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Guys, I realise most of you are US based and don’t realise this, but the next General Election in the UK will decide what we as a country want out of our system. 

We literally have the most left wing manifesto out of the labour party we’ve seen in years - they’re finally not just a centrist, almost policy for policy but slightly more left version of the tories. 

However, right-wing media is attempting to destroy our left wing leader. They’re smearing him left, right and centre. Hopelessly trying to make him out to be an ‘incapable leader’, as though ANY of the leaders we’ve had in the past few decades were the most respectable of people. 

Our right wing leader is essentially Cruella De Vil down to wanting to lift the ban on fox hunting. 

Can we talk about this more as a site?

You all blogged for Trump vs Clinton. Now can we pay attention to the rise of the right wing else where? Our left wing is promising nationalisation, free education and taxing the rich to fill our gaps but people still want to vote Tory despite them looking to privatise our health care, rip it to shreds first by giving their friends jobs in management and toss our education system up in the air. All because 1) Not enough people are voting and 2) the right wing is playing dirty tricks. 

What happens in our General Election decides how the UK interacts with Trump. Currently, Theresa is a loyal lap dog without a back bone to speak of. Be aware that politics in other countries exists.

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I don’t understand people who are really baffled by other languages like “wAit!!!! This letter…. makes a DiFfereNt sound in ThAt lanUuuauuage wAT???! The rulEs for garammmer and spilling is diFfrrfrent???” like yes Sharon those things are what make it…. a different language

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What are your opinions on Ireland? Asking this as a fellow Irish person and I just like hearing other people's opinions on it! P.s I always feel bad for people with Irish names (Méabh is espically Irish though), nobody apart from true Paddy's ever knows how to say them without detailed diagrams, charts and audio tapes

Ah don’t feel bad about that, I have no problem telling people how to pronounce it! I just hate when people make snide comments about Irish names, like bless Saoirse Ronan, I love her, but it kills me every time she goes on a talk show and says her name is ridiculous! Especially with a name like Saoirse which has such an important meaning (freedom for anyone that doesn’t know). I would say I love Ireland! It’s a lovely place to grow up. I was born in Concord MA which is beautiful but I am definitely glad I grew up here with my family. Irish people are just nice and grounded for the most part. Like I will forever be so proud of the rep we got after the European Cup last year in France. I live in Limerick city, which has such a bad name, but once people come here they see its actually so nice and so lovely to live in and is nothing like the bad rep it got years and years ago.

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Irish, Gaelic, or Irish Gaelic: What’s in a Name?

Announcement outside a playground in Glencolmcille, Co, Donegal.

Sometimes I envy people who speak Spanish, or German, or Icelandic, or just about any other language I can think of. They have it so easy!.

If you’re at a social gathering here in the U.S. and you tell someone you speak, teach, or are learning Spanish (or German, or Icelandic, or whatever), nobody gives you a confused look, or asks you what you mean by “Spanish.”

Irish is different. If you say you speak/learn/teach Irish, after a moment of befuddled silence, you usually get one of the following:

“You mean they have their own language?”

“Do you mean you’re learning to speak with an Irish accent?”

“Oy can speak Oirish too! (this person is usually quite obnoxiously drunk)

“Do you mean Gaelic?” (The ones who want to appear especially in-the-know may pronounce this “GAA-lik,” as it is in Scotland. I blame Outlander).

Say Something Irish

Things get more interesting if you’re asked to “say something in Irish.”

I usually resist my impulse to respond with “’Rud éigin’ as Gaeilge” (”’Something’ in Irish”) and rattle off something I can say by heart, such as the Lord’s Prayer:

Ár n-Athair atá ar neamh, go naofar d’ainm, go dtaga do ríocht ar an talamh mar atá ar neamh…

To which the response often is:

“But that doesn’t sound much like English!” Er….duh?*

Of course, there’s always the Carlsberg approach:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI5_b-327Dw

* Yes, I know that’s a bit snarky. But it just goes to show what some of us have to deal with when speaking of the language outside of its home island.

A Language With an Identity Problem

At issue is the fact that, outside of its home region, and particularly in the U.S., Irish suffers from a real identity problem..

You would think that, with the huge number of people from Ireland who immigrated to the U.S. in the 18th and 19th centuries, when Irish was still the majority language in Ireland, some knowledge of the language would at least linger here. And perhaps it does in some Irish-American communities.

Most Americans, though, don’t seem to know that the Irish have ever spoken anything but English. And those who do don’t know what to call it, or even that it’s still a living (albeit endangered) language.

