why do irish people get annoyed at people learning gaelic? especially americains and english people?

Question

i've been learning gaelic since i was about 4 beacuse my grandfather wanted me to learn it. my grandad and grandmotehr are irish and were born in Ireland im proud that my grandparents are irish but i am english and don't call myself irish because im not i wasn't born there and neitehr were either of my parents. but when i talk to isrish people and tell them i've learnt gaelic they get all annoyed about it. why is this? im not claiming to be irish i've just been taught it.

Answer 1

Look at some of these bloody answers... What a pathetic bunch of terrorist scum the irish are. They're "proud" to hold grudges and carry chips on their shoulders. Crikey!

The bloody irish should be grateful the English taught them their brilliant language else those bog-dwellers would be useless in the modern world with their valueless gaelic gibberish. English is THE international language. Deal with it!

I'd like nothing better than to see their fatuous little island sink beneath the waves forevermore.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

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The answer just above mine and the two below prove my point. The irish "patriots" are terrorist scum with no manners. Burn in hell you fenian scum! One day we will avenge your evil "ira" devilry and finish you all off! Death to fenian filth!

ENGLAND FOREVER!!!

Answer 2

I am not Irish, but I felt the need to chime in on this b/c I am extremely annoyed by some of the answers here. You have every right to claim your heritage just as much (if not more) as that ignorant @rse who berated you for being "British". I have (somewhat) gone through a similar situation as you, but with Scottish Gaelic and mostly with lowland Scots or ppl from Glasgow who are bigoted towards Gaels and the language and call them nothing but "teuchters". They also seem to think that anyone in North America who claims to have Scottish roots is an Andy-Stewart-listening, kilt-wearing, sword-wielding moron. I have a Scottish Gaelic background from whole villages which emigrated over here to Canada during the Clearances, and the language has survived to this day in certain areas. I get very offended when someone tries to tell me I am not "Scottish". No, not by nationality (of course not and I do not wish to be) but I am every bit as Scottish by race and culture as anyone in the Highlands. I don't need anyone's permission to claim that right either b/c I am living it. Every native speaker I've come across is absolutely ecstatic that others are learning the language. I should think that Irish speakers would also be glad to hear that *anyone* is interested in their language and culture, whether the person has any Irish background or not. Someone mentioned that the Irish can hold a grudge, and that the history b/w the Irish and English could have something to do with it, and I agree to a point. It's the same issue in Scotland as well and in most Gaelic speaking communities around the world. It's hard to just "get over" such recent history when the effects are still felt to this day. School children were bashed in the mouth for speaking Gaelic, even after the Clearances were over. However, anyone who tries to take it out on modern day citizens of England (esp. ones who are very respectful towards the Gaelic culture) are just idiots. Another reason might be that the Irish in particular are bombarded by "Celtic" lovers on a daily basis. Ppl who have a romanticised idea about the country and culture and aren't serious about learning or using the language. They just want to toy with it for a bit, and I suppose the Irish might feel a bit jaded by that. If you ever come across that reaction again, just ask them outright what their problem is! I'm willing to bet they don't know Irish themselves and look upon it as a "backward' language and see no use for it. Otherwise they feel shame or jealousy that an "outsider" is taking more of an interest in it than they are.

Answer 3

I can’t speak for your friends but I can’t imagine why anyone would get annoyed at you for learning Irish. If the language is to survive, the more people learning it the better no matter where they are living. It is a unique beautiful ancient language, which cannot be translated literally and is far more descriptive than any other language. Because Irish has been an obligatory subject in our schools and the teaching of it, is by rote method and grammatical rules some people treat it just like that, something to leave behind when they leave school. You have had the great opportunity to learn it simply for the love of it, an opportunity missed by those in our school system. It is a fact that there are more people living outside of Ireland who can speak Irish, than there are living in Ireland. So don't be put off by the attitude of a few.

I have answered many questions on the Irish language here in Answers by people outside of Ireland and what annoys me is people claiming to be Irish giving wrong translations and misinformation about the language. I don’t know how many times I have seen the reply ‘Irish is not a language’ The word Gaelic is an Anglicisation of the names for any of the three of the Q Celtic language family group spoken in Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland. Strictly speaking these languages should be called Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx and not Gaelic. The site below is a translation forum where people learning Irish can post in either English or Irish or a mixture of both, you might find it helpful.

Answer 4

I'm Irish and I think its cool that you want to learn the language. I dont know why people would get annoyed. Irish is compulsory in school over here so maybe some people just dont understand why you want to learn it because a lot of them dont like it.

Answer 5

i dont know why they get annoyed,im irish and i think the fact that your learning the language because your grandparents were irish is cool. You arent forgetting your roots, even if you now understandably feel english as you were born there.
Lots of irish moved to england years ago, so there are loads of young people who irish roots but forget about it or arent really bothered so its great that you are.
Good luck :-)

Answer 6

certain people may get annoyed because they are small minded and cannot get over the petty grudgery that so characterises much of irelands history. however,if you talk to someone with any sense of perspective and cultural pride they should be pleased that people outside the country are making an effort to learn our dying language. self proclaimed 'patriots' would rather see the language die than hear it being spoken by those who they do not consider true irishmen/women.

Answer 7

It's probably because half, if not more of us Irish, cant speak it ourselves, and to see someone from another country that can speak it, obviously that doesn't go down well with some people. All i can say is, good on you for learning it, and shame on those who are annoyed by it! Oiche maith.....

Answer 8

I don't know why they would get annoyed, I met this couple from Ireland on their honeymoon in America (?) and they said that most people over there don't even speak Gaelic or even know it! She said there's only one county over there where they speak Gaelic fluently. For all you Irish out there answering this question don't get mad I'm just going by what someone from Ireland told me.

Answer 9

I know some of them prefer to call it Irish. Gaelic seems to be reserved for the Scottish Gaelic.

Answer 10

Maybe it's because you call it Gaelic. Try calling it Irish or Gaeilge. I don't care about other nationalities learning Irish, I just cringe at their pronunciation. It really is terrible sometimes.

Answer 11

Well, given the history between the Irish and English it's a wee bit understandable. The Irish have long memories and can hold a grudge (I speak as an Irish girl). They have not forgotten that it was the English who made it illegal to speak the native language of Gaelic and thus, slowly erroded it's use in Ireland. There are only a few places in Ireland where it's still spoken regularly. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that you learned it and are attempting to honor your grandparents' roots. I just think the Irish are still a bit resentful at their loss.