Why in Ireland is more English than Irish (Gaelic) spoken?

Question

I am an Italian, but I am a fan of irlanda, and know that the Irish official language is the Gaelic one. But in irlanda also English is spoken for historical reasons. But why all the yahoo requests are in English, like the answers? and because some people do not neither know it speak?

Answer 1

Apart from the one person who spoke disparagingly of the Irish and the teaching of Gaelic in the Republic of Ireland (the North is under very different rules as a part of the English Crown), the prior posters have gotten different parts of the answer. Put most of them together and the picture becomes more complete.

Ireland's story is of course one of tragedy and conflict. Attempts to absorb Ireland into the English dominion, and alter Irish identity and culture to be more English, began in earnest after the famous "Flight of the Lords" in the early 1600's. Under James I, the process began in a determined fashion. By the time of William III and ultimate reduction of any Irish self-rule in 1690, the process was in full strength. It was matched, by the way, with similar events in Scotland, another Gaelic -speaking country.

Historically, the use of Gaelic began to fail under the oppressive treatment of the Irish in the 1700's. Laws forbade educating the Irish. As a result, "hedge schools" arose in which children were tuaght secretly - and by accident helped also reduce the use of Gaelic. Many of the teachers were priests who passed along knowledge of Greek and Latin!

In the 1840's a movement called "The Young Irelanders" led a renewal of irish identity, partly by adopting Gaelic terms in their public statements. This was well before the use of Gaelic had returned and the language emphasized. This was a "romantic" movement that helped restore a sense of "Irish-ness" in a country long overlaid with English customs and patterns. In 1893, leading literary figures founded the "Gaelic League," which sought to restore the language - and ultimately became embroiled in resistance and revolt.

There are a couple of web sites that very efficiently paint the full picture:




Fifteen years ago, a little over 9 per cent of the Irish population claimed ability to speak or use Gaelic in a range of fluency from poor to excellent. That has certainly increased as a total percentage, but still remains a small part of the nation. English today in Ireland is indeed both a language of convenience - for trade, ease of dealing with visitors and those who don't have Gaelic - and a language left over from the centuries of English dominance. Gaelic is the tongue that recalls the Irish soul.

Answer 2

I agree also - Der Lange gets my vote. It's a very comprehensive answer. There are also a couple of other posters here who have made great comments.

Irish (Gaelic) started dying out in Ireland as early as the 12th century during the invasion of the Normans. By the 15th century the area around Dublin known as "the Pale" was already English speaking.

While there were certainly attempts to stop people speaking Irish during the early 1700's, the biggest influence was almost certainly social and economic: to get on in life you needed to learn English. The people in the towns started speaking English as an everyday language, and over time this started to spread into the rural areas. It was not only the English who discouraged the speaking of Irish, it was often Irish mothers and fathers themselves. By the 1850's, the language had died out in many parts of the country, and would have died completely had it not been for the Revival movement of the late 1800's.

Right now, there are very few native Irish speakers in the country - it's probably down to just a few thousand. There are however many more people who have learned Irish and speak it quite well. It's going through something of another revival at the moment. It's a beautiful language and many people want to preserve it for cultural reasons more than for practical everyday purposes.

Answer 3

Historically, Gaelic was spoken throughout Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany, though in different dialects and forms. Since the colonization and conquest of the British Isles nations by England, there has been a program designed to erase the Celtic Fringe cultures and languages from these nations. It has only been very recently that the English government has introduced programs to encourage the Gaelic languages.
In Ireland and Wales, about 20-30% of the population are native speakers of a Gaelic language. Since English has become the predominant language, the native languages are not used as often, and are dying.

Answer 4

As Emma* points out, for many hundreds of years, the English attempted to control the whole of Eireann. Speaking Gaelic was forbidden and children would be beaten in schools with a specific stick if they were heard to use any words of the gaelic language.

Imagine if the Spanish had done the same thing in Italy 300 years ago, when the Spanish 'empire' was on the rise... Italians would now all speak Spanish. Except that Spain was more interested in finding NEW resources, and went to west, instead of east. So it is 'Latin' America who all speak Spanish... and for much the same reason as the Irish speak English...

Answer 5

English is spoken all over the world, and at one time the Brisitsh rules Ireland (explains why the irish hate the Brisitish, and why we still rule North Ireland) and in that time people would have HAD to speak English, so if you can imagine from my speaking Gaelic it takes some time for a whole country to all speak Gaelic again.

Answer 6

English is the main language, no-one would speak Gaelic if it were not for the fact that the government makes everyone learn it at school (used to be 8 hours a week). They do this for political reasons, nothing more. It is used as a long-term way of forcing people to "become" more Irish. It doesn't work of course.
If the Irish government had more sense they would spend those 8 hours a week teaching science.
That way you would see more Irish Nobel prize winners and less Irish road-diggers.
source: I lived there.

Answer 7

I agree with all the points made by posters, but as an Irish person, I have to point out to Zackle that Irish people do not generally hate English people, nor do English people generally hate Irish people. Many Irish live in England, many English live in Ireland, in the south.

Irish is no longer compulsory in schools, by the way. By Irish I mean 'Gaelic', which is what it's called in Ireland to distinguish it from Scots Gaelic.

My source: I was born and live in Ireland.

Answer 8

Ruled by British for yonks yes, but the Irish culture never really died out, and never will.

Having been born in England, it wasn't compulsory for me to learn Gaelic at school, but I still sat in on classes and enjoyed learning not just the language but being immersed in the Irish culture and folklore. English may be the first language of Ireland, but Der Lange (who definately gets my vote) puts it very well, Gaelic does recall the Irish soul!

Answer 9

Sacred Wolf said it best. In addition though, recently the Irish government, under President Mary McAleese, has been writing all the legal documents in both languages in an effort to restore Gaeilge. In the western portion of Northern Ireland, where most of the republicans reside, all of the road signs are in Gaeilge. As you move toward the east signs are written in both languages.

Personally, I would hate to see Gaeilge become yet another statistic on the list of dead languages. Once a language is extinguished, the culture is usually not very far behind.

As for English being the universal language, yes it is, but what does that tell you? The two prominent English speaking countries are everywhere. But...lately, all the instructions at the local grocery stores are written in both English and now Spanish as well. US immigration at its best.
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I just read Der Lange's post - vote that one best answer!!!!!

Answer 10

When the English controlled Ireland, they outlawed speaking Gaelic. They did not allow the Irish to teach their own children Gaelic, even though it was their native tongue. In time, most people spoke English rather than Gaelic.