M’Iarmhúinteoir Gaeilge!

My former Irish Teacher

by | 2025/03/04 | Language Affairs, Literature

My former Irish Teacher

Fógra: Beidh Micheál Ó’Diarmada ag tabhairt léachta ar an 16 Márta ag 7:30 p.m. i dteach tábhairne Bollards i gCill Chainnigh. Beidh sé ag díriú ar na focail Gaeilge a bhí coitianta sa Bhéarla agus é ag fás aníos. Beidh sé ag caint freisin ar an gcanúint dhifriúil sa chontae. Déanfaidh sé tabhairt freisin do chúpla amhrán Gaeilge a bhain le Cill Chainnigh agus a logainmneacha. Beidh an oíche idir shiamsúil agus fhaisnéiseach.

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I had no idea at the time, but my former Irish teacher, Micheál Ó'Diarmada, would have a profound and lasting influence on me.

Every Irish teacher in Coláiste Chiaráin, including Micheál Ó’Diarmada, had a high standard of Irish. Micheál was my teacher in my fourth and fifth years at school, up to the Leaving Certificate.

Micheál was a lively young man at the time. Because he was so young, he was able to understand his students well. Also, he was one of the lads, as far as we were concerned. Why? He broke the division between teacher and student, which was not often seen, especially at that time, in the seventies in Ireland. Most teachers in the country had an authoritative style, enforced with the rod! The rod set a hard boundary between the teacher and the students in their class. And that damaged the relationship between them.

Micheál never used the rod. He never punished us in any way. Many teachers used the cane as a crutch and relied on it to maintain discipline in the class, and to pressure us to do homework. But here’s the magic and even strange thing - Micheál didn’t assert control over us! He didn’t pressure us to do homework, either. He didn’t need to because he trusted us and we trusted him! It’s that simple, yet powerful.

Today, students can ask questions of the teacher and have a conversation with him, without restraint. But back then, the teacher had all the power, and a student couldn’t speak without first raising their hand to get the teacher’s permission. Micheál was a progressive teacher, and he was ahead of his time in terms of teaching practice. He had a friendly and inclusive approach, and as a result there was a relaxed atmosphere in the class, where we were more open and it was easier for us to learn new things. We never felt threatened by Micheál.

Micheál had a very direct sense of humor, which strengthened the bond between us in class. There was a book on the curriculum – Tóruigheacht Diarmada agus Ghráinne – that was not easy to read or understand. Normally, reading that book and discussing it in class would have been painful. But it wasn’t like that for us – quite the opposite. Micheál focused on the story itself, its plot and characters, and then he drew us into the discussion. He told us jokes, at the same time as he was explaining a grammatical point or the meaning of a word. He also asked us tough questions, which we couldn’t answer without understanding the subject. We also asked Micheál questions, first to understand the material at hand, and then to answer his questions. We were conversing naturally in Irish with each other and with Micheál during class while learning the spoken language at the same time. Remember that there was no emphasis on the spoken language at that time, and Irish was often taught as if it were a dead language. We were keen to learn Irish, both spoken and written, as it was always an enjoyable experience. It is no wonder, then, that we – Micheál’s students – did not have many difficulties with the Irish exam in the Leaving Certificate. On behalf of every student who was lucky enough to have Micheál as a teacher, myself included – a special thank you, Micheál!

 

 

 

Cúrsa san Aistriúchán!

A Course in Translation!

by | 2024/08/07 | Language Affairs, Personal

A Course in Translation!

 

My wife Sinéad and I recently spent a week in the Donegal Gaeltacht and we both had a great time. We attended courses organised by Oideas Gael in Glencolmcille - Sinéad on a course with an emphasis on spoken Irish and myself on a course in translation. Sinéad really liked the course she attended, and she improved her spoken Irish. I had never done a course in translation before, so I had no idea what I was walking into.

