Proponoj por Kompanioj

…de Cumann na dTomhaltóirí Gaeilge:

Many businesses have used Irish over the years and it is an increasing trend.

All sorts and sizes of businesses have used Irish including major international corporations e.g. Microsoft, Google, Tesco to small local Irish businesses.

All types of businesses have used Irish from doctors, solicitors, hotels, pubs, restaurants, bookshops to webdesigners, landscapers, film makers etc.

Household names include Tesco (the third largest supermarket company in the world), Microsoft (the world's largest software company), Superquinn (the third largest retailer in the Dublin area), Supermacs, McDonalds, Kitkat, Guinness, Carlsberg, Meteor, Bank of Ireland, AIB, BUPA, Sudocrem, Iarnród Éireann, the ESB, Habitat, Atlantic DIY, SuperValu, Eurospar, Irishjobs.ie etc. have used Irish in various ways.

Your business can do it too!!

Rhisiart Tal-e-bot

...de Cornwall 24:

In your opinion, how has Cornwall changed in a last ten years?...

...Cornwall has changed for the better in that people are becoming more aware of their Cornish identity and language than ever before. Also it is becoming more public…

…Regarding the sale of homes, I am in full agreement with 'Cymuned', the Welsh language and housing campaign group, who want all homes to be first advertised locally for several months, before they are put on the market in other areas."...

… I suppose that this has developed over hundreds of years of cultural, legal and political erosion by an English system that rules with a soft smile and an iron first. As Joshua Fishman puts it the 'soft gloves that mask but do not change the iron fists that are still there inside." Of course Fishman is talking about the Celtic languages, but this could be equally applied to the cultural movement and the self determination movement too….

Comhdháil Gheilleagar Chultúrtha

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

The programme of the Gaeltacht Quarter Cultural Economy Conference has just been published and can be read here.

It's an impressive showing and I'm delighted that so many of our US visitors to the bigger investment conference have been enquiring about attending.

Lingvo de Ĉampionoj

...de la Shaghai Daily:

Well, I think after the second World War, there was a decrease in the use of the Welsh language, as people decided it wasn't a winner, people back winners, I think there was a sense that the Welsh language was the language of working classes, and if people want to better themselves, then they need to speak English.

I think that has changed.

I think the fact so much more work has been done by the media and areas in Wales that the Welsh language now seems like a language for winners, so I think people began to realize they should speak the language because the language is for winners.

It's very pleasing, of course...

Full Volume

...de la Telegraph:

Robert Crawford is agog at technology. He writes haiku about emails without making you think he's being anachronistic: "In that otherworld/ Where we met when we emailed/ There is no other."...

...But Crawford has had some catching up to do, even since his last collection, The Tip of My Tongue, which appeared in 2003. The internet haunts him, and in his latest book, Full Volume, there are signs of fear. A poem that patches together imagined scraps from chatrooms has a sinister edge to it: "I'm really lonely I miss China/I've a secret tattoo/ Next year I'll be sixteen Want to chat with me?"...

...He translates the work of Renaissance Scottish poets from their original Latin into a Scots-inflected English, showing that the Scots have always managed to take a universal language and make it their own. Some of these feel like fillers, but the best ones allow Crawford to set sail on language adventures. Some renditions from Gaelic, too, do their best to restore patterned internal rhymes and routine alliteration to Crawford's language....

Kimra Au Pair

...de la Western Mail:

parent is Welsh, the other is Spanish, but they speak French to each other.

Meanwhile, their one-year-old son speaks Spanish to his mother, Welsh to his father, attends a Dutch creche and will also need to learn French and English as he grows up.

And the multilingual family is now looking for a Welsh-speaking au pair to go and live with them in their Brussels home for a year to look after young Aran Iago ab Dafydd Hernandez.

The successful applicant will get a room in a nearby flat, an allowance, a Brussels metro ticket, a course in Spanish or Flemish and the chance to spend a month in Bolivia, which the family visits once a year.

The job is being offered by Dafydd ab Iago – a journalist from Abergavenny who has lived in the Belgian capital since 1995, when he attended Universite Libre de Bruxelles – and his partner Ana Hernandez.

Himself able to speak Welsh, French, Spanish, Esperanto, German and Flemish, Mr ab Iago, 39, said it was important his son grew up speaking Welsh.

Kimralingva Protesto

…de la BBC:

An appeal has been launched to track down campaigners who took part in the Welsh Language Society's first ever protest 45 years ago.

The National Library of Wales wants to record memories of what happened on Aberystwyth's Trefechan bridge in 1963.

About 40 people took part in what started a Welsh language campaign.

Lecturer Rhys Jones, who has written about it, said the sit-down protest had not been planned and campaigners had wanted to target a post office…

Cearcaill na Gàidhlig

…de la Stornoway Gazette:

A series of five new journeys into the heart of the Gaelic world were launched in Oban today (Friday).

