Keola Donaghy: Gaeilge

Bottoms up, bubbles down

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 17:52:22 GMT

Though this is from a few years ago, it is always worth another look on St. Patrick's day. "Scientists have finally proven what beer lovers have long suspected: When beer is poured into a glass, the bubbles sometimes go down instead of up.In this video,chemists Richard N. Zare of Stanford University and Andrew J. Alexander of the University of Edinburgh explain the frothy details." Slánte!

Signs, signs, everywhere signs.

Fri, 17 Mar 2006 00:17:20 GMT

If this had happened tomorrow (St. Patrick's Day), I probably would have fallen flat on my face... One of our Hawaiian Studies majors came into our office with a young part-Hawaiian woman, perhaps 20 years old. He introduced us, and she explained that she had lived in Cork off and on from when she was eight until she was about 16. Apparently her father is from Cork and she has many relatives still there. We talked about our experiences there, and her eyes grew large when I explained that I was considering pursuing a Ph.d. at either UC-Cork or QUB. Apparently some of her Irish-speaking relatives visit frequently, so we talked about wrangling one of them to teach. She hasn't lost her love of the language, though apparently has lost much of it to disuse. We'll have to fix that.

Go maire tú a Chonn!

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:27:43 GMT

Congratulations to Conn at An tImeall for reaching his 100th podcast. Quite a milestone. I'm downloading as I write this. I sent him an audio note of congratulations, in Hawaiian, of course. Wow, it's just short of an hour long. I wonder what I'll do for my 100th podcast, if I ever get there

Irish language under threat in Glencolmcille

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 22:13:06 GMT

Oideas Gael's Language Director Liam Ó Cuinneagain is concerned that the Gaeltacht status of Glencolmcille could be under threat unless more of a community effort is made to use Irish as a daily language. They found that less than 50% of people in Glencolmcille rate themselves as fluent in Irish and only around 20% speak it every day. My wife and I spent three wonderful weeks at Glencolmcille and were well served by Liam, Siobhan and the staff there.

Who's Martin?

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 23:40:41 GMT

"The Irish language award went to Martin from an tImeal, who said he hopes to see Irish language blogging go mainstream by next year." Perhaps the author had a difficult time with "Ó Muíneacháin."

Slugger top Irish political blog.

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 02:19:02 GMT

Congratulations to Mick and the crew at Slugger O'Toole for being named best political blog. No word on the other awards yet.

From the Irish Times - Kilian Doyle takes a wry look at how St Patrick would fare if he were to return to Ireland today.

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 01:15:12 GMT

"It's a quiet January afternoon in O'Hooligan's Irish pub in Heaven. There's a rambunctious character sitting at a table surrounded by cronies doling out free pints to him. He's singing and yelling and generally holding court. Quietly, a small, wizened old geezer wearing a leather biker jacket and a faded Iggy Pop T-shirt walks into the pub and ambles over to the table. The place falls silent. 'Patrick?' 'Oh, flip.' (He's been waiting for this. Fixes best smile and turns around, expecting the worst.) 'Yes, God?'" Click on the link above for the rest of the adventure.

Ulster Irish study group at Yahoo Groups.

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 06:52:11 GMT

Go raibh míle maith agat a Chionaodh! While I've been working through Learning Irish with the gang on the Cois Fhairrge group, I didn't realize that a similar group had just started working on Ulster Irish. As it seems that Queen's University-Belfast is my most likely destination for Ph.d. work if I do indeed make it to Ireland next year, working on the Ulster dialect makes sense. Someone in the group located this great resource on the Cumman na Gaeilge site. The audio there sounds much more like the Donegal Irish I heard at Oideas Gael, though there still seem to be some minor differences.

Edge Case - thoughts in two languages, from the author of An tImeall.

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 06:34:19 GMT

Conn at an tImeall and I seem to have a competition going to see who can juggle the most blogs and podcasts. You win, Conn; I surrender. His new site, Edge Case is predominantly in English (at least so far), though covers a lot of the same ground as An tImeall. All of this and a two year-old to boot. Amazing.

