Westminster kontraû Irlandalingvoj

...de la Guardian:

Gordon Brown will not rescue the proposed Irish Language Act if, as now seems certain, unionists vote it down in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Downing Street fears that introducing such an act via Westminster would open the floodgates for legal claims to put other ethnic minority languages in Britain on the same par as English, government sources have told The Observer.

The legislation, a key Sinn Fein demand, would give Gaelic equal status to English in Northern Ireland.

But if the Democratic Unionists block the move ministers would also turn down requests for it be introduced via the back door from Westminster, senior sources said this weekend.....

[Bildo de la Ceithearna Coille en Nov-Jorko.]

Concubhar Ó Liatháin

…de iGaeilge, blog de Concubhar Ó Liatháin:

Is fiú scrúdú a dhéanamh ar thorthai tubaisteacha Aer Lingus agus an scéal is déanaí faoin Samsung Tocco go bhfuil an fón dhá theangach seo le díol ó thuaidh den teorainn.

Tá an aerlíne náisiúnta, mar a bhí, tar éis a fhógairt go raibh cailliúnt €22m aici anuraidh. Anuraidh fosta d’fhogair Aer Lingus go raibh sí chun aistriú ón Sionainn go Béal Feirste dá eitiltí tras Atlantach agus, de reir an aerlíne féin, go raibh deireadh á chur aici leis an nós beannú dá paisinéirí i nGaeilge. Bhí eagla ar Aer Lingus go gcuirfeadh an cúpla focal Ghaeilge, dá laghad é, fáílte fuar roimh aondachtaithe.

Ba chuma cad a rinne Aer Lingus nó níl rath go fóíll ar an mbogadh ón Sionainn go Béal Feirste. Nior mheall beart frith Ghaeilge an aerlíne aon tacaíocht breise ó aondachtaithe agus is dóichí gur chuir sé naisiúnaithe, iad san a roghnódh Aer Lingus mar gheall ar dhílseacht náisiúnta, ó dhoras.

An mbeidh athbhreithniú ar an bpolasaí anois? Sin an ceist ar cheart cur ar Dermot Mannion, priomh fheidhmeanach Aer Lingus...

Anglaj Enmigrantoj kaj Kimralingvoj

...de Wales on Line:

A major study has concluded that English migrants to Welsh-speaking parts of Wales generally come to respect the language, but only a small proportion actually learn it.

Researchers led by Graham Day, head of social sciences at Bangor University, say incomers from England are so diverse that stereotypes are unhelpful.

The report, soon to be published by the University of Wales Press in its Contemporary Wales series, states: “Substantial and continuing in-migration of English people has been widely construed as a serious threat [to Welsh-speaking communities].

“In view of the importance of the issues raised, it is surprising how little attention has been paid to the actual experiences and perceptions of the English migrants themselves.”...

Irlandalingvaj Klasoj en Cookstown

…de la Mid-Ulster Mail:

South West College and Cookstown District Council have come together to deliver Irish Language classes.

From mid September, Irish Language classes will run every Tuesday from 7-9pm at the Cookstown Campus on the Burn Road.Cookstown District Council Irish Development Officer, Ursula Ní Fhearáil welcomed the inclusion of Irish language classes as part of the range of classes and courses delivered at the Cookstown Campus of South West College saying:

“I hope people (young and old) will utilise this opportunity to learn the Irish language in a relaxed environment, be that ‘cúpla focal’ (a couple of words) or as a base for extending their language skills beyond.”...

Barclays Bank kontraû Kimra

…de la Mail on Sunday:

A high street bank was criticised last night after it rejected a cheque for a religious pilgrimage simply because it was written in Welsh.

The cheque, for almost £22,000, was supposed to pay for the travel and accommodation costs of a group of 50 pilgrims commemorating a journey made by a Welsh saint to Spain almost 400 years ago.

But the trip has been thrown into doubt after Barclays Bank refused four times to cash the cheque, made out to tour operator Tours for Churches Ltd, because it was written in Welsh.

