Inkognita Kimra

…de la Daily Post:

Private consultants are going undercover in a bid to ensure council staff are speaking Welsh.
Anglesey council is to conduct a mystery shopper exercise across the local authority’s services to monitor the use of the Welsh language.

Denbighshire council is also to undertake a similar covert operation to test its Welsh language services in February and March next year.

The island authority said the exercise was aimed at making sure staff are compliant with its own Welsh Language Scheme.

It follows a review of the council’s Welsh language services by the Welsh Language Board.

The Board demanded that the council makes greater progress in assessing the language skills of staff members.

Osian Roberts, from Welsh language group Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, said: "We welcome this and urge all local authorities to do the same to keep staff on their toes...

“Is maith an t-anlann…”

…de la Sunday Business Post:

Chef Sauce, a Jacob Fruitfield brand, is to sponsor the new season of TG4’s award-winning soap opera, Ros na Run.Chef said the move would reinforce its association with the Irish language.

‘‘Chef has already established a strong association with the Irish language, through our popular TV ad set in the Gaeltacht and our subsequent sponsorship of the Des Bishop show, In the Name of the Fada,” said Loretta Dignam, marketing director of the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group.

‘‘As a strong Irish brand, we are very happy to further strengthen that association through the Ros na Run sponsorship.”

Ros na Run has been an anchor in the TG4 programme schedule since the channel began broadcasting in 1996. It airs five times a week and is produced in the Galway Gaeltacht by independent producers Eo Teilifis and Leirithe Thir Eoghain.

Dr-o Séamus de Blaca

…de Hofstra Universitato:

Date: Wednesday, September 30th

Time/Location: 11:15am-12:40pm in 246 East Wing, Axinn Library

Lecturer: Dr. Seamus Blake, Host of WFUV’s Míle Fáilte (A Thousand Welcomes)

Description: Dr. Blake will discuss the use of Irish Gaelic in the United States.

He will also talk about the benefits of speaking Irish as well local opportunities to learn the language.

Eddie McGrady, MP

…de Eddie McGrady, MP:

Our ref no. CAL/C/McG/4/09

Thank you for your correspondence regarding the application by Caoimhin Mac Giolla Cathain for Judicial Review.

I have examined this information and can advise that I fully support this application.

Your sincerely,
Eddie McGrady, MP

Serĝento Seamus O’Fianghusa

…de la Irish Voice:

Sergeant Seamus O’Fianghusa was born patriotic. At a young age he knew serving his country was something that was a must.

He also realized learning the language of his Irish ancestors was a high priority.

Growing up bi-lingual, (his father, James, is Irish American and his mother, Helen, is Korean), the 33-year-old U.S. Army sergeant wasn’t content with just speaking English and Korean. He wanted to learn Irish.

“My father used to speak a lot about the Gaeilge and I knew someday that it would be my duty to learn this language, the language of my ancestors,”…

…It was an encounter with a native Irish speaker from Donegal a few years ago that got O’Fianghusa’s skates on.

“I met a lady from the Gaeltacht in Donegal who was fluent in Irish and I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t speak her -- and my -- language,” he said.

“Right there and then I made a decision to learn Irish. I couldn’t delay it any longer.”

In a short few months, O’Fianghusa, who studied linguistics in college, was spouting the Irish language just like the natives in Donegal….

“Petroc”

…de la North Devon Journal:

Petroc has been revealed as the new name for North Devon College.

The name was revealed to staff and students at 10.40am today.

Principal David Dodd said the merger of North Devon College with East Devon College meant both names had to go.

The college has worked with a company called Interbrand to come up with the new name, brand and logo.

Revealing the new name Mr Dodd said: "In a series of language and naming exercises, we explored perceptions of Devon, of the colleges and its people.”…

….Anticipating criticism that Petroc is a Cornish name, the college said in a statement: "Petroc is a Celtic name that has connections with Cornwall but even stronger links with Devon where the county's flag is dedicated to him.

"Cornwall's main patron saint is St Piran, whose flag is recognised as the Cornish national symbol.

"St Petroc was born in Wales but primarily ministered to the people of sixth century Dumnonia (now Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset and Dorset).