The kind of comment that can make your day.

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 07:33:55 GMT

Or year. 'Analu is a student in our online Hawaiian language class, and I can relate to his feelings. Since returning from Ireland some 3 and a half years ago, I've tried to make some progress with learning Gaeilge, only to give it up after a few weeks, and then starting from scratch again months later. Here's the best part:

"I do have a cassette for studying the language, but your podcast was the first time ever that I was able to hear Hawaiian as a true living language!"

I know exactly how 'Analu feels, as An tImeall and Cumann Carad na Gaeilge have filled that void for me. David Webb started a Yahoo group for people who are working through the "Learning Irish" text together. I no longer feel like I'm alone with my textbooks and tapes in the middle of nowhere struggling with the language and not knowing how or where I'll ever be able to use it. It feels good.

Measuring Linguistic Diversity on the Internet.

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 17:28:45 GMT

Coincidences (or signs) seem to abound this week. Following Conn's post and my reply on his upcoming decision on whether or not to begin posting in English as well as Irish, I recieved this link from a totally different source... "UNESCO has been emphasizing the concept of 'knowledge societies', which stresses plurality and diversity instead of a global uniformity in order to bridge the digital divide and to form an inclusive information society. An important theme of this concept is that of multilingualism for cultural diversity and participation for all the languages in cyberspace." I should also note that Bernie Goldbach has posted his thoughts on Conn's post. Well put, Bernie.

To Gaeilge or not to Gaeilge, that is the question.

Fri, 17 Feb 2006 06:16:20 GMT

Conn at an tImeall posted about a topic that I've been agonizing over as well - weblog and podcast language choice. His blog is, of course, done in Irish. I was a bit surprised to see that the bulk of hist post today in English, though the accompanying podcast was still predominantly in Irish. His quandary - should he continue to blog and podcast in Irish exclusively (BTW, I like the term "GaelBlogs"), or to begin to also produce them in English as well. Is it better to have separate blogs for each language, or produce a dual language blog. He has many valid points about the value of being able to fully participate in the technology blogosphere. As it is, he can read both Irish and English tech blogs, but by publishing an tImeall in Irish only, he restricts his own readership and participation. I agree with Conn that not everyone has to be an "A-list" blogger to create value on the web. This blog exists to entertain me and me alone. If others stumble across it and find something of value or interest, that's gravy. Like him, I view it as "thinking out loud", and appreciate (most of the time) people taking the time too comment on my thoughts. I've done quite a bit of soul-searching myself. I did a Nahenahe.net podcast in Hawaiian a few weeks ago, on a whim. I didn't intend it to be a cultural or linguistic statement, but I guess it is. As far as I know there are no regular Hawaiian language podcasts. That alone should be incentive for me to do one, but at this point it is not. I have two blogs, both done in English, and I need to start another one like I need another hole in my head. Ditto for doing a second podcast. If I do the Nahenahe.net podcasts in Hawaiian I might gain some new listeners and probably lose a lot more. Not that this is an issue for me personally, but it would negatively affect those that I believe benefit most from the existence of the blog and podcast - my friends in the recording industry and their fans and supporters. While our situations are somewhat similar, there is one glaring difference - by posting in English, Conn would expose his thoughts and writings to a far larger audience. If I begin to podcast in Hawaiian only, I greatly reduce my own. Of course, many may listen simply for the music or to listen to the "sonorous" (as it has been described) Hawaiian language. But most would be in a similar situation that I face in listening to An tImeall - being able to pick out a few words or a short phrase, but not comprehending the bulk of the podcast or blog. I can't make out most of the comments he's gotten on his blog in response to his request for feedback. I image most he will get will be the "it's your blog so do what you want, but this is what I think..." variety. Which is exactly what I'm going to do here The value of Conn's blog and podcast to me at this point is simply the fact that it is done in Irish. I am a long way from being able to comprehend and appreciate what he is talking about. While he obviously takes great pride in his ability to communicate on a specialized topic like technology in Irish, the language itself is simply the vehicle and not the content. From that perspective, my desire for him to continue to blog and podcast should be inconsequential, and I don't mind. If he were to stop blogging or podcasting in Irish, he's left behind a significant legacy of material in the Irish language. I did this a few years ago when I blogged my travels in Ireland in Hawaiian. A hundred years from now, my (hopefully) Hawaiian-speaking great-great-great-great grandchildren will be able to read and appreciate it. And hopefully Conn's work will be seen, heard and appreciated by his. When my wife and I departed Ireland three and a half years ago, I made a promise to myself that I would continue to learn the language. I have found it very difficult to fulfill that promise, however, in discovering his blog and podcast, and those of others, I have been inspired to pick it up again. The technology has made it possible for me to connect with speakers of Irish (or at least those that tolerate a Gaeilge newbie's feeble efforts). Perhaps there will soon be a real (I hate the term "virtual") Gaeltacht online, where people will be able to interact as Gaeilge synchronously and asynchronously, as easily as someone in Ireland. So my friend, whatever decision you make will be the right one. I have hours and hours of your podcast that I will someday be able to listen to and appreciate for their content as well as their language vehicle. And your work has helped inspire me to fulfill a promise to myself. Consider it an unintended consequence of your work, but certainly not one that compels you to keep doing it. Go raibh maith agat a mo chara. As for Nahenahe.net, I am not considering switching the blog to Hawaiian, but may do so for the podcast. And while I value my listeners and their opinions, the decision is ultimately mine alone.

