AnBraonach wrote:
An Cionnfhaolach wrote:
STOP fucking standardising Irish literature by native Gaeltacht authors its pure butchery.
I'm sorry, but idiotic individual projects do not amount to reasons why a standard should not exist. The goal of this discussion (and I mean in general, not here on this board) should be to establish a balance between the dialects and the standard. Please do not presume that all native Gaeltacht speakers feel that the standard should not exist - that's not the case! Yes, the problem is worsened by state negligence, but I feel you are under-estimating the number of Gaeltacht speakers involved in Irish-language term creation, for example.
What's frustrating for me is the extremity of the positions here, bordering on sectarianism at times. I'm more optimistic I think. I don't think the dialects are going anywhere, even if they're under threat. The language is experiencing unprecedented growth (at least in modern times) and finds itself in a state of flux. Let's hope things balance out.
Quote:
idiotic individual projects
Do you mean my life experiences of growing up with my education carried out entirely through the medium of Irish, having experienced both Gaelscoil and Gaeltacht schooling? How are your life experiences or your own personal opinions less idiotic than mine? I'd love to know, may I ask what is your own story with the language? If you read my opinion properly, without being blinded by your own opinion, you would know that I never suggested that there shouldn't be a standard. If you were a member of this forum for more than two or three days (welcome by the way

) you would know my opinions on the standard and how necessary it is in a administrative, teaching and legislation context- though I don't agree with the present Caighdeán in its entirety or its hostility towards Gaeltacht written Irish. See:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1477 last comment
and
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1477&start=10 last comment
I was highlighting the fact that there are inadequate resources out there for people wishing to learn a dialect of Irish. I was also highlighting the fact that hardly any Irish written by Native Gaeltacht speakers gets published, without going through a standardising filter. I don't want to read the standardised version, I want to read the version from the dialect of the creator, with its rich vocabulary, with some words that may even not exist outside that dialect or sub-dialect but will fall out of use if they are not used. Thirdly, I wanted to address the misconception that many learners have when they begin learning Irish; that the Irish they are learning is the version that has developed naturally from the time Irish first started to be spoken by the people of this Island right up until today. The fact is, it is not, the Irish they are learning was conceived during the 40s, 50s and 60s, by some who were native speakers and/ or academics.
Quote:
I don't think the dialects are going anywhere, even if they're under threat.
What are you basing that idea on? Dialectal style Irish is fading at an unprecedented rate. For example in Ring the "ing" pronounciation of "
ainn/inn" endings has nearly disappeared.
"Ní'l/ Níl (Ní fhuil)" has ousted the use of "
Nín", "
ag iasgach/iascach" has become "
ag iascaireacht" and Aimsir Chaite Sr.Bhriathar used to be lenited, now its not. There are many more examples of which that would have been prevalent among people of a generation or so ago. Other features have remained strong such as the use of "
Dé Chúis" for "
Cén fath", "
Thá" instead of "
Tá" and the peculiar pronunciation of "
i" and "middle and ending "
th".
Another problem that has become clear in the last generation is the mispronunciation of Irish words by some Gaeltacht children. There is definitely an influence from English pronunciation: e.g
lae (lay), buachaill (bukill) etc... Luckily, we had an amhranaiocht class every week, taught by the principal who herself is a two time winner of Corn Uí Riada and she used to discuss the older aspects of the dialect or Irish in general as well as try to improve pronunciation.
If this problem is bad in the Gaeltachts it is dire among Galltacht fluent or "native" speakers. A lot of Galltacht Irish is heavily influenced by English pronunciation and syntax. I am not saying all Galltacht Irish speakers cannot pronounce properly but those that do usually have experienced Gaeltacht Irish pronunciation or have been informed by somebody who does. Native Irish speakers that solely base their pronunciation on that learned in Galltacht schools (e.g the Caighdeán) or from parents that have never experienced Gaeltacht Irish cannot pronounce Irish properly and they speak a language that has been greatly influenced by English syntax and pronunciation.
Don't get me wrong I have huge respect for people who decide to speak Irish as the family language, even though they are not natives themselves. I believe these people should be commended for doing so. We have a committed member on this forum; Saoirse who does just that. But I do believe these people that choose to do so should draw more heavily from Gaeltacht pronunciation, idioms and vocabulary. Saoirse does just that, she doesn't just take influences from one dialect but all of them and that's brilliant.
I think it is wrong to say that fluent "native" Galltacht speakers, who have not drawn influences from the dialects (e.g pronunciation, vocab etc...) should be viewed as being of a parallel standard to someone in the Gaeltacht where the transmission of Irish from generation to generation has not been severed- i.e to say Gaeltacht Irish and strictly urban Irish are on par. I do believe however, if families try to imitate the Gaeltacht people then they will reach an excellent standard and then they should be viewed as being of the same standard as their Gaeltacht counterparts.
