Can Irish be normal? (Part 2)

17th Mar 2008

Can Irish be nomal? (Part Two)

In November last year, far from the temporary plastic nationalism of the Irish Free State's March bank holiday we, decided to investigate what the Irish language scene in Cork was up to.

It's not the hardest topic in the world to research. You can pin down most of the main Irish language "players" pretty easily - they're mostly located in schools, UCC and one or two in heavily tax-payer funded organisations.

Those involved in the Irish Language in Cork love it. Without doubt they're a passionate bunch who use the language wherever and whenever they can - their energy is encouraging and infectious with few appearing pious.

Sadly, the reality is that the Irish scene is mainly confined to academic surroundings, a few limited talking circles and a handful of events closely tied to other aspects of Irish culture. For the language to grow meaningfully in Cork there seems to be two major stumbling blocks: the way Irish is taught in schools and the lack of places and circumstances to use Irish after it has been taught.

Leaving cert students wrapping up their involvement with the language

OLD SCHOOL
A leaving cert student destined to do the Irish papers in June has been studying the language for at least thirteen years. Despite this, there's a big chance he or she may NOT have been examined orally to this day.

For any language to flourish outside the sterile walls of academia, young students leaving secondary school must at the very least have basic conversational skills and be comfortable speaking with their peers. Tied to this is the fact that once students leave school there are little or no opportunities for them to use the language.

Irish language press and literature is self-obsessed with the number of speakers. This is the ugly yard stick by which state institutions and media judge the language's proliferation. Some claim there are more Polish speakers than Irish speakers while the census tells us that one million people claim to understand the language.

While focus appears to obsess on tweaking the educational system, aspiring to eventually produce perfect batches of gaelgóirs ready to take on the world, the sad reality is that this year's leaving cert students will not have anywhere 'normal' to use the language when they leave school in June.

By anywhere 'normal' it is meant that it is not common to use the language in Cork in your everyday life. Its use outside the education system is minimal - the government can build all the gaelscoils they want but if its not 'normal' to use the language when the kids leave school it's hard to argue for their long term cultural value to the tax payer.

DORMANT SPEAKERS - "Sure I haven't a word of it!"
Many people we spoke to would claim not to know any Irish at all but upon further investigation it's clear that most, often unbeknown to themselves, still understand relatively complex sentences once spoken clearly. We all have a fundamental grasp of grammatical structure and are furnished with a several thousand word vocabulary but how can you be expected to launch into a fluid conversation if you're not using it at least once a week?

What people really mean is that they're not good at speaking it or feel too guilty about their inability to converse. The fundamentals are still there to build on. The only thing that's needed to stir it up is practice, but without the places and people willing to collaborate it's tough out there in a world where English meets every other need.

The enormous but mainly untapped resource of dormant speakers (read: most Irish people) seems like an ideal demographic to focus on. It begs the question: why are dormant speakers not more aggressively targeted by Irish language groups? If half the cash spent on unused public service translations was directed into reawakening dormant speakers perhaps there would eventually be genuine demand for EU documents and other public information in Irish. The chicken, it seems, has come before the egg.

John Spillane: live at Club DP on April 2nd Click for info and tickets

WASTED OPPORTUNITY
Over 50,000 students sit a leaving cert exam in Irish every year yet the number of Irish speakers nationally is paltry. Like sand pouring through the hands this glaring hole in the life cycle of a potential Irish speaker lies wide open.

To enjoy speaking Irish shouldn't mean that you have to like set-dancing or trad. This tight bond between Arran sweater elements of Irish culture is not always a positive. Nearly all Irish language events involve traditional Irish music or some other native form of entertainment - but it's not everyone's bag.

We wondered if we put on a 'normal' event that might otherwise happen on a week night in February would people come under the assumption that they would speak Irish?

CLUB DAON-PHOBLACHT
They did. Tickets for a gig in the Roundy on a cold Wednesday night in February sold like hot cakes and we had to turn away over fifty people. Punters, mainly in the 20-30 year old category listened to house music, laughed at a comedian, and shuffled around to a live band. The only difference to any other club or pub around town was that people spoke Irish all night.

Feedback was immense and encouraging but drummed up a few questions. Why, if a few half interested galoots like us with dodgy Irish, could fill a pub in town on a Wednesday night with young Irish speakers, has this not been done before?

Irish language bodies seem perpetually obsessed with reviews and strategy groups but few seem to yield any 'big ideas'. To offer proper perspective, the next review of the Irish language shouldn't come from within the language itself or from anyone predisposed to the language living in the country. The equivalent of an independent Genesis report would certainly ruffle a few cosy publicly funded feathers, but more importantly would bring some reality to what is ultimately a complex but fascinating social challenge.

The next Club Daon-Phoblacht, in association with Foras na Gaeilge, will take place on Wednesday April 2nd at The Roundy.
For more info see: www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/gaeilge