"He is one of Cornwall's patron saints but there are 17 churches dedicated to him in Devon, while there are just five in Cornwall....

An Conradh vs. An Snip

…de la Irish Times:

Should McCarthy report recommendations to be implemented where Irish was concerned, “it would amount to a discontinuance of the policy of the State since 1922 regarding the maintenance and promotion of the Irish language, both within the Gaeltacht and outside it”, Conradh na Gaeilge has said.

It also pointed out that, not only does the report propose that the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs be abolished, “but in the case of the functions carried out by that department, it is proposed that funding be reduced by 31.7 per cent”.

That would mean a reduction which was “more than three times” that recommended for other departments and a proposed reduction in staff “almost four times” the average proposed for other departments.

In a formal response to the report, Conradh na Gaeilge has called on the Government “to take the 20-year strategy for the Irish language, which is to be published at the end of September, into account before any decision is made regarding the proposals in the report which relate to the preservation, promotion and encouragement of the use of Irish”….

Egaleco kaj la Irlandalingvo en a Nordo de Irlando

Tuilleadh eolais. / Pliaj informoj.

Caitriona Ruane

…de UTV:

The Education Minister in Northern Ireland has warned that the Irish language needs to be enshrined in law.

Caitriona Ruane highlighted the lack of an Irish Language Act after a meeting with a European committee probing the implementation of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.

"For our part Sinn Fein is totally committed to securing effective, rights based legislation for Irish speakers here in the north," she said.

Former DUP Culture, Arts and Leisure minister Edwin Poots in 2007 opposed an Irish language act.

Unionists are keen to develop the use of Ulster Scots.

But Ms Ruane said: "I stressed with the committee that the work that my department and others such as the DRD have been engaged in is taking place in the absence of both an effective rights-based Irish language act, despite the British Government committing themselves to this at St Andrews, as well as in absence of the languages strategy as promised by successive DUP culture ministers."

La Brita Ministerio de Eksterlandaj Aferoj & Keltalingvoj

…de la BBC:

The NI Executive was warned by the Foreign Office that a failure to agree on minority languages was creating international difficulties for the UK.

The Executive failed to submit details of how it is fulfilling a commitment to promote Irish and Ulster Scots under the terms of a European charter.

As a result the UK had to submit a late and incomplete report to the Council of Europe, the only nation to do so.
This caused annoyance at the Foreign Office and other devolved governments.

The UK government is required to report to the Council of Europe every three years on its progress in protecting minority languages, such as Ulster Scots, Irish, Scots Gaelic and Welsh. …

…The BBC has seen a letter from April this year in which the then Europe minister Caroline Flint wrote to Stormont's then Culture Minister Gregory Campbell.

She stated she was "disappointed" that his department was still unable to provide its input.

She went on to state that following a formal request from the Council of Europe she could no longer delay.

She wrote: "I cannot ignore this request as there is now a real risk of the UK being censured for not meeting its international obligations."…

“Big Ben” Partoprenas en Protesto

…de Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg:

Daeth dros 200 o aelodau a chefnogwyr Cymdeithas yr Iaith i brotest ar faes yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yn y Bala heddiw, lle cyflwynwyd ddeiseb brys wedi'i arwyddo gan gefnogwyr yn yr wyl. Byrdwn y neges oedd yr angen i brysuro gyda'r gwaith o drosglwyddo pwerau deddfu dros y Gymraeg i Gymru. Fe wnaeth Big Ben deithio yr holl ffordd o Lundain i gymryd rhan yn yr orymdaith o uned Cymdeithas yr Iaith i uned llywodraeth y Cynulliad.

Meddai Menna Machreth, Cadeirydd Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg:

''Rydym yn cyflwyno ein neges yn hollol glir i'r Llywodraeth, sef bod amser yn mynd yn brin ac felly bod angen trosglwyddo'r holl bwerau deddfu dros y Gymraeg o San Steffan i Gymru heb ragor o oedi. Mae amser trafod wedi dod i ben, mae angen i ni weld y Llywodraeth yn gweithredu er mwyn i ni gael hawliau llawn i ddefnyddio'r Gymraeg.''

