Anti-Gaela Leĝo Konfimata

...de la BBC:

Senior judges have rejected a legal bid to overturn a 270-year-old ban on the use of the Irish language in NI courts.

The Court of Appeal dismissed claims that the centuries-old law was discriminatory and breached the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case was taken by Irish language speaker Caoimhin Mac Giolla Cathain.

He appealed the dismissal of a legal case he took after he was told his application in Irish for an occasional drinks licence could not be considered.

Under the Administration of Justice (Language) Act of 1737, all proceedings in NI courts must be in English….

FilmG 2010

…de For Argyll:

And what a place to launch this year’s 3-5 minute short Gaelic films competitions for young people and for adults.

It was in Strontian – at Ardnamurchan High School in the Ardnamurchan peninsula, at the inward end of the long penetration of Loch Sunart from the Sound of Mull- literally a world of its own.

The launch saw BBC ALBA presenters, Fiona MacKenzie and Calum MacAulay, join pupils of Ardnamurchan and Mallaig High Schools in an afternoon of celebration. The Ardnamurchan pupils took the upper hand in FilmG 2009, winning the Best Film award in the Young People’s category.

The theme for the 2010 FilmG competition – the third since its inception – is The Upper Hand / Làmh an Uachdar. What you make of that will determine how you do in the contest...

Mistraduku

…de Today Translations:

There are literally hundreds and thousands of examples and they can be found all over the world but lets start at home, the UK.

This bilingual road sign left many cyclists confused, telling them that they have problems with an inflamed bladder. The most popular theory behind this mistake is that an on-line translation engine led to confusion between cyclists and cystitis. Thankfully Glamorgan Council were informed and replacements for the sign were made, however what this highlights is how a small mistake can easily be amplified with bad language translation.

Another classic error made with a bilingual English to Welsh road sign is pictured to the left. When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the e-mail reply was what was required.

Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: “I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated”.

Andrew George, MP

…de la Independent:

Tory and Lib Dem ministers from the coalition Government were among the first batch of newly-elected MPs to take the oath or affirm in order to take their seats on the famous green benches…

…Lib Dem Andrew George (St Ives) took the oath in Cornish. The proud Cornishman led the parliamentary campaign to have the language officially recognised.

He claims to have been the first MP to speak Cornish in the Chamber when he made his maiden speech in 1997.

Irlandalingvaj Bankaŭtomatoj en Nov-Jorko?

…de Irish Central:

Chase Bank has promised the Irish community of New York that it will review requests by at least one of its Irish-speaking customers in Queens, that the bank extend the courtesy of multi-lingual ATM service to those in places like Woodside who speak Irish. The bank's ATMs currently offer residents the option of an interface in any number of neighborhood languages, including Spanish and Chinese….

… Bank of Ireland made the move a few years ago making all their ATMs Irish-optioned, and in so-doing are joining a whole new generation of brands that wish to recognize their Irish customers as other groups are so recognized with service and advertisement in their language…

*** Facebook-grupo establiĝis subteni irlandalingvajn bankaŭtomatojn. Klaku ĉi tie vidi ĝin. / Bunadh grúpa Feidhmcláir chun tacaíocht le úsáid na Gaeilge ar uathmheaísíní bainc. Gliogáil anseo á fheiceáil.

Mebyon Kernow

...de Ekklesia:

The Cornish party Mebyon Kernow (MK), have launched their manifesto for the general election, calling for a devolved legislative assembly for Cornwall and for the replacement of council tax with a progressive income tax…

… The party's manifesto commits candidates to fighting for all the people of Cornwall, whatever their background. MK insists that Cornwall had its own distinct identity, language and heritage and had as much right to self-determination as Wales and Scotland. …

… Mebyon Kernow's name derives from the Cornish for “Sons of Cornwall”. The Cornish language, which is closely related to Welsh and Breton, almost died out during the twentieth century, but a recent revival has seen a growth in the number of people speaking Cornish as a second language.…

"Malplimulto Lingvoj en la Unuiĝinta Reĝlando"

…de la Konsilio de Eŭropo:

The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has just made public the third report on the situation of minority languages in the UK. This report has been drawn up by a committee of independent experts which monitors the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

On the basis of the report, the Committee of Ministers calls on the UK to continue taking resolute action for the protection and promotion of Scottish Gaelic in all areas, in particular in education, through the training of teachers and the production of teaching and learning materials.

Furthermore, the UK authorities are encouraged to adopt and implement a comprehensive Irish language policy, preferably through the adoption of legislation.

The UK should also ensure that health and social care facilities offer services in Welsh.

