Pól Ó'Muirí

...de la Belfast Telegraph:

The Second Mysterious Conversion of Advent occurred when the North/South Ministerial Council appointed a number of the great and the good to the cross-border implementation bodies in the run-up to Christmas. Such was the feeling of good cheer that even the DUP managed to appoint two people to the board of the 'all-Ireland' Irish-language body, Foras na Gaeilge.

Admittedly, one does not immediately think of the DUP as being well-disposed towards North/South bodies or the Irish language. What a cheery thought to know that they have shown such civic spirit and have found it in their hearts to support and promote Irish and that the good people of Donegal, Ballymena, Belfast and Dublin are all united in their Irishness.

No more will the DUP-ers talk of the ghastly Gaelic. From now on, it is Irish for Every One. Surely it can only be a matter of time before the First Minister uses a few words of Irish in his Stormont speeches. (I am available at a very reasonable rate for speech writing!)

Regrettably, the DUP's good work seems to have been overlooked in the flurry of Christmas cards. (Not so much Silent Night as Silent Press Releases.) However, I could not let the old year pass without acknowledging the DUP-ers' cultural largesse.

Well done and a Happy New Year, or as people in the DUP might say: Bliain Ur Faoi Mhaise.

Ffresh 2008

...de icWales:

As the countdown continues to Wales’ annual event for students involved in film and TV, Emily Lambert finds out what will be on offer at Ffresh 2008.

It may be starting on Valentine’s Day, but budding film-makers in the back row of the cinema at Ffresh 2008 will have more on their mind than affairs of the heart...

...The categories are animation, music media, interactive media, factual, fiction, short shorts (up to three minutes in length), Welsh language, promos and stings (any promotional stings, adverts and programme or channel idents) and TV (any production made specifically for TV)...

Mary Hanafin

...de la Irish Independent:

Eduacation Minister Mary Hanafin is on a collision course with Irish-language schools as they step up their campaign for the option of teaching completely through Irish for a child's first year in school.

Fresh from the water charges debacle, the minister is facing the wrath of teachers in the country's 135 Irish-language primary schools as her attempts to impose changes are being met with resistance.

The department wants a minimum of two-and-a-half hours of English a week to be taught in the first year at all-Irish schools, while the Gaelscoileanna are seeking total early immersion in the first year.

However, the directive, which was due to come into effect when schools re-open next week, is on hold, pending the outcome of a judicial review.

Frongoch

...icWales:

A programme about Frongoch – the prison camp in North Wales where about 1,800 Irish rebels were interned in 1916 – will be broadcast on ITV1 Wales in the new year.

Frongoch – University of Revolution is a two-part series providing a definitive account of a crucial yet neglected episode in Irish and Welsh history...

...Inside the former German prisoner of war camp the Irish language was forbidden. The series shows how inmates informed their comrades where they’d hidden cigarettes and food for them.

Connie Fisher

...de icWales:

Connie Fisher, pictured, will perform in Welsh tonight for the first time since winning her coveted leading role in The Sound of Music.

The 24-year-old appears on S4C’s star-studded New Year’s Eve magazine programme, Wedi 2007.

The Pembrokeshire performer – who found fame in the talent series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? – will sing folk song Cilfan y Coed. She will be joined on the show by Hollywood-based Welsh stars Ioan Gruffudd and Matthew Rhys as well as mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins. ..

Kit Ahern

...de Radio Telefís Éireann:

The funeral of Kit Ahern, the first woman to serve as a TD for North Kerry, will take place tomorrow.

It will follow the 11.30am Requiem Mass at St. John's Church in Ballybunnion...

...The 92-year-old former TD, Senator and Councillor died in Tralee yesterday.

She served only one term as TD following her election to Dáil Eireann in 1977 for Fianna Fáil before losing her seat and retiring from national politics.

Ms Ahern also served as president of the Irish Country Women's Association.

The eldest of eight children from Athea in Co Limerick she was educated locally and in Dublin.

She was a lifelong promoter of the Irish language and was an aunt of the Kerry inter-county footballer Eoin Liston.

Anglalingvo en la Irlandalingvujo

...de la BBC:

The Kerry Gaeltacht, or Irish-speaking area, is one of the few places left where Irish can be heard in the street.

But in the capital, Dingle, or in its official Irish title, Daingean Ui Chuis, English is widely used.

Two secondary schools recently merged into a new one, Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne.

