May I ask what dialect of Irish you speak? And did you learn it in school? If not how did you choose the dialect? Bc I'm learning the basics but idk how to choose what dialect to focus on haha
Hullo! đ ouch now this is a tough one!
One of the side effects of moving a lot as a child was that I spent most of my school years in Italy, so nope, I canât really say Iâve learnt Irish in school. My grandma was my first teacher, but again, itâs complicated. She gave me the basics and kind of started me on my way, but it still took me a lot of DIY effort. And Iâm still learning!
Dialects, now this is the tough part. Iâm not a native speaker, so I donât really fall into a specific native category. My granny is a native speaker from Kerry (which is like the archetype of Munster Irish, blah blah blah). Grammar aside, her inflection is pretty thick, but Iâve always tried to standardise mine ever since I can remember. It was a stupid thing to do, and Iâd like to get back to a real Munster Irish (Iâve got to work on it, as soon as I have a bit more time on my hands đ©).
Honestly, I canât really tell you which dialect to choose!
Most books will probably teach you An CaighdeĂĄn OifigiĂșil (Standard Irish/Gaelscoil Irish/Dublin Irish, or however you call it), which is the language commonly taught in schools. Standard Irish is a bit of an artificial construct, and it is much more a thing for the written word than for speech. It isnât really used by natives outside formal writing (the present-day Irish of Meath is a special case, but itâs probably considered a Connacht sub-dialect, Iâm not really sure about this).
At the end of the day itâs all the same language and the basics are pretty much the same, even though part of learning a regional form is also knowing what makes the regional form unique in comparison to forms in other areas (or what is common). The variety of dialects is what makes Irish interesting, if everybody spoke the same way, itâd be boring and the language would be poorer! This is the main idea.
Now, having said that, I could tell you (if you really, really couldnât make up your mind and if I really, really, reeeally had to choose objectively) to start with one of the Connacht dialects, because itâs
SORT OF halfway between Munster and Ulster Irish
SORT OF the most represented by the media
SORT OF the closest to (and primary basis for) Standard Irish. But then again, Connacht Irish is the most similar to the Standard vocab-wise, while I guess the Munster dialects are probably the closest to Standard pronunciation.
Seriously though, itâs all a big SORT OF!
If you live in Ireland, then I would suggest the one youâre closest to geographically. Other than that, your best bet would be the one you have best access to, i.e. learning materials, friends who speak the dialect you can practise with, the one you fancy the most etc.
As for radio and TV, more often than not it is usually one of the dialects that is used (especially on RaidiĂł na Gaeltachta), people tend use their own dialect. Youâll find a whole variety! RnaG programs are broadcasted from the different Gaeltachta, and on the website generally youâll get more information about the area the program is broadcasted from (e.g. Timpeall an TĂ â h 19:00 Sun & h 20:00 Thurs and An Saol Ă Dheas â h 12:08 Mon â Fri are both broadcasted from Kerry, Iris Aniar â h 09:15 Mon - Fri is broadcasted from the Meath Gaeltacht, and so on).
So, in summary, if youâre a beginner and looking for resources, itâs just a matter of the authorâs own dialect. If you have a preference, learn it. Itâs plenty of different resources, just choose the one you feel more comfortable with!
Sorry about the essay, but I truly hope this helps!!! Ădh mĂłr ort fĂ©in le do chuid staidĂ©ir ar an nGaeilge đ
(If thereâs anything Iâve missed, or anything anyone would like to add/correct, please, it would be much appreciated!!!)
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