I was taken aback

I thought I already had the basic translation skills and would polish them in this class. I was soon taken aback. First, the teacher asked us to translate phrases or sentences from English into Irish. I did as he asked and then the problems just started. For example, we had to translate 'Mixed Doubles' (in tennis) into Irish. I went into Foclóir.ie and the translation I got is ‘cluiche dúbailte measctha’. We all had that same translation (five of us) in the class. We thought we'd quickly move on to the next phrase. A few hours later we were still chatting about that translation. Doctor Micheál Ó Duibh was teaching us a master class - there is no doubt about that. Micheál used this example and a few others too, to let us know the difficulties involved in translation. What happened during the time we were discussing 'Mixed Doubles'?

Master Class

We trust the dictionaries we use in translation. That's not always a good thing, and it's worth thinking first about what's behind the English version. It is also worth imagining that you are explaining English from Irish to someone who does not speak English. Also, the dictionary does not have to conform to the official Standard. You may not think so, but there are situations where it is necessary for you to comply with the official Standard in order to meet the terms of your contract. After all, you have options all the time when translating.

Micheál took us through the process, step by step. As an introduction, he said that there was more than one way to translate, and that he would show us his own way. His process is as follows.

Before translating 'mixed doubles', how about 'doubles'? We suggested a ‘dúbailte' to him. ‘Dúbailte’ can be used he said, but is there a better way to translate it into Irish? Don't you think there are only two people playing with the word 'dúbailte'? Is it right to use ‘dúbailte’ when referring to people? We didn't have the answers. He proposed 'cluiche beirteanna' as a translation of 'doubles', and 'cluiche beirteanna na bhfear', 'cluiche beirteanna na mban' and 'cluiche beirteanna measctha' as translations for 'men's doubles', 'women's doubles' and 'mixed doubles'. I have to say that those translations are much better, in my opinion, than what is in the dictionary. Micheál made translations of the meaning of the phrases, instead of a bare translation of the words themselves. That approach raises the quality of the translation significantly. That's just one example, but it gives you a taste of what's involved when you translate.

Sometimes, there is a phrase that is not clear how to translate, and you have to state the options and then think to pick the right one. For example: 'Irish Music Month 2024'. It can be given the following translations: ‘Mí Cheol na nÉireannach 2024’, ‘Mí Cheol na hÉireann 2024’, ‘Mí Cheol Éireannach 2024’, agus ‘Mí Ceoil Éireannaigh 2024’. The biggest problem with that is that the English version is ambiguous. For example, 'Irish' can be used to refer to someone from Ireland or something from Ireland. And it can be 'Irish Music' month', or 'Irish 'Music month'' and they are not the same. In Irish, each meaning has a different translation. We thought ‘Mí Cheol na hÉireann 2024’ was the best translation and what was meant in the original English version.

Cleachtadh a dhéanann máistreacht

We had a lot of exercises to do in class, and we spent most of the time practicing the craft of translation. We had to translate all kinds of passages, from official paragraphs from government documents to informal speeches by politicians, from road signs to passages from novels. We shared our efforts with the other students in the class, and they wrote suggestions on them. In this way, we received very useful feedback and we were learning and improving our skills all the time.

After that, Micheál said that it is very difficult to translate famous quotations. He gave us a difficult one, written by George Bernard Shaw: 'Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire'. I thought about it, and I noticed a few things. Firstly, the words 'perpendicular' and 'horizontal' work well in English, but it would be quite difficult to translate them directly into Irish. Secondly, it is a semi-sexual reference and it would not be correct to translate the explanation directly, because then the semi-reference which is central to the statement will be lost. Then, he came to me, and I did my best translation of the course and maybe ever: 'Scaoileann fonn fonn'. There are only three words, but they convey the essence of Shaw's statement. Instead of using geometric patterns, I used wordplay. Fonn means an air or tune, but it also means a wish or desire. You would be able to come up with 'A tune releases desire' as an explanation of the phrase Scaoileann fonn fonn'. I was sure after that translation that I had learned a lot in this great class, and that I am much more confident now to deal with all kinds of translations from now on!

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Athbheochan na hÚcráinise!

Revival of the Ukrainian Language!

by | 2024/07/17 | Current Affairs, Language Affairs, International News, Politics, History

Revival of the Ukrainian Language!

