Hi! I'm a Columbia University journalist grad student covering the Irish community in Queens- mostly Sunnyside and Woodside. Because of the recent tragedy, it's very hard to get in touch right now with the leaders of NGO's and churches and the like that support the Irish community. I was wondering if anyone out there living in Queens wouldn't mind talking to me via email or even meeting up for coffee.
Thanks!
susanne

'Sighs' can be allowed in learning Irish, but not before you've even got started.

As for dialects, you could play it safe and learn Standard Irish, at least at first. Courses for self-study include Buntús Cainte (supplement it with a grammar book or Progress in Irish), Linguaphone (Munster bias and costs a fortune), and Teach Yourself Irish (the most commonly available course, a serviceable intro. with a lot of information but not very colloquial or comprehensive).

Especially if you have family connections to the country, you may want to choose a dialect from the first (and almost certainly by the time you reach a more advanced level).

The southern dialect, Munster, still has a certain cachet for some people and in Munster and maybe most of Leinster, it is the dialect most prefered by learners. Some tape sets use it but none are good, comprehensive introductions to the language. They include Irish for Beginners and Enough Irish to Get By. Ditto for the couple of CD-ROMs out there. All are useful to either get your feet wet in the language or to begin your transition to the dialect after learning the basics with Standard Irish. I think I heard that a new Munster course is going to be published, or already has been. Maybe someone else here knows about it.

Conamara Irish has the largest number of native speakers and is intermediate between the other dialects, hence it would probably be easiest for understanding the others. There is an excellent intro. to the dialect (actually a subdialect -- that of Cois Fhairrge). The title is Learning Irish by Mícheál Ó Siadhail. Get it with the tapes (that is true of any materials you work with.)

For Ulster Irish, there is a fairly good introduction, with tapes, called Irish on Your Own. It's sometimes available in Barnes & Noble and Borders. Cúrsa Closamhairc Gaeilge is a very nice little course and it may be back in print. Colloquial Irish may not be too far in the future, now that Routledge has published Colloquial (Scots) Gaelic. I know that the original draft was based on Ulster Irish, but they might standardize it - I don't know.

One of the better sources for materials is Irish Books & Media in Minneapolis (I think it is irishbooks.com on the Net). Litriocht.com is also very good. They are in Ireland.

The basic rule is practice, practice, practice.

Ádh mór/Great luck

Seosamh

Gabh mo leithscéal. Baineann an freagra seo le ceist eile. Sorry. This goes with another question.

Ní thuigim "NGO".
Ní fheicim i Dineen's é.

Ciallaíonn NGO 'nongovernmental organization'.

Agus idir NGO agus GO, tá QUANGO, nach bhfuil? Na Taliban, mar shampla, nach bhfuil ina rialtas ceart, ach nach bhfuil gan chumhacht -- fós. ;-)

Teireatairialtas a bheirfinn féin ar an Taliban. (Smaoinígí ar na préamhacha ón Ghréigis. (Teireata-rialtas?)

Teratoid atá i gceist, gan dabht dá laghad. Ach - ós rud é go bhfuil an-suim agatsa i dteangacha - ba cheart duit "na Taliban" a rá, ní "an Taliban", toisc gurb é an t-iolra atá i gceist anseo:

talib = cuardaitheoir (seeker), mac léinn
taliban = mic léinn

Go raibh maith agat as an eolas sin. Bhí an clár faisnéise a rinne Arthur Kent faoin Afganastáin ar an teilifís arís anocht. Mhínigh sé gur 'cuardaitheoir' (ach ní mac léinn) an chiall le talib, ach ní raibh sé soiléir gur taliban an t-iolra. Chuir sé iolra Béarla ar an fhocal: 'Talibs'.

Níl 'teratoid' in Webster's Tenth ach tá teratology, teratogenic, srl. ann. Cion is nach bhfuil rialtas ann (luaigh Kent nach bhfuil seirbhísí rialtais ar fáil fiú i gceantracha atá faoina smacht le sé nó seacht mbliana anuas, baistfidh mé 'teireataithas' (Teratocy) ar na Taliban. An bhfuil ceachtar acu curtha le chéile i gceart agam? Toratharathas?? Anchúinseathas?

Go raibh maith agat as an eolas sin. Bhí an clár faisnéise a rinne Arthur Kent faoin Afganastáin ar an teilifís arís anocht. Mhínigh sé gur 'cuardaitheoir' (ach ní mac léinn) an chiall le talib, ach ní raibh sé soiléir gur taliban an t-iolra. Chuir sé iolra Béarla ar an fhocal: 'Talibs'.

Níl 'teratoid' in Webster's Tenth ach tá teratology, teratogenic, srl. ann. Cion is nach bhfuil rialtas ann (luaigh Kent nach bhfuil seirbhísí rialtais ar fáil fiú i gceantracha atá faoina smacht le sé nó seacht mbliana anuas, baistfidh mé 'teireataithas' (Teratocy) ar na Taliban. An bhfuil ceachtar acu curtha le chéile i gceart agam? Toratharathas?? Anchúinseathas?

Tá "teratoid" san American Heritage Dictionary leis an sainmhíniú "resembling a monster, grotequely deformed".

Maidir le "taliban", is focal Araibise "talib", leis an bhfoirceann Peirsise -an, a chuireann an t-iolra in iúl. Is féidir é a scríobh mar "tâlibân" nó "tâlebân" freisin.

Rud eile, níos taitneamhaí, is ea an nath seo i bPeirsis:

tâlib-o-matlûb = seeker and sought = leannáin, lucht suirí

Is foinse eolais ceart thú, a Dhonncha. An 'tâliban-o-matlûb' an t-iolra? Tá smaoineadh duairc díoltach ag fás i mo chloigeann -- póstaeir, b'fhéidir -- a bhaineas le Bin Laden agus Ohman (?), an Talib Mór. Smaoineadh homafóibeach, is dócha, ach déanfaidh sé cúis má's dírithe orthu siúd atá sé.