Quote:
Please do not presume that all native Gaeltacht speakers feel that the standard should not exist - that's not the case! Yes, the problem is worsened by state negligence, but I feel you are under-estimating the number of Gaeltacht speakers involved in Irish-language term creation, for example.
I am well aware that Gaeltacht speakers are involved in Irish language term creation, some of which is good and some of which is cringe worthy, particularly those that just sound like English. Leaving them in English would be better. The problem with modern Irish of the 20th and 21st century is it has become translated English, a medium for expressing English idioms and ideas. That's not the language I want to speak. I know it is impossible to have Irish that is free of English but the influences that English bears nowadays on the Caighdeán system are ridiculous.
I feel you are underestimating the amount of Gaeltacht native speakers that have a dislike, and that's putting it mildly, for the Caighdeán.
Quote:
The goal of this discussion (and I mean in general, not here on this board) should be to establish a balance between the dialects and the standard.
I agree, I don't agree with the standard in its current form though. Some aspects of the Caighdeán are not prevalent in any of the dialects- nobody but learners and natives of learnes say "conas atá tú"- it is contorted Munster Irish- in Munster: Cionna(u)s/Conas 't(h)ánn tú/ Conas/ cionnus taoi, Cén chaoi ina bhuil tú, Ulster Goidé mar atá tú? Alba: Ciamar atha thu.
I can't speak for every dialect but: The use of everyday Munster (Tuiseal Ginideach and Tuiseal Tabharthach) are not accepted by the Caighdeán: e.g Tuiseal Tabharthach uatha: "
teangain", Tuiseal Ginideach uatha "
teangan" etc...
The Caighdeán in my opinion blights proper dialectal pronunciation on some words: e.g rith- ruith, bia- bídh, rachaidh- raghaidh etc...
The Caighdeán takes very little influence from Donegal Irish, that needs to improve- instead it has stigmatised Ulster Irish as being difficult- its only difficult because we haven't heard much of it. I understand the Caighdeán is based heavily on Connacht Irish because she is seen as the bridge, the middle ground between Ulster and Munster Irish.
More native Gaeltacht Irish people, especially those from Ulster and Munster should be seen on TG4, to promote the understanding of Ulster Irish and correct pronunciation from all the dialects. Believe it or not, but a lot of the programs on TG4 have bad pronunciation, especially cartoons- where the pronunciation should be at its strongest as it is aimed at children. Comhrá and an Nuacht are about the best and some of the Ros na Rún characters.
Stop changing the Ginideach's if they are still being used by native speakers: example: Cú (T.A uatha), Cúnna (T. A iolra), Coin (T.T uatha), Cúibh/ Coibh (T.T iolra) , Con (T.G uatha), gCon (T.G iolra), Caighdeán:
http://focal.ie/Search.aspx?term=c%C3%BA The use of native words used in the Gaeltacht to describe things: i.e arán tíortha (tósta), tigh/teach tabhairne, tigh óil (béar), mathúna/mathghamhna/ airt (béar)- gone archaic.
I don't want works written by native speakers to be standardised, because I not only use these works as enjoyment but I also use them to study the language within them.
Although I do understand there are more pressing issues for instance curriculum changes etc... and how after 14 years people can't really speak it? or they can but choose not to.
I would like to see a Caighdeán that is more flexible in displaying Gaeltacht pronunciation as well.
Quote:
What's frustrating for me is the extremity of the positions here, bordering on sectarianism at times. I'm more optimistic I think. The language is experiencing unprecedented growth (at least in modern times) and finds itself in a state of flux. Let's hope things balance out.
The reason some peoples’ views here may seem totally right winged stems from of a lack of balance between the Caighdeán and Gaeltacht Irish. Native speakers or learners of Gaeltacht Irish (like myself) want a dialect that is inclusive rather than exclusive. For instance being told that dearúd/ dearmhad is an incorrect spelling is unjust as is standardising Literature produced by native Irish Gaeltacht speakers, when there is no need to. The choice of learning your own dialect in school- where applicable, I understand teacher numbers and the difficulty around that. Thankfully, I'm in university now and we are given a choice to write Gaeltacht or standard or both- it’s nice to have that choice.
Yes the language is enjoying growth, but how much of the Irish being spoken is just translated English (or English in disguise) and the quality is quite poor. We need to get away from translating English and reach back for the very poetic soul of the language. There are also people who answer “yes” to the Irish census question, and if they were asked it in Irish a lot of those that answered yes wouldn't be able to understand it- statistics are often misleading. What is brilliant is people's attitude to Irish has changed

!