NUIG Irish language requirement removed.

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 21:36:39 GMT

[ From the Galway Independent ] A Bill was passed last week removing an obligation on NUI Galway to appoint people competent in the Irish language to offices or positions in the University. NUI Galway has welcomed the new legislation. Under the new legislation the University will still be required to ensure its strategic development plan contains a provision for the delivery of education through the Irish language.

First Welsh language protester locked up in 11 years.

Tue, 14 Feb 2006 17:14:18 GMT

The granddaughter of former president became the first Welsh language campaigner to be locked up in 11 years. Gwenno Teifi Ffransis was sent to a prison for five days after the 19-year-old refused to pay court-imposed compensation to a Welsh radio station. She damaged Radio Carmarthenshire's Narberth studio in protest over its lack of Welsh broadcasts.

Funding to help business in city go bilingual.

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 23:50:42 GMT

[ From the Daily Ireland ] "Businesses in Belfast are being encouraged to embrace the Irish language with the relaunch of a scheme to help them benefit from using it more. Foras na Gaeilge is offering small to medium-sized enterprises funding to erect bilingual outdoor signs on their premises or produce brochures or websites in both Irish and English." I've sometimes thought of starting a program in Hawai'i that would encourage the promotion of Hawaiian in the business arena. More and more my family and I encounter Hawaiian speakers that we don't know, and learn this by some chance encounter. I often wonder how many people we encounter on a daily basis can speak the language, but we don't know it, and they don't know we do either. What if a store would advertise that it has Hawaiian speaking employees. I'm sure the Hawaiian speaking community would support such an endeavor and patronize such an establishment. No program yet exists to support such efforts.

West Belfast Gaeltacht Quarter has tremendous tourism potential.

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 23:24:48 GMT

An interesting development. I know there are people from Ireland who read this blog. One of the options I'm considering for my Ph.d. pursuit is the enthnomusicology program at Queen's University-Belfast. I've had some very positive correspondence with the faculty there, and am considering applying for possible entry in fall, 2007. If there is anyone who can help me and provide some basic information on living in the area of the university (I'd like to avoid having to purchase a car), I'd be grateful. Please feel free to leave a comment to this message or send me and email. Of course, one of the appeals to pursuing a Ph.d. in Ireland is the opportunity to resume language study. I recently purchased a very lightly used copy of the Linguaphone Irish course, and find it much more enjoyable and effective than some of the other materials I've purchased. I've not found any information that confirms this, but it seems it might have been done using speakers of the Connemara dialect. The University of Otago in Aotearoa (New Zealand) remains high on my list of potential schools as well. I've made a commitment to myself to come to a decision by the end of this semester. If it's Otago, I'd probably enter next spring. If they'll have me, of course

My Name Is Yu Ming.

