2006-08-23 17:11:25 · 17 answers · asked by big guy01 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
Depends where! Most people speak english if in some areas they speak irish. Where i live it's a mix so our road signs are in both, irish at the top, english bottom. You've got to understand that some families all speak irish, for their children english is a second language. The irish language wasn't all that spoken for a while but on the west coast many people stuck to it. Where i am mass is in english if every prayers are in irish and that suits people because that's how they pray anyway. But! Irish speakers will speak to you in english if you don't speak irish.
2006-08-23 20:04:14 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
They all speak English. However there is an Irish language, also known as Gaelic. Some people who live in rural areas in far western Ireland still speak Irish (in addition to English). There's also a movement to teach the Irish language to the younger generation in schools.
2006-08-24 00:14:26 · answer #2 · answered by Sass B 4 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Practically everyone in Ireland speaks English, and may have learnt Irish in school. There are some localised communities in the West of Ireland where they speak mainly Irish.
2006-08-24 02:48:12 · answer #3 · answered by ticklemonster 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Gaelic is a group of languages which includes Irish, Scottish, Welsh (Cymreag), Manx, Cornish and Basque; in the same way that English is a Germanic language but is not German. While there are similarities between the languages they are not the same. Perhaps a better comparison between Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic would be that of Italian and Spanish. The Irish prefer to use the term (in English) as "Irish" to refer to their own language. I apologise to any gaelic language speakers out there for not knowing the different terms for their own language.
For the record Cymraeg was illegal until 1973, just going to show that English Imperialism was not quite dead until recently. And yes, I am English, but am half Irish, naturalised Mexican and spent quite some time in Wales.
Borra Da.
2006-08-24 00:37:16 · answer #4 · answered by wilf69 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It depends on where they live.
They all can speak English. English and Irish are both the national languages. (Irish is first and English has secondary status). Because of this students are taught Irish in school; but generally only people in the west of Ireland grow up speaking it as a first language.
One example of this is the artist Enya and her family (Moya Brennan and Clannad) who are from the Donegal Gaeltacht (an Irish speaking region). In fact both Enya and Moya have anglicized their names so that English speakers pronounce them as they do.
(These pronunciations only apply to the Donegal dialect. The names are pronounced differently according to what type of Irish you speak). The original spellings are: Eithne and Máire Nà Bhraonáin.
Gaeilge is the official name of the Irish language and it is pronounced "Goil-ick" or "Goil-ig" according to my Irish language tapes.
2006-08-25 14:57:27 · answer #5 · answered by blank 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
English (against their will though) when the English invaded Ireland they forced them to speak English.
Orginally they spoke Gaelic, like their Scottish cousins
2006-08-24 00:19:02 · answer #6 · answered by Traveler 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
They speak English, but they learn Irish(Gaelic) in school.
2006-08-24 00:16:59 · answer #7 · answered by oneblondepilgrim 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
They speak English, but their accent is Irish.
2006-08-24 00:12:35 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Mostly English but both.
2014-01-13 22:08:37 · answer #9 · answered by mxme25 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They speak both usually
2006-08-24 01:49:18 · answer #10 · answered by xx_connor_uk_xx 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