Saturday, January 29, 2005
The Irish Language-Na Fadhbanna
It is clear there are many problems(fadhbanna) with the Irish language right now.I don't know if the Irish language can ever be truly saved but I'm sure it can be better preserved.
I am no expert on the Irish language by any means as I know very few phrases and focal but I think the Irish Government could be doing more for the Irish language.Here are a couple of ideas off the top of my head which I feel the Irish Government could do to reach out to Irish people and encourage them to learn their native language:
1. Offer better incentives for those who can speak the language.'Positive Discrimination' as they say.
2. Instead of the usual 'Close' at night on RTE,why not have tips to help people learn the language?I notice the BBC do this for languages like French and Spanish at the 'Close'.
3. Allow the people of Ireland's north to receive TG4.
4. A more relaxed system of learning Irish in schools.Forcing it down people's throats causes kids to spit it out.I only enjoyed learning Irish in my third and fourth year in secondary school.Before that,I hated it.I'm not surprised Irish people come out of school liking French more than Irish as it's taught in a more relaxed way than Irish is.
5. Create facilities for older people to learn Irish.
Feel free to offer your own suggestions.
I am no expert on the Irish language by any means as I know very few phrases and focal but I think the Irish Government could be doing more for the Irish language.Here are a couple of ideas off the top of my head which I feel the Irish Government could do to reach out to Irish people and encourage them to learn their native language:
1. Offer better incentives for those who can speak the language.'Positive Discrimination' as they say.
2. Instead of the usual 'Close' at night on RTE,why not have tips to help people learn the language?I notice the BBC do this for languages like French and Spanish at the 'Close'.
3. Allow the people of Ireland's north to receive TG4.
4. A more relaxed system of learning Irish in schools.Forcing it down people's throats causes kids to spit it out.I only enjoyed learning Irish in my third and fourth year in secondary school.Before that,I hated it.I'm not surprised Irish people come out of school liking French more than Irish as it's taught in a more relaxed way than Irish is.
5. Create facilities for older people to learn Irish.
Feel free to offer your own suggestions.
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