This puts those of us who work with a predominately American market in a somewhat difficult position. How do we let our target audience know that we’re speaking of a language that is native to Ireland (and that isn’t a form of English)? 

The answer that many of us have arrived at is to use the term “Irish Gaelic.” Unfortunately that opens up a completely different can of worms.

Much Ado About Nothing

There are, I’m afraid, people out there who are hugely bothered by the term “Irish Gaelic.” I mean HUGELY bothered. Get-your-knickers-in-a-twist bothered. Major-freak-outage bothered.

In fact, from some of the more over-the-top responses to the term, you might be justified in thinking that calling the language “Irish Gaelic” is roughly equivalent to saying “You’re ugly, and your mother dresses you funny.”

But is it really? Are those of us who use “Irish Gaelic” in the titles of our books and learning programs really being disrespectful to the language? Let’s take a look at some of the objections raised.

“They Don’t Call it That in Ireland”

This is absolutely, indisputably true. You won’t hear people in Ireland referring to “Irish Gaelic.”

I feel the need to point out, though, that they don’t need to. If you were to announce in Ireland that you were learning Irish, they would know exactly what you were talking about (they might think you were crazy, but they wouldn’t be confused by the reference).

It’s their language, after all. Whether or not they speak it, they’re surrounded by it from birth to death…in school, on television and radio, on road signs. Irish may not be widely spoken in Ireland anymore, but it’s still very much present.

Much as I wish it were otherwise, that isn’t the case here in the U.S. If we want people to know what we’re talking about, we need to be more specific.

And yes…it sucks that we have to jump through these hoops to ensure that people know what we’re talking about. After all, if you tell someone you’re learning French, they don’t ask “Do you mean you’re learning French cooking?” But it is what it is.

“It’s Incorrect”

Well, really, it isn’t. It’s not official, and it’s certainly not the standard in Ireland, but it’s not incorrect.

Irish is a Gaelic (Goidelic) language…a language of the Celtic people known as the Gaels. It shares this distinction with its sister languages, Scottish Gaelic and Manx. And, in fact, many older Irish speakers in Ireland do refer to the language as “Gaelic.”

“Gaelic” is also a word that just about anyone will recognize as referring to a language. And if you want proof that it is, in fact, used in Ireland, I can only point to the fact that the English name of Conradh na Gaeilge is “The Gaelic League.”

The problem is that, by convention, the word “Gaelic” by itself is taken to mean the language of Scotland. This is an important distinction if you’re looking for learning or teaching resources, as anything that is simply called “Gaelic” will be for Scottish Gaelic. Hence the need to specify “Irish Gaelic,” if we’re going to use the term “Gaelic” at all.

Yes, “Irish” is the official name of the language, and all of us who speak or teach the language use it (Well, when we’re speaking English. When we’re speaking Irish, we use “Gaeilge,” or one of the regional iterations). But it’s really a stretch to say that “Irish Gaelic” is “incorrect.”

“You Should ‘Educate’ People by Using the ‘Correct’ Term”

I must say, I’m all for education. And, in fact, whenever I teach or write about the language, I make it clear that the accepted name for it in English is “Irish.”

And, well…see the section above.

But I can’t “educate” people I can’t reach. And I can’t reach people if I’m using a term they don’t understand.

In all my years learning and teaching Irish, I’ve seen many a person who was drawn to the language by what some might consider a “trivial” interest fall in love with it for its own sake. And often what has drawn them in has been the term “Irish Gaelic.” It that’s not education, I don’t know what the word means.

“It’s Disrespectful to the Language/Culture”

Oh, come on! Seriously? Do you honestly think that anyone would dedicate more than a decade to learning a language for which he or she had no respect? Or that such a person could do so without a deep regard for the country and culture to which that language belongs?

A more “polite” version of this one is “It displays an ignorance of Irish culture.” Of course, in addition to being wrong in almost every case, this presumes that no actual Irish person would ever use such a term.

I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but the reality is that most of the people who use the term “Irish Gaelic” in the titles of their learning or teaching materials are Irish. And I don’t mean “Irish-American.”

Of the people I know personally who have developed such materials for a predominately American market, one is a native speaker and the other grew up spending summers in the Donegal Gaeltacht.  Both were born, raised in, and currently reside in Ireland.

It’s quite simply a pragmatic decision to reach (and thus to educate) the widest possible audience by using the clearest possible terms. Nothing sinister, disrespectful, or ignorant about it.

A World Language or an Exclusive Club?

