is a Celtic language. It was widely spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man and the west coast of Britain from 500 AD onwards, although it began to slowly decline through the centuries thereafter.
Over time, Irish became influenced by other northern European languages. From 900 to 1200 AD, the Scandinavian languages of the Vikings gave Irish new loanwords such as ‘pingín’ meaning penny and ‘margadh’ meaning ‘market’. When the French-Normans eventually arrived on Irish soil, words like ‘cúirt’ for court and ‘garsún’ for son began to appear. Up until 1500 to 1600 AD, the entire country was speaking Irish again; many Normans whom had chosen to settle in Ireland, as many Vikings had done before, started using Irish as their own tongue. Irish was never an administrative language on the island even though the majority of the populace spoke it. English was necessary for administration and any legal affairs.
Irish suffered many blows during the 16th and 17th centuries with English plantations of Ireland, the Williamite war (Jacobite-Williamite war of Ireland) and the enacting of the ‘Penal laws’.
Many attempts to reinstate Irish as a major language within the country failed despite great numbers of the rural population speaking it natively. Many Irish people began to adopt the English language during and after the Great Famine of Ireland (1845 to 1852) in which hunger, disease and mass emigration affected the country and its language. Not all was lost after the famine of the 19th century: the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language was established in 1876. This gave recognition for the inclusion of Irish in the education system.
In 1893, the Gaelic League was established; known as Conradh na Gaeilge. The league invoked a mass movement of support for spoken Irish and its influence can still be seen today.
How will you celebrate Seachtáin na Gaeilge? Show off your languages skills by posting comments or status feeds this week and next in Irish.
The STAR Team
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An mbaineann tú gáire as daoine? An bhfuil acmhainn grinn agat?
Is mian le Good Company Productions “GIG” a chur i láthair, sraith teilifíse réaltachta 8 gclár do TG4.
Tá “GIG” sa tóir ar an nGaeilgeoir is greannmhaire, is barrúla agus is siamsúla amuigh. Tá duais airgid le buachan chomh maith le háit ag mórfhéile grinn in 2014.
Chun tuilleadh eolais a fháil déan teagmháil le John nó Orla ag 01 4973225 nó 087 2387222 nó seol ríomhphost chuig [email protected] nó féach ar Good company
Ní mór d’iarrthóirí a bheidh os cionn 18 agus Gaeilge a bheith ar a dtoil acu.
Dé Céadaoin, 5 pm, 31ú Iúil 2013 an dáta deiridh a nglacfar le hiarratais
8 X 25” – TG4, Arna scannánú i mí Meán Fómhair/Deireadh Fómhair 2013 – le craoladh i mí Eanáir 2014
Sraith ar leagan amach nua do TG4 í “An Gaeilgeoir is Greannmhaire” (G.I.G) ina rachaimidne sa tóir ar an nGaeilgeoir is greannmhaire in Éirinn.
Á cur i láthair ag Síle Seoige beidh meascán den scoth moltóirí againn ó shaol an ghrinn chun dul ó cheann ceann na tíre ag lorg an Ghaeilgeora is barrúla amuigh.
Bunaithe ar thaithí na moltóirí (a bheidh le fógairt amach anseo) ar stáitse, ar chúrsaí grinn, ar dhrámaíocht, ar óráidíocht, ar scríbhneoireacht agus ar thaibhiú – beidh a fhios acusan cé atá barrúil agus greannmhar, cé hiad na charachtair, cé aige a bhfuil cumas cainte, cé hé an réalta agus cé atá ag ligean air féin!
Táimid ar lorg búistéir barrúil as Bóthar na Trá, b’fhéidir, nó múinteoir spraíúil as Tír Chonaill, siúinéir siamsúil as Ciarraí nó mac léinn soiniciúil as Baile an tSrutháin – seo é seans na nGaeilgeoirí is greannmhaire in Éirinn a theacht amach agus iad féin a chruthú.
Sa tréimhse 8 seachtain, iarrfaidh na Moltóirí comhairle ar theagascóirí mór le rá leis an lucht grinn nua seo a threorú agus a theagasc. Rachaidh siad ar thuras i ndomhan an ghrinn in Éirinn agus casfaidh le lucht grinn chomh maith le máistir-ranganna a fháil ó na comhairleoirí agus na teagascóirí. Cuirfear scoth na hoiliúna orthu leis an scoth a scríobh, a cheapadh agus a chur i láthair.
I dTaibhdhearc na Gaillimhe i gCathair na Gaillimhe a chuirfear na hiomaitheoirí deiridh i láthair agus is ann a chuirfidh muid fúinn don teagasc agus do na taibhithe gach seachtain. Ní roghnófar ach 8 le páirt a ghlacadh sa tsraith agus tabharfaidh na moltóirí bata agus bóthar d’iomaitheoirí éagsúla de réir mar a rachaidh an tsraith chun cinn.
