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#irish language
ly0nstea · 6 months
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Also btw every single complaint about irish pronounciation and spelling in schools would be solved if we hammered in the slender/broad distinctions early because it would become abundantly clear why this 't' has to be surrounded by 'i's and it isn't just a thing they decided to do one day and more people would be able to spell words from just hewring them and pronounciation from just reading them send tweet
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an-spideog · 3 months
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Don't Use Duolingo if You Really Want to Learn Irish
That title is a bit dramatic, but I really don't think that duolingo is a useful tool for Irish, especially in its current state, so I want to talk a bit about why, and I'll also talk about some alternatives.
Pronunciation
The first and most egregious issue is that at some point recently-ish, duo decided to start using Text-To-Speech for their Irish course, rather than recordings of a native speaker. The problem here is that their TTS is not trained on native speakers of Irish and pronounces words incorrectly. It doesn't make consistent distinctions between broad and slender consonants for example.
Irish has no standard pronunciation, so I understand how it can feel weird to choose just one dialect for the purposes of pronunciation (the old recordings were from a speaker of Galway Irish), but having just one dialect is much better than TTS which sounds like a learner, imagine if they had TTS for the French course which sounded like an anglophone schoolkid trying to pronounce french, and claimed they were teaching you how to speak french!
Grammar
Duo tends to be correct on grammar at least, which is a start. But often people using it get very confused about the grammar because duo doesn't explain any of it. I think there's a place for immersion in language learning, and I don't think everything has to be explained like that, but within duo's system of sentence testing and exercises like that, not having any explanation for why it's "mo chóta" and not "mo cóta" can be really confusing. Duo used to have more grammar information, it's a shame that they removed it, I wonder why they did it.
Money and Motivation
Duolingo is a business, and their motivation is not to help you learn a language 'fully', but to keep you using their app and hopefully have a higher chance of sharing it with others, competing with others, buying or causing others to buy memberships or lingots or any other in-app purchases.
I don't want to make it out like duo is some big conspiracy and they're tricking people, I don't think that's the case, but it's good to remember that their primary motivation is to keep people using the app, rather than help people move to a level in a language where they don't need the app anymore.
Keep this in mind whenever you see people trying to sell you stuff for language learning.
Why do people use Duolingo
I do get it, and I don't want to make anyone feel bad for using duo, there's a ton of reasons people tend towards it at first 1. It's really well known, so especially if you're learning a language and haven't heard of other resources for it, you'll check duolingo 2. It's very motivating for a lot of people, checking in every day and forming that habit is a really good way of sticking with a language 3. It's fun, people enjoy it
If you use it for reason 3. and you still like it, then don't worry about this post, I'm not trying to yuck anyone's yums, keep having fun!
If you use it for reasons 1. or 2. you can still keep using it if you like, but I want to suggest some other things which you might find helpful in trying to get to a higher level in Irish.
Other Resources
To address the pronunciation issue, I'd heavily recommend you disregard the pronunciation in duolingo, if you're looking for more reliable sources of pronunciation, I'd look towards recordings of native speakers, you can find that on:
Teanglann and Foclóir (they use the same recordings)
Fuaimeanna
and a really useful and underused one: https://davissandefur.github.io/minimal-pairs/ where you can hear the difference between similar sounds that English speakers often mix up in Irish.
A lot of people like duolingo because it's nice to have a clear path forward, a progression that you can get into without too much decision-making. For this I recommend getting a good textbook or course and working through it, the ones I'll recommend also have native speaker audio on them.
Learning Irish by Mícheál Ó Siadhail, this book teaches Galway Irish, not just in pronunciation but in grammar too. It's quite dense but it's well thought out and well explained.
Teach Yourself Irish (1961) this book is available for free online, and is a really good option if you're interested in Cork Irish (Munster), and have some experience with grammatical terminology. I used this book myself and really liked it, but it's very intense and not for everyone. (If you do end up using it, feel free to skip the appendices at the start, they're more of a reference and sometimes put people off from actually getting to the first chapter. Also if you have any questions about it or need any help just let me know.)
If you want a video course, there's a great course called "Now You're Talking" which is available for free online, along with audio files and worksheets here. It features Donegal Irish and leads into the more intermediate level course called Céim ar Aghaidh also available online.