I’m certainly not suggesting that everyone start using the term “Irish Gaelic” (If you think that’s what I’m saying, you need to re-read this post. Go ahead. I’ll wait).

I do, however, think that the sometimes extreme reactions to the use of that term are, at best, misguided, and at worst, potentially harmful.

While I can’t speak for everyone who learns, teaches, or promotes the Irish language, here’s how I see the situation:

Irish is not, and should not be, an exclusive club. People shouldn’t have to know the passwords and secret handshake to access it. If a little thing like being more explicit about what we call it when addressing certain audiences helps more people to come to know and love the Irish language, I’m all for it.

Irish is a threatened minority language. It needs all our help, and the more exposure we can give it, the better.

In the face of a shrinking Gaeltacht (or, if you prefer, an encroaching Galltacht), the gradual erosion of native Irish idioms and pronunciation in favor of “Béarlachas” and Anglicized pronunciation, reduction in funding, and an often indifferent (sometimes downright hostile) governmental attitude toward the language, the matter of putting the word “Gaelic” after the word “Irish” in the title of a book or a computer program is (or should be) a relatively minor concern. 

There are plenty of things to be bothered, outraged, or concerned about. This isn’t one of them.

Discussion Welcome

I recognize that, for some, this is a still contentious issue, and I welcome CIVIL discussion, both here on my blog and in other places where this post may appear. Emphasis on “civil.” Don’t adopt a hostile stance, or assume that a person who holds a different view is ignorant or disrespectful toward the language and the culture.

We’re all in this together.

Le meas,

GG

[anardteist-blog]

lmfao I love how the Catholic Church has covered up some 800 human remains from babies taken in the mother and baby home in tuam, yet want to protest the repeal the 8th campaign under the banner of the preciousness of life

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Emer O'Toole: Forget prayers. Only full disclosure by Ireland’s Catholic church can begin to atone for the children who died in its care

Why isn’t this whole thing bigger news? Why aren’t people being held to account over this? Why, in god’s good name, are members of the clergy being allowed to pass it over with a simple “it was the past, they were different”?

The last Magdalene laundry closed in 1996. 1996. 

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I’m not fucking around - reblog this. As we march the streets, demanding bodily autonomy and access to reproductive rights, for our lives to be valued as more than a vessel for carrying children, we are met by arguments proclaiming the preciousness of life, how we’re murderers, how we are trying to play God.

Our bodies are policed by the Catholic Church, in which these arguments are echoed and used as a weapon against us in legislation. We are condemned for getting abortions, even in the most dire of circumstances. It is against Catholic values, and downright immoral, in the eyes of the church.

As news broke today of 796 human child remains, ranging from 35 weeks to 3 years old, dumped into the ground and in septic tanks by the Bons Secours order in the Tuam Mother and Baby home, it seems like a slap in the face. The same people that impede our human rights by waving the morality flag in our faces and willing us to ‘love them both’, have long exercised a horrendous practice of taking woman from their families, god forbid they fall pregnant in the wrong circumstances, abusing them behind closed doors, and taking their babies off them for good. What they did with those babies, as we’ve seen today, seems a hell of a lot more immoral than a person seeking safe abortion of their own accord, and for their own reasons.

DO NOT sleep on this. We can’t afford to ignore yet another scandal the Catholic Church have tried and failed to cover up. They protest in favour of life, unless that life falls outside of their standards.

In a country, where the national broadcaster has the gall to air the angelus before the 6 o'clock news while a story like this is breaking, and then not make the SEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETY SIX HUMAN CHILD REMAINS the lead story, yet condemns ME for looking for reproductive rights and not cherishing every life? I can’t sit by and watch the world not realise what is going on in Ireland.

Please, for goodness sake, reblog this. Be aware of this. We can’t let this go on any longer. Read this story, be aware of what the magdalene laundries and the mother and baby homes did to these people under the guise of the Catholic Church.

Stand in solidarity with the people of Ireland on March 8th. This story broke at a pivotal point in the fight for reproductive rights, and we have to look at the people who want to shut it down and see the Church for the immoral scumbags they truly are.

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So this has been the news of Ireland for the past day. 796 remains of children where discarded and hidden away by the Bon Secours nuns in a septic tank on the grounds of an old “mother and babies” home in Tuam Co. Galway from sometime in the 1920s until the 1960s. These homes were common in Ireland to where unmarried mothers were sent to because they’ve brought shame on their family in the eyes of their religion.

