Alright...leaving on my first trip to Ireland tonight and wondering; how welcome is an advanced beginner to try to use his Irish in the Kerry and Galway Gaeltacht? Is it nice that a tourist is making the effort? Amusing that any yank would even want to try? Or, simply annoying?

Normal rules of decency and good manners, of course, apply...

Your experiences will vary.

Could be problematic in the breac Gaeltachtaí:

I think you should be OK west of an Daingean (Dingle town) in Kerry, but not east of it.

People will not be welcoming if they think you are showing off or treating them as curiosities, but if they see that you genuinely want to learn to speak I think they will be welcoming in strong gaeltacht areas.

I was in the Gaeltacht on the west coast and I had no problems using what Irish I had and believe me I made some screw ups. Just use what you know and don't try to get clever. Best rule of thumb is if your unsure use bearla. They won't mind if you mix the Irish and English.

Cen chaoi a bhfuil sibh, a chairde go leir?
I wish to thank you all for your daily postings which I enjoy reading.

I would like to address a few questions to you if I may.
I realize, of course, that these questions may be extremely difficult or even impossible to answer. I can assure you that they are definitely not meant to be sarcastic or rhetorical, although they might appear to be so. I am genuinely seeking a solution to what I believe is a very serious problem with Irish.

Aonghus said in his post of 06/01/'05:

"People will not be welcoming if they think you are showing off or treating them as curiosities, but if they see that you genuinely want to learn to speak I think they will be welcoming in strong Gaeltacht areas."

My questions are as follow:

a) How do you prove to people that you are not showing off ?

b) How do you show them that you are not treating
them as curiosities?

c) How do you convince them that you genuinely want
to learn to speak ?

I keep asking myself these questions and can find no answers. I sometimes feel as though I were in a vicious cycle and just can't break out of it despite all my efforts to do so. You can study a language until you're blue in the face but if no-one is willing to speak it to you, you will never achieve fluency. I always thought that the goal of every supporter of the Irish Language was to speak it fluently and thus increase the number of speakers in order to ensure its survival.

If anyone can enlighten me on this matter I will be most grateful.

Thank you for listening to me.

Most people you will hear speaking Irish will not be using it to "support" the language - they are merely conversing in their own language. Do not interrupt them just to let them know you have some Irish - wait for a natural pause in the conversation. Speak naturally - don't try to impress them. And don't "interview" them with questions about their jobs, living habits, etc.

Sin é, Daisy.

It's tricky if your travelling on your own or with non Irish speakers, but it helps a lot if they hear you speak Irish with your companions before you speak to them.

I have never met problems speaking Irish to people in the Gaeltacht, because I am usually with my Irish speaking children or family.

quote:

I always thought that the goal of every supporter of the Irish Language was to speak it fluently and thus increase the number of speakers in order to ensure its survival.

This is of course true. But people in the Gaeltacht did not conciously choose to speak and support the language, and have had bad experiences of outsiders telling them the one true way to save the language. So you will meet with reticence if they think you are another person who believes they know what is best for them. This is only human.

And there are places in the official Gaeltacht where Irish has not been the langauge of the community for decades - so you will meet a whole gamut of different reactions there.

I think there's no problem in Donegal, i've always been speaking only Irish in Donegal, i was always answered in Irish. Actually I speak Donegal Irish, so...

Céard faoi sna breac gaeltachtaí?

Agus ar chuala daoine ag labhairt tú sular chuir tú forrán orthu?

Well put Aonghus. Your absoluely right if you and just try to be as natural as possible you wont have any problems.

>Céard faoi sna breac gaeltachtaí?

Cha rabh mé 'riamh ina leithéid d'áit. I nGaoth Dobhair, i dToraigh, i Rann na Feirste agus i nGort a’ Choirce a bhí mé. Chan breac-Ghaeltachtaí atá ionta ar chor ar bith.

>Agus ar chuala daoine ag labhairt tú sular chuir tú forrán orthu?