Klarigo pri Kornvala

…de rimarko afiŝita sur ĉi tiu blogo:

Nigel Haywood re skrifas dhymm adro dhe'n leverans devynys ma esa pryntyes heb kettestenn vydh. Ev re skrifas, " My a gar an taves Kernewek ha my a studhyas an yeth hengovek dres pedar blydhen, yth esa Derivadow Unesco yn kever Tavosow yn Peryll a dheklaryas bos Kernewek Hengovek gyllys glan, byttegens ny hyllir bos leverys an keth adro dhe'n KERNEWEK DASSERGHYS hag y hevelir yma hi niver hi ow tevi yn sad. Yma lies den ha benyn owth oberi yn krev dasserghi an Taves Kernewek delleveris vy dhis hudol yw ha teg lowr. Hi a waynyas gre yn dann an Chartour Ewropek rag Yethow an Ranndiryow ha Byghan yn dhe 2002. Ow foynt vy yn sympel o nyns esa le vydh oll ragov yn argerdh an dasserghyans. Ytho ha Kernewek Hengovel ow merwel y'n 18ves kansvlydhen ha nyns esa ranndir ha Kernewek kewsys ena ages an Gaeltacht yn Iwerdhon po nebes tiredh yn Kembra nyns yw henna an hwedhel yn tien"

Nigel Haywood has written to me about the reported statement which was printed without any context at all. He wrote" I love the Cornish language an I studied the traditional language for four years, it was the Unesco report about endangered laguages which declared Traditional Cornish extinct, but the same cannot be said for REVIVED CORNISH whose numbers seem to be contantly growing.There are a lot of people working hard to revive the Cornish language, which, as I said to you, is fascinating and quite beautiful. It gained status under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages in 2002. My point was, simply, that I do not have any role in the revival process. So while Cornish died out in the 18th Century, and there are no areas of Cornish speaking comparable with eg the Gaeltacht for Irish, or large parts of Wales for Welsh, that's not the whole story!"

* Dankon al Mick Paynter/Skogynn Pryv.

Blas Festo

...de la Press & Journal:

Ticket sales for a Highland festival celebrating culture through the Gaelic language were up by 25% this year, organisers have revealed.
More than 11,000 people attended the Blas Festival, with about half the 40 events selling out.
The festival, a key part of the Homecoming Scotland celebrations, was staged between September 4 and 12 at more than 40 venues, including village halls, Eden Court Theatre in Inverness and Inverness Airport.

Blas, in partnership with Highland Council, also delivered a school and community programme for more than 4,000 young people.

Festival director Donna MacRae said: “We are absolutely delighted with these attendances for the fifth Blas Festival. It proves that the people of the Highlands and visitors from overseas want to experience Highland culture.

“Given these stricken economic times, it is a particularly impressive performance...

Plano por Irlandalingva Ret-Revuo

…de Inside Ireland:

Foras na Gaeilge have issued a €210,000 tender notice for an online Irish language magazine.

The contract is for editions of an internet magazine that are updated at least 12 times during the year.

The magazine must be available to the public free of charge also.

The contract is for up to three years depending on a satisfactory review of the site at the end of each calender year and an upper limit of €70,000/£55,000 per year will be available to the successful applicant....

Amhran na bhFiann

...de la Silicon Republic:

....Are you embarrassed that you don’t know the national anthem in English, let alone in Irish?

Are you one of the many people who stand in the crowd at sports events, miming the nation’s favourite song because you don’t know the words - Olé Olé is not the national anthem!

You can now learn the national anthem in a fun, funky way with friends and family.

The application will teach you the words line by line, by following the highlighted Irish text, while the English translation is featured underneath....

Nova Irlandalingva Ĵurnalo?

…de la Sunday Business Post:

Five bids are believed to have been made for the contract to publish an Irish-language weekly paper.

The four-year contract is being awarded by Foras na Gaeilge, the cross-border Irish language body.

The five applicants are four former staff of Foinse, the Connemara-based Irish-language weekly which closed in June; Belfast-based Nuacht24; West Cork information-management company Bard na nGleann; Galway-based Independent Free Newspapers Group; and a joint venture between Connemara-based EoTeilifís, fronted by businesswoman Máire Ní Thuathail and the Connacht Tribune newspaper.