Deis den scoth atá anseo teagasc agus comhairle a fháil le bheith i d’fhuirseoir – tharla sé cheana i mBéarla! Ach an cheist anois an féidir na scileanna sin a chur ag obair i nGaeilge?
Cé a sheasfaidh é, cé a cheapfaidh an t-ábhar is fearr, agus cé a rachaidh go Cill Airne agus a thabharfaidh 8 nóiméad de thaispeántas grinn os comhair 200 cainteoir ó dhúchas ag féile mhór na nGael ‘Oireachtas na Samhna’ – agus a ainmneofar ar “An Gaeilgeoir is Greannmhaire”?
Oíche mhór grinn a bheidh inti, nár tharla a leithéid cheana riamh.
The STAR Team
https://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.png00Star Translationhttps://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.pngStar Translation2013-07-30 10:48:522016-07-08 15:58:08G.I.G: An Gaeilgeoir is Greannmhaire
Here’s an interesting release that came into us today, so we’d like to let all our Irish translators and readers know about it.
TG4 presenters Áine Goggins and Tomaí Ó Conghaile take separate journeys around Ireland to see just how dependent we are on social media to make things happen. Each week they are given a task which they have to perform within 48 hours. Áine will harness the power of technology and social media to make new friends, create networks and entice people out to help her. Tomaí will not. He will do it the old-fashioned way: meeting people in pubs, clubs and parish halls, using phone boxes and post offices, and sticking the thumb out for a lift along the way. Neither person can simply rely on their mobiles to make calls.
Ar Skype a Chéile is a play on the words of an Irish proverb, Ar Scath a Chéile, which means that with support from each other, we survive. But can Áine really survive in the real world and organise a speed dating night for example without asking for help in the traditional way? Can she muster enough social media friends to come out and support her endeavours in local communities and can Tomaí really mobilise people and make things happen without the power of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc?
This is a fun based series with both individuals pitched against each other against the clock as they try to make an impact in local areas. The entertaining results will tell us a lot about where we are as a society and whether our love affair with the internet can make a difference practically.
In the first episode, Tomaí is given 48 hours to organise a traditional cross roads céilí in rural Kerry, while Áine has to get as many online friends as possible to come along to a traditional Irish dance flash mob in a Donegal supermarket.
The six part series produced by Tobar Productions will be broadcast on TG4 in the Autumn, and is supported by the Irish Language Television Production Fund.
https://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.png00Star Translationhttps://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.pngStar Translation2013-07-10 14:53:032016-03-23 10:43:05Ar Skype a Chéile Clár Nua do TG4
https://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.png00Star Translationhttps://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.pngStar Translation2012-11-30 09:00:572016-04-22 13:53:36How do you say Saint Patrick's Day in Irish?
How do you say delicacy in Irish? Part of our Irish word of the day series.
So to say delicacy in Irish = fínealtacht.
Stay tuned for more.
https://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.png00Star Translationhttps://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.pngStar Translation2012-11-30 09:00:042015-09-03 14:39:26How do you say delicacy in Irish?
https://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.png00Star Translationhttps://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.pngStar Translation2012-11-29 09:00:292016-05-16 10:58:07How do you say needle and thread in Irish?
Seafront in Irish is ‘aghaidh na farraige’. Watch the video to learn how to pronounce aghaidh na farraige.
The STAR Team
https://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.png00Star Translationhttps://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.pngStar Translation2012-11-28 09:00:522016-03-25 09:55:24Learn How to Say Seafront in Irish
Irish Language Synthesiser – Learn how to pronounce Irish
Have you ever wished you could speak Irish or wondered how to pronounce certain words or phrases. The team in Trinity College Dublin have come up with a really novel text to speech synthesiser for the Irish Language. The site www.abair.ie enables you to simply type in the text you want spoken in Irish and it pronounces it in either the Connemara or Donegal dialect and it’s surprisingly real. We think they plan to eventually have the Munster dialect available too at some point.
To help you learn, you can enter your Irish text and change the playback speed. This way you can listen in closely to the subtle sound changes, so your Irish will improve dramatically.
You can also download a phonetic transcription of the text to learn more.
We’ve tried it out ourselves here in STAR and we think its brilliant. Thanks to Séan for finding this one for us.
https://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.png00Star Translationhttps://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.pngStar Translation2012-11-27 09:58:272015-09-09 14:36:40Learn how to pronounce Irish
How do you say ladybird in Irish? Part of our Irish word of the day series.
So to say ladybird in Irish = bóín Dé.
Stay tuned for more.
https://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.png00Star Translationhttps://www.star-ts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STAR-logo-orig.pngStar Translation2012-11-27 09:00:222015-09-03 14:28:20How do you say ladybird in Irish?