Char chualaidh agus cha dtuigim cad é ’n duifear a bheadh ann, cibé ar bith. Ins na háiteacha sin, cluineann na daoiní go labhraim mar iad féin (nó bheadh ceol difriúil abairte agamsa b’fhéidir, ach fuaimním na foclaí ar an dóigh chéanna agus bainim feidhm as na foclaí céarna srl). Char fhreagair duine ar bith i mBéarla mé, ach amháin daoiní nach mbeadh Gaeilg acu (tá cupla duine acu sa Ghaeltacht ar aon nós).

Cha dtug mé iarracht Gaeilg a labhairt ins na Gaeltachtaí eile ar an ábhar seo: cha rabh mé i nGaeltacht ar bith seachas cionn iarthuaisceart Thír Chonaill, go dtí seo. Níl ’s agam cad é mar a d’fhreagróchadh muintir Ghaeltachta eile dá labhróchainn i nGaeilg leofa: chan nádúrtha a labhraimse na canúintí eile (ach dá mbeadh faill agam, is dóigh liom go dtabharfainn iarracht a gcanúint a labhairt).

Agus cad é mar a d’fhreagróchadh siad dá labhróchadh cainteoir dúchais as Gaeltacht eile i nGaeilg leofa ?
Abair, tá fear as Tír Chonaill a’gabháil go Conamara: ab é i nGaeilg a labhróchadh sé le muintir na háite (gan aithne aige orthu sin) nó i mBéarla ?

’Bhfaca sibhse a leithéid do rud? Cad é ’tharla?

Grma

Rachaidh mé go hÉirinn i Lunasa le mo chairde. I am staying in or near the Gaeltacht in both Galway and Donegal.

I wrote to the bnb's and pubs close to where I am staying and in very limited Irish and a mix of English explained that I was an Irish-American coming to Ireland for the first time and am also learning to speak Irish. First off would I be welcomed? And considering the fact that my friends have no Irish and mine is limited would it be a problem?

I got wonderful responses from everyone, telling me I would have no problems, be welcomed and to make myself known to them and speak what little Irish I do have to them when I arrive.

Go raibh mile maith agaibh go leir as bhur gcuid comhairli. Ta siad ag cabhru go mor liom.

Thank you all very much for your comments. They've been a big help.

Well, I'm back, and sorry to say the point was moot. This being a family vacation with a micromanaging mother and everybody's first trip to Ireland but her, we settled into a bus tour, which did not actually *stop* in either the Kerry or Connemarra Gaeltachtaí despite driving through them. I got to pretend I was buying a sweater at the Blarney Woolen Mills so I could stand there and listen to two of the salespeople discuss as Gaeilge the coffee girl (an cailín caife) upstairs being unable to get the projector for the film working. On my way out I thanked them and said goodbye (I did buy something from the woman earlier) in Irish but basically was unable to spark a conversation for the trip duration. I actually got to speak more Irish with english speakers like the bus driver and tour guide and my cousin who took us all out to dinner on my birthday in Galway.

He did invite me to come back out just myself and stay with them for a week or so when tickets get cheaper during the off-season.

Oddly enough, I saw alot more Irish in the english speaking areas than I expected, and I was happy to see that.

A bus tour is a fine way to SEE Ireland but even if the people running the tour had Irish they have to speak so that all can understand. Go back and visit in the off-season and stay at a B&B where the family are Irish speakers. Have your cousin take you to Cconradh na Gaeilge in Galway City and some local pubs where Irish is spoken. And just sit back and listen.

well, i didn't get to see newgrange and tara which i'd like to, and I have to track down some family history (and actually get *into* the Rock) so alot of time will be spent in Cashel, Tipp. I also want to see a professor at NUIG, so perhaps a trip to Inis Meáin is in order when we get up there. I'll likely only be out 4-5 days depending on my hosts' work schedules - tho I must say I simply *must* put myself in the middle of some Gaeilge next time, now that I've got the usual tourist shtuff out of the way...