 

Ukraine gained its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. At the time, the revival of Ukrainian, the country's native language, was promised. It is a miracle that it was still alive, as the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union did so much damage to the Ukrainian people, culture and language over the centuries. Another miracle is underway in Ukraine right now, regarding the revival of Ukrainian. Before I reveal that miracle, it is worth writing a few words about how difficult it was for the Ukrainians to preserve their culture and language through the unique crises that happened to them over the years. With that knowledge, we will have a deeper understanding of the miracle itself.

Shortly after she came to power in 1762, the Russian Empress Catherine II banned the teaching of Ukrainian at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, the most important cultural center in Ukraine at the time. Later on, she gave orders to the churches to conduct church services only in Russian and to the schools to have Russian as a compulsory subject.

In the 19th century, the Russian Empire repeatedly persecuted the Ukrainian culture and especially the Ukrainian language, fearing that it would be a great threat to the unity of the Empire. In 1804 Ukrainian was banned as a subject and language of instruction in schools.

But even more severe measures followed in 1863 when the Imperial Minister of Home Affairs Pyotr Valuev issued a manifesto to end the publication of books in Ukrainian. According to the manifesto, "'Little Russian' (meaning Ukrainian) has never existed and will never exist."

In 1922, shortly after the Russian Revolution, Ukraine was absorbed into the Soviet Union, where new policies were implemented, known as 'Ukrainization'. It was a complete change and there was no longer any ban on the use of Ukrainian.

The 'Ukrainization' was short-lived, however, as the dictator Joseph Stalin canceled it in 1933. Worse than that, a good number of Ukrainian intellectuals, including famous writers and artists, were killed in the 'Great Purge' in 1937. After Stalin's death in 1953, a cultural revival flourished and in addition, a new generation of writers and artists emerged.

When Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, the government pledged to support culture and language. But the negative influence of Russia on the Ukrainian language was still visible in the new country and long after that, Ukrainian television, its newspapers, and even the names of its streets were still mostly in Russian. It wasn't time yet.

With the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2013-2014, a pro-Kremlin regime was ousted and replaced by a pro-Ukraine regime. Vladimir Putin did not accept that, and Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Soon after, Russia invaded eastern Ukraine, seizing parts of the self-governing regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Strict restrictions were placed on the use of Ukrainian in those occupied territories as part of the occupation.

Finally in 2019, the Language Act was passed in Ukraine, which established Ukrainian as the country's official language, forcing the media, the education system and public bodies to use the language publicly.

Then, in the year 2022, Putin's forces brutally attacked Ukraine, and although Putin thought he would win within a few days, the war is still ongoing two and a half years after the attacks. With Russian imperialism in full swing, the Ukrainian revival took off. The people of the country were single-mindedly committed to speaking their native language, regardless of their ability in the language. It was then that the miracle happened and the facts tell the story. Eight months after the attack, 71% of the country's population said they were speaking Ukrainian more, and 33% of Kyiv residents switched from Russian to Ukrainian as their spoken language.

From April 2023, anyone trying to become a citizen needs to pass Ukrainian exams (written exam and oral exam). "We are going through the rebirth of the language. We're just discovering what we've always had,” said Volodymyr Dibrova, a writer and translator who teaches Ukrainian at Harvard. Neither religion nor territory, but language, said Dibrova, is the factor that most significantly distinguishes them from their enemy. "It is as if the people of the country have woken up and are asking themselves: Who are we? What is our real history? What is our real language? If Ukrainian is our real language, why don't we speak it all the time? Why don't we speak Ukrainian as the language of our relationships and at all events - both formal and informal?" The answers were very clear to the people of the country, and they understood well that their language is a key part of their identity as a community and as a nation. That's why they started learning or re-learning it and speaking it as much as they could. They realized that their culture and especially their language was intertwined with their national identity. And they went into the breach and stood up for that same identity!

I highly recommend everything that the people of Ukraine are doing regarding their language, despite the fierce war that is going on. It also raises a few questions for us, regarding our culture and our language. Who are we? What is our real history? What is our real language? If Irish is our real language, why don't we speak it all the time? Why don't we speak Irish as the language of our relationships and at all events – both formal and informal? And finally the most important question for us to answer – what needs to happen to us so that we wake up from our stupor before it is too late and save our language – short of war?