Hywel Williams, Plaid Cymru MP for Caernarfon, North Wales, said he was 'astonished and outraged' at the delay, which he claimed highlighted the need for stricter laws on Welsh language rights.

'The bank are rightly proud of their Welsh language policy which allows people to use the language in their day to day banking affairs,' he said.

'But it is useless if this sort of thing happens repeatedly. This matter is of significance as it highlights the need for new rights for the Welsh language, a matter which is now before the Welsh Assembly.'…

Michiko Kino

…de News Wales:

A Japanese woman is fulfilling a 30-year-old ambition this summer by learning to speak Welsh at Cardiff University.

Retired teacher Michiko Kino, who comes from Osaka, has been fascinated with the language since she read The Grey King by Susan Cooper, an English novel set in Wales, back in the 1970s.

Michiko taught English at a Japanese school for 37 years, and when she retired in 2005 she was determined to visit Wales and learn Welsh.

She is currently on the eight-week Summer Course at the Welsh for Adults Centre in Cardiff University.

Michiko is a member of a Welsh society in Japan called Kansai that meets in a pub once a month to talk about Welsh culture and the language - and even celebrates St David’s Day every March 1.

Daily Mirror en Kimra

...de Hold The Front Page:

Welsh language speakers can now read news in their native tongue on a new website launched today.

Dailypostcymraeg.co.uk is run by Trinity Mirror's North Wales team, in Llandudno Junction, and is a sister website to its newspaper the Daily Post.

It will provide regular news updates from the patch as well as the main headlines from across the UK.

There are videos with Welsh language commentaries and interviews and visitors can join forums and submit comments and blogs in Welsh...

Guy Killingbeck & Liam Padden

…de la Telegraph & Argus:

Mature students Guy Killingbeck and Liam Padden are celebrating after gaining top grade results in Irish.

The pair both recorded A grades in AS-levels in the language and now plan to qualify for a full A-level in the subject next year.

Guy, 43, whose grandmother is Irish, said: “We applied locally to a number of schools to sit the examination and found it very difficult to find one that would let us take it.”

Liam’s parents both hail from Ireland. The 41-year-old said: “We thought we might have to go to Belfast to sit the exam but an examiner flew to Leeds Bradford Airport.”

Tutor Joe Sheeran said: “There is a history of the Irish language in Bradford but it’s not common in the city any more.”

Deklivo

...de la News Letter:

The popularity of Irish with GCSE and A-level students is plummeting, with the subject suffering a bigger percentage decline in popularity than any other subject across the UK.

The latest Government figures from the Joint Council for Qualifications and local examination body, CCEA, reveal the subject has suffered significant declines over the last two years.

This year Irish A-level was only studied by 248 pupils – a fall of 11 per cent since last year and a drop of 24 per cent since 2006. In that year 329 pupils sat Irish at A level.

However, as the overall number of pupils taking the exam is much lower than for mainstream subjects such as English or the sciences, which have thousands of entries, a reduction of a mere 20 or 30 entries from the previous year can cause a large percentage decline in the popularity of the subject

NatWest

...de la Daily Post:

NatWest is enhancing its Welsh language services by introducing a new website for its Welsh speaking customers.
The website has been launched to meet the banking needs of an increasing number of customers who want to undertake their dealings with the bank in Welsh.

“It encompasses information on all the other Welsh language services the bank has to offer including a range of product related brochures, signage and branding as well as a dedicated Welsh language customer service centre,” a spokesman said.

“NatWest has recently completed a substantial investment in new technology and restructure at its North Wales-based Retail Customer Service Centre on Parc Menai as part of an overall programme to enhance its Welsh language services.

“The centre also provides back office support to the network of NatWest branches across the region. The restructure has also involved a substantial investment in new technology making it easier for customers to speak to an operator in their preferred language...”

Gnó Mhaigh Éo

...de la Mayo Advertiser:

The Chamber have linked up with Gnó Mhaigh Éo to ask businesses in Castlebar to support these events by incorporating an Irish theme into their shop window displays over the period August 25 to September 9.

