Irish Language Question

[sean r]

i am going to take lessions to speak irish here in the usa. i know that there are diffrent dialects within the irish language. are the dialects remotely different? can someone from kerry understand someone from connemera? or donegal even? how different are the dialects within irish? if i learn one version will i be understood within all of eire? or will i have a major problem in different places in ireland?

go raibh maith agat

[tetsujin1979]

technically, there's three dialects.
Leinster and Munster Irish are more or less the same, Ulster Irish is very different.
The only uniquely Ulster Irish phrase I know is "go nae mar atá tú" (probably spelt that wrong) which is "how are you?"
In Munster and Leinster it would be "conas atá tú"

[sean r]

what irish is spoken on tg4?

[dcfc_1928]

Almost right - "Cad é mar atá tú?"

technically, there's three dialects.
Leinster and Munster Irish are more or less the same, Ulster Irish is very different.
The only uniquely Ulster Irish phrase I know is "go nae mar atá tú" (probably spelt that wrong) which is "how are you?"
In Munster and Leinster it would be "conas atá tú"

[Eminence Grise]

By sheer coincidence, there was a documentary on Radio 1 today about learning Irish. I only caught the last few minutes of it, but it sounded interesting

More Irish than the Irish Themselves
10 March 2011 12:00
In the last 100 years, we Irish have struggled with our native language. Now in 2011, less than 2% of us speak it on a daily basis. This is a story of passion - from 'non-Irish' people who see the beauty in the language and have been inspired to learn it

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/pod...ntaryonone.xml

Hope it helps, sean r (and enjoy learning the cúpla focal).

[tetsujin1979]

Almost right - "Cad é mar atá tú?"

thanks, I knew it was spelt wrong, but pronounced similarly

[EAFC_rdfl]

tg4 irish would be 'mainly' connemara, as its recorded out there. But quite a few of their newsreaders are from donegal and speak with the best donegal irish dialect...
I'd find the cork/kerry irish almost impossible to understand, the connemara/galway less so. I don't think theres anything to worry about re learning one dialect over another, I think most irish speakers would be well able to understand the basics in any dialect. go n-éirí an bothar leat ag foghlaim an teanga

[Bluebeard]

I'd have the reverse problem to EAFC above - Grew up with Munster Irish, and the "Dublin Irish" variations, but I have great difficulty understanding Ulster Irish; Connemara Irish I can follow, though I'm slow with it.

Despite my love of the Munster variation, I'd recommend learning Connemara Irish for comprehension of other dialects, as I am going to guess that it has the best chance of understanding the others, plus TG4 is a good tool to brush it up if away from Ireland. However the simplest Irish for non-native speakers to understand is probably school / "Dublin" Irish - a (simplified?) version of Munster Irish, and less heavily accented.

What part of the US are you in? That may influence what Irish you should learn, as I believe different parts have traditionally been destinations for different speakers, so it might decide the matter for you.

As a side note, am I right in thinking that there are four variations on the "how are you", one for each dialect?
"Dublin": Conas atá tu?
Munster: Conas taoi?
Connemara: Céach a bhfuil tu? (spellign si qweshionable)
Ulster: Cád é mar atá tu?

[sean r]

i am in new york

[holidaysong]

As a side note, am I right in thinking that there are four variations on the "how are you", one for each dialect?
"Dublin": Conas atá tu?
Munster: Conas taoi?
Connemara: Céach a bhfuil tu? (spellign si qweshionable)
Ulster: Cád é mar atá tu?

One of my Irish teachers was from Galway and used to teach us; 'Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú?'

[pineapple stu]

Yeah, that's the one I heard for Connacht Irish too.

Horrible, horrible memories of Ulster Irish appearing on Irish aural exams.

[John83]

how different are the dialects within irish? if i learn one version will i be understood within all of eire? or will i have a major problem in different places in ireland?

Can you understand people from Cork and Ulster in English? If anything, I reckon their Irish varies less from the norm than their English.

Horrible, horrible memories of Ulster Irish appearing on Irish aural exams.

*shudders*

[pineapple stu]

Haven't you just contradicted yourself in that post?

[Wolfie]

Yeah, that's the one I heard for Connacht Irish too.

Horrible, horrible memories of Ulster Irish appearing on Irish aural exams.

Holy creeping God. The Irish aural exams. Now there's a particular brand of torture I'd long blanked from my mind.

Did anyone have to study Peig???

We managed to side step that one in favour of a bizarre study of Irish myths and legends. Does that ring any bells with anyone??

It was not uncommon for 300 people to be slaughtered in one sitting in some of these stories. Kill Bill, eat your heart out.

[tetsujin1979]

we did that one, Toraíocht Diarmuid agus Grainne.

And then they wonder why people leave school hating the language??