Irish Language: Basic Facts and Resources

The Irish language is constitutionally established as the national language of the Republic of Ireland, despite the varying distribution and fluency among the population of the country. It is however, an official language of the European Union. It is also recognized as an official minority language in Northern Ireland.

There are a number of distinct dialects of Irish. Roughly speaking, the three major dialect areas coincide with the provinces of Munster), Connacht and Ulster. Ulster Irish sounds very different and shares several unusual features with Scottish Gaelic, as well as having lots of characteristic words and shades of meanings.

Although Irish was once spoken across Ireland, it exists today as a minority language in Ireland, spoken in specific communities and in officially-recognized Gaeltachtaí, Irish-speaking regions. The Gaeltacht refer to any regions where the government recognizes the Irish language as being the predominant language at home.

These regions were first governmentaly recognized during the early stages of the Irish Free State. The recognition of these areas was part of governmental policy seeking to restore fluency in the Irish language. These regions include County Galway, Connemara , the Aran Islands, Carraroe and Spiddal; on the west coast of County Donegal; in the part which is known as Tyrconnell; and Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry.

Even in the Gaeltacht areas, however the Irish-speaking populations have declined. A major cause in the decline of natively-spoken Irish has been the movement of English speakers into the Gaeltacht and the influx of native Irish-speakers who have returned with English-speaking families. Mandatory education in the school system seeks to address this phenomena and add to the proliferation of new Irish speakers.

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Primarily aimed to meet the requirements of children from 4-12, Vocabulary Builder Irish has proved popular with adults too!

* Speech recording the chance to record cartoons and play them back in your own "cinema".

* Nine games of varying difficulty, with points awarded for correct answers.

* 3 Options learn, games and record

* Beautiful illustrations to reinforce your learning.

* Gold award for completing all of the language games.

* Over 100 words including colors, numbers, actions and simple sentences.

* Help from the friendly tiger he speaks over 50 languages!

If you're interested in learning Irish, then check out Irish Vocabulary for Children. At $29.99, the program is inexpensive, easy, and fun to use.

Get started today with Talk Now! Irish, the fast and easy way to learn a new language. Perfect for all ages, the CD teaches basic Irish vocabulary and phrases, and then tests what you have learned with fun games and quizzes.

* Nine useful topics - first words, food, colors, phrases, parts of the body, numbers, time, shopping and countries.

* Speech recording - compare your pronunciation with the native speakers'.

* Intelligent Software - remembers words you get wrong and targets your weaker points.

* Automatic Localization - learn from your own native language (more than 100 available).

* Awards - collect points and gain bronze, silver and gold certificates.

* Learn on the move - with the printable dictionary and new iPod feature!

Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher
Windows 2000/ME/XP/Vista

Only $29.99 Checkout Learn Irish for Beginners.

Talk The Talk Irish
TALK The Talk is designed with teenagers' social lives in mind. It concentrates on the words and phrases young people need for social conversation, including plenty of useful, up-to-date vocabulary. It then builds their spoken confidence, allowing them to compare their accent to that of a native speaker.

Will it work for me?

This program is best suited for teenagers who are beginning to get to grips with Irish. It's best if you know some basic vocabulary before you start.

Because it's aimed at recent beginners, everything you hear will be clearly spoken at a speed that you can easily keep up with.

What will I learn?
To talk about the things that are relevant to you. We won't bother you with lots of information you won't need or don't find interesting.

Talk The Talk teaches phrases like "I'll send you a text message later" and "we won the game on penalties". Topics include family, school, hobbies, travelling, home, technology, work and sport.

How does it work?

Watch and learn! See and hear how to speak Irish by watching video footage of native speakers.

Build confidence on a computer. Before testing your new speaking skills in the real world, record yourself, then play back to compare your pronunciation with a native speaker. (Note that we don't use electronic voice analysis: the human ear is usually much more accurate.)

Play interactive games. The comprehension quiz prompts you to react to real life situations, while a challenging recording quiz tests your knowledge and pronunciation.

You earn points for every game you play. High scorers can go on to win bronze, silver and gold awards, which you can print out as a record of achievement.

You can learn on the move. Carry on learning in the airport lounge or on the ferry. Just print out the phrasebook sheets included in the program and take them with you.

System Requirements

Windows 2000 or later
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or above
CD ROM Drive (+ computer microphone)
QuickTime 6 or higher

If you're interested in learning Irish, then check out Talk the Talk Irish Software Program.

World Talk Irish is aimed at intermediate level learners who have already built up some confidence listening to and speaking Irish. The interactive games and quizzes will help to further develop fluency and understanding of the language.