Dearg le Fearg!

Red with Anger!

by | 2024/06/05 | Current Affairs, Language Affairs, Politics

Red with Anger!

The lack of support from the government for our mother tongue saddens me. I have read article after article on tuairisc.ie recently, discussing the terrible stories of the decline of the Irish language. The government keeps saying one thing but doing the opposite. It is clear that the government is ignoring our language. What kind of things are involved? There is not space to mention them all here, but here are a few examples.

People are able to get jobs dealing with language matters and Gaeltacht matters, who do not (even) speak Irish! For example, in the past, a few people were appointed as Ministers of the Gaeltacht, who were not fluent in Irish - including Joe Mac Hugh and Jack Chambers. TD Catherine Connolly is worried that it is still happening - even in her home county (Galway)! Speaking before the Irish Language Committee of the Oireachtas, Minister of State for the Gaeltacht Thomas Byrne said he hoped the national recruitment plan would tackle the problem, but he also said he believed there was a "moral duty" to officials who are responsible for matters Irish to learn the language.

And what about Breandánn Ó Beaglaíoch, who was fighting with Kerry County Council for 15 years over his plans to build a small house on his family's land on the Dingle peninsula! The Kerryman warned that the Gaeltacht communities are in danger of losing their language without new laws that prioritize Gaeltacht folk (wanting) to build houses on their own land, and to avoid the depopulation of the Gaeltacht.

Or how about Cormac Chambers, Principal of Gaelscoil Lis na nÓg in Raglan. This is what he had to say. "Because there is no Irish language secondary school in the area, many children fall out of the Irish language school system. This is a scandal and shows the State’s and the Department of Education's lack of respect for the development of the Irish language and Irish education."

Dúirt an Teachta Dála Éamon Ó Cuív go bhfuil an Ghaeilge fágtha in áit na leathphingine, nuair a bhíonn buiséad na Roinne Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán á leithroinnt. “Má bhreathnaíonn muid ar bhuiséad na Roinne, tá méadú ollmhór ar an gcaiteachas atá ar an gComhairle Ealaíon, mar shampla, agus ar na healaíona ar fad,” a dúirt sé, “agus ag an am céanna, thóg airí sinsearacha éagsúla cinneadh sa Roinn sin go bhfáiscfí an t-anam as foilsitheoireacht na Gaeilge.”

Thomas Byrne is the first Gaeltacht minister of state to accept the irrefutable evidence that it is an emergency in terms of Irish being spoken in the Gaeltacht. "There is a crisis, there's no doubt about that."

Workable solution?

Although we have strong political advocates for language rights, they do not have the capacity to make the necessary changes, because they do not have the power directly. I am talking about language heroes like: The Language Commisioner – Mr. Séamas Ó Concheanainn; The Complaints Manager – Ms Órla de Burke; TD Catherine Connolly; TD Éamon Ó Cuív; TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Chairman), and Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee. There are also great organisations fighting for the Irish language, organisations like Conradh na Gaeilge and its General Secretary Julian de Spáinn. They and their likes have been notifying the government for a long time that the language crisis is ongoing and that the government is obliged to take steps to preserve it and even expand it. You would be ashamed to see what is going on with Welsh in Wales! And what about the North - isn't it an incredible story what has been done for the Irish language in the North - where it is much more difficult to get language rights? I think the seeds of the solution can be seen in that story.

Gníomhaíochas polaitiúil!

Very often, politicians are able to ignore Irish language activists, and put Irish matters on the sidelines. That is exactly what happened in the North. Although official recognition of the Irish language was promised in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, it was ignored. But the Irish language activists did not accept that and held protest rallies demanding official status for Irish. More than 50 language activists started the Red Dream (an Dream Dearg -a pressure group for language rights) in 2016, and organized a major protest in Belfast in 2017 - Lá Dearg! Around 15,000 people marched on the City Hall in Belfast, demanding the passage of the Irish Language Act, which was promised by the British and Irish governments in 2006. The British government had an easy excuse in Brexit, and Irish language matters were ignored during Brexit.