Gnó Mhaigh Éo, an agency created to work with businesses to make Irish more visual in Mayo, are kindly sponsoring a prize of €250 for the best bilingual shop window display.

You can focus your theme on any aspect of Irish culture and the Riverdance theme could be introduced into your display. Using the Irish language is a very simple and visual way of displaying our culture.

Gnó Mhaigh Éo can help with any translation or advice on incorporating Gaeilge into your Gnó…

Colm Barrington

…de la Ceithearna Coille, Novjorka Branĉo:

“AER LINGUS has appointed experienced Irish aviation executive Colm Barrington as its new chairman, ending weeks of speculation as to who would take on the €175,000-a-year role.

Mr Barrington, who is chief executive of Dublin-based listed aircraft leasing company Babcock Brown Air Ltd, will take up the role next month, succeeding Englishman John Sharman who has been chairman of Aer Lingus since 2004…"

Seoladh:

Colm Barrington, Uas.
Cathaoirleach
Ceannoifig Aer Lingus
Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath
Baile Átha Cliath
ÉIRE

Teachtaireacht:

"Cuir fógraí Gaeilge a ar ais i bhfeidhm ar na h-eitiltí uilig ó aerfort idirnáisiúnta Bhéal Feirste!"

Moladh eile: http://url.ie/mo8

Achainí: http://tinyurl.com/AerLingus

Y Peth

...de The Times:

The Peth is also a product of the small community of Welsh-speaking musicians, mostly based in Cardiff, who all seem to know each other and are centred on the activities of the psychedelic rockers Super Furry Animals, which for a split second Rhys fronted.

“Rhys and I met at Welsh-language punk gigs about 20 years ago, shared a flat together and discovered early on that we enjoyed the same activities,” Ieuan explains. What activities, I ask, picturing the pair enjoying a game of Scrabble together, or perhaps a game of pontoon if they’re feeling frisky?

“Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll,” they say in unison.

Gaela Filma Festo

…de la Cape Breton Post:

…The next event on the association’s calendar is a screenwriter’s workshop taking place this weekend at the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s. Sydney native and acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and television producer Michael Melski will lead the workshop.

Melski has worked across the Maritimes and in Toronto and Vancouver, wrote Hockey Mom Hockey Dad and Mile Zero, and directed the highest-rated episode of CTV’s Robson Arms. His first full-length feature, Growing Op, will premiere at the Atlantic Film Festival in September….

….MacDermid, who teamed up with writer-director Marc Almon on the successful short Gaelic film The Wake of Calum MacLeod, shot in Cape Breton in 2006, is also spearheading the creation of a festival to be held on the island’s north shore Oct. 3-5.

“This is going to be a 100 per cent all-Gaelic language film festival,” she said, noting it will feature Gaelic films shot in Canada as well as the acclaimed Scottish Gaelic feature film, Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle, which will make its Canadian debut at the festival. Officials with the film, which tells the story of a young man searching for the truth behind the death of his parents and his grandfather’s stories, will travel to Cape Breton for the screening…

Aga Tago por Junaĝoj

...de la Cape Breton Post:

The laughter was infectious at the Christmas Island fire hall, Wednesday, as about a dozen children ages four to 12 either learned to pronounce new Gaelic words or used the time to brush up on Gaelic language skills learned in previous years.

The Gaelic language lessons were part of Youth Activity Day, one of the events of the 18th annual Feis an Eilein Gaelic summertime festival.

Little Narrows resident Lauren MacDonald, 12, has been to every Feis an Eilein since she was only three years old.

She said her interest came as a result of a long line of family members who have maintained their Gaelic traditions.

“A lot of people in my family are Gaelic, so I just like the language,” MacDonald said.

“I like to learn Gaelic. I take lessons here too and a lot of my friends come here as well.”

She said taking part in one of the Gaelic day camps for kids is something her friends and she can enjoy together during the long summer break from school.

Gerry Mac Lochlainn

...de la Derry Journal:

RTE must ensure that its service is available in Derry when it converts to digital in 2012, a local councillor has said.