But the school's policy of teaching all lessons through Irish has led to protests by some students who say they cannot understand what they are being taught.

Sam Spinn was one of the students who left classes to protest against the all-Irish policy.

"A lot of students can't learn through all Irish - there are some who can but a lot of them can't and it's just not acceptable that people have to go through school in which they don't understand the classes at all," he said.

"People just begin to hate a language if it's forced on them so it will flourish under encouragement, but if it's forced on people, people will just reject it and they'll go against it."

But speaking in Irish is fundamental to an Irish-speaking area.

Here, a group of fluent speakers meet to bring on others keen to improve.

Some who have come from outside or abroad say they have learned Irish out of respect for the Gaeltacht tradition and its people, and want their children to learn it too.

Lone Ui Raghallaigh comes from Denmark. Married and living in the Kerry Gaeltacht, she has learned to speak Irish.

"When we moved here we knew we were moving into a Gaeltacht and to me it is very important not to water down the beautiful language they have in this area," she said.

"So we are very conscious of trying to do the best ourselves to learn the language and of course we took it for granted that the children would be taught through Irish.

"It's part of living in a Gaeltacht."

Grand Puŝo por la Skotagaela Lingvo

...de la BBC:

Am y tro cynta mae cyngor yn yr Alban yn penderfynu cynnal pob cyfarfod drwy gyfrwng yr Aeleg.

Y cyngor yw Ynysoedd y Gorllewin lle mae dim ond 18 o gynghorwyr allan o 31 yn rhugl yn yr iaith.

Ar hyn o bryd dim ond rhai cyfarfodydd pwyllgor sy'n cael eu cynnal drwy gyfrwng yr Aeleg.

Dywedodd y cyngor na fyddai mwy o gost am fod cyfieithydd ar y pryd eisoes yn Sgioba na Gaidhlig neu'r adran Aeleg...

Di Botcher

...de icWales:

A Port Talbot television star turned storyteller to entertain Neath schoolchildren at the town’s library.

Di Botcher – who has appeared in Belonging, Little Britain and the current run of Post Office adverts – sat and read to children from Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Castell Nedd.

The actress started learning Welsh earlier this year for BBC Wales’ Big Welsh Challenge multimedia project, and treated her audience to Helfa Drysor (Treasure Hunt) by Nick Butterworth.

She said: “Since I’m from Port Talbot, it’s been lovely to be able to read to children from the area.

“I try to make sure I practise my Welsh every day and it’s been a struggle because I spend a lot of time in London.”

Bretona Separatismo

...de la Internacia Rusia Informa Agentejo:

L'Armée révolutionnaire bretonne agit depuis 1970 en Bretagne, péninsule du nord-ouest de la France. Les descendants des Celtes qui s'y implantèrent jadis en quittant les îles Britanniques ne se considèrent pas comme étant totalement français ou estiment qu'ils sont des Français "d'un autre genre".

Au cours des recensements, nombre d'entre eux se désignent comme étant des Bretons, tout en indiquant que le français est leur langue maternelle.

L'Armée révolutionnaire bretonne (ARB, apparemment appelée ainsi par analogie avec l'Armée républicaine irlandaise) fait partie de l'aile extrémiste du mouvement nationaliste Emgann (MGI) qui lutte contre les "oppresseurs français".

Cruinneachadh nan Gaidheal

...de la Chronicle Herald:

Gaelic language enthusiasts and scholars from around the world will meet in Antigonish next summer to celebrate the culture.

The Gathering of the Gaels, Cruinneachadh nan Gaidheal, will take place on the campus of St. Francis Xavier University in July.

Gaelic professor Catronia Parsons has been busy this month drumming up municipal and community support for the event.

Ms. Parsons said the gathering is an opportunity for young and old to come together "as a demonstration that Gaelic language and culture are alive and thriving."

Patagonio

...de la Agence France-Presse:

"In five or six generations, Welsh blood has spread widely across Patagonia," Coronato said. In the Chubut province where the population is well over 400,000 he estimates about one person in four has a pure-blooded grandparent and some 5,000 people speak the Welsh language here.

The Welsh heritage and the language revival are most evident in the town of Gaiman, which is well known for a large number of low brick or stone buildings and quiet streets lined with a large number of teahouses.

One called Plas y Coed run by Ana Chiabrando Rees was opened by her great-grandmother in 1944….