Finally, the Committee of Ministers recommends the UK to adopt a strategy to enhance and develop Ulster Scots, in co-operation with the speakers.

The regional or minority languages protected under the Charter in the UK are Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scots, Ulster Scots, Manx Gaelic and Cornish.

Ar Redadeg 2010

…de Ouest-France:

Impliquée dans la défense de la langue bretonne, la fédération Startijenn ar Vro Vigoudenn se lance dans la préparation de la Redadeg 2010.

« Cette course de relais individuels ouverte à tous, à travers les cinq départements bretons, symbolise la transmission de la langue des ancêtres entre les personnes et les générations en insistant sur son rayonnement culturel dans la Bretagne historique », rappelle Loïc Jadé, président de Startijenn. La course part de Rennes lundi 10 mai au matin et arrive à Pontivy samedi 15 mai vers 17 h. Entre-temps les participants auront contribué à parcourir 1 200 km en passant par Redon ; Nantes ; Saint-Nazaire ; Vannes ; Lorient ; Quimper ; Pont-l'Abbé ; Douarnenez ; Châteaulin ; les monts d'Arrée ; Brest ; les Abers ; Morlaix ; Guerlesquin ; Paimpol ; Guingamp ; Saint-Brieuc ; Saint-Nicolas-du-Pelem ; Carhaix ; Rostrenen, jusqu'au but à Pontivy. « Ce genre de course se pratique dans le Pays Basque sous le nom de Korrica et en Irlande sous celui de Rith », informe Loïc Jadé.

Diwan reprenait l'idée en 2008, en organisant une première Redadeg qui réunissait 10 000 personnes tout au long des 600 km alors parcourus avec un bénéfice de 66 000 €. Le but de l'opération consiste en effet à vendre des kilomètres pour récolter des fonds qui servent, outre à montrer l'attachement à la langue, à financer des projets favorisant la pratique du breton dans la vie sociale et familiale....

Curam

…de Market Watch:

...Curam Software is now driving the social welfare and pension systems in countries as far apart as the US and Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand," said HE Kenneth Thompson, Irish Ambassador.

"The name of the company is a word taken from the Irish language, meaning 'care and protection' and Governments in all of these countries put immense faith in the ability of Curam to care for and protect sensitive data both in their interests and in the interests of the ultimate beneficiary, the citizen."

The Irish Ambassador also noted that the company was a growing employer in India and expressed the "hope that Indian clients would also soon realise the advantages of using Curam's software which was in large part developed in Bangalore."...

The Pipettes

….de WalesOnline:

For Gwenno and Ani Saunders, becoming The Pipettes is a long way from their childhood days in Cardiff spent singing, dancing and making cassettes.

Tomorrow’s release of their catchy new single Stop The Music, which shares the same producer as the Human League’s legendary Dare album, marks a radical departure for the former three-piece…

…Tri-lingual Gwenno and Ani – they speak Welsh, Cornish and English – have huge support from their parents, Cardiff mum Lyn and Cornish linguist dad Tim Saunders.

Ani said: “I think they like the fact we’re looking after each other. Our first language is Welsh, which we speak to mum and our second is Cornish, which we speak with our dad but we try not to speak either around anyone else so we don’t seem rude!”

Hebrea, Kimra kaj Irlanda Lingvoj

…de Irish Central:

Daithí MacLochlainn who does Irish language tours of downtown Manhattan told me he starts his tour on the docks by the Seaport Museum where they have one of the oldest examples on brick of grafitti ever written on a wall in New York, and it just so happens that the five lines of graffiti are written in Irish Gaelic. More on that later.

More to the point, MacLochlainn is the one who told me about the Welsh and how they use Israeli pedagogy to teach their rich Celtic language to foreigners and native Welsh alike in rapid time with great results--Welsh is a thriving widely-used language.

The Israelis developed a school called the Ulpan or אולפן. It's a "studio" setting for intensive language acquisition. The Welsh borrowed the school model and called it Wlpan, which is just a Welsh spelling on the Hebrew word…

Féile na Gaeilge

…de la Ionad Ealaíne Éireannaí:

Saturday, April 24, Noon – 5:00pm

With special reception to honor Breandán Ó Caollaí and Carmel Callan for their commitment to Irish language in New York

Join the Irish Arts Center for a day of festivities, classes for ALL skill levels from beginner to advanced, live music, film screening, poetry reading, panel discussion and a special wine and cheese reception to honor our special guests. Meet other Irish language enthusiasts, expand and supplement your Irish language skills, and support the growth of Irish language in New York, New Jersey and beyond!