Sinn Féin Councillor Gerry MacLochlainn said that many families across North would not be able to afford SKY Digital after the switchover and urged the national broadcaster to take steps to ensure it is accessible across the island.

"Under provisi\ons of the Good Friday Agreement Irish language Television station TG4 must be made available to viewers in the North,” he said.

He accused RTE and the Irish government of displaying a “partitionist approach” to the meaning of ‘nation’ when it comes to the digital switchover.

"I will be speaking with other national organisation such as the GAA, Conradh na Gaeilge, etc and those political parties who claim the reunification of Ireland as their goal to demand that Minister Eamon Ryan guarantee access to the national Broadcaster in every region of the nation...

Cymdeithas en Kortumo

…de la Daily Post:

Cravos said: “I am refusing to plead because I believe I have done nothing wrong and morally I have acted correctly.

Before the eyes of the law in England, I have done wrong, but morally I have not.” He added: “We are not the criminals, but the large companies who do not respect the Welsh language.
“We wouldn’t be here this morning wasting time. We have better things to do.”

The two also claimed in court that templates for the witness statements provided by North Wales police were illegal and broke the current Language Act of 1993 because they were not bilingual.

Cravos said: “They’ve had 15 years to rectify this. The courts should provide a bilingual service, that’s all we want..”

Nollaig Ó Gadhra

…de la Galway News:

Taoiseach Brian Cowen is leading the tributes to Furbo's Nollaig O'Gadhra whose funeral takes place this evening and tomorrow.

The founder member of Teilifís na Gaeilge and former President of Conradh na Gaeilge Nollaig Ó Gadhra died last evening at the age of 64.

Mr Ó Gadhra was a journalist, historian and lecturer and wrote a number of books including biographies of Ghandi, Edmund Ignatius Rice and a history of the First Dáil.

The Limerick native worked as a print and broadcast journalist, mainly with RTÉ and the Irish language publication Inniú.

He also lectured in communications in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and was a tireless campaigner for the Irish language, having served as President of Conradh na Gaeilge.

An Leabhar Mòr

…de la Western Star:

The Great Book of Gaelic will continue at the Grenfell College art gallery until September.

Following a festival which marked the opening of the exhibition, the gallery is showcasing the work of more than 200 poets, visual artists and calligraphers from Ireland and Scotland.

Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, in partnership with the Gaelic Arts Agency — the national development agency for the Scottish Gaelic Arts — brought “An Leabhar Mòr,” or “The Great Book of Gaelic,” to Corner Brook as the first stop on its North American tour.

“The Great Book of Gaelic” exhibition explores the shared mythology, languages, music traditions and history of Scotland and Ireland.The project highlights a resurgence of the Gaelic language.

“An Leabhar Mòr” celebrates the Gaelic poetry of both Ireland and Scotland, from the earliest written sources to the 21st century, interpreted by artists and calligraphers working in a variety of media.

Mahmoud Darwish

…de la Electronic Intifada:

At a time when many feel that the Palestinian cause is dying, the death of the poet Mahmoud Darwish following open-heart surgery acquires added poignancy.

Variously described as "the Palestinian national poet" or "the Arab poet laureate, Darwish was 67, exactly the same age as his friend Edward Said when he died five years ago. Both men were seen as embodying the aspirations of their people, both served on the Palestinian National Council, and both resigned in protest against the Oslo Accords which, as they rightly anticipated, sold out Palestinian rights for no tangible result….

…It was in Paris -- over coffee! -- that I met him in the spring of 2003, an encounter arranged by his old friend the historian Elias Sanbar (now Palestinian ambassador to UNESCO). I secured his autograph on my copy of the French edition of his selected poems, as translated by Sanbar, and invited him to visit Ireland at his earliest convenience as a guest of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign. He expressed his enthusiasm for the idea, and wondered whether he would be able to meet Seamus Heaney. He asked me about the Irish language, and seemed genuinely shocked when I told him that only around one percent of Irish people spoke it as their first language. "You cannot have a national identity without a living language," he exclaimed. He was a little nonplussed by my lack of enthusiasm for the Celtic tiger, and I got the impression that his view of Ireland was colored by Edward Said, who saw the country through rose-tinted post-colonial glasses…

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg

…de la Daily Post:

Two members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg will appear before magistrates today after slogans calling for a new Welsh language act were daubed on shops..