The Gaelic Rings, or Cearcaill na Gàidhlig, initiative is a groundbreaking series of trails celebrating Gaelic culture throughout the Hebridean islands and West Highland mainland.

The project is run by HITRANS, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Caledonian MacBrayne, VisitScotland, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Argyll and Bute Council and Highland Council. A new website – – is also being launched...

Jorkŝirano Lernas Kimralinvon

…de la Country Times:

Nothing is ever easy it seeems. Even a straightforward lesson such as days of the weeks and dates soon descended into chaos.

First and second were okay. After all, I can accept some slight irregularity, they bear no relation to one and two in English either.

But by the time we got to 15th, things were getting a little odd.

Fifteen in Welsh is un deg pump. Yet fifteenth becomes pymthegfed. Sixteen is un deg chwech, yet sixteenth is, taking the literal translation, fifteenth plus one. Seventeenth becomes fifteenth plus two, but yet eighteen becomes two nines.

Following this? No. In the twenties, things become a little more straightforward, but then thirtieth becomes twenty plus ten and thirty one becomes twenty plus ten plus one.

Someone asked the obvious question, what if you wanted the forty ninth. Where would you start? Well the answer is I haven't got a clue.

The explanation given was that Welsh has an archaic form of numbers which are still used, especially by some older Welsh speakers...

Fèis Rois

…de la Ross-shire Journal:

The much-awaited 2008 Adult Fèis in Ullapool will feature very special guests, it was confirmed this week.

The three-day tuition festival takes place from Saturday to Monday, May 3-5 and already this popular showcase event has attracted a high number of enquiries from all over Scotland.

And the organisers are confident that this year's exciting programme led by world-class musicians will live up to all expectations.

Classes are offered in traditional music, song, dance, creative writing, Gaelic language and culture and the wide range of choices for music tuition covers around 12 different instruments, including fiddle, accordion, guitar, whistle, flute, pipes and harp — and the slightly more unusual cello and bouzouki...

Cúirt 2008

…de la Galway Advertiser:

Travels to India, poems inspired by the Aran Islands, and a host of award winning writers make up this year’s much expanded Cúirt Irish language programme.

Manchan Magan is one of the most colourful and likeable individuals working in the media today. His brilliant travel slots on The Last Word on Today FM sees Manchan discussing his journeys to places no one else would think of going.

As part of Cúirt Manchan will read from his book Baba-ji agus TnaG which won an Oireachtas Award in 2005. It describes his journey from studying yoga in India to returning to Ireland to work in TG4 (then called TnaG).

Joining Manchan at the reading will be writer and playwright, Darach Ó Scolai. He has won several awards for his two plays: Coinneail Orainn and An Braon Anios. He will be reading from his latest novel An Cleireach which won an Oireachtas prize in 2007.

Manchan and Darach will read in the Town Hall Theatre on Thursday April 24 at 3.30pm.

Kerry poet Dairena Ni Chinneide will launch her book Mathair an Fhiaigh/The Ravens Mother during Cúirt.

The book launch takes place in the Galway City Museum on Friday April 25 at 12 noon and the reading in Pearse’s Cottage, Rosmuc, at 2.15pm.

Cork’s Liam Ó Muirthile has published poetry, plays, and prose as Gaeilge. He was awarded Duais Chuimhneachain Sheain Ui Eigeartaigh for his novel Ar Bhruach na Laoi and has won many prizes for his poetry. For Cúirt he will read from his latest collection Sanas.

Liam Ó Muirthile reads with David Means in the Town Hall Theatre on Friday April 25 at 3.30pm. The event will also see the launch of Flosca Teo publishers.

Cúirt will also celebrating the life of Mairtin Ó Direain. His poems - most which were inspired by life in Aran - were all written as Gaeilge and many have been translated into English. A casting of his much loved poem Fear Lastai Lampai will be placed on the promenade in Salthill, looking towards his beloved Aran Islands.

Kimraj Ĵurioj

…de la Western Mail:

Criminal trials could be heard in front of juries made up entirely of Welsh speakers under plans being considered by the Government.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw has an open mind on the idea of amending the current rules – which only require jurors to understand English – after representations from Welsh MPs and from lawyers.

But some MPs expressed concern yesterday that the move could undermine the ancient principle that a jury should be selected completely at random...

“Grabby Bag”

…de la Irish Independent:

Gaeilgeoir alien called Grabby is set to delight toddlers into getting familiar with the Irish language, before they even get to school.

The out of this world RTE character who lives at the bottom of a young boy’s garden will help tots get to grips with entertainment as Gaeilge.

Kids’ show, ‘Grabby Bag', is a new home-grown animation which follows the adventures of the alien as he tackles the Irish language and learns how to use his imagination to play.

All of Grabby's animated friends in the show are voiced by Irish children...

Máire Mhic Ghiolla Íosa

…de la Galway City Tribune:

The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese could certainly give comedian Des Bishop a run for his money when it comes to stage performances in the Irish language.