There's other textbooks that I have less experience with (Buntús na Gaeilge, Gaeilge/Gramadach Gan Stró, etc.) but if they work for you, stick with them, there's nothing worse than not making progress because you keep switching resources trying to find the "perfect one"
Whether or not you continue to use Duolingo, I would really really encourage you to try engaging with media in Irish. People often shy away from this when they're learning because they don't feel like they're "ready" yet. But you basically never feel like you're ready, you just have to try and find something near your level and try to get comfortable with not understanding everything. This is where you learn a huge portion of the language, you hear how things are pronounced you see what words mean in what contexts, getting input in your target language is so important!
I know content can be kind of hard to find, so I'll make a few recommendations here: There's a wealth of content available for free online (more if you're in ireland but some internationally) on TG4 If you're still starting out, I'd recommend trying to watch some kids shows since they'll have simpler language and will be easier to follow. I wouldn't recommend using English subtitles when you watch them. Some good options include:
Dónall Dána: an Irish dub of Horrid Henry, silly and childish but the actors have good Irish and importantly the show has Irish language subtitles, they don't always match but if you're still beginning and can't necessarily get everything by ear, they're really useful. (Mostly Galway Irish)
Curious George: another dub, again with Irish language subtitles (I can't remember what dialects were in it off the top of my head but I'd assume mostly galway again)
Seó Luna: No subtitles, but a good option if you're aiming for Munster Irish, the lead character has Kerry Irish
Miraculous: No subtitles but a better show than most of the other kids' ones and more bearable to watch as an adult (Mostly Galway Irish)
Ros na Rún: Moving away from kids shows, a long running soap opera, this has Irish subtitles and a really good mix of dialects within the show. If you're finding the kids shows boring or too easy I'd really recommend it, but it can be complex because of the amount of characters, dialects, and plotlines. I'd recommend starting at the beginning of a newer season and just trying to catch on to what's happening as you go.
There are a lot of books, if you live in Ireland you can get nearly any Irish book for free from a library, so please check out your local library or request some of these from other libraries in the system:
There's a series of fairytales (Rápúnzell, Luaithríona etc.) by Máiréad Ní Ghráda which are illustrated and for children, which are a really good option for when you're just starting out reading
There's kids books about Fionn and the Fianna by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin
There's a cute little kids' book in Kerry Irish about a cat named Mábúis
Leabhar Breac has a lot of graphic novels, some of them based on Irish mythology, some on other stuff. The fact that they're illustrated can make it a lot easier to follow even if you don't understand all the words at first.
Gliadar has just released their Scott Pilgrim translation
If you're looking for something a bit more advanced you can look at some of the books for adult learners by Comhar, they contain simplified language and glossaries but have full original adult stories.
And if you're wanting full, natural, native-level Irish there's a load of books by those same groups, and others like An Gúm, Cló Iar-Chonnacht, Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne, Éabhlóid, Coiscéim, and more.
And don't shy away from older books written in Seanchló either, they can be more challenging but it's a whole extra world of books
If you're trying to improve your listening comprehension, I definitely recommend listening to shows on Raidió na Gaeltachta, hearing native Irish speakers talk at full speed is really good practice. But I get that it can be overwhelming at first. Here are some things you can do as you build up to that:
Watching those same TV shows I mentioned without subtitles is a good way to build up listening skills.
Vifax is a website where you can practice listening to short news segments and answer questions on them, then getting to look at the transcript with notes afterwards.
Snas is kind of the evolution of vifax, now using clips from both the news and Ros na Rún.
I really hope that this post can help people move away from duolingo if they're looking to take their Irish learning to the next level, if you've got any questions, just let me know!
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kaizey · 9 months
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Sometimes when you clean your wip folder you find something you made years ago in a way to deal with and at the same time educate others on something very dear to you that's been stolen by people who see stealing it as "doing you a service"
Made this last year during Seachtain na Gaeilge
Anyway. Seeing this again made me think maybe it was alright, actually
Ní dhéanfaidh mé dearmad choíche. Ná bás an tseanteanga go deo
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not-reallyanywhere · 7 months
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that man has the capability to make me go absolutely feral
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bloctg4 · 7 months
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please share the setanta gossip video you put on IG here, i know the tumblr nerds will appreciate it and i want to share it with them 💚
ÚÚÚÚÚÚÚÚ yass
d'athraigh setanta a ainm? slé!
