Is Irish Gaelic hard to learn?
Irish can't be difficult to learn - I managed to do it, as an adult, never having studied it in school. The grammar is not complex (just a dozen irregular verbs, the nouns are more inflected than English but no where near as complex as something like Latin). The biggest challenge is the vocabulary, which is very different from English. The pronunciation and spelling rules also differ from English, but that will be true of any language you start to learn. There's great value and pleasure to be had from the language, much now available over the internet: radio and TV stations, magazines and newspapers. And you can twitter and all that other stuff in Irish as well. And, you can always sit in a pub in the Gaeltacht, and talk to people in Irish. You might want to Google on Des Bishop - In the Name of the Fada.
Does anyone know the word for "nostalgia" in Gaelic?
I researched it a little bit and I'm getting cumha and uaigneas, but the two words don't seem to directly mean nostalgia. So I was wondering if anyone who speaks the language knows which one is more appropriate when describing nostalgia (in a sense that you long for the past, not necessarily a negative connotation).
How to say "The Hidden One" in Irish Gaelic?
The Hidden One = An Té atá Folaithe
Is there an indie/alternative music in Irish Gaelic?
I know there a few "Anarchist" (lol) punk bands who sing in Scottish Gaelic, but I've never been particularly keen on them. I'm not into the whole "**** the government" rubbish that seems to come with the territory when it comes to alternative Gaelic music - it's a bit immature to be fair. So I was wondering if anyone could suggest any good bands that sing in Irish Gaelic, or at least have a few songs sung in the language? I'm mainly looking for indie, alternative music, prehaps even electro, although I doubt it. Thanks for any info
Is there any chance of Irish Gaelic making a comeback?
I am not from Ireland so I don't know really what is going on. But I was wondering if there is any real attempt going on in trying to re-institute the native language (Irish Gaelic) in the school systems and to the Irish Population as a whole. I understand that the current generation might not have any real interest in learning it because most of the country just speak English and they might just think there is no point in learning it. But as a whole how does the country feel about preserving that aspect of the culture? and making obligatory to learn both English and Irish Gaelic in the schools so the next generation (young children) can learn the language and it will be revitalized. Thank You
Why are Scottish Gaelic, Irish, and Welsh not official languages of the United Kingdom?
Probably because the United Kingdom has no official languages, not even English. That said, since 2011 Welsh has in fact had official status in Wales, making it the only de jure official language anywhere in the UK. Since 1993 public bodies have also had to treat Welsh and English equally. This reflects a long history of political campaigning by Welsh speakers. It’s by far the healthiest of the Celtic languages, and on a much stronger footing than any of the others in the UK. There are no official languages in Scotland, England, or Northern Ireland, or (as I said above) across the UK as a whole.
Does the IRA speak Gaelic? If so do they speak it while in combat?
Just wondering. It would kind of make sense so that the British can't pick up on what they're saying. I know a lot of their slogans are in Irish, but do most members of the IRA speak Gaelic fluently?
Do Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish people get offended when they're referred to as British?
I’m Scottish. Scotland is part of the island of Britain, that seems to be pretty incontrovertible. If there was another independence referendum, I’d probably vote for indepence after the Brexit shambles, but guess what? Scotland would STILL be part of the island of Britain and I STILL wouldn’t get offended if someone called me British because it’s a simple geographical fact.Politically I don’t really care about the existence of the UK but culturally the Scots are closely relted to the English (Northern England, especially), the Welsh, to the (non-British) Irish and I see no problems acknowledging that. Even if we became independent we would still have a lot in common - people who claim that e.g. Scotland is more like Scandinavia than Northern England as I’ve heard expressed I’m guessing have never left the country and have no real frame of reference to make that comparison.What I really object to is when England is used to mean “Britain”. Scotland is not part of England in the same way that Moscow is not in Siberia and that Texas is not California. I also get annoyed by people saying things like “the Scots and the British” on Quora and elsewhere, which is just the same mistake expressed in a different way. It’s really not hard to grasp. Britain is an island name after the ancient Brythons, Scotland and England and Wales are parts of that island and the United Kingdom is the name of the state that they all belong too. If you can get your head round Texas being in the USA or Andalucia being part of Spain, I don’t see what the problem is. Whenever I see someone who can’t be bothered getting that right - and I see if in Spanish and German and US newspapers all the time, it makes me wonder how much know about what they’re talking about. And yeah, it’s offensive.
What percent of Ireland speaks English and what percent speaks Irish (Gaelic)?
I'm just wondering if a majority speaks English. I want to move there when I'm older, but I don't know where to learn Gaelic, and I already know three languages, so do I have to learn another one? I'll learn it if it helps me there. So, what *percent* speak Gaelic and what *percent* speak English? (The reason I did * with percent was because I already know that certain spots speak Gaelic) Thanks for your help :)