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 05:42:58 GMT

This is simply the best movie short I've ever watched. "A bored Chinese shopkeep learns Gaelic and moves to Dublin only to find the locals no longer speak their mother tongue. Follow Yu Ming as he pursues his dream of life in the Celtic world." To put it into perspective, imagine this fellow learning Hawaiian and coming here instead of Ireland. I was nearly in tears at one point, and laughing my behind off the next.

The Brave New World.

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 04:33:03 GMT

David McWilliams predicts that by 2031, Ireland is likely to have a significant black urban underclass, paying rent to a Chinese landlord class, a good chance that there will be a second-generation Polish Taoiseach, that Irish academia will feature a disproportionate number of Indians, yet the Irish language will be stronger than at any point since before the Famine.

Does the Celtic heart still beat?

Mon, 09 Jan 2006 05:49:58 GMT

Good question. Mahalo to my Celtic cousin Scott for the pointer.

Lasaifhíona On RTE Radio 1.

Fri, 06 Jan 2006 18:00:44 GMT

The "Rattlebag" radio program on RTE featured one of my favorite Irish singers, Lasaifhíona Ní Chonaola, in a program that can be heard via RealAudio.

Two simple ways to get Irish to flourish.

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 22:45:18 GMT

[ From the Daily Ireland ] A Professor of Semitic Languages in Tel Aviv University, Israel, identified two prerequisites for the survival, revival and flourishing of the Irish language in Ireland, namely idealism and necessity. Fascinating article.

Respect is lacking.

Tue, 27 Dec 2005 23:50:47 GMT

I pointed earlier to a statement by Northern Ireland's chief electoral officer Denis Stanley where he insisted that all correspondence to him be done in English only. The Daily Ireland suggests that Mr Stanley should be asked to write out 100 times, in Irish, the following section from the Good Friday Agreement: "All participants recognise the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity, including in Northern Ireland, the Irish language, Ulster-Scots and the languages of the various ethnic communities, all of which are part of the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland." Perhaps it should be tatoo'd on his forehead, in reverse, of course, so that he can read it when he looks in the mirror each morning.

Official refuses to answer in Irish.

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 04:51:48 GMT

A letter from one of the North's top civil servants to an Irish-language rights group has been described as evidence of the need for language legislation that would guarantee the rights of Irish speakers in their dealings with the state. Chief electoral officer Denis Stanley sent the letter to the Irish-language umbrella group Pobal, making it clear that he wanted correspondence to his office in English only. Pathetic.

Shalini Sinha on the importance of the Irish Language.

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 23:05:46 GMT

Slugger O'Toole carries a wonderful post by Cathal O Foirreidh, pointing to a piece that advocates the elimination of compulsory Irish, followed by a moving piece by a Canadian immigrant of Indian (not Native American or First Nation's Canadian) ancestry, on the importance of the language. I love this quote:

Thus, one of the first things I did when I moved to Ireland was begin the journey of learning Irish - not because I thought it would be easy or was "fascinated", but because I felt that this was the only way I would really understand the country that was now my home, and the people who would love me here.

I wish more people who lived in Hawai'i felt this way, whether they were born here or not, and whether they were of Hawaiian ancestry or not.

They have Irish, but not enough?

Sun, 09 Oct 2005 17:51:01 GMT

Here's an interesting case of a Northern Ireland family being denied housing in the Connemara gaelteacht, not because they can't speak Irish, but apparently because they don't speak it well enough. Slugger O'Toole carries some interesting discussion on the topic.