Well, my Speaking Irish le Siuán Ní Mhaonaigh i Antain Mac Lochlainn came yesterday in the mail.

I haven't had a chance to sit down and work with the book yet, but I did pop the DVD to take a look at it.

I was very impressed with it. Basically, it is just a bunch of interviews with a good number of people on a lot of different topics.

From what I see, the aim of this book is to give a person more exposure to the spoken language. The book is centered around the interviews that take place on the DVD. The book does a really good job of demonstrating how spoken Irish likes to bend, and in some cases, break the rules. For instance we are taught that "mé agus sé" are always long (may shay). But it points out, and you can hear in the interviews, that fluent speakers often make long vowels short when they speak. Also, they point out that it is also common to clip off the end of words. Each interview is written in the book, but you have to be careful, reading Irish as it is being spoken can be a challenge for beginners.

Especially any interview with Aoife Ní Chonchúir! I thought she was trying try break some speed record with her Irish. Most of the other people spoke at a reasonable pace that was easy to follow, but Aoife took me for a ride. Even for an Irish woman, she was talking fast. ;-)

But in all fairness, I think I enjoyed listening to her Irish most. The way it flowed from her was incredible and inspiring.

Aoife Ní Chonchúir!

From Donegal? -the fastest I ever heard was from there

I picked this up at the local Barnes and Noble last week. Likewise, I am fairly impressed thusfar. I haven't had the time to really sit down with the workbook aspect yet, but the interviews are very natural. It's very conversational rather than the slower, more clearly enunciated approach that is common in most learning material.

I agree...

I am debating if I would recommend it to a beginner or not. When they say, "take your language skills beyond the basics" they really mean it.

My personal scale for measuring language ability is based off the idea that in order to be fluent in a language, one must be able to read, write, comprehend, and speak the language.

The three levels of "basic, intermediate, and advanced" tend to be based more off a person's vocabulary and grammar while the three levels of "low, medium, and high" tend to be based off a person's ability to read, write, comprehend, and speak the level they find themselves at.

For instance, I consider myself at 4 or 5 on my scale. I do not know a lot of words and grammar, but for the little I do know, I have become very good at using and picking up on when I listen to TG4 and Radió na Gaeltachta.

1 no knowledge of the language at all

2 basic level (low)
3 basic level (medium)
4 basic level (high)

5 intermediate level (low)
6 intermediate level (medium)
7 intermediate level (high)

8 advanced level (low)
9 advanced level (medium)
10 advanced level (high)

I think this course was designed for people rating a 5 and up on my scale. A person will need a fairly developed vocabulary to understand. Also, I don't think a beginner is going to easily be able to key in on the conversations and understand or even follow along at the pace they speak. At least not until they listen to them several times.

So that being said, I would at least caution the beginner to think twice, or at least be aware of what you are getting into with this book and DVD.

But then again, it does a few things really well that are good for a beginner. One, it uses DVD format to give an enjoyable modern course. It is a fantastic second step to take before going to Ireland and getting overrun by the advanced speaking not covered in the basic courses. And it is a good eye opener. The shock value alone is worth the cheap price you pay for this course. This is how real people speak, and you need to see it before it blows your mind and might make you shy away from Irish.

The book isn't intended for rank beginners. On the cover it says "Take your language skills beyond basics", implying a need for more than bunrang skills.

I never said it was...however, it now pops up on every search I have done for Irish language resources. And a beginner starting out might be tempted to purchase it because it is the new thing on the market with a DVD and cheap price.

That might cause more harm than good.

I have a copy I bought around Christmas time at my local bookstore (Tattered Cover Denver). I had to put it with my "I hope I'll be up to this level someday" collection. Still, it looks like a really fine collection of interviews and I think it will be worth the effort eventually.

It shall be worth it Murph. At some point in the learning curve one meets the hilltop and it's all plain sailing downhill from there on in. Good luck with it - go n-éirí leat is libh.

Faigh an bheatha anama gach lá - get some soul food from it as often as possible along the way. All languages have their little snippets of soul food, gradually being released as one goes further in. Always look out for them and don't pass them over without taking a bite! Bíonn blas ar an mbeagán.

Jeannette