President McAleese was guest of honour at TG4’s annual Musician of the Year awards on Good Friday night in the INEC, Killarney and formally opened the event. Like Des Bishop, she began studying Irish later in life, and like him, her standard of Irish would put most of us to shame.

In word-perfect Gaeilge, she praised those people who had taken Irish music from the bleak place it had once been and had put it on the world stage. The importance of music and dance in Ireland was enormous, she said and on her trips abroad, she had realised just how much people from other places associate music with this country...

Côr Cymraeg Rehoboth

…de la Conococheague Institute:

On Saturday, April 5, 2008 the Conococheague Institute will host a Welsh Concert Choir in the historic Robert Kennedy Memorial Presbyterian Church located at the intersections of rts. 995 & 416 in Welsh Run. From 1:00 until 2:00 p.m. guests will be greeted on the church lawn by bagpiper, Les Gift, with the song fest beginning promptly at 2:00 p.m.

Song Fests began in south Wales in the 1860’s as part of the Temperance Movement, an effort to keep people out of the pubs. They are one of the most popular traditions in Wales with practice continuing for weeks prior to the “All Day” sessions at specific churches. This festival of song gives emphasis to the many hymns of Welsh origin such as, “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”, while demonstrating the strong Welsh legacy of singing in 4 part harmony.

Rehoboth Welsh Choir from Delta, PA is a Concert Choir in the tradition of great performing choirs of the Welsh valleys. They sing with joy and enthusiasm, the music of the faith and culture of Wales, striving continually for beauty of sound and high quality of performance under it’s professional director, Dave Tramontana, and accompanist Jenny Anderson...

Paĝo Unu / Lathanach a hAon

...as Lá Nua:

Tá toradh éigin ar fheachtas atá ar bun ag an ghníomhaí Ghaelach i Nua-Eabhrac, Dáithí Mac Lochlainn, agus é ag iarraidh ar Continental Airlines úsáid a bhaint as teachtaireachtaí réamhthaifeadta i nGaeilge ar na heitiltí a thagann isteach go hAerfort na Sionna agus go hAerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath.

Ar 20 Feabhra 2008 thuairiscigh Lá Nua: “D’eisigh Continental ráiteas go Lá Nua a dúirt “cé nach é aidhm s’againn aon teanga ar leith a chur ó dhoras ar chumarsáid aistir, úsáideann muid príomhtheanga an bhunphointe agus an cheannphointe…

…Ach ag scríobh dó ar ais chuig an Uasal Mac Lochlainn, thug John Mowad, Speisialtóir Feidhmiúcháin, le fios go raibh tuairisc ullmhaithe aige faoi cheist na Gaeilge do bainistíocht shinsearach na haerlíne.

Arsa an Uasal Mowad, “Consistent with our commitment for improvement, I have prepared a detailed report containing your request for our airline to offer Irish communications on-board upon both departure and arrival, and I will be sending it to our Senior Management teams for further internal review. I assure you that they take the feedback from our passengers very seriously, as we continually strive to improve our customers’ experiences.”

“Ar ndóigh, is tábhachtach go gcloiseann Continental uainn go léir,’’ arsa an tUas Mac Lochlainn, inné. ‘‘Is féidir scríobh chuig Mr. John Mowad, Continental Airlines, Dept. HQSEO, 1600 Smith Street, Houston, Texas 77002, Stáit Aontaithe Mheiriceá..."

Tamilalingvo kaj Keltalingvoj

...de la Daily News (Sri-Lanko):

The Celts, by the middle ages were driven to the fringes by the Vikings, the Normans and the Anglo Saxons. The Anglo Saxons ultimately occupied England. The language spoken in England was English. The language spoken in Cornwall was Cornish, the language spoken in Wales was Welsh, the language spoken in Scotland was Gaelic. The language in Ireland was Erse, a form of Gaelic.

Britain came into existence with the Act of Union of 1707 by which England was united with Scotland. By this time, England had already occupied Wales and Cornwall. United Kingdom came into existence with the merger or Ireland and Britain in 1801.

The English destroyed the Welsh language, Cornish language and Gaelic language spoken by the Irish and the Scots...

.

...In Sri Lanka, Tamil is an official language. As stated earlier, there was no discrimination. Unlike the English who erased the Gaelic, the Cornish and the Welsh languages from their country, the Sinhalese never attempted to erase Tamil as a language used in the country.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith

…de la BBC:

The Saunders Lewis radio lecture 'Tynged yr Iaith' in February 1962 highlighted the decline of the Welsh language and led to the setting up in 1963 of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, the Welsh Language Society.

The group resolved to use non-violent action to draw attention to the plight of the language.

The first protest was at Trefechan bridge in Aberystwyth on 23 February 1963. Individual members protested against English-only forms and summonses, and were imprisoned for non-payment of fines.

These actions would help change attitudes towards the language, until Welsh was given equal status with English...