Admission: $30 general sale/ $25 members / $15 students

For more information or to reserve, please contact Rachael at 212.757.3318 ext. 209 or rachael@irishartscenter.org. Reservations should be made in advance to secure your spot in a class.
poetry reading, panel discussion and a special wine and cheese reception to honor our special guests. Meet other Irish language enthusiasts, expand and supplement your Irish language skills, and support the growth of Irish language in New York, New Jersey and beyond!

Admission: $30 general sale/ $25 members / $15 students; For more information or to reserve, please contact Rachael at 212.757.3318 ext. 209 or rachael@irishartscenter.org.

Meic Stevens

…de la Guardian:

Welsh-language rock legend Meic Stevens played last night to a packed out audience in a Cardiff bar.

In the intimate setting of Gwdihw Cafe Bar off Churchill Way fans crammed into the tiny space and waited patiently for Stevens to play after supporting acts Gildas, The Violas and Richard James.

The singer-songwriter from Solva has been called the 'Wesh Dylan' and was one of the first artists to record with Cardiff music label Sain. One of his most famous songs Y Brawd Houdini is a catchy number and last night's set included some bluegrass and reggae flavoured tunes for a captivated and enthralled audience…

Baile Monaidh

…de la Ballymoney Times:

Call from Sinn Fein to erect street nameplates in a language other then English has been squashed once again!

Despite being 'in accordance with Council's policy', the recommendation to proceed with the Irish signs was overruled at a recent Council meeting by a request for representatives from the Equality Commission to address the Health and Environmental Committee.

The news resulted in a hot debate mainly between SF Cllr Daithi McKay who slammed the decision as 'double standards' and DUP Cllr Mervyn Storey who said the issue was being used as a 'political football'...

"Mums of Looe"

….de la Western Morning News:

A campaign to make all signs at National Trust sites in Cornwall bilingual has received fresh backing.

The Kernow branch of the Celtic League has asked the trust to follow in the footsteps of Cornwall Council and English Heritage and display signs in both English and Cornish.

But the National Trust (NT) argues that the signs would have to be bigger to accommodate both languages, making them more unsightly and more expensive to manufacture.

Now a family group has backed the Celtic League's campaign, saying "the Cornish language is part of the history of Cornwall and should be preserved just like any other part of history".

The Mums of Looe group wrote to the League following an appeal for support from the branch to introduce a resolution at the NT's annual general assembly this year.

Mums of Looe founder Katrina Ring, highlighted in a letter to the group the benefits of learning an additional language while still at school. Children at a primary school in the East Cornwall town have recently started learning the language...

An Muileann gCearr

…de la Westmeath Examiner:

Irish language signs could be the key to improving tourism and business across the Mullingar area councillors agreed at a meeting of Mullingar Town Council.

It was Cllr. Pat Collins who raised the need to upgrade signage on Mullingar streets and housing estates, suggesting that outdated signs could be replaced with bi-lingual ones.

Signs which were erected nearly twenty years ago have greatly deteriorated he said, pointing out the Mullingar Business Park as one of the more obvious areas for an overhaul, which is much needed for business generation.

Some of the housing states have no signage what-so-ever, he added.

While Cllr. Collins said he knew finance was a main factor in considering such a facelift, he asked that money be found from somewhere:

"There might even be a few bob if we went down the bilingual route," said Cllr. Collins.

Cllrs. Ken Glynn, Mick Dollard and Aidan Davitt all agreed with Collin's motion, with Cllr. Glynn saying the Council owed it to the buisness community of Mullingar to have better signage...

Ai'ta!

…de Ouest-France:

Le collectif Ai'ta a mené une action au siège de Vannes Agglomération. pour que les promesses soient tenues.

11 h 15, samedi. Une poignée de bretonnants se sont donné rendez-vous au siège de Vannes agglomération. Revêtus de t-shirts orange, ces membres du collectif Ai'ta ont apposé des autocollants E Brezhoneg ! En breton ! sur les voitures et panneaux d'affichages qui jouxtent le bâtiment de la collectivité.

Le but de la manoeuvre : faire valoir leur revendication, visant à rendre bilingue les signalisations dépendant de l'agglomération vannetaise. « Ce sont les panneaux à vocation touristique, explique un membre du collectif. Notre action vise aussi le nouveau logo de Vannes agglomération, qui n'est qu'en français. Leur site internet non plus, n'est pas traduit ! Alors qu'une des compétences de l'agglomération est l'identité du territoire, on a l'impression que la langue bretonne n'a pas sa place. »...

“Cén Teanga?”

…de la Irish Independent:

A television series for parents who want to raise their children on the Irish language was launched yesterday.