I’d appreciate it if this was spread around on tumblr because many people don’t realise that this was what happened in this country. The General reaction from Irish folk was dismay and disgust and most importantly many were “not surprised” when this report’s findings were released. And The Catholic Church still has a stronghold on the country today.

And in unsurprising news the Irish pro-life groups and infamous spokespeople have been silent so far in condemning the actions and atrocities of the Catholic Church.

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My favorite Irish plurals on this note are the ones where the sole difference is that we made a consonant slender. So cait, páipéir, péictiúir. Those sorts of words.

[anardteist-blog]

Géibheann

le Caitlín Maude

Ainmhí mé ainmhí allta as na teochreasa a bhfuil cliú agus cáil ar mo scéimh chroithfinn crainnte na coille tráth le mo gháir ach anois luím síos agus breathnaím trí leathshúil ar an gcrann aonraic sin thall tagann na céadta daoine chuile lá a dhéanfadh rud ar bith dom ach mé a ligean amach.

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Gaeilge agus an Teicneolaíocht/ na Meáin Chumarsáide

Fado nuair a phléigh daoine na meáin chumarsáide, bhí siad ag caint faoin teilifís, raidió agus nuachtáin, ach sa lá atá inniu ann is í an nuatheicneolaíocht an meán is chumhactaí agus is uileghabhálaí dá bhfuil ann. I mo thuairim, cabhraíonn an teicneolaíocht go mór leis an nGaeilge. Is iomaí áis atá ar fáil ar an idilíon a chabhraíonn leis an nGaeige mar shampla foclóirí digiteacha agus stáisiúin raidió. Tá níos mó daoine óga ag éisteacht leis an raidió a bhí go mó le Raidió na Gaeltachta no Raidió Rí Rá. Úsaidtear an idirlíon agus suíomhanna sóisialta, go háirithe, chun imeachtaí a eagrú chun teanga a spreagadh. Is feidir téacsanna a sheoladh trí Ghaeilge, agus do leathanach Facebook a úsáid trí Ghaeilge. 

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Beannachtaí

Hello

1. Dia duit ~ Dia is Muire duit 

2. Bail ó Dhia ort ~ Go mba hé duit 

How Are You?

1. Conas atá tú?

2. Cén chaoi ina bhfuil tú?

3. Caidé mar atá tú?

What is Your Name?

1. Cad/ceard is ainm duit ~ (ainm) is ainm dom.

2. Cén t-ainm atá ort ~ (ainm) an t-ainm atá orm.

2. Cé thusa ~ Is mise (ainm).

Where Do You Live?

1. Cárd as tú ~ is as (contae) mé.

2. Cá bhfuil tú i do chónaí ~ Tá mé i mo chónaí i (baile)

3. Cá bhfuil cónaí ort ~ Tá cónaí orm i (baile).

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An Tábhacht Den Teanga Gaeilge

 Sa lá atá inniu ann, labhraíonn murach céad míle daoine an theanga go fearastúil, agus tá níos lú daoine líofa. B'fhéidir fuaimníonn sin cosúil go leor daoibh, ach ráite gur bhí milliún de caointeoireachta líofa againn nach dhá céad bliana seo caite, tá an figiúr sin an-buaireamh.   Go moill, is trí na mbliana, bhí an theanga buailte asaibh de na Sasanach, agus bhí sí athchurtha leis an mBéarla. Anuas air sin, rinne muid mar tír dearmad faoi an dteanga breis nuair a héirí Béarla an theanga de ghnó is cumarsáide. Ansin chaill an Ghaeilge níos mó de na dtábhacht freisin, mar chuaigh sí chun teanga tánaisteach. Thar na caoga nó seasca bliana ó shin, fuair muid sinn féin i suíomh deacra fá dtaobh den ár dteanga dúchas dílis.   Fágann daoine an oirthear i rith an ama go dtí na gcathracha cosúil le Bhaile Átha Cliath agus Corcaigh, nó tír eile cosúil le Ceanada, An Astráil, agus An Mheiriceá, i gcuardach d'obair, nó díreach saol lúide simplí. Tógann siad an theanga leo, agus laghdaíonn an dhaonra de Ghaeilgeoirí. Is fadhb mór é sin chugainn.   Anois, tá orainn déan rud éigin faoi an suíomh sin. Cead murach muidne mar náisiún sábháil an theanga. Níl sé aon rún gur mbíonn an theanga ag bís inniu, ach fós cuirimid an eolais sin go dtí an barr den ár intinn gach lá gan smaoineamh. Nuair a cheannaíonn sibh arán is bainne ag an siopa, nó glacann sibh ar do thuismitheoirí, nó léinn sibh leabhair, nó féachann scannán, déanann sibh sin as Béarla, ní Ghaeilge. Is fadhb mór é sin, agus mé a thugann sé go dtí pointe nua.   Mar den fhírinne go bhfuil leabhair scríobtha as Bhéarla, tá scannán taispeáint as Béarla, agus tá meáin cumarsáide béasa as Bhéarla freisin, tá sé ró-éasca go thit isteach an nós de úsáideann Béarla chun gach rud eile i bhur saol, agus failliú an Ghaeilge. Tá an fhírinne minic searbh, agus tá sé fíor gur ní freastalaíonn Gaeilge aon cuspóir praiticiúil go dtí sochaí nua-aimseartha sa tír seo, ná in aon tír eile.