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ajarofpickledtears · 3 months
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it do be like that I guess
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bumblesandhoney · 2 months
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eirgachuair · 6 months
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"but there's no point in learning Irish is a dead lang-" sHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP.
there IS a point. there IS a reason. Irish might be a dead language TO YOU but im gonna pull that motherfucker screaming and crying out of its "grave" by the ankles. if Irish is a dead language then i'm a necromancer (or necrophiliac depending on your outlook on life and opinions.)
there IS a point. im learning Irish because no one in my family, barr from like one of my cousins, and a few distant relatives even have their cúpla focail. (whether they were given the award or they gen only know a few words). my mum and dad barely know any irish. my dad wasnt even really ALLOWED to learn irish. (more it was geniunely discouraged by my granny bc 1970s/80s and early 90s northern ireland was not a fun place).
im learning irish because its my CULTURE. its MY language, ITS MINE, not to rip off my big man Ruairí Ó Báille (granted is leatsa í means its yours but who cares about details) back on topic, it connects me to MY history. everyone calls my granda the irish version of his name, we use anglisized irish words ALL THE TIME. even if you arent learning irish. its still alive in place names. (e.g Belfast, Béal Feirste, Derry, Doire)
irish isnt even dead. it still exists whether you want to acknowledge it or not, we wouldnt have so much protection thingymabobbers trying to preserve it if it was completely dead, yeah its on life support and a long way from getting off it but pROGRESS IS PROGRESS! theres more irish speakers now than a good few years ago
pLUS ITS ONLY GOT LIKE 11 IRREGULARS. ENGLISH HARDLY EVEN, IF EVEN HAS REGULAR VERBS. IT HAS SIMPLISH PRONOUNCIATION (if you actually sit down and learn the spelling/grammar rules. something i need to do more of bc i sound like a dying donkey speaking irish😋) aND ITS REALLY PRETTY OKAY? ITS GOT A COOL EMPHATIC FORM IN ENGLISH YOU JUST USE YOUR TONE TO PUT EMPHASIS ON STUFF.
plus plus. silver and gold fáinnes. what other language in the world has cool little badge pin thingies when you can speak a good enough level of it?
in conclusion; irish is based. Is maith liom bheith ag amharc dónal dána. Ceapaim go bhfuil asal thusa. focáil leat.(was previously 'téigh fuck tú féin, but thats not the best way to say it), Chuaigh mé ar scoil ar a naoi a chlog. Tá mo scoil iontach leadránach.
slán, sláinte, suck my dick you mouldy egg sandwich.
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^me when someone asks me a question in irish that i havent spent weeks preparing for on a set list for orals
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mapsontheweb · 2 months
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Map of Europe in the Irish Language.
by corkmappinggb
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gay-jewish-bucky · 8 months
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Public Service Announcement to Marvel Fans
Sarah Rogers is from Ireland, she is Irish. Her son, Steve Rogers, is Irish-American. In addition to speaking English, they'd likely natively speak Irish. They would not natively speak Gaelic.
While both Irish and Gaelic are in the Goidelic family of Celtic languages, they are two entirely different languages, spoken in two separate countries, both of which have their own separate histories and cultures.
Irish (also known as 'Gailege' in the Irish language, or less commonly and very confusingly 'Irish Gaelic' due to very poor anglicization*) is the language of Ireland and spoken by the Irish people.
Additionally, any translation resources you utilize for 'Gaelic' as a language will not give you the Irish language, because in English the word 'Gaelic', when referring to one specific language, refers only to the language of Scottland.
'Irish' is the conventional English term for the Irish language.
*Calling Irish 'Irish Gaelic' is very insulting to Irish speakers who fight to keep the language alive, as that name comes out of centuries of English ignorance and subjugation of all aspects of Irish identity and culture.