…"My mother didn't speak Welsh, but I learned from my grandmother and great-grandmother," says Rees, who now teaches Welsh in Gaiman and made her first trip to Wales a year ago.

Brezhoweb

…de Rennes Infonet:

Dessins animés, débats, séries et même jeux vidéos en bretons... Ne cherchez plus, c'est pour bientôt. Le site Brezhoweb.fr, qui diffuse déjà sur la toile un talk-show mensuel de deux heures 100% breton, va étoffer son offre pour tenter d'offrir une vériatble web-tv de qualité à tous les bretonnants du monde.

« Nous sommes là pour suppléer à l'insuffisance du service public breton en langue bretonne. » Un bien vaste programme lancé par le site internet Brezhoweb.fr. Depuis un an déjà, ce dernier offre aux bretonnants un talk-show mensuel de deux heures en langue bretonne, Web noz, tourné à chaque fois dans un coin différent de la région. « Chaque émission est vue par 15 000 visiteurs uniques, explique l'un de ses représentants. Entre 500 et 1000 les regardent en direct, les autres en différé, par petits bouts, parce que deux heures de programmes en breton, ça peut faire long. »

“Duan Nollaig — A Gaelic Christmas”

...de la Inverness Courier:

It could be that singer Fiona Mackenzie has already had the Christmas present she wants.
Mackenzie, Highland Council's Màiri Mhòr Gaelic Song Fellow and a former Mod gold medallist, has been left reeling by the positive response to her seasonal CD, " Duan Nollaig — A Gaelic Christmas ".

The double album is believed to be the first Scottish collection of Gaelic Christmas carols and songs.

Among them are well established Gaelic carols such as "Taladh Chriosda (The Christ Child Lullaby)" and "Leanabh an Aigh", the melody best known to pop fans as the Cat Stevens' hit "Morning Has Broken", along with new songs and Gaelic versions of some of the world's best known Christmas songs, such as "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and "In the Bleak Midwinter" and surprises such as a Gaelic version of glum Canadian singer Leonard Cohen's "Halleluiah".

Video de Skotgaela Klaso

...de Cape Breton Post:

Lt. - Gov. Mayann Francis was on hand at Mira Road Elementary School Wednesday morning to help launch the new school Gaelic program.

Mira Road is hosting one of three programs aimed at preserving the Gaelic language and culture.

Abertawe

...de icWales:

A Welsh council has been condemned for removing bilingual roadsigns from a complex roundabout and replacing them with English-only ones.

Members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith said Swansea Council was “not practising what it preached” over its language policy.

A spokeswoman said, “Despite the fact the council has declared on many an occasion that they practise and wish to promote bilingualism within Swansea, in reality they are not.”

The bilingual signs at the busy Ynysforgan roundabout were changed for English-only signs in September.

Sean Ban Breathnach

…de Setanta Sports:

Veteran broadcaster Sean Ban Breathnach has rescinded his decision to resign as Cultural and Irish officer of the Galway county board.

Breathnach tendered his resignation at a meeting of the Galway county board on Monday night, citing a sense of disillusionment with the hostility shown to players, officials and supporters using the Irish language…

…"Every time these people hear Irish being spoken on the pitch they just seem to lose it.

"This is racism. When you hear people saying to players: 'what is that f*****g stupid language of yours, will you shut up and go back to Connemara and talk to yourselves,' you know you have a problem."

“The Chronicles of Corum”

...de The Star (Malajzio):

Another character by famed British author Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion (the other being Elric and Hawkmoon).

Corum Jhaelen Irsei or The Prince in the Scarlet Robe first appeared in the book The Knight of Swords and is the last of an ancient race of elves, who had been slaughtered by the Mabden (or humans)….

….Moorcock relied on Cornish mythology and language here and Corum is an underrated gem by the author, primarily overshadowed by the popularity of Elric.

Seanna Breathnach

…de la Irish Independent:

The former Republican prisoner who became the "face of the IRA" in 2005 has been appointed to a State board.

Seanna Walsh was broadcast around the world when he appeared in a video paying tribute to volunteers, while announcing that paramilitary arms had been put beyond use.

Now he has been appointed to the board of Foras na Gaeilge, the Irish language body, following a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council attended by Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern…

… In a news release of names appointed to various cross-border boards, Mr Walsh was rendered as " Seanna Breathnach," using the Irish language version of his surname.

Striko!

...de icWales:

Wales’ biggest teaching union yesterday threatened strike action over pay.