Duonirlandalingvujo

...de la Irish Independent:

The population of the Gaeltacht could be cut by more than half and Dingle could lose its designated all-Irish status if the Government introduced new linguistic criteria.

The criteria are set out in a detailed study on the use of Irish in Gaeltacht areas which was commissioned by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and published late last year.

Now a detailed analysis of that study, carried out by maths lecturer and Connemara-based Gaeltacht expert Donncha O hEallaithe, has revealed the full implications of the findings and recommendations.

Currently, the Gaeltacht areas of the country have a population of 95,500, but following a comprehensive analysis of each of the 162 electoral divisions making up the official Gaeltacht, Mr O hEallaithe has revealed that the population would drop to 44,000.

Towns such as Dingle, Belmullet in Co Mayo, Dungloe and Burtonport, in Co Donegal, and parts of Galway city would all lose their Gaeltacht status if the linguistic criteria were to be implemented...

Croileagan A' Rubha

…from the Stornoway Gazette:

Croileagan A' Rubha in Aird has come in for praise following a recent inspection programme by the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education.

The report, out this week, described those attending the nursery - which caters for pre-school children aged three to five years - as happy, enthusiastic and caring children who were confident in the playgroup environment. At the time of the inspection, the total roll was seven.

The report stated that there was 'very good staff interaction' which supported children in their learning. It also pointed out that there was 'very good progress' made by children across all five areas of the curriculum, including communication skills in Gaelic language...

The Black Mystery

…de News Wales:

In his book The Black Mystery, Ronald Rees reveals how sending men to work in coal mines was regarded as equivalent to sending, as one observer put it, 'raw unarmed troops into battle against a well-equipped enemy.'…

…This revealing account of coal-mining in South-west Wales is published by Y Lolfa this week. It includes over 50 images and 300 pages of history and insight into the life of Welsh miners in the Western coalfield, a region that embraced the Neath, Swansea and Gwendraeth valleys.

Never completely urbanized, it was an area where, so the saying went, the colliers carried a pick in one hand and a garden spade in the other.

The Black Mystery looks at all aspects of coalmining: its history and development until the present day, conditions of work, the language and culture of the mining communities, and the changing image of the miner.

La Karamaĝongalingvo

...de la Africa News:

John Wilson, a Scot, reveals from his research that the language of the Karamojong contains words that are similar to or identical with and have identical or related meanings with Scots Gaelic, Spanish and the Tibetan of the Indian sub-continent, among others.

“There is no doubt that mankind spoke a common language at a certain time. The research I have done proves beyond any doubt that through language Africa shared the same cultural beginning as the rest of the world,” Wilson says.

Wilson says Karimojong, the language of the Karamojong, a Nilotic people that live in North-East Uganda and have close cultural and linguistic ties with the Turkana of Kenya, Topossa of Southern Sudan and the Dongiro of South-West Ethiopia, has the same linguistic connection with those of other languages....

... The corresponding similarity, he says, can be found between Karimojong, on the one hand, and Asian languages like Hebrew and Sumerian and European ones like Spanish and Gaelic, on the other....

....Similarly, Karimojong words such as abaal (a wide-mouthed beer pot), abichir (kind of small pot), and atako (vessel for storing ghee) respectively correspond with Gaelic words Ballan (a drinking vessel), Biceir (beaker) and Tacar (kitchen).

Des: 1, Mary: 0

…de la Irish Examiner:

The Irish language has been boosted more by comedian Des Bishop than the minister whose job it is to promote it in schools, a primary teachers’ leader said last night.

Angela Dunne, president of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), criticised Education Minister Mary Hanafin’s decision last year to ban the use of total immersion education in all-Irish schools.

The policy, used in most gaelscoils to teach entirely through Irish, and not begin English teaching in some cases up to first class, was firmly prohibited beyond the first term of junior infants in a directive issued to schools, but is currently the subject of a legal challenge...

“Twuncers”

…de la Telegraph:

As a practice, it might be on the march. But it took half an hour to work out the description. Twuncers: what could it mean? Initially, it seemed that there was something missing in the translation - maybe this was a disparaging Welsh language term for the English, a cross between… I'll leave it to your linguistic imagination. But it turned out that Twuncer, the new scourge of Pembrokeshire, and anywhere else with scenic walks, refers to "two or more walkers using non-essential cars".

Not the most accurate of acronyms, perhaps, but undoubtedly easier to say than Tomwunec. Sociological categories defined by their initial letters have been part of our common vocabulary since the days of the hippie, the yippy, the yuppie and the buppy. Every type of income group has subsequently been gifted its own shorthand...

British Midland kaj la Irlandalingvo

…de la Grupo “Facebook”: Don't ban Irish on Aer Lingus, postata de Mary Kelly:

BMI [British Midland] actually do use Irish on their flights.

I'm studying in London and have flown with them a lot between Heathrow/Dublin and Heathrow/Belfast.