* 10 Irish language games including 'Lottery numbers', 'What did you say', 'Sentence building', 'Out to dinner' and others to help you learn, test and practice your Irish language skills.

* Quickfire - TV quiz challenge a friend, or the computer to improve your Irish skills.

* Recording - studio gain confidence in speaking Irish. Take the part of an actor and record yourself!

* Dictation - six stories to give you practice in dictation and comprehension at your own pace!

* Automatic Localization - lets you choose the language you learn from (more than 50 available).

* Printable worksheets that you can take anywhere.

Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher
Windows 2000/ME/XP/Vista

Only $29.99 Checkout Intermediate Irish Course.

Talk Business Irish
PICTURE yourself doing business with someone who doesn't speak your language. The chances are you'll need more than "holiday level" conversation to get by. That's why Talk Business was developed. It teaches you basic business vocabulary so that you can concentrate on the important stuff and not waste time searching for the right words.

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Will it work for me?

Talk Business is aimed at people who already have some experience of the language. You must feel confident enough to start up a conversation and keep it going.

The specialist phrases in Talk Business Irish are clearly spoken at a speed that you can easily keep up with and copy.

What will I learn?
Talk Business Irish gives you essential vocabulary for the workplace. It covers basics such as "what is your website address?" and "my computer crashed and I lost all my files" as well as more advanced discussion of exchange rates, product guarantees and marketing budgets.

Topics covered are: - Trading, buying and selling - Marketing, advertising and PR - IT, Internet, e-commerce and communications - Banking, finance, stock exchange and accounting - Business meetings - Business travel - Careers - Negotiations - On the phone - General business vocabulary

How does it work?

Watch and learn! See and hear how to speak Irish by watching video footage of native speakers.

Build confidence on a computer. Before testing your new speaking skills in the real world, record yourself, then play back to compare your pronunciation with a native speaker. (Note that we don't use electronic voice analysis: the human ear is usually more accurate.)

Play interactive games. The comprehension quiz prompts you to react to real life situations, while a challenging recording quiz tests your knowledge and pronunciation.

You earn points for every game you play. High scorers can go on to win bronze, silver and gold awards, which you can print out as a record of achievement.

You can learn on the move. Carry on learning in the airport lounge or on the ferry. Just print out the phrasebook sheets included in the program and take them with you.

System Requirements

Windows 2000 or later
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or above
CD ROM Drive (+ computer microphone)
QuickTime 6 or higher

Only $29.99 Checkout Talk Business Irish Intermediate Software.

Compact Irish, a stand-alone 10-lesson (5 hours) program, teaches beginning language strategies for essential communication and traveling needs.

WITH PIMSLEUR YOU GET:

* Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,

* Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,

* The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,

* 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.

Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without books, written exercises, or drills.

Product Details
Pimsleur, February 2007
5 Compact Disks (Unabridged)

Check out the Irish Pimsleur Language Course .

By Sean Kilbane

If you are a beginner learning Irish can seem a daunting prospect, working out pronunciation, grammar and not to mention where to put a seimhiu (Lenition) and uru (Eclipses). However it is important not to lose sight of the ultimate goal, which is learning to speak Irish and understanding Irish when it is spoken.

Far too often the learning material available for learners of Irish is too concerned with the structure and grammar, rather than teaching people to speak and understand the language. I will always champion ways to improve speaking and understanding Irish. I truly believe this is the only way to attain fluency. Not that you should forget grammar, but learn grammar within the context of speaking and understanding the language is more productive in the long term.

Anyway enough preaching and down to some ideas to help you improve your Irish, especially if you are just starting out.

This weeks tip POST ITS! Sorry for that outburst folks, but using post it notes or any stick paper notes as a means to improving you vocabulary is something I have used and still use. Now you can buy post it notes or sticky notes for a few cents. I found by simply placing the post it on an object in your home with the objects name written on it e.g. sorn (cooker) health and safety warning! Please do not stick on the hot part! Seriously though I found it really useful, sticky notes on everything from the TV to telephone. It is a very effective way build up your vocab and because these objects are items that you see in your everyday life the learning is relevant.

Give it a try you will be amazed how much you pick up, if you are walking by an chathaoir (chair) or sitting in it like me or getting the milk (bainne) from an cuisneoir (the fridge) it all starts to add up and combined with the other learning methods, which we will discuss in future weeks, it becomes so much easier to start constructing a simple sentence.

Simple things like the above post it note method are the key to keeping Irish fresh and interesting. I am sure there are many other novel ways to help you learn Irish, maybe you can think of some of your own.

Sean Kilbane offers tips and advice on how to learn Irish. http://www.learn-irish.com.

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