But the Red Dream did not stop trying to achieve its objective, and when the Brexit had been completed for some time, they organized a rally in 2022, in which more than 17,000 people marched for language rights. At the end of the same year, 'The Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022' was passed in Westminster, giving official status to the Irish language in the North, with the various advantages associated with that status. As Churchill himself said – “Never surrender!”

And that is the way forward in Ireland too. We need to bring the government to account regarding its lack of support for the language, regarding the proper implementation of the Languages Act and to resolve the various problems mentioned above. Why wouldn't the Red Dream or similar organize protest rallies at Leinster House in Dublin, demanding that a specific plan be implemented soon to tackle the language crisis that has finally been admitted by the government itself ? Why wouldn't that work?

Hot off the press - green shoots!

As this article was going to press, I saw that a protest at Leinster House about the housing crisis in the Gaeltacht had just taken place. Among the protesters were the people of the Gaeltacht, the people of the community, and representatives from various organizations - Conradh na Gaeilge, the National Language Planning Committee, BÁNÚ, the Red Dream, the Students' Union in Ireland, the Post-Primary Students' Union of Ireland and CATU Ireland [Union for Communities and Tenants]. Good for you all! I hope that protests like this will take place as often as necessary, to publicly express the will of the people and the government's promises regarding language rights in a way that the government can no longer ignore them!

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Kunza!

Kunza!

by | 2024/05/29 | Language Affairs, International News

Kunza!

 

 

 

Every now and then, I have an exciting story about the revival of a certain minor language that is barely alive. Today I have a story about the revival of the indigenous minority language in the Atacama Desert - a minority language that according to UNESCO became extinct around 1949 when it was thought that not even one person could speak it.

Kunza

 

There is a funny sketch in the old movie 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. One man is carrying a poor man on his shoulders, trying to put him on a cart that is collecting the dead during the Great Plague in Britain. But the poor man is still alive, and he says "I am not dead!" That's a famous line in the movie.

 

When I heard about the 'Kunza' minority tongue, I was reminded of that line. Because it is the same story in relation to Kunza. Kunza was pronounced dead but was barely alive. There are still Kunza speakers, and now they are trying to revive the language.

 

Impireacht na Spáinne

 

Ilia Reyes-Aimani is a Kunza speaker who wants to keep the language alive. She has composed songs to teach children colors and numbers. She is a member of the Atacameño tribe - a tribe that has overcame every challenges down through the centuries. The tribe lives in the Atacama Desert - one of the driest places on earth. The salt flats, gorges and oases have been under the control of the Atacameño for more than 11,000 years. But with the arrival of the Spanish in the 17th century, great pressure was put on their culture and language and gradually that situation worsened. That is a story we know very well, when an empire oppresses a subservient race, trying to destroy its language and culture, and to civilize the Natives. Does that remind you of anything – the Irish people and the British Empire, perhaps? For the first time, in 1993, Chile recognized the country's Aboriginal people, with the Indigenous Peoples Act.

 

Ábhar riachtanach sa scoil

 

Since 2017, every school in Chile attended by more than 20% native students has a legal obligation to teach a native language. In one school in Kalama, a mining town located in an oasis in the desert, Kunza is taught to students up to the age of twelve. Melissa Arenas Alabena, the principal of the school, says that Kunza is on par with any other subject in the school, and that she is proud that the students of the school are learning Kunza.

 

Thomas Finke

 

Thomas Finke is teaching Kunza in that school. He grew up speaking both Spanish and Kunza. When he himself was a student at school, his teachers used to worry because he would use words and phrases that they did not understand. They did not know that he was speaking Kunza! Even on the edge of the desert, the natives are able to practice sustainable agriculture, including Thomas Finke. He is using an irrigation system, with irrigation channels directing water from a small stream down through gates into a few enclosed fields where maize is intensively cultivated. He also has a greenhouse, where carrots, tomatoes and beets grow. He does not accept UNESCO's assessment that the Kunza language is dead. We are not dead, our culture is not dead and our language is not dead, he says – and he himself is a prime example of that fact. He is extremely positive that he will be able to help revive the language, but at the same time he accepts that it will be very challenging to do so. Tomás is putting words into action, however, as he is about to launch an online course for those who want to learn Kunza.