They employ mostly Irish pilots and crew on these routes, and throw in a cúpla focal during the announcements…

FEACHTAS!

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

Daithí Mac Lochlainn continues his campaign to have Continental sing the praises of Irish when they land at Aldergrove Airport while Raidió Fáilte is set to step up its campaign to have its remit for Belfast widened to take in the entire six counties.

Ironically, as a consequence of Daithí's pressure, Continental may introduce a welcome notice in Irish on their Shannon and Dublin routes.

As special executive Joe Mowad writes: “Consistent with our commitment for improvement, I have prepared a detailed report containing your request for our airline to offer Irish communications on-board upon both departure and arrival, and I will be sending it to our Senior Management teams for further internal review. I assure you that they take the feedback from our passengers very seriously, as we continually strive to improve our customers’ experiences.”

* Kompreneble, estas grava ke Continental aŭdas de ni ĉiuj. / Ar ndóigh, is tabhachtach go gcloiseann Continental uainn go léir:

Mr. John Mowad

Continental Airlines, Dept. HQSEO

1600 Smith Street

Houston, Texas 77002

Stáit Aontaithe Mheiriceá

Limoj de la Irlandalingvujo

...de Foinse:

Ba chóir Coimisiún Neamhspleách nach mbeadh aon ionadaíocht pholaitiúil air a bhunú le tabhairt faoi cheist theorainneacha na Gaeltachta, dar le hurlabhraí Gaeltachta Fhine Gael, Michael Ring.

.

Bhí an Teachta Dála Ring ag aontú le moladh atá déanta mar chuid den anailís chuimsitheach ar staid na Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht atá foilsithe ar Foinse na seachtaine seo.

.

San anailís sin, leis an léachtóir matamaitice ó GMIT, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe, moltar Coimisiún Neamhspleách de chúigear saineolaithe, ar a mhéid, le nuatheorainneacha na Gaeltachta a rianú i bhfianaise a bhfuil molta sa Staidéar Teangeolaíoch ar Úsáid na Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht a foilsíodh anuraidh.

.

Sa staidéar sin leagadh síos critéir chun idirdhealú a dhéanamh idir na limistéir éagsúla Gaeltachta agus moladh go dtabharfaí stádas Catagóir A, B nó C do na limistéir éagsúla ag brath ar a láidre is a bhí an teanga iontu….

…Dúirt an Teachta Dála ó Pháirtí an Lucht Oibre agus an t-iarAire Gaeltachta Michael D Higgins le Foinse nach mbeadh sé “i gcoinne” Coimisiún Neamhspleách a bhunú chun tabhairt faoi theorainneacha na Gaeltachta. Dúirt sé, áfach, nár chóir go mbeadh gá leis agus gur cheart go mbeadh Airí “go maith in ann cinneadh a dhéanamh faoi cheist atá chomh soiléir”.

Dankon, Continental!

March 22, 2008

.

Mr. John Mowad
Continental Airlines / Dept. HQSEO
1600 Smith Street
Houston, Texas 77002

re: L3593794

Dear Mr. Mowad:

Thank you for your kind response to my letter regarding the possibility of Irish-language announcements aboard Ireland-bound Continental Airlines flights. I look forward to further response from your Senior Management teams.

In your letter, you mentioned Shannon and Dublin Airports. One would hope that Belfast flights would also be considered. Belfast is the home of a vibrant Irish-speaking community and boasts of its own Gaeltacht Quarter.

Here, I would recommend that, for Belfast flights, Ulster Scots announcements accompany those in Irish. Short, and even recorded, announcements in both languages would be perfectly feasible and even welcomed by many.

I am certain that the Ulster Scots Agency would be happy to help in this regard, just as Foras na Gaeilge would be able to do so with Irish.

As you may know, Highland Airways even offers online booking services through three languages, English, Scots Gaelic and Welsh. Continental Airlines may want to consider this further step in improving service.

Many businesses are discovering the benefits of using Irish. The annual Barr 50 (Top 50) awards are indicative of this and often include companies based outside of Ireland.

It would be exciting to see (and hear!) Continental Airlines services provided as Gaeilge!

Súil Siar le Barra Ó Donnabháin

…de Glucksman Ireland House:

Éamon Ó Cuív, T.D., Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs delivers the 2008 Barra Ó Donnabháin Memorial Lecture. This annual lecture was established in 2006 to commemorate a beloved and influential teacher and advocate of the language in the United States….

...This event will also mark the release of a volume of Barra Ó Donnabháin's writing, Súil Siar: Cnuasach Aistí le Barra Ó Donnabháin, edited by Hilary Mhic Shuibhne and Eibhlín Zurell.

Barra Ó Donnabháin wrote almost 300 essays in Irish while living in New York. This is a collection of 32 of those essays in the original Irish, edited and translated to English by Hilary Sweeney and Eibhlin Zurell. The collection is being published by Daltaí na Gaeilge in memory of Barra and his contribution to the Irish Language movement in North America. The volume indicates the breadth of Barra’s research in politics, social studies, literature and history and will be useful to those with similar interests and particularly those who wish to progress in their Irish language studies.