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skirting-board-iix · 4 months
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10 Verbal Nouns in Irish that I very much enjoy
Ag Smúrthacht - prowling, slinking around the place
Ag Airneán - staying up late into the night
Ag Plobarnach - gurgling (of water or porridge)
Ag Santú - ‘greeding’ for something (((also to desire seggsually)))
Ag Slaparnach - trudging around/through shallow water/mud
Ag Spréacharnach - glittering
Ag Rógaireacht - swindling or otherwise engaging in divilment
Ag Pleidhcíocht - fooling around, messin’
Ag Goilliúint - wounding emotionally
Ag Meabhrú - brooding or pondering
warning: 🚨not caighdeán approved🚨 (also these are rough estimations of meanings and there are 100% other verbs which cover these same things please dont break my tibia)
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ly0nstea · 9 months
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Gotta start treating english like monolinguistic english speakers treat other languages
Did you know English doesn't have a word for the Irish word 'mar'? Instead they have to say 'is the cause' of or 'because' for short
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an-spideog · 28 days
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Hey if any of you, like me, spend a lot of time on teanglann.ie, you might have gotten fed up with how hard it is to find stuff in their massive paragraphs.
I made a Firefox extension (mostly for myself) which automatically breaks the paragraphs up so it's easier to read
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Sorry for the chrome users, if I ever get a chance I might try and port it for chrome, but I haven't done that yet.
The formatting isn't entirely consistent, but a lot of that comes down to the entries themselves being formatted a little inconsistently, if you notice any bugs, please let me know
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kaizey · 7 months
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On Gaelic vs Gaeilge vs Irish
Since several people have been asking me stuff regarding this today, and with Unreal Unearth adding to the eyes on it, I wanted to lend an irish voice to the pile already saying this, but it can be useful for non-irish people to learn (mostly americans)
Anyway; Gaelic vs Gaeilge vs Irish
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Gaelic: This is infact an english word. As béarla, ok? It derives itself from the irish Gael, which itself comes from the old irish Goídel, an adapted word from old welsh meaning "wildman" or "forestman". In our actual language, the word for 'gaelic' is itself 'gaelach'
Gaelic, also, in the broader sense, is more than just language. Its a word covering the Goidelic languages originating in Ireland, and of wider Gaelic culture across Ireland, Scotland and Mannin. These are widely disparate places in our regional cultures, lexicons and yes, language.
Irish: The english word for our language and by far what the majority of anyone here will refer to as our language when speaking about it i mBéarla
Gaeilge: The Linguonym for irish *in* irish. Its by far the second most encountered term youll hear anyone from here use when talking about irish other than the english word. See where the common term "as gaeilge" comes from
tl;dr Youre not technically incorrect for saying Gaelic when referring to the irish language. But its much less accurate than just calling it irish, and in our language, we refer to it as Gaeilge (general pron. Gw-ale-guh)
Anyway, Go raibh math agat and hope youve been enjoying the Unreal Unearth as much as I have. Definitely not emotionally wrecked by it or anything
Slán
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ceilidhtransing · 2 months
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Gàidhlig vs Gaeilge
The languages Scots Gaelic* (Gàidhlig) and Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge, also known in English as simply “Irish”) are two separate languages, yet in English they are often both called Gaelic.
However, they are pronounced completely differently.
Gaelic (Scottish) rhymes with Alec
Gaelic (Irish) sounds like Gay-lick
As a fun fact, it's easy to tell apart Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic visually because in Gàidhlig 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 all the accents are grave - “welcome to Scotland”, which you'll see driving over the border, is “fàilte gu Alba” - while in Gaeilge 🇮🇪 all the accents are acute - “welcome to Ireland” is “fáilte go hÉirinn”.
This has been a very friendly PSA from a Scot who has heard Scots Gaelic mispronounced as “Gaylick” too many times - and now you can go on your merry linguistic way confident in your pronunciation of these two words which look identical but sound totally different and mean refer to two separate things.
*not to be at all confused with the Scots language, which is its own separate thing and very much not included under “Gaelic”
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bloctg4 · 7 months
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"irish is a dead language" L + ratio + is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste + Béarla is a dead language + tá Gaeilge cúláilte + C.E.A.R.T.A. + BLOCTG4 + ratio eile +
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