The National Union of Teachers Cymru said members would be balloted if ministers award no more than the 2% cap being suggested by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Mr Brown has called for the 2% ceiling on public sector pay increases “to keep inflation under control”. But the NUT, NASUWT and Welsh language teaching union UCAC all said 2% was effectively a pay cut.

Alice Cheung

...de icWales:

A Cantonese speaker is so taken with the Welsh language that she is starring in a TV commercial to promote it.

Former restaurateur Alice Cheung , 48, a mum of two from Whitchurch, Cardiff, will be seen in the Welsh Assembly Government’s Welsh for adults advertising campaign, We’ll Bring Out The Cymraeg In You.

Originally from Hong Kong, Cantonese is Alice’s mother tongue. She also speaks Mandarin and is learning Welsh with a private tutor and by practising with her Welsh-speaking daughter Jin, 21, and son Wing, 22.

“I’m really enjoying learning Welsh,” said Alice.

“It’s a fascinating language and, although it’s quite difficult, particularly the pronunciation, I hope one day to be able to converse with local people in Welsh.”

Skotgaela kaj la Kelta Leono

...de la BBC:

First Minister Alex Salmond will pledge an extra £7.5m to safeguard the future of the Gaelic language this week.

Mr Salmond will unveil the funding increase when he delivers the annual Sabhal Mor Ostaig lecture on Wednesday.

The money will be spent on education, the national plan for the language and also broadcasting.

The lecture will take place at the St Cecilia Hall in Edinburgh, where Mr Salmond will call for the creation of a "Celtic Lion" economy.

Irlanda Kristnasko en Otavo

...de la Ottowa Citizen:

The Irish Canadian Cultural Centre in the former St. Brigid's church at 176 St. Patrick St. hosts an Irish family Christmas party from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

An Irish language get-together with stories and poetry takes place from 2 to 4 p.m., tours of the heritage church are at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. A freewill donation is appreciated.

Kimralingvo kaj Microsoft Windows

...de la BBC:

O ddydd Llun ymalen mae mwy o siaradwyr Cymraeg yn gallu defnyddio rhaglenni cyfrifiadurol fel Windows Vista ac Office 2007 trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg.

Mae pecynnau ar gael i'w lawrlwytho yn rhad ac am ddim o dan gynllun rhwng y cwmni meddalwedd cyfrifiadurol Microsoft a Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg.

Yr oedd y prosiect yn golygu cyfieithu 600,000 o eiriau i'r Gymraeg ac fe wnaed y gwaith cyfieithu gan gwmni Cymen.

Fe gychwynnodd y berthynas rhwng Microsoft a Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg wrth lansio pecynnau rhyngwyneb iaith i Office 2003 a Windows XP yn 2004.
'Tyngedfennol'

Comunn Gàidhlig Cheap Breatuinn

...de la Cape Breton Post:

From the moment they step through the door of the Cape Breton Gaelic Society each Saturday morning, participants in a unique program are able to immerse themselves in the Gaelic language for five hours.

Known as the Total Immersion Plus (TIP), the program has been offered on the island for the last couple of years and is proving effective in allowing people to achieve conversational fluency in Gaelic.

The program includes beginner, intermediate and advanced-level learners.

Christine Quinn kaj la Irlandalingvo

...de la blogo, From the Balcony, de Máirtín Ó Muilleoir:

[New York City Council] Speaker Chrissie Quinn told pupils at the Irish medium college Coláiste Feirste on the Falls yesterday that her father used two words of Irish frequently.

One was 'flaithiúil'. Still widely used in the English in Ireland as flaithiúlach to describe someone who spends money generously, Chrissie's father used it to describe a big-sized jumper. A use also permissable in the Irish.

The second word will require some detective work by Dan Cassidy, author of how the Irish invented slang. It sounded like "leuven" to me but I will check with Speaker Quinn later today as I forget her explanation of its meaning.

Aer Lingus Perfidas la Irlandalingvon

…de la BBC:

As Labour MP Kate Hoey flew into Belfast to take part in the Let's Talk programme she could have done some research on the plane.

Little did she know that the flying habits of one of the city's newest arrivals would be up for discussion later that day.

Aer Lingus, the latest airline to set up shop in Northern Ireland, has decided to drop the Irish language greeting to passengers on their Belfast flights.

The news hasn't phased the County Antrim born politician.

"I really couldn't care less," she told the audience. Later adding, "as long as they speak English".