Continental Airlines kaj la Irlandalingvo

(Kluku sur la bildoj. / Gliogáil ar na híomhánna.)

An t-Aire Nollaig Ó Díomasaigh

(Kluku sur la bildo. / Gliogáil ar an iomhá.)

Llanelli

…de la Llanelli Star:

A massive shake-up of education has been ordered in Llanelli to arrest the slide of the Welsh language.

Millions of pounds are expected to be pumped into the community over the coming years following a 14-month investigation which uncovered a critical decline in the number of Welsh speakers in the town and surrounding area.

Shock figures produced by a county council taskforce of experts warns that unless the authority changes its education strategy in primary schools the number of Welsh speakers will plummet from 43.88 per cent to 21.7 per cent…

Centro por Canadaj Irandaj Studoj

...de la Concodia Journal:

The Centre for Canadian Irish Studies (CCIS) marked St. Patrick’s Day by accepting a substantial donation from the government to support a scholarly research chair….

…Accordingly, the Centre’s visiting speakers have ranged widely, from Nobel-winning poet Seamus Heaney and former prime minister Garret Fitz-Gerald to cooking expert Darina Allen. Courses are similarly varied, including not only Irish history, traditional music, the Irish language (Gaeilge) and the rich literary canon, but also contemporary Irish cinema, Irish geography, and issues of Irish and Quebec political identity. Students can also prepare for field study in Ireland on a specific subject.

Ryanair, Teoranta

.
.

20ú Márta, 2008

Mícheál Ó Laoighre, Uas.,

Príomhoifigeach Feidhmiúcháin,

Ceannoifig Ryanair, Teo.

Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath,

Baile Átha Cliath

.

A dhuine uasail:

Ag an gcéad cruinniú eile do scairshealbhóirí Aer Lingus, tá súil agam go n-iarrfaidh Ryanair athchur na bhfógraí Gaeilge ar eitiltí idir Béal Feirste agus Londainn.

Mar is eol dhuit, tá an Taoiseach Parthalán Ó hEachthairn agus an Ceannaire Fhine Gael Éanna Ó Cionnaith ar a shon.

Iad agus míle duine is breis a shínigh an achainí ar líne (http://url.ie/8yy).

Cé go bhfuilim imo chónaí i Nua Eabhrac agus ag obair cois an Aerfoirt JFK, cuirfidh mise mo chéad eitilt eile go hÉireann in airithe le Continental Airlines as Newark Nua- Gheirsí.

Lerni Kimralingvon

…de la Western Mail:

Learning any new language brings great satisfaction as it opens up new relationships and experiences.

But discovering Welsh, as one of our own country’s two main languages, brings a special set of rewards.

As a Welsh learner, I can testify to the rewards it brings in terms of new encounters, fresh relationships and perspectives, and the ability to explore additional dimensions to life in Wales.

Apart from anything else, there are so many more opportunities as a learner to try out your Welsh skills than there are to practise overseas languages...

Lárionad Éireannach Nua Eabhrac

...de la Queens Courier:

When Father Colm Campbell first came to the United States in 1992 as a Chaplain, he noticed that there was not a community center for Irish immigrants. After a long-held desire to see one created, the New York Irish Center, located in Long Island City was founded about three years ago…

…The New York Irish Center provides a wide range of activities and services to people not only from Queens but other boroughs and Long Island. Among the events held at the center are a seniors lunch club, mothers and toddlers group, Irish céilí dancing, tin whistle classes, “25” card nights, plays, and Irish language classes, among others...

Lingva Aplombo

…de la Daily Post:

Mum Kate Dean, from Bangor said: “I haven’t spoken any Welsh since I left Friars secondary school years ago. I’ve a little boy and I’d like to speak more Welsh with him but didn’t know where to start. I feel more comfortable using my Welsh now.

Melanie Gadd from Bethesda said the sessions gave her more confidence.

“I couldn’t speak Welsh very well because as a family we spoke English at home,” she said. “Recently I’ve tried to learn more Welsh and I want my young daughter to hear me using it.”

Julie Griffin from Penrhyndeudraeth said: “Growing up I man-aged to pick up the Welsh language, but soon lost my confidence. The sessions have given me back my confidence and I have now started to use my Welsh on a daily basis.”

Bunscoill Ghaelgagh

...de la Isle of Man Today:

A Scottish Government minister visited the Isle of Man this week to build links between the two parliaments.

Linda Fabiani, Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, paid a flying visit and met Chief Minister Tony Brown and MHKs.

She is the first member of the Scottish Parliament to make an official visit to the Isle of Man.

During the trip Ms Fabiani was given a tour of Tynwald and learned more about the history of the Island and its government.

