#gaeilge class

Hello! So since I’ve heard back and you are interested indeed, here’s the first class! I will try to make these short and daily at 3pm! I have somewhat of a rough plan, staring from the bare basics of the Irish language and I want to be going over topics and grammar points as well. I am going to try and make it somewhat interactive, too. Bí linn!  Today I’m doing just an introduction to the language. I’d be very happy to get some feedback or questions, if you have any. Please send me an ask with your reasons why you’re learning Irish!  It’s a new format, so let’s see how it works.  Irish, or Gaeilge comes from the Celtic branch of Indo-European languages. It is very closely related to Scottish Gaelic and Manx and more distantly related with Welsh, Cornish and Breton. As for Indo-European languages, it does not classify within the so-called SAE (Standard Average European) languages and is quite different, which is to be kept in mind while studying it. There are certain grammatical and morphological features, which make it stand out, especially compared to languages like French or German. Irish is the first language of the Republic of Ireland and a recognised minority language in Northern Ireland, where Irish is protected under the European Charter for Minority Languages (for now). In Ireland, Irish is taught throughout the entire school education, however, only 73,803 speak it daily; 111,473 speak it weekly and 586,535 speak less frequently (out of population of ca. 5 million). Most Irish people do have some knowledge of Irish, but usage depends on different factors. There are three main dialects of Irish - Munster, Connacht and Ulster. They are mutually comprehensible with most differences being small in pronunciation and some minor grammatical differences. Due to media spread, they all are well-represented and most Irish speakers understand all of them to some degree. The oldest Ogam inscriptions (ancient writing system) of so-called Archaic Irish come all the way from the 3rd century AD. Irish as a language has faced countless attempts to be silenced and is currently going through revival efforts. I hope you enjoy and I’ll see you tomorrow. We’re going to look at how to read Irish!

I would recommend you watch this video  as your ‘homework’ to get familiar with the Irish sounds, it basically gives you a good overview of how to read! I hope you liked today’s lesson! My ask is always open for questions and suggestions. Tomorrow’s lesson at 3pm Irish time (GMT) again.

In general, knowing these rules should help you ease your way into starting to read Irish. A good way to listen to the pronunciation is with music. Siúil a Rún or Báidín Fheilimí are very good songs to look into. Read the lyrics (only the chorus is in English for Siúil a Rún) out loud for yourself. Look up the words on teanglann if you need help. Then you can listen to the song to see if you were right/where you made mistakes. I really hope this helps you in some way to gain a bit of understanding of Irish orthography and pronunciation. Remember, it’s always best to listen to the language and then read over the rules, gradually, it will start making sense. Reading Irish then becomes quite straightforward. However, don’t worry if it takes some time. You might spend a couple weeks on it. Next lesson tomorrow at 3pm Irish time again!  My ask is always open if you have any questions or suggestions!

So after looking at some big starting points - I hope you feel a bit less intimidated by the language! Remember you can always look up the correct pronunciation or ask! I am not sure about your knowledge of the IPA, but I could add a somewhat modified IPA version in the beginning chapters! Today we’re going to be greeting each other! A very formal greeting in Irish is Dia duit (when you’re greeting one person) Dia daoibh (when you’re greeting more than one person!) Note: Duit/daoibh - This is dependent on something called the prepositional pronouns. It basically means - ‘for you’ in singular and in plural. The preposition for is do and you can inflect prepositions in Irish! Dia duit/daoibh, however, is very formal. At least that’s what I was taught. Loosely translated, it’s like God be with you. And the answer back is also very formal. Dia is Muire duit. God and Mary be with you. Usually, in a conversational setting, people will usually just say Hi! But it’s stylised as Haigh! After haigh, you usually ask or get asked how you are. Each dialect has got their specific one. Cad é mar atá tú? (Ulster. Honestly, once you say this, everyone will know you’re from the north!) Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? (Specific to Connacht) Conas atá tú? (Munster, and also the most widespread one in general, especially in Leinster) The reply usually goes Tá mé go maith! (I am well), maith pronounced either as mah (with a quite open a) in Munster and Connacht or you even add a little -ih sound in the end for Ulster -> Compare with teanglann Tá mé - means I am. Tá is the verb and mé is the pronoun. We will talk about Irish sentence structure in one of the following lessons! You can substitute go maith - well - with other words, too! Go breá - great Go dona - poorly Maith go leor - okay Go hiontach - amazing If you want to say thank you and ask the same question - Go raibh maith agat, agus tú féin/tusa?  - Thank you, and you/yourself? As an exercise, if you like, do send me an ask, asking how I am! We didn’t cover that much today, because I still feel like some of these explanations are necessary! Let me know if you enjoy this info dump approach!