Former Cymdeithas (Welsh Language Society) chairman Steffan Cravos and Osian Jones – the organisation's North Wales organiser – are due to appear before magistrates at Caernarfon charged with criminal damage.

The two were arrested on June 9 for allegedly painting slogans calling for a new Welsh Language Act at Superdrug and Boots stores in Llangefni, Bangor and Caernarfon.

Two school girls, also arrested, were given an official warning by police....

Peticio por la Irlandolingvo sur Aer Lingus

…de la “Facebook” Grupo:

Anocht, tá 4,600 ball againn. Rud an-mhaith ar fad mar thósaigh an iarrtas i mhí Feabhra seo!

Ar dtús, búiochas leis na mball nua. Ná rinne dearmad do shinú a chur ar an iarrtas @ http://tinyurl.com/AerLingus.

Sa dara cás, ma ghlac a lán duine eile pháirt leis an ngrúpa agus a chuir a shinú ar an iarrtas, beidh seans an mhaith againn chun dul i gcion ar chinneadh as Aer Lingus. Tá tu abalta cuireadh a chur le daoine nua ag usáid "Invitie Friends to join" ar taobh an idíorlíne (http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10205170675). Fós tá tu abalta sceal nua a chur ar do "updates" nuair a lúb idíorlíne ar do phróifil. Tá orainn an sceal a chur amach le gach duinne agus ag meadú leargás leis an ngrúpa!

Belfasta Zoo

…de Belfast Telegraph:

In the zoo we offer self-guided trails in French and Irish. We started with French after discussion with a French teacher from Little Flowers Secondary School who thought this would help pupils.

We were then approached by Gael-Linn, an organisation for the promotion and development of Irish language, who asked if we would offer a self-guided trail in Irish.

To encourage visitors from other communities we also place some of our ads in the Polish magazine, Glosik. As an education officer it's part of my job to provide information around the zoo, including the availability of different languages.

Google!

…de Reseller News:

...How many other languages does Google use? Maori is the latest in quite a long line – there are 117 languages currently listed that can be used for the homepage; 118 after you include Maori. Everything from Afrikaans to Zulu, Breton to Welsh, even Klingon and Twi (!). Some, though, look a bit suspect. There’s Elmer Fudd, Pig Latin, Hacker and Bork Bork Bork!, for example. (There are people with way too much time on their hands!)

The Maori version isn’t one of them. I’m not sure if anything has been linguistically created to fit the Google model, but that’s hardly the point. It will be a valuable addition to the language. In fact, it looks like everyone involved has done a fine job. Congratulations. It’s a significant boost for the language and, for those Te Reo-challenged people like me, it certainly makes it a fun and interesting challenge...

Timothy Armstrong

…de la Press & Journal:

Post-graduate student Timothy Armstrong has been named Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI’s student of the year.

The Seattle-born PhD student first studied at the college, Scotland’s only Gaelic language college, on a summer short course. He returned as a full-time student in 2002 for a Gaelic immersion course.

Despite not planning to stay any longer than the year-long intensive language course, he completed a BA in Gaelic language and culture and is now researching language planning and the revitalisation of minority languages...

Faktoj kaj Ciferoj

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

Some figures to crunch:

The Welsh language TV channel, S4C, gets £90m from London with around another £20m in programmes provided by BBC. Welsh speakers also have a full radio service.

In Scotland, there is £12m for tv programming with BBC providing an additional £8m of services, including Radio na Gaidhlige.

In the South of Ireland, TG4 gets around €35m with RTÉ providing an additional 365 hours per annum. Raidió na Gaeltachta broadcasts around the clock.

In the North, through the Irish Language Broadcast Fund, £3m goes into Irish language programming. BBC NI provides about 17 hours of programming a year, though it recently upped its paltry expenditure from £400k to £900k per annum. Nothing to write home about but by leveraging this money against funds from the ILBF, it can up its Gaeilge content. The BBC also provides around 260 hours of radio programming.