Libroj de Skotlando

...de la Globe & Mail:

For an academically inclined friend who's curious about Scottish literature, the first "big yin," Scotland's Books: The Penguin History of Scottish Literature would be the very thing. This survey of Scottish writing from the sixth century on is conducted by Scottish poet, professor and nationalist Robert Crawford. He was born in the era when Scottish students were openly discouraged from taking their own literature seriously. He's out to remedy that with this "fresh history, aimed not just at academics but at readers generally."

He gives proper recognition to two areas commonly ignored in previous histories: the long tradition of Scottish writing in Latin and in Gaelic. Until the early 18th century, when it went out of use, Latin was the dominant language in prose and poetry (the famous William Drummond of Hawthornden was "the foremost Latin poet in Europe"). Gaelic has been the native tongue of a diminishing number of wonderful Scottish poets over the centuries, up to and including the late Sorley MacLean. Crawford's fine translations of many passages from Latin and Gaelic make the book an excellent anthology of formerly inaccessible gems.

Nova Libro de Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill

…de la Guardian:

The Fifty Minute Mermaid is the most recent dual-language collection by Irish poet Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill. Her 1986 Rogha Dánta / Selected Poems, with translations by the bilingual poet Michael Hartnett, established Ní Dhomhnaill's reputation outside Ireland, particularly in America, and her work has attracted translators such as Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin and Medbh McGuckian.

No other Irish-language poet has so successfully managed to bridge the gap between those who can approach her work directly and an international audience.

Muziko de Breton-Kabo

...de la Cape Breton Post:

A video that explores Cape Breton’s unique musical history through the eyes of some of the island’s most well-known fiddlers and performers will now be available across Canada.

Earlier this week, Sea-Cape Music Ltd. announced it had signed an agreement with Landwash Music Distribution naming them the exclusive national distributor for Highland Legacy: The Music of Cape Breton, a DVD co-produced by Sea-Cape owner Allister MacGillivray and Helix Digital of Sydney...

...That footage showcases all aspects of Cape Breton’s musical culture, including the Gaelic language, stepdancing, square dances and much more...

Skotgaela Koruso

...de la Northern Times:

After another busy year, members of Lairg Gaelic Choir are enjoying a short breathing space before their new season starts in January.

Since the National Mod in October, the choir has performed in functions at Ardgay, Rogart and Golspie, with representatives attending other events in Inverness and Dingwall. Audiences enjoyed singing along with the choir at the ceilidhs, and choir members hope some of them will now do so on a more permanent basis.

The new session starts in January, with the choir's annual general meeting on Monday, January 7, and the first practice session on Thursday, January 10, at 7.30pm in Lairg Primary School. New members will be made most welcome. You don't have to read music and you don't need to speak or understand Gaelic – all the help required will come from Gaelic tutors Barbara Murray and Norman Macdonald and conductors Ken Black and Evelyn Calder.

Beidh Aonach Amárach

...de la Mayo Advertiser:

A TV programme about Mayo sheep farmers produced and presented in Mayo earlier this year received national and international recognition this week after TG4 revealed that Beidh Aonach Amárach was one of the most watched TV programmes on the Irish language channel this year.

The documentary, presented and produced by Westport broadcaster Piaras Ó Raghallaigh in association with Cahill Media, correlated the decline of the traditional sheep fairs with the difficulties facing Mayo sheep farmers at present.

The programme was broadcast in the popular Cogar slot on TG4 and featured constantly in the top five programmes broadcast and watched on TG4 during 2007. This week the programme was highly commended by TG4 commissioning editors and received glowing reviews in the Irish Times and the Irish Independent. The programme is now set to feature in the International Celtic film and TV festival in the New Year.

Marc Bannerman

...de My Park Magazine:

Marc Bannerman is learning Welsh to impress Cerys Matthews.

The 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' love rat - who fell for fellow contestant Cerys in the jungle, despite being in a long-term relationship with Sarah Matravers at the time - is learning Welsh so he can woo his new love in her first language.

Marc, 34, said: "Her mum only speaks in Welsh so I need to learn it fast otherwise I might as well talk to the wall."

Kristnaskaj Vesproj

...de la Salem News:

Take a break from the frenzy of the holidays and enjoy an evening of traditional advent readings in English and Irish (Gaelic) and the music of the season on Saturday at 5 p.m. at St. James Episcopal Church, 120 Main St., Amesbury.