 

Celine Navadas

 

The evidence on the plains suggests that Thomas is right and that Kunza is still alive. Every year in October, the men clean the irrigation channels to the accompaniment of songs in Kunza sung by the women. It is an ancient ritual called 'Talator'. Now in her seventies, Celine Navadas started participating in this annual ceremony more than half a century ago, and she still hasn't stopped!

 

Conclusion

 

As the old saying goes: Where there’s a will there’s a way! We wish the Atacameño all the best in their efforts to revive their native language – no more than ourselves!

 

 

 

 

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Cúpla Ceist orm!

A few questions for me!

by | 2024/05/22 | Language Affairs, Personal, Opinion

A few questions for me!

A project I've been working on has finally reached completion, and my site www.mickgb.com is now live. Initially, I put together the site to put my weekly columns for the 'Kilkenny People' online, so that they would all be easily available online.

It is a bilingual site, with an Irish and English version available for every article I have written in the last few years. A soundtrack is available, using artificial intelligence (AI) to read out the Irish text. And teanglann.ie is also available, so you can click on a word to find out its meaning, right on the page you're reading. I've archived all my columns on the site, as I've written nearly three hundred of them up to now. It occurred to me that I would be able to upload my father's writings as well, and I filled another archive with 805 columns from him.

This is an illustration of what one person can do on their own to help revive the language.

I have been in contact with www.peig.ie regarding my site, and they asked me a few questions. They published the questions and my answers in a column on their site, and the same column follows.

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A Few Questions for Micheál Bairéad

Mícheál Bairéad is a writer and columnist who founded a bilingual website as an archive of his writings, mickgb.com. We asked him a few questions about his website and his background as a writer.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Micheál Bairéad and I am an Irishman who has lived in the United States for many years. Although I was born in County Mayo, I grew up in Dublin and Kilkenny. I spend a lot of time in Ireland, and I enjoy attending Irish immersion courses every chance I get. After I retired from my job as an electronic and computer engineer, I was able to revive my Irish.

When did you start writing?

My father was a weekly columnist for 40 years, writing for the local paper called 'Kilkenny People'. As my father got older I started helping him. Before long he was my editor, and I was the writer. My father passed away at the end of 2019, but I continued with the column, which I am still writing.

What inspired you to set up the site mickgb.com?

Although the paper has an internet site, my column was not available there. I asked the paper's staff to provide my columns, but only a few appeared on the site, and they were not easy to find. Also, Irish speakers in Kilkenny were interested in being able to access my columns online.

It is precisely for these reasons that I decided to put together my own site. It occurred to me that there would be other benefits as well. I would be able to store a collection of my writings online. And I would also be able to store my father's collection of writings on the site, because he had written a lot that I had on my computer. I designed and developed a website for a non-profit organization when I first retired, so I knew website technology. I got to work and before long my site was up and running. I made revisions and changes after that.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

What was the biggest challenge you faced with the project?

My biggest challenge now is to advertise my site publicly, to promote the use of the language, and to help people who are learning or improving their Irish.

You said that your father, Peter Barrett, was also a writer. Tell us a bit about him and his writing.

Peadar Bairéad was born in Erris in north-west County Mayo and lived in Kilkenny until his death in 2019.

Peadar Bairéad was an Irish teacher, and a writer of prose and poetry. Four collections of his poetry (Duilleoga Fómhair, Cleití na hAislinge, Fataí Rómhair agus An Fómhar Deireanach) have been published, as well as his autobiography (Doirse Dé). A fair amount of his poetry was on school and student curricula. Peadar's writings have been published in many magazines, including Feasta, Comhar, An Sagart, An Timire, Anois, and Scéala Éireann. He was also a weekly columnist for the Kilkenny People, from 1979 – 2018. 805 of his columns are available on my site.

To read Micheál and Peadar's writings, visit mickgb.com.

I hope you enjoy my site, and tell others about it!

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