The two applicants with most experience of producing an Irish-language newspaper are the former staff of Foinse andNuacht24…

Irlandalingvo en Vancouver

...de la Vancouver Sun:

For Vancouver resident Mike Kelly, the Internet has proven an invaluable tool in his efforts to maintain a connection with his Irish roots.

Kelly, 76, grew up in Ireland, where he was schooled in the original Irish Gaelic language, as well as English.

Kelly left home at 17 years old and hasn’t lived in Ireland since. Nevertheless, nearly six decades later, his ability to speak the language of his childhood remains an integral part of his being.

“I feel I wouldn’t be Irish if I didn’t speak it,” he says.

But finding other Irish speakers on the West Coast has not been easy.

His brother and sister, both of whom also live in Vancouver, don’t speak much of the language, and neither do his children.

As for his friends, “I know more Englishmen than Irishmen,” he says.

Small Irish-language meet-up groups do exist in the city, and Kelly occasionally meets with other Irish speakers over coffee. However, he’s found few people locally share his level of fluency.

So Kelly has instead turned to Skype and e-mail to connect with Irish speakers worldwide. There he can both practise the language and expand his own vocabulary, which he admits is “a bit old-fashioned” compared to modern-day speakers.

“The Gaelic I learned is the language of farmers and fishermen,” he says.

Kelly is also enjoying doing his bit to perpetuate the language, which suffered a dramatic decline in fluent speakers over the last century.

“It was considered the language of the poor,” Kelly says.

These days, he adds, “It’s becoming the language of the middle class and the well-educated.”

Glyn Rowland

…de la County Times:

The streets of Corris were packed last week as people turned out in their hundreds to celebrate the life of Glyn Rowlands, a leading member of the Free Wales Army.

71-year-old Glyn Rowlands passed away at Bronglais Hospital on August 22. His funeral took place at Capel Salem. The chapel was full to capacity and there was also a large crowd outside.

Glyn, a former caretaker at the Corris Institute, was a hugely popular figure in Corris and Machynlleth for his support of the Welsh language and the country’s culture.

But he will be best known for his role in the Free Wales Army, a paramilitary Welsh nationalist organisation, formed out of Lampeter, by William Julian Cayo-Evans in 1963.

Glyn, a member of the group’s anti-investiture committee, was opposed to the naming of an Englishman as Prince of Wales and in 1969 was one of nine members arrested and charged with public order offences.

The trial, in Swansea, lasted 53 days, ending on the day of the investiture. On the first day of the trial the defendants were greeted with an impromptu recital of Land of My Fathers from the public gallery.

The Army’s motto was “Fe godwn ni eto,” Welsh for “We shall rise again.”...

Kimra Traduko kun Google

…de la Western Mail:

Welsh has joined Galician, Swahili and Yiddish among the 51 languages supported by Google’s translation service.

Teachers today welcomed the California-based internet firm’s decision as a “positive development” for the language.

In April there was an outcry when users of the service complained that it supported cross-translation between languages including Latvian and Maltese, but not Welsh.

Google, which was initially funded by Cardiff-born venture capitalist Michael Moritz, accounts for 90% of all searches in the UK.

Google says the new service will make it easier for Welsh-speaking users to find and view search results on foreign language web pages in their own language...

Per Pondaven

...de Le Télégramme:

Pondaven a disparu en mer le 1erjanvier 2008. Trois ouvrages publiés cette année portent sa signature. Per Pondaven, marin expérimenté, appréciait les balades en solitaire au milieu des rochers de l'archipel de Molène, dans les coins et les recoins de la côte du Nord-Finistère qu'il connaissait comme sa poche. Il savait le nom du moindre caillou, du plus petit trou à goémon. Des noms bretons qu'il a passé une bonne partie de sa courte vie à collecter auprès des pêcheurs et des habitants du Léon.