It will be a four-part series created by Comhluadar Teoranta -- a support group for parents raising children through Irish -- and Dublin Community Television which will air the series to about 200,000 viewers in the next couple of weeks on Chorus/NTL channel 802.

'Cen Teanga?' will also be distributed in DVD-form to schools and libraries around the country, but won't be available to buy in shops.

"The idea behind it was to make a programme and show people the Irish-speaking community," said director Feargal O Cuilinn.

"There are interviews with families talking about their experiences raising their children through Irish in an Ireland where English is the first language," he said...

Siop y Morfa

…de la Rhyl Journal:

A Welsh-language bookshop which has been a fixture on Rhyl's high street for nearly 30 years has shut.

The closure of Siop y Morfa on Saturday marks the end of an era with owner Dafydd Timothy's family running businesses in Rhyl for four generations.

The decline of town centres, the rise of internet shopping and out of town developments along with tighter parking restrictions in Rhyl have been blamed.

Mr Timothy said: "It's very sad. It is the end of an era. I'm born and brought up on the High Street, the family has been in business in Rhyl for at least four generations...

Glaschu

...de la Evening Telegraph:

Scotland's biggest city is launching its "vision" to boost the use of Gaelic in the community.

The three-year action plan for Glasgow includes the opening of a second Gaelic school in the city.

Wider use of Gaelic on council signs and in relevant council communications including forms, press releases and letters is also planned.

Local authorities now have a statutory obligation to prepare a Gaelic Language Plan under the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005.

Glasgow City Councillor Aileen Colleran said: "We have a vision for Gaelic in our city and this plan sets it out.

"By 2020, the place of Gaelic will be obvious to all. We'll see it around us - in our buildings, on our streets and in our shops - we'll hear it in conversations, in our schools and in the media.

Our young people will be speaking it in Buchanan Street without feeling self conscious about it and people will recognise the language as Gaelic."...

DUP: “TUV Antaŭenigas la Irlandalingvon”

...de le Demokrata Unuecisma Partio:

DUP MP for East Londonderry Gregory Campbell has expressed his disgust at the inaction of the TUV’s sole representative on Limavady Borough Council Boyd Douglas.

At the 16th March 2010 council meeting a proposal was brought forward by the SDLP and Sinn Fein that the Roe Valley Cultural and Historical Centre should adopt a bi-lingual – English and Irish policy.

The DUP moved an amendment that any such change should be subject to a full Equality Impact Assessment and depending on the outcome of that assessment, full public consultation.

The vote on the DUP amendment was defeated 6-5 with the TUV refusing to back it. As a consequence of that vote a bi-lingual policy will be initiated at the centre without any equality assessment or public consultation...

Scoill Phurt le Moirrey kaj Bunscoill Ghaelgagh

…de isleofman.com:

Two primary schools on the Island are sharing the results of an external review with parents.

Scoill Phurt le Moirrey and Bunscoill Ghaelgagh, plus the Manx Language Unit, will share the comments of an external validation of their School Self Review and Evaluation (SSRE).

The process of SSRE is continuous and entails schools reviewing all aspects of their work and making judgments about what they are doing well and where they need to take action to secure improvement, explained Deputy Director of Education Stuart Dobson.

"This process supports schools in having a clear view of how to build on their current strengths to ensure they continue to offer the best possible learning opportunities to pupils," Mr Dobson said.

Sian Llyod

...de Wales Online:

Fascinated since childhood with its remoteness and Welsh heritage, Sian Lloyd had always dreamed of visiting Patagonia. Here, the presenter realises a lifelong ambition and finds waiting lists for Welsh schools and a people looking to the future of the language:

I have always had a sentimental attachment to Patagonia.

True, as a child attending Neath Welsh School and Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera, I had an awareness of the existence of a Welsh-speaking community in far-off South America, but it was nothing more than that....

Unuo Esperanto-Libro en Kimra

...de la BBC:

Harry Barron has published the first Esperanto text book in the Welsh language. In March 2010 he told us more about his labour of love.

Ever tried to learn a foreign language and got your head in a mess over conjugations, declensions and idioms?

Or even tried to learn Welsh but almost mutated working out those soft, nasal and aspirant mutations?

Gone abroad, spoke loudly and slowly at waiters and got just what you didn't ask for?

Frustrating, isn't it?

Well it was until now, at least for Welsh speakers! It has been demonstrated in various studies that learning Esperanto can improve your language learning abilities!

The first ever text book in Welsh designed to teach the international language Esperanto has just been published....

* Informoj pri la okazonta Esperanto Kongreso en Llandudno (14-17 Majo) estas havebla ĉi tie. La tagordo inkluzivas enkondukon la kimran lingvon.