"Candlelight Celtic Evening Vespers" will feature traditional Celtic music, Irish-language prayers and the St. James Choir.

There will be music by Charlotte O Faolain Hallett (early Irish harp), Clare Gunshannon (early Irish harp), Mary Ellen Kelly (bodhran), and readings in English by Rev. Susan Esco Changler and in Gaelic by Aine Greaney .

For more, call the church at 978-388-0030.

Lingva Perdo en Bretona

...de Rennes Infonet:

Les membres de l'Office de la langue bretonne faisaient le point mercredi matin sur la situation du breton. Une chose se dégage de leur enquête : la langue maternelle de certains de nos ancêtres ne se porte pas très bien. Il mourrait en effet plus d'un bretonnant par heure et la relève linguistique n'est pas assurée.

205 spécialistes de la langue bretonne se sont penchés sur cette question : comment se porte la langue bretonne aujourd'hui ? Le moins que l'on puisse dire, c'est que la réponse n'est pas particulièrement encourageante. « Il faut tirer la sonnette d'alarme dans certains domaines », témoigne Léna Louarn, co-fondatrice de l'école Diwan de Rennes en 1978 et présidente de l'Office de la langue bretonne.

Sinn Féin kaj la Irlandalingvo

...de la Irish Times:

The Government must protect the rights of Irish speakers in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said today.

Mr Adams met Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Éamon Ó Cuív in Dublin to push for an Irish Language Act in the Stormont Assembly.

In October, Northern Ireland Culture Minister Edwin Poots of the DUP ruled out introducing an Irish Language Act because he claimed it would prove too divisive and costly.

But Mr Adams said today: "Sinn Féin feels very strongly that the Irish Government has a responsibility to ensure that Irish speakers have their rights protected.

"It's my very firm opinion that there will be an Irish Language Act. I note that when Minister Poots ruled out an Act he said 'at this time' so he himself hasn't ruled it out. He hasn't closed the door on the Act."...

Táin Bó Cúailnge

…de la Los Angeles Times:

Within the West's small but precious hoard of archaic literary epics, "The Táin" is surely the most complex and least known outside its native Ireland.Even in its homeland, it's a work more often respectfully acknowledged than read. With justice and a bit of luck, this brilliant and altogether engaging new translation by the Belfast poet Ciaran Carson should change all that. Indeed, Carson has performed an act of aesthetic recovery that, in every sense, deserves to be ranked with his old friend and colleague Seamus Heaney's bestselling version of "Beowulf."

In old Irish, "táin" literally means "a raid," usually for cattle, though like any good Irish-language word, it has other meanings as well. The ancient epic by that name is often called "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle Raid of Cooley), and it is, as Carson explains in his introduction, "the longest and most important tale in the Ulster Cycle, a group of some 80 interrelated stories which recount the exploits of the Ulaid, a prehistoric people of the north of Ireland, from whom the name of Ulster derives."

Enmigrado al Bretonio

...de Agence France-Presse:

In 2005 anger among local people boiled over at a heated demonstration in the central Breton village of Bourbriac. The protest was organised by a group called 'A-Stroll' (meaning "together" in the Breton language), which complained that property prices had been pushed up by buyers from outside the region, "at a time when Breton people are finding it hard to find somewhere to live."

At the time the protest was widely reported as an anti-English demonstration, an accusation one of A-Stroll's founders, Guillaume Bricaud, strongly denies.

"We folded A-Stroll after the media frenzy that surrounded Bourbriac. Being called a xenophobe is very hurtful," he said.

Bricaud said he was involved in a "class struggle", and had no particular animosity towards English people. He and his fellow militants were protesting against the practice of people coming to Brittany and buying holiday homes, which often remained empty for much of the year.

"Inland there are more English people, but on the coast the problem is French people from Paris," he said.

Denez Prigent

...de Webcity:

Denez Prigent découvre la langue bretonne chez sa grand-mère. C'est ainsi que Denez Prigent découvre la Gwerz, chant dramatique qu'il traduit par : "Un cri de douleur". Ses compositions récentes dans le style de Gwerz et du Kan ha Diskan s'ouvrent sur le monde.

Denez Prigent s'entoure alors de musiciens talentueux venant d'univers différents comme celui de la musique improvisée, des musiques électroniques, de la musique traditionnelle irlandaise et écossaise, du rock et du hip hop.