The way forward is for TG4 to truly become a national TV provider, admittedly letting the BBC and UTV off the hook in the North, but dramatically upping its content (and Ulster representation) to service the six counties.

With the Irish language getting more than 100 times less than Welsh, the case for a proper broadcast service in Irish for the North is unanswerable.

Aloysius O'Brien

...de la St. John’s Telegram:

A St. John's man believed to be the last speaker of an obscure dialect of the Irish language died Wednesday morning.

Aloysius O'Brien was 93.

O'Brien, a St. John's farmer, spoke Leinster Gaelic - or Irish of the books - a dialect now extinct in Ireland, which was passed down to him from his Irish-born grandmother.

The Leinster dialect became extinct during the 20th century, and O'Brien was thought to be the last person in the world who could speak it….

Madison Tazu

...de la BBC:

An English-born woman with an Irish background has been named the 2008 Welsh Learner of the Year at the National Eisteddfod.

Madison Tazu, who started learning 10 months ago, received a trophy and £300 at a ceremony in Cardiff Castle.

Although she was brought up in Cardigan and now lives in Cardiff, she said she had earlier rejected the language.

Her next challenge is to learn Spanish and she hopes then to go to Patagonia to help in Welsh schools.

Sankta Gallus

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

But two days after the talk on St Gall, Irish language circles are still buzzing about the St Gallen lecture.

One veteran Gaeilgeoir described it as "the best Irish language event I've ever been at". Which isn't bad since most of it was in English.

Anyhow, as a favour, we've put up the striking display boards about St Gall and his colleagues (not St Colmcille) on the web for From The Balcony readers in pageturning format...

.cym

…Wales Online:

Welsh companies should have the right to use .cym as well as .com on their websites, Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said yesterday.

Mr Jones said £20,000 of WAG funding would go towards preparing a formal bid for the .cym suffix to be used on the internet.

In June ICANN, the international body which manages internet domain names, decided to relax the rules and allow bids for suffixes other than the well-known .co.uk, .com and .net endings...

Kenneth Murray

…de la Press & Journal:

The organisation created to maintain and promote the Gaelic language has lost its second senior official in the space of two months.

Bòrd na Gàidhlig chief executive Kenneth Murray has quit after just a year in the job. In a statement, the organisation said the decision was “taken jointly”.

Matthew MacIver had earlier stepped down as chairman to take up a professorship at the University of Highlands and Islands Millennium Institute.

Mr Murray, 46, joined the board from the Forestry Commission last September, two years after moving to Inverness as the commission’s parliamentary and cultural programmes manager and its Gaelic language policy officer. In a statement issued by the bord, Mr Murray said: “I was honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead Bòrd na Gàidhlig at an important stage in its development...

Sankta Gallus kaj Pádraigín Ní hUalacháin

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

The Irish manuscripts at St Gallen are the oldest in the world and among the most beautiful depicting in stylish script and with great ornamentation the story of the Gospels.

The Irish monks, who worked under a vow of silence did write small poems and notes in the glosses. One, said Frau Hufenus, wrote "rough parchment, thin ink", giving out about the quality of his tools while another, correcting a poorly finished page, wrote: "too much beer".

Sean-nós singer in residence at the Queen's Séamus Heaney Library, Pádraigín Ní hUalacháin, had put poems from the glosses into music and sang for the packed Cultúrlann audience last night — a courageous and generous act given that her son Macdara was in hospital in Italy being operated on for a broken back suffered during a climbing accident in the Alps. Reports from the hospital were good. Go raibh sé ar ais a sheanléim gan mhoill.

Cuil

...de PC World:

Seeing as how new search engine Cuil.com is, well, a search engine, its founders might have known that people could easily check online the company's claim that the word "cuil" means "knowledge" in Irish. Because, in fact, it doesn't.

Members of an online Irish language forum have been discussing the word and the company's claims of its definition.

They say the word is most often translated to mean "corner" or "nook," but has sometimes been used for "hazel," as in the nut....