Les éditions du Télégramme ont réédité, en début d'année, «Trouz ar mor», un recueil de proverbes bretons lié à la mer qu'il avait écrit avec Yann Riou, autre collecteur infatigable. L'ouvrage avait connu un succès important à sa sortie, en 2003, et avait vite été épuisé. La nouvelle édition, revue et augmentée, contient environ 250 proverbes de toute la Bretagne. Yann Riou y rend hommage à son ami Per Pondaven, biologiste de formation, maître de conférence à la faculté de Nantes.

Les deux complices ont réalisé avec un autre adepte du collectage, Mikael Madeg, un imposant ouvrage sur les noms de famille du Léon, «Anoiou famillou Bro-Leon», publié aux éditions Emgleo Breiz. «Ce livre est le résultat d'une vingtaine d'années de travail», explique Yann Riou...

La Korvala Lingvo Vivas!

Protesto en Anglesey

…de la Daily Post:

Language protesters will picket a meeting to discuss the future of 15 Anglesey schools next week.

There are currently 10 rural schools and five schools in Holyhead under threat of closure under the reorganisation programme.

Public consultations have been held across the island for feedback.

On Monday September 14 the education committee will meet at 2pm to offer its views with every member of the local authority also invited to take part.

The views expressed will then go forward to the executive of Anglesey council.

Cymdeithas Yr Iaith Gymraeg say they will picket the meeting alongside representatives of the schools under threat.

The rural schools listed as under threat of closure or merger are Aberffraw, Bodorgan, Bryngwran, Llandrygarn, Llanddeusant, Llanddona, Ffrwd Win, Cylch y Garn, Talwrn and Ty Mawr.

Holyhead schools under threat are Ysgol y Parc, Llanfawr, Llaingoch, Kingsland and Thomas Ellis.

Osian Roberts, from Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, said: “We will be there to remind councillors of the importance of these schools to their communities....

Lá Mór i Nua Eabhrac / Granda Tago en Novjorko

...de la Comhdháil Aontas Gael-Mheiriceánach:

October 10, 2009, 2pm: New York: Walking tour of lower Manhattan featuring points of interest to the Irish language in the city. Hosted by Daithí MacLochlainn. Meet at South Street Seaport Museum, 19 Front Street. Free, but there is an entrance fee for those interested in going into the museum. Tour lasts about 2 to 3 hours.

October 10, 2009, 7pm: New York: The Irish Language and Equality in the North of Ireland, Glucksman Ireland House at New York University, One Washington Mews. Featured speaker: Belfast solicitor Michael Flanigan will discuss his recent High Court challenge to the 1737 Administration of Justice (Ireland) Act, which prohibits the use of Irish in the court system, as well as other equality issues facing the Irish-speaking community in the North. With special guests: Domhnall O'Cathain of the Brehon Law Society, Mike Breen, Director of Mary's Gift Irish Language Foundation, and a special message from Pobal, the Belfast-based umbrella organization for Irish language groups in the North. Co-sponsored by the Brehon Law Society. Free and open to the public.

Haywood: La Korvala “ne estas vivanta lingvo

…de MercoPress:

Governor designate Nigel Haywood* will hit the ground running – literally – when he takes up his new post in September next year.

And the career diplomat, a keen marathon runner and fly fisherman, says he is well prepared for the country’s notoriously fickle climate…..

…Mr Haywood said he was eager to immerse himself in the Falklands community….

…“Some fascinating things have been written about me, but not all of them are true,” he said. “I am a Cornish bard, but none of this is to say I speak the language. No one speaks Cornish as such. It is not a living language.” …

* ADRESO:
..Office of the Governor
..Government House,
..Stanley, FIQQ 1ZZ
..Islas Malvinas

Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin

...de la Derry Journal:

The new state-of-the-art Irish language and cultural centre, Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, in Great James Street will be officially opened tonight.

The £4 million building, which has already won an international award for its design, is set to be formally opened by the Irish government's minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó'CuÍv, as part of a gala ceremony.

Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin houses a multi-purpose arts centre, classrooms, a 200 seat theatre, youth club, café, office space, bookshop, conference facilities, and a business incubation suites.15 people are employed in the centre….

The Riddle of Father Hackett

…de Eureka Street:

Brenda Niall, one of Australia's best biographers, has written a highly readable and surprising life of William Hackett (1878–1954), the Jesuit priest who was pressured out of Ireland to Australia in 1922 for his involvement with republican armed forces during the Civil War….