Monamor

...de icWales:

With a client base stretching from Narberth to New York, and now Iceland, Welsh beauty company Monamor is celebrating a successful first year in business.

The Anglesey-based company uses the bountiful resources of its island and sea to create a luxurious beauty and bathing experience...

...Manon Llwyd, of Monamor, said, “We are absolutely delighted at the way Monamor has taken off, and securing retailers in New York and now Iceland in such a short space of time has exceeded all our expectations. We always knew we had a very special range of products which are unique and sumptuous, but the response we have had from customers and retailers has been tremendous…

….She said, “We didn’t want to be grant dependent and we wanted to come out with something that used Wales and the Welsh language.

“We looked at the resources we already have on the island and using the people around here we decided to come out with these products.”

Sláinte Mhór ar fud an Domhain

...de la blogo, From the Balcony, de Máirtín Ó Muilleoir:

They tell me now that Éamon Ó Cuív has decided the Irish language revival is a global phenomenon that Foras na Gaeilge are allowed to accept grants from around the world.

First one to arrive was from enterprising Gaeilgeoirí in Kuwait who want to set up Cumann na Gaeilge there.

Not that the lingo isn't alive and well in other far-flung parts. After leaving Philadelphia train station last week, the first sign I saw (in any language) was this one for Sláinte bar and grill. Really lifted my heart to see it, even on a snowy day, 3,000 miles from home.

Turns out it's the latest business venture of Philadelphia's much-loved Irish American stalwart Mike Doyle...

Baile Monaidh

…de la Ballymoney Times:

History was made in Ballymoney Council on Monday night when the Unionist-controlled local authority agreed to erect bilingual signs in Irish in parts of the borough.

Sinn Fein welcomed the moves but complained that it was only the threat of individual councillors being surcharged that persuaded a majority of Unionist representatives to abstain from voting which paved the way for the erection of the signs which will have English as the main language and Irish in a minor role.

But Rasharkin DUP councillor Roy Wilson along with former DUP councillor, now Independent councillor, Audrey Patterson, voted in a failed bid to get Ulster-Scots included on the signs in Dunloy, Rasharkin and Loughgiel...

Britonaj Lingvoj

...de This is South Wales:

It is ironic that the Welsh are not represented on the Union Flag, which is a combination of the crosses of St George, who never left the Middle East, St Andrew, who never left the Middle East either, and St Patrick, a Welsh-speaker who took Christianity to Ireland.The truth is that the Welsh are the original British, who also inhabited England and most of Scotland for 1,000 years before the English came from Germany and the Scots from Ireland in the 5th Century.

When Hadrian built his wall, he split Welsh speaker from Welsh speaker.

The English and Scots were not even in Britain!

The oldest existing Welsh poetry was composed in the Welsh-speaking kingdom of Gododdin around Din Eidin, now Edinburgh, circa AD 600.

The Parliamentary Prayer Book Act of 1661 refers to the Welsh or British language.

Welsh is still officially the British language because no Act of Parliament has ever changed it.

The English and Scots did not even become "British" until they hijacked the term upon union of England and Scotland in 1707. The only British before 1707 were the Welsh and their Cornish cousins! No wonder the tercentenary of the union has been kept quiet.

Nemeton

…de Waterford Today:

Winners of the competition which was organised by Údarás na Gaeltachta were announed at the Oíche na Gradaim ceremony which was held at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Galway on Sunday 2nd December. A total of 20 companies were nominated under five different categories in the competition and each of the companies were showcased over a five day period on TG4. Several members of the team at Nemeton attended the ceremony including Managing Director Irial Mac Murchú. News travelled quickly to Nemeton's Production Studios in the Ring Gaeltacht where all the staff celebrated the great achievement…

…Television Production company won in their category for Language Based Companies and also walked away with the title of overall winners of Gradaim Gno na Gaeltachta. Irial Mac Murchú was presented with the two awards and was visibly shocked at the announcment. Mac Murchú says of winning the award "Nemeton have progressed over the years and has got from a one man company to employing 25 full time time staff and now operating a successful training facility which shows the diversity of the company. This award is a real honour for the company and acknowledges the hard work, dedication and continued support of the staff of Nemeton."

Des Bishop

…de la Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich:

Lisa Bishop Presents Oíche Coiméide/Comedy Night with...

Des Bishop

An Satharn seo, 8 Nollaig 2007. 8:00 i.n.

Ticéid £12/£10 ar fáil anois!!