Ms Fabiani also took time to visit the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh Manx language school in St John's.

'We are very keen to create links with governments in other parts of the UK and beyond,' said Ms Fabiani at the start of her visit to the Island on Tuesday.

'The Isle of Man has a very special relationship with Scotland because of our joint Celtic heritage, so I was very keen to get over here.

'There's an obvious cultural link that I would like to see recognised more, there's a lot we can learn from each other.'

She added: 'I'm fascinated by Tynwald so I'm really looking forward to learning more about that.

'I'm also looking forward to going to the Manx language school as language is something else shared by Scotland and the Isle of Man….

Cathal Ó Searcaigh

...de la Irish Independent:

In considering the inclusion or otherwise of the work of Cathal O Searcaigh in the list of texts for study by students of Leaving Certificate Irish, the council discussed the fact that it had already recommended the work of this artist -- widely recognised as one of the foremost poets of this generation -- for study.

The controversy that led to the request for advice was also raised; should the nature of that controversy, and its association with the protection of vulnerable young people be a factor in arriving at advice for the minister?

The inclusion of the work of the artist had been based on the artistic merit of the work, and of its alignment with the aims and objectives of the syllabus for Leaving Certificate Irish.

Should it now reverse that position? On what basis? And with what consequences? Not just for the curriculum for Leaving Certificate Irish, but for all curriculum, and for the process by which curriculum is determined into the future?

The advice to the minister notes that, on balance, the council considered that its original position on the artistic merit and suitability for study of the work of Cathal O Searcaigh should stand.

Kevin Frederick

...de la Standard Speaker:

Craic?

Translated from Gaelic, craic means “fun.” And McGinley should know, since she is a student in a Gaelic, or Irish, language course at Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville.

Students new to the course begin by learning simple phrases in Gaelic, she said.

“I decided to take the class because of my heritage,” McGinley explained.

During the class, McGinley is referred to “Seana,” a Gaelic name given to her by instructor Kevin Frederick. Frederick has been teaching the course at LCCC since 1995….

….Frederick studied Gaelic when he lived in Gortahork, County Donegal, and in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland. He continued his studies in Philadelphia and New York before he moved to Lehigh Valley.

“Mostly I learned in classroom settings, but you learn the most when you are in an immersion setting where speaking English is not an option. Primarily language is learned by ear - what you hear, you say, so to speak,” he said. “So, like English, Irish is learned by trial and error in a speech environment.”…

“Tyke”

...de la Star Gazette News:

"Tyke" caught me by surprise. I grew up hearing my mother apply it affectionately to children and hadn't bothered to check it out.

When I finally did look it up, I discovered that it's an old word that came into Middle English from Old Norse, and wasn't (and still isn't) awfully complimentary.

The first meaning of "tyke" is a mongrel, an inferior dog, or a clumsy and ill-mannered person. Only after it's all those things is it a mischievous child or, perhaps, just a child without the mischief. Other related forms of the word appeared early in Celtic languages, such as Welsh, where it designates a villain.

Or in Cornish, where it signifies a rustic or a farmer. This sense is the one William Langland used in 1393 when he wrote of "tikes and cheorles" ("tykes and churls")...

Marie Young

...de la Pittsburgh Tribune:

"I don't know how much you can turn someone on by speaking Gaelic," said Jeff "Mac" McCafferty, 49, of Swisshelm Park, who has spent six years trying to master the language.
That hasn't stopped some Pittsburghers from learning the relatively obscure language.

Some want to connect with their Irish heritage. Others study one of the world's oldest languages because of their interest in the culture.

"A lot of the students take the course for personal reasons because they've heard it in music or seen it written down through their relatives," said Marie Young, 29, who teaches five courses at the University of Pittsburgh's Less-Commonly Taught Languages Center...

Manchán Magan

...de la Los Angeles Times:

Gaelic -- or Irish, as we call it here -- is the first official language of Ireland. (English is second.) And 41% of the population claim to speak it. But could that be true? To put it to the test, I set off across Ireland for three weeks in the summer of 2006 with one self-imposed handicap -- to never utter a word of English.

I chose Dublin as a starting point. The sales assistant in the first shop I went to said, "Would you speak English maybe?" I tried repeating my request using the simplest schoolroom Irish that he must have learned during the 10 years of compulsory Irish that every schoolchild undergoes. "Do you speak English?" he asked again in a cold, threatening tone. Sea (pronounced "sha"), I affirmed, and nodded meekly. "I'm not talking to you any more," he said, covering his ears. "Go away!"

I knew the journey was going to be difficult, just not this difficult...

How the Irish Invented Slang

…de la Irlanda Centro de Novjorko:

The New York Irish Center presents AN EVENING OF STORIES, SONGS, AND MULLARKEY with Daniel Cassidy and Peter Quinn, Wednesday, March 19th, @ 7PM.

