I've finally decided on an irish instruction book. I talked to my friend in Donegal who is going to be helping me, and I've decided to buy Tús Maith. I was relieved to find out she also can speak Munster dialect, as well as Standard dialect, so in the end it didn't really matter which book I got. I really wanted Irish On Your Own, or Now You're Talking, but they are too hard to find and too expensive over in the states.


Whew.

take a deep breath...sit down...do you need some water?

or how about a drink to sooth nerves?
whew!!! that was a close one!!
chortle and snorts polite lauhgter all around

No you guys don't understand... I've spent the past few weeks hemming and hawing about what Irish Instruction book to buy myself, and I've finally made a decision. This is a big step for me! :grin:

Well, then it's good that you came to a decision ;) - successful studying!

Go n-éirí leat!

Maxp, you sound just like me a few months ago when I was hemming and hawing over which to use. I finally read something in Ó Siadhail's "Learning Irish" that made me stop worrying quite so much.

In the introduction, he says: "Two hundred years ago a good speaker of Irish, travellig slowly from Kerry to Antrim (and on to the north of Scotland), could have spoken the language all the way and noticed only minute dialectical changes as he passed from place to place. Onedialect shaded into another in the most gradual fashion."

Now, in the next paragraph he does go on to say that today's Gaeltacht pockets are somewhat different... but I keep thinking that two hundred years is simply not all that much time, and whatever differences exist simply cannot be so extensive as to make the language from one Gaeltacht *significantly* different from that of another.

This worrying and obsessing over what's "right" reminds me of grammar schoolers worrying about what their own "hand" will look like before they've even learned *how* to write cursive handwriting.

The basics, from all that I've seen and heard, are more or less standard. For my part, I'll worry about flair in about ten years or so when I've attained some measure of fluency!

Regards --

Dan

Well, I was surprised to learn that my friend can help with at least 3 different dialects of it. She's a native ulster speaker, and she said she could help me with Munster and Standard, so I suppose it wouldn't have mattered at all in the end. But I'm still glad I got a book on ulster dialect, because then when she speakes or writes, I won't have to worry about any difficulty understanding her (any more difficulty than I'm bound to have anyway..)

"I won't have to worry about any difficulty understanding her"

The book wont enable you to understand her -work will; its that simple.

Also, be careful not to make a religious bible out of one book alone. Such books are written by a fluent speaker or teacher who is 'living the dream' of writing a book.

Unfortunatly, the learner often comes second to that dream. The result of this is that one starts on page one, chapter one, just because the author wrote it in that sequence, not because an exact science was utilsed.

You're lucky in having a cainteoir dúchais tho. Its rare as a native she would bother to help, so good for you!