….Niall identifies love of the Irish landscape and the Irish language as key factors in Hackett's increasing radicalisation.

The latter brought him close friendship with Padraig Pearse and Thomas MacDonagh.

In 1922 Hackett drew a sympathetic response from the order's leader for his plan for a new Jesuit school in which Irish would be the first langauge....

Kimra Traduko

…de la BBC:

Plans to stop translating speeches from English into Welsh in the assembly's written record of proceedings could be investigated.

The Welsh Language Board has warned that the move could breach the assembly's own Welsh language scheme.
But the Assembly Commission, which says the move will save £250,000 a year, has denied the board has any authority to mount such an investigation.

The board has said it is taking further legal advice before responding.

The proposals, revealed in August, are in line with existing arrangements for assembly committees.

They mean the words of AMs speaking English in the assembly chamber would no longer be translated into Welsh in the written record, but Welsh speeches would continue to be translated into English....

Rajtoj kaj Festo...kaj Alun Ffred Jones!

….de Pobal:

Cuireann POBAL fáilte roimh chách bheith i láthair ag Aonach Naomh Seoirse Dé Domhnaigh 11ú Deireadh Fómhair idir 1 - 5 chun an Ghaeilge a cheiliúradh agus cearta a éileamh do Ghaeilgeoirí. Osclódh Alun Ffred Jones, Aire Cultúir agus Dúchais na Breataine Bige an ócáid ina mbeidh oll-eachtraí sorcais, spraoi teaghlaigh, ceol, dráma, céilí, ceardlanna, bia, seastáin agus a lán eile. Ná bíodh moill ort dul i dteagmháil linn má tá eolas uait nó más maith leat bheith páirteach.

POBAL invitas ĉiuj al St George Merkato Dimanĉon 11a Oktobro de 1 - 5pm festi la Irlandalingvon kaj alvoki por rajtoj por Irlandajparolantoj. Speciala gasto, Alun Ffred Jones, Kulturo kaj Heredaĵo Ministro, Kimrio, malfermos la eventon kiu prezentiĝos cirkon altan draton spektaklon, amuzon & distron interŝanĝe por la tuta familion, muziko, céilíon, laborejojn, manĝaĵon, budojn kaj multe pli. Ne hezit kontakti nin eltrovi pli aŭ partopreni eventojn.

Irlandalingvo kaj Matematiko

...de la Lurgan Mail:

Native Irish-speaking maths students may not be displaying their true numerical know-how when tested in English, new research has revealed.

A study found pupils moving from Gaelic-only primary schools to English-medium secondary education scored almost 9% higher when quizzed in their mother tongue.

But despite the language gap, number-crunching Irish-speakers still outperformed their classmates by 5% when tested in English...

C de Búrca

…de la Irish Independent:

When I see articles in the press running down the Irish language, I tend to ignore them. However, Declan Lynch's piece (Sunday Independent, August 23, 2009), is somewhat of an exception, as I believe he has put his finger on a sore point. How is it that so many reach the end of their schooldays virtually incapable of using the Irish language in any meaningful way?

I went through the Irish school system, and like so many of my classmates, in my primary school days I learned to say "I hate Irish" (and "I hate school", too). That attitude diminished and finally disappeared as I headed towards adulthood, and it is now the language I speak to my children, as well as many of my friends and my work colleagues. There are people like myself up and down the country, while a great many more are ensuring that their children come out of school with a satisfactory grasp of Irish, generally by sending them to a Gaelscoil or through attendance at a good colaiste samhraidh...

Rang 71

…de Slugger O’Toole:

This Thursday 3 September on BBC Two, 19:00-19:40 will see the screening of Rang 71, an Imagine Media documentary on Bunscoil Phobal Feirste, the first Irish medium school in the North.

The school was founded to educate the children of the Pobal Feirste Gaeltacht community and it remains a thriving school to this day and has led the way in terms of Irish medium education.

The parents who founded the school did so despite the threat of imprisonment from the Stormont regime and without any funding, I am unsure which was more courageous.

I understand from people who have had a preview that it is an exceptional piece of work, one not to miss….