Séamus de Blaca

...de Irish Central:

Séamus Blake's Míle Fáilte is New York City's only bi-lingual Irish Gaelic radio program, broadcast from his native Bronx across the tri-state region and across the world. An archive of his broadcast is available on-line--here.

.

His program is chock full of media from the world of Irish language music and literature, while connecting up the Gaeilgeoirí and their friends to what's the latest from Ireland's most interesting cultural movement--the re-popularization of our heritage's language.

I sat down with Séamus in Manhattan to learn about his life, his family from Clare and to pick his brain for better insight into the Irish language movement. I've broken the interview, which was four hours of enlightening conversation, into morsels that you can play and listen-in on yourself….

Yn y Ddinas

…de la Western Mail:

A Welsh indie rock band is hoping to become one of only a handful of acts to get a non-English language song into the UK top 40.

Welsh-language single Yn y Ddinas (In the City) by Masters in France went on sale on Monday and the band will discover tomorrow whether they have broken into the charts.

Only a select few have scored hits in the UK charts with non-English tracks.

Luciano Pavarotti’s classical aria Nessun Dorma (None Shall Sleep) made it to No 2 in 1990 and three years earlier Los Lobos topped the chart with La Bamba.

A Facebook page encouraging members to get Yn y Ddinas into the top 40 has almost 10,000 members...

Eastáit na Sí

...de la Irish Times:

Ghost Estates are a recent phenomenon. Housing developments lie empty throughout the country, thanks to the magical disappearing act of the Celtic Tiger. Being a recent Irish phenomenon, it has taken a little time for Irish language wordsmiths to come up with a translation.

“Eastáit na Si” or “Fairy Estates” is, of course, open to misinterpretation in today’s sexually-oriented parlance, but is an elegant Gaelicisation of this modern landmark feature and can be linked to the longstanding regard in which the Irish have held the “little people” or those from an “domhan eile”…

...My proposal is to designate a number of these estates as new Gaeltachtaí. There hasn’t been a new Gaeltacht, officially, since 1956, when the current boundaries for the Irish- speaking areas were set in legislation by Patrick Lindsay, the then Minister for the Gaeltacht.

There have been other attempts to establish Gaeltachtaí by dedicated communities in Cork and Belfast and these have had spectacular success with a significant benefit to society as a whole – though they haven’t received official recognition…

Jill Evans

…de la Western Telegraph:

The Welsh language takes another step to becoming an official language of the EU today (Thursday) with Welsh translation being used for the first time at the European Parliament.

Plaid MEP, Jill Evans will be speaking in Welsh, with translation, in a seminar on language policy.

The event, called Language diversity: A Challenge for Europe, is organised by the European Free Alliance Group in the European Parliament, of which Jill Evans MEP is President.

Mrs Evans believes that this historic step for the Welsh language could be a springboard for Welsh to be recognised as an official EU language...

Ciorcal Comhrá en Nov-Jorko

…de Máire Ní Mhaoileagáin:

Starting March 21st from 3:00 -5:00 p.m, the NY Irish center invites you to join our Ciorcal Comhrá (conversation circle).

This will be a monthly or by weekly (depending on interest) informal gathering led by Maura Mulligan.

Whether you are a beginner, an advanced learner, or somewhere in-between, join us for our 1st session on 3/21/10 & enjoy a cup of tea while you practice your Gaeilge.

This experience can serve as a supplement to your Irish language study.

You'll meet others interested in improving their conversation skills.

It's FREE. Bí linn!

Bladair

…de la Mayo Adverstiser:

A new Irish language blog, www.bladair.com, launched in Mayo to help primary and second level students improve their proficiency in the Irish language, is to be launched to a national audience following its success in Mayo.

The brainchild of Art Ó Súilleabháin, director of Mayo Education Centre, Bladair was developed to encourage Mayo’s post primary school students to engage with the Irish language using the latest internet technology.

The project is aimed directly at students and teenagers using technology that they understand and use in their everyday lives.…

£5,000 Puno

...de la Daily Post:

Mobile phones, energy and water companies in Wales could face a penalty of up to £5,000 in future for failing to supply proper services in Welsh.

Proposed new laws published yesterday will establish for the first time legally enforceable standards of services through the Welsh language.

A new Welsh language commissioner will be appointed to police the new standards, with the powers to investigate complaints.

This includes grievances from Welsh speakers who believe their freedom to use Welsh with one another has been prevented.

The proposed measure by the Assembly Government would also confirm the official status of the language in Wales...

Britio kaj Aliaj Lingvoj

...de Ulster's Doomed:

Why do unionists oppose the public display of Irish, though?