Áfach, tá an theanga an-tábhachtach fós. Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam, mar a beireann siad, agus tá an ráiteas sin fírinneach i ndáiríre.   Gan ár dteanga, ní beadh muid chomh láidir le hiomláin; ní beadh ár cultúr chomh láidir agus beadh rud éigin speisialta ar iarraidh uainn. Tá an Ghaeilge an theanga is mó de na dteangacha Ceilteach. Tá na dteangacha de na hAlban, An Bhreatain Bheag, Corn na Breataine, agus An Bhriotáin ag leá freisin, b'fhéidir go fhairsinge níos mó. Tá an t-ádh orainn gur táimid ábalta a foghlaíonn ár dteanga i scoile, mar ní bhíonn daoine éigin i dtíortha eile ábalta a déanann an chéanna.   Tá an Ghaeilge an pháirt is tábhachtach den ár gcultúr in Éirinn. Ciallaíonn an labhairt de Ghaeilge frithbheart agus colfairt den thiar agus galldachas de na hÉireann. Ceapaim go bhfuil sé íorónta gur  faighimid bród in ár dtír agus ár gcultúr, ach ní cuirimid dóthain tábhacht i nGaeilge.   Tá dualgas againn go choimeád an theanga beo, as meas den cleachtadh daonna. Tá seacht billiún duine sa domhain, agus tá an uimhir sin ag fású gach lá, ach tá murach boslach cé labhraíonn Gaeilge, nó teanga Ceilteach d'aon saghas.   I dteannta, tá na dtarbh de dhátheangachas an-fho-measta in Éirinn. Tá formhór na náisiúin sa hEorpa dátheangach ar a laghad, cosúil leis An Ísiltír, An Bheilg, An tSualainn, srl. Tá na náisiúin Ceilteach laistiar na náisiúin Críoch Lochlannach, na náisiúin Gearmánach, na náisiúin Ungárach,  agus cuid de na náisiúin iartharach freisin i dtéarma de dhátheangachas. Thógfadh an tAontas Eorpach, agus an chuid eile den domhain, muid níos dáiríre dá bhí muid ábalta a labhraíonn ár dteanga dúchais féin.   I ndiaidh leis an Athbheochan Gaelach, bhí litríocht agus filíocht scríobtha as Béarla i gcónaí. Ní bhíonn dóthain scríbhneoireacht ealaíonta as Gaeilge ar fáil inniu. Tá orainn athraigh sin, agus déarfaidh mé cén chaoi a déanfaidh muid é.

 Tá ar Ghaeilge bíonn soghluaiste go dtí an pobal, agus tá orainn cuir tábhacht nó béim níos mó ar Ghaeilge i ngnó, cumarsáide, oideachas, ealaín agus polaitíocht. B'fhéidir má bíonn Gaeilge labhairt i nDáil Éireann, aithneodh muid an tábhacht den ár dteanga dílis.   I ndiaidh go ceapann daoine éigin gur tá an theanga ársa, is léir gur tá a lán tréithe aeistéitiúil agus fileata i nGaeilge freisin. Is teanga álainn í, agus tá orainn aithin an t-eolas sin.   Amhlaidh, féadadh an theanga bíonn ársa, nó seanda, ach is linn é, agus tá orainn a choimeád sé ag dul. Go chríochnaigh, is maith liom an theanga go leor, is maith liom ag foghlaim í i scoile, agus labhraím í lá formhór, d'ainneoin an fhírinne gur nílim líofa. Deirinn ba cheart sibh ceap sa slí chéanna, ach faraor géar, tuigim gur ceapann gach duine éagsúil faoi an t-ábhar sin, agus ní aontaíonn formhór duine liomsa.