Join us for an evening of conversation, storytelling, & song with writer/historian/musician Daniel Cassidy, author of the 2007 American Book Award for non-fiction for his bestselling book: How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of the Crossroads, now in its fourth printing.

Joined by the acclaimed novelist and award-winning writer Peter Quinn, author of Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish-America and the acclaimed novel Banished Children of Eve.

Myles na gCopaleen

...de la Globe & Mail:

Few Irish writers have demonstrated this misrule, this impudent playfulness, more than Brian O'Nolan, a.k.a. Flann O'Brien. Aside from revived interest in his work in the 1970s and 1980s, few have suffered more from neglect.

When I think of O'Nolan, I think of my father. They were contemporaries, both born in 1911, both civil servants living within a couple of miles of each other. My father was living proof of O'Nolan's ear for idiom and dry wit, and on his way to work often noted the man's solitary stance by the bus stop, wan, expressionless face under a broad-brimmed hat.

O'Nolan's career as novelist, playwright and journalist began in the 1930s, and lasted until his death in 1966. Born in County Tyrone, O'Nolan fell under the spell of James Joyce. He never left Ireland, however, but worked as a civil servant in Dublin for almost 20 years before turning to writing full-time…

…However, 1940 saw O'Nolan's An Béal Bocht (The Poor Mouth), published in Irish/Gaelic only. It is his funniest, I believe, and his best. A solemn, wicked satire on the pieties of tribal identity, it is a jubilant mockery of the smug Irish comforts of victimhood. It is also a body-blow to the proto-fascist and nativist bases of national "origins" and cultural "destiny." O'Nolan, scholar and devotee of an Irish language and culture vulgarized by the petit-bourgeois, erupts with Swiftian hilarity and anger.

It pleased O'Nolan that An Béal Bocht was unreadable to non-Irish speakers. This inverted the apparent run of history between Ireland and its neighbour. He was to play on inversions of Irishness, and the suspicion of perfidious Albion, in his newspaper columns, The Cruiskeen Lawn. These popular columns, which ran for 20 years in the Irish Times under the name of Myles Na gCapaleen (Gopaleen) may be what O'Nolan is most remembered for. His character "The Brother" was the foil for the common man, the Dublin man, contentedly wised up to the ways of the world. Always uninvited, The Brother was brought up in conversation, overwhelming his unnamed conversant, an educated, fastidious cosmopolitan who spoke standard English…

Altebenaĵa Flugkompanio

…de la Press Association:

An airline is claiming a world first with the launch of a tri-lingual website in English, Gaelic and Welsh.

Highland Airways said translating its website into Welsh and Scottish Gaelic would allow more customers to book flights online using their own language.

Announcing the new highlandairways.co.uk website, commercial director Basil O'Fee said: "We service business and leisure customers on the fringes of Great Britain, where our indigenous languages still thrive."

Butte

...de la New York Times:

For a time, Gaelic was the common language in the mining warrens beneath Butte, Mont., and by the dawn of the 20th century the city had a higher percentage of Irish than any other in America – including Boston.

Butte was a hard-edged, dirty, dangerous town on the crest of the Continental Divide, and if a single man lived to his 30th birthday he was considered lucky. Yet entire parishes left the emerald desperation of County Cork for the copper mines of Butte, fleeing a land where British occupiers had once refused to let mothers educate their children, and where famine had killed a million people in seven years’ time.

We are about to enter a long weekend of blarney and excess in celebration of all things Irish….
…..But before too many pints of Guinness are drained on behalf of a leprechaun-lite version of Ireland’s legacy in the New World, it’s worth remembering an Irish verity from a long-forgotten place like Butte...

Speaking Irish / An Ghaeilge Bheo

….de la Donegal News:

The natural flow of spoken Donegal Irish features in a new Irish language learning pack put together by a Gweedore woman and her husband.

Siuán Ni Mhaonaigh and Antain Mac Lochlainn, both leading Irish language educationalists, were approached by an American publisher to create the unique DVD package called " Speaking Irish / An Ghaeilge Bheo - Take your language skills beyond basics".

Speaking to the Donegal News this week Antain explained how US Publishers McGrath Hill spotted a gap in the market for a product which would take Irish language students beyond the very basic lessons...

Conradh na Gaeilge Phoirt Ruadh 1908

...de la Nenagh Guardian:

On Sunday evening 1st instant, the usual monthly meeting of the committee of the Portroe Gaelic League was held. Rev. J. Donellan, P.P., president of the branch, occupied the chair and the others present were - Messrs. Nealon, O'Farrell, Keogh, Kennedy, Miss Seymour (treasurer) and the hon. Secretary.

Making arrangements for the language week collection was the chief business of considerable length. Language week, which is the one-week throughout the entire year set apart by the Gaelic League for replenishing its coffers by voluntary public subscriptions, begins this year on Sunday, 15th inst. That the Gaelic League deserves well of the public is now an accepted fact. There is no other organisation doing half its amount of practical good. Its motto has ever been not empty talk but work - solid work...