.

Is it because they think it is somehow 'un-British'?

.

If so, why do the signs below not arouse any opposition from those Brions who live near them and drive past them?

"La Nova Interkonsento"

...de la Demokrata Unuecisma Partio:

There will be NO Irish Language act.

.

Apelacio por la Irlandalingvo

...de la BBC:

.

The Court of Appeal has been urged to overturn a ban on the use of Irish in the courts in Northern Ireland.

Caoimhin Mac Giolla Cathain is challenging the dismissal of a legal case he took after being informed his application in Irish for an occasional drinks licence could not be considered.

Under the Administration of Justice (Language) Act of 1737, all proceedings in NI courts must be in English.

The appeal was adjourned until Tuesday.

Mr Mac Giolla Cathain was seeking a liquor licence in connection with a musical concert in the Culturlann arts centre on the Falls Road in west Belfast....

Jim Allister

…de Ulster’s Doomed!:

What makes the promotion of the Irish language a 'bad thing' for Mr Allister? He doesn't explain his opposition to it – the reasons seem (to him) to be too obvious to need explaining.

To anybody else, though, Allister's visceral hatred of Irish can only seem to stem from a prejudice bordering on racism. Irish is just a language, a medium of communication. No-one is proposing to outlaw the speaking of English in Northern Ireland, and the incarceration of recidivist Anglophones in re-education camps. There will be no requirement to speak the Irish language to get jobs, education, or anything else. The costs of bilingual signage will be insignificant (and certainly a tiny fraction of the cost of other cultural activities). So what is Allister's problem?

École Bisson

…de Ouest France:

Cinq familles seraient pour l'instant intéressées par la filière français - breton. Mais il en faudrait quinze pour avoir droit à un professeur...

Y aura-t-il une classe bilingue français - breton à la rentrée prochaine à l'école maternelle Bisson de Quimperlé ? Cela n'en prend pas le chemin. Cinq pré-inscriptions auraient pour l'instant été enregistrées. Mais il en faut quinze au moins pour qu'une classe soit ouverte.

Normalement, l'inspection académique arrête définitivement les cartes scolaires des nouvelles rentrées vers la mi-mars. Si ce délai est respecté, les parents intéressés par la formation bilingue vont devoir faire vite : les vacances de février se terminent le 28.

Ce projet de filière breton - français est porté par l'association Div Yezh (parents d'élèves pour l'enseignement du breton à l'école publique), la mairie et l'Éducation nationale. Ils travaillent conjointement à la possibilité de mettre en place cette filière à Quimperlé depuis la rentrée 2009 pratiquement….

Máirtín Ó Muilleoir en Nov-Jorko

….de Irish Central:

The New York Irish Center--situated a train stop from Grand Central Station in Long Island City--is many things to all those who volunteer, work and use the splendid facilities, but it has become an especially important hub for the Gaeilgeoirí of New York City and their friends.

Paul Finnegan is the center's director and was host to an interesting evening of bi-lingual talks about Irish language revival in Belfast's Gaeltacht Quarter, where multi-tasking leaders like Máirtín Ó Muilleoir found freedom by adopting Irish amidst an occupation by soldiers from England. Irish is now a major draw that brings untold tourist dollars to the city, because the renaissance there is unique and fascinating….

Sinn Féin kaj la Irlandalingvo

…de Léargas, la blogo de Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh:

Sinn Féin is serious about the Irish language. Even our political opponents acknowledge this. That means on a day to day basis that in councils across Ireland, in Teach Laighean, in the Assembly and in the European Parliament we are doing our best by the language. Sinn Féin has fought, marched, argued and cajoled for the rights of Irish speakers. We have spent hours and hours with both governments and the unionists explaining why we believe that those who wish to live their lives through the medium of Irish should be free to do so unencumbered by legislation dating back to the Penal Laws or prejudices imposed by outdated notions of colonial superiority....

.

….Sinn Féin put Acht na Gaeilge and an Irish language strategy and the 1737 Administration of Justice Act, which bans the use of Irish in the courts, on the agenda. The British government resisted this. Presumably for fear of alienating the unionists or in a tactical decision to focus only on the transfer of policing and justice powers and parading issues….

.

…I am pleased to be able to reveal that Gordon Brown has committed the British government to carry on funding the Irish Language Broadcasting Fund for a further four years after 2011, and will provide resource to continue the development of Irish language infrastructure. The resource, including the extended funding for the Broadcast Fund will amount to £20 million….

Interkelta Festo Noz

...de BZH Novjorko:

BZH New York has organized the first Interceltic Fest Noz which will take place in New York on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at Connolly’s Times Square.