This Saturday, 8 December 2007. 8:00 p.m

Tickets £12/£10 available now!!

Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich, (028) 90 964180

* Des, cathain a fheicfimid na focail le “Léimigí Thart” ar do shuíomh?

Dulingvaj Signoj

...de Design Week:

Sign designers know that signs should be kept simple. But when a client asks you to double the information by having dual languages, the task of keeping them looking simple becomes much more challenging.The opening of St Pancras International this month ushered bilingual English-French into the new Eurostar travel terminal created in London's King's Cross, with a careful wayfinding scheme devised by Tony Howard of Transport Design.

Meanwhile, designers working on projects in Scotland and Ireland are increasingly encountering requests for dual-language signage. The Scotland Government is currently working on a Gaelic Action Plan, which may lead to legislation for more use of the Scottish language alongside English.

Wales is further advanced in bilingual or dual-language design, with the Welsh Language Act having stipulated that two languages be used for public information since 1993. Many countries throughout the world use two - if not more - languages on their signs, and airports are an ideal place to see how dual-language signs can work - or fail.

Irlandalingvo kaj Science

...de la Irish Independent:

Students will find it easier to get into science courses after two universities yesterday revealed they are to drop the entry requirement for a third modern language, such as French or German.

However applicants will still need English and Irish to get into science -- any move to drop the Irish language requirement would meet with fierce resistance.

Both UCD and the National University of Ireland Maynooth have decided on dropping the third language requirement immediately.

Ysgol Santes Helen

....de la Daily Post:

Plans to merge the world’s only Welsh-speaking Catholic primary school with another which delivers its classes ten miles away in English, were last night criticised as “cruel” and “unhelpful”.

Children at Ysgol Santes Helen in Caernarfon are taught in Welsh, but it is proposed the school be federalised with Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes (Our Lady’s) in Bangor, under Gwynedd’s controversial primary schools shake-up.

Last night Councillor Richard Morris Jones, a governor at Santes Helen, said: “The school is highly regarded as an important and natural part of our community in Caernarfon.

“It is quite literally the only Welsh language medium Catholic school in the whole world."

Malvarma Bonveno por Deis Roc

...de Lá Nua:

Cuirfear tús tráthnóna inniu le taifeadadh sraith nua den seo tallainne teilifíse Deis Roc a bheidh le feiceáil amach anseo ar TG4.Tá an taifeadadh ar siúl i mbeár in Aontas na Mac Léinn in Ollscoil na Banríona i mBéal Feirste, agus an tseachtain seo caite, cuireadh in iúl do chomhlacht léirithe an chláir, Léiriúcháin Tobar Productions i gcomhar le Green Inc, nach mbeadh cead acu meirge ag poibliú an chláir a chrochadh san aontas.

“Bhí cead faighte againn roimh ré bratach a chrochadh,” arsa Pilib Mac Cathmhaoill, ó Tobar Productions, “a fhad is gur chomhlíon muid an critéir a bhí leagtha síos ag an Aontas.
“Rinne muid sin, ach nuair a chonaic an t-aontas an bhratach, dúradh linn nach mbeadh cead í a chrochadh."...

Bretonalingvo en Danĝero

…Ya d'ar Brezhoneg:

La connaissance et la pratique de la langue bretonne sont en déclin. 600 000 personnes parlaient le breton en 1983, soit 16,3 % de la population des 5 départements. Elles n’étaient plus que 300 000 au dernier recensement de 1999, soit 7,5 % de la population (20 % en Basse-Bretagne). On estimait en 2001 qu’il restait 270 000 locuteurs bretons qui continuaient de décliner au rythme effrayant de 10 000 personnes par an. Car 64 % des bretonnants ont plus de 60 ans et seulement 4 % moins de 40 ans.

270 000 locuteurs bretons en janvier 2001, moins 10 000 par an, cela fait 220 000 locuteurs au 1er janvier 2006. Et 10 000 locuteurs de moins par an, ce sont 28 personnes par jour, ou pour garder une dose d’optimisme lié au renouvellement, bien insuffisant, un locuteur de moins par heure. 270 000 locuteurs bretons en janvier 2001, moins 10 000 par an, cela fait 220 000 locuteurs au 1er janvier 2006. Et 10 000 locuteurs de moins par an, ce sont 28 personnes par jour, ou pour garder une dose d’optimisme lié au renouvellement, bien insuffisant, un locuteur de moins par heure...