The Fest Noz is a celebration of music, dance, and culture of Brittany, Galicia, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and will feature 40 musicians from the 5 Celtic nations, dance sets from the different Celtic cultures and a silent auction.

In addition, the evening will celebrate the Celtic festival of Imbolc. Imbolc is one of the four principal festivals celebrated among Celtic peoples, either at the beginning of February or at the first local signs of Spring.

The current lineup of performers includes the following:

Bretagne: Duo Morgane Labbe and Francois Tiger - Bagad de New York - Marie Martin

Ireland: Washington Square Harp and Shamrock Orchestra Led - Tony DeMarco and Friends - Niall O'Leary School of Irish Dance

Scotland: Wild Thistle featuring Mary Morrisson Abdill and Hannah Maire Marcus – Aodhagán - Capital Region Celtic Pipe Band,

Wales: Honey and Biscuits featuring Helen Ellis and Mary Morrisson

Galicia: Nosa Terra

Silent auction from 7pm to 10pm: Artists Capucine Bourcart and Christophe LeGris will auction 6 photographies with all proceeds going to Action Against Hunger and its Relief Efforts in Haiti...

Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge

...de la Kilkenny Advertiser:

The fact that it is never ever too late to start something is evidenced by the increasing numbers of adults who are determined to finally make a fist of learning Irish. Reasons abound, whether personal or professional, and numbers attending Irish-language classes and conversation groups in various parts of the county remain firm.

Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (the European Certificate in Irish), run by the Language Centre in NUI Maynooth, offers adult learners of the language a series of examinations at six competency levels, from Beginner 1 to Advanced 2, which will act as a structure for their path to fluency. Successful exam candidates are awarded a certificate indicating clearly their level of proficiency in the language.

Until 2009 there were TEG exam centres in four locations in Ireland – in Maynooth, Co Donegal, Co Galway and Co Cork. Year on year there has been growing demand for new centres, leading in 2010 to the opening of five new centres in Kilkenny, Letterkenny, Castlebar, Cork city and in Limerick city, giving Irish language learners an opportunity to test their level of Irish in a centre close to them....

"Filistro kiel Kulturo Ministro"

La Irlandalingvo en Kvinzo

…de Irish Central:

More than 20 Irish speakers and readers gathered in Long Island City to have a raucous round-table talk together this past Saturday. The impressive turn-out had come to discuss the novel “Sobalsaol,” written by the popular author and screenwriter Pádraig Standún.

"Irish speakers make excellent use of the Internet," said Daithí MacLochlainn who organizes Club Leabhar for Irish language book-lovers (hence the name). It's how he explained the group's unexpected size. The club uses a Facebook page; while club member Séamus Blake described the reading material and has promoted the gathering on his bi-lingual Irish language radio program Míle Fáilte on WFUV -available on-line.

The Irish Center of Long Island City plays host to Club Leabhar and is also the home of Maura Mulligan's Irish language school, where she teaches the teanga using total immersion techniques in two classes divided according to different levels of introduction...

Kornvala Infanvartejo

…de la BBC:

A new creche has opened teaching toddlers how to speak Cornish.

Movyans Skolyow Meythrin, Cornish for the Nursery Schools Movement, aims to teach children the language through play while parents also get lessons.

Seven children were registered for the Saturday creche at Cornwall College, Camborne.

The language fell out of use in the 19th Century but there are now believed to be several hundred fluent Cornish speakers in Cornwall.

The first session included lessons in Cornish and songs well-known throughout the county.

Organiser Rhisiart Tal-e-bot said: "This is an idea which I have had for several years.

"This is about teaching parents how to bring up their children alongside our local heritage.

"There will also be classes run at the same time as the creche so that adults can learn a little about the county."

The Cornish creche is the latest in a number of initiatives designed to boost recognition of the Cornish language....

Irlandalingva Skismo?

…de la Irish Times:

A new survey indicates that Gaeltacht and urban Irish speakers are finding each other increasingly more difficult to understand. Could this rift further weaken the language?

Recently, I’ve been meeting a lot of urban speakers of Irish, and was thinking about the Government’s plan to boost the number of daily speakers of Irish from the current 83,000 to 250,000 within 20 years. A threefold increase in daily speakers is a bold proposal, and there’s little doubt that these speakers are going to have to come from the towns and cities, rather than from the Gaeltacht, whose entire population (including several solidly anglophone suburbs of Galway city) is currently 91,000.

This got me thinking. Is there a city version of the Irish language? And if there is, how different is it from Gaeltacht Irish? A conversation I recently had with a speaker from Limerick, who is raising her daughter in Irish, revealed a fascinating fact. She never listened to Raidió na Gaeltachta. Was it that it was a Gaeltacht station and irrelevant to her, I asked? Only partly, she admitted. It was actually because she found the presenters very difficult to understand.

Yet this woman spoke fluent Irish. How could a fluent speaker of Irish have such difficulty with the national Irish-language radio station? What did she listen to?

“Oh, the usual. RTÉ, Today FM, Live95.” Surely she listened to some Irish-language media. Maybe she watched TG4?

“No. Not TG4, sometimes Hector and the sports.” And she let her young daughter watch the kids’ programmes.

My conversations with Gaeltacht people met with a similar bias, but in the other direction. When presenters with so-called “school Irish” came on the radio, my Gaeltacht friends say they tend to tune out, finding the Irish unpleasant, or difficult to understand. They tolerate much of TG4’s output, but grimace or change channels when city speakers come on. As for the hordes of Irish-speaking teenagers and parents who descend on the Gaeltacht during the summer months, they absolutely prefer to speak English with them. They say that the city folks’ Irish is simply too strange...

"Gorm"

...de la Irish Times:

"Is blue the new black?" asked the headline on a recent blog entry by the BBC’s US correspondent.

He was writing about the film Avatar which, while making fortunes at the box office, has also set off a debate about racism.

Apparently some critics are irritated by its patronising portrayal of a blue-skinned race of noble savages, who need a white man to lead them against their (also-white) oppressors.

I haven’t seen the film yet so (a) I can’t comment and (b) I can’t give away the plot (something for which fans of The Wire -on-DVD may be sarcastically grateful).

But the aforementioned headline reminded me of a quirk of Irish-language vocabulary, about which an American reader inquired recently. In this sense, the answer to the BBC man’s question is No. Far from being the new black, blue is the old one.

In Irish, “black person” is translated as “duine gorm”. Thus, in the mother tongue of at least one of his ancestors, Barack Obama’s skin colour would be described, technically, as “blue”....


* "La Vorto Krŝn ( कृष्ण) signifas "la malhela", tial li estas ĉiam bildigita teorie malhelblua, kiel vespera ĉielo; sed ĉar en Hindio rasisma (antaŭ) juĝo favora al blanka haŭto daŭre mergiĝis (angle "pervading"), tiu "malhelbluo" ofte estas tre hela." ~ Vikipedio.

Skol dy'Sadorn Kernewek

...de la Western Morning News:

Young children in Cornwall will be fully immersed into their county's heritage and language when a new creche opens.

The Skol dy'Sadorn Kernewek, which translates as Cornish Language Saturday School, will open in Cornwall College Camborne on Saturday.

The creche, the first of its kind in the county, will involve lessons on Cornish heritage as well as encouraging children to speak some Cornish.

Project organiser Rhisiart Tal-e-bot said many parents had already registered an interest in the weekly creche.

Mr Tal-e-bot, Cornwall College Early Years lecturer and language expert, said: "This is an idea which I have had for several years, and which a lot of people have supported. We have already had seven children register for Saturday, and are hoping we might be able to attract a few more."...

Episkopo Graham Leonard

…de la Telegraph:

The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Monsignor Graham Leonard, who died on January 6 aged 88, was the most senior Anglican churchman to convert to the Roman Catholic Church since the Reformation…

…When Stopford retired in 1973 and was succeeded by Bishop Gerald Ellison, of Chester, Leonard was appointed Bishop of Truro. He was at home in that diocese's strong Anglo-Catholic tradition, getting on admirably with the local Methodists, who had their own reasons for opposing the proposed reunion.

During his first year at Truro he visited 130 parishes and, in 1977, ensured that the diocese's centenary was celebrated with great style. He also set up an advisory board for services in the Cornish language…

Lingvo de la Elitoj

…de la Irish Times:

Irish is the language of the elite in Ireland with speakers of the language enjoying higher incomes than the rest of the population, according to a controversial new report.

The report, compiled by researchers at the University of Ulster and the University of Limerick (UL), concludes Irish speakers are educated to a higher level and are less likely to be unemployed than people who have no Irish.

The main findings of the research published in the Economic and Social Review include;

- Non-speakers of Irish are twice as likely to be unemployed as their Irish-speaking counterparts;

- 42 per cent of Irish speakers worked in senior professional, managerial or technical jobs, compared to 27 per cent of non-speakers;

- Just 12 per cent of Irish speakers are in semi or unskilled jobs, compared to 20 per cent of non-speakers.

- Irish speakers were also seen to enjoy the advantage of a network of social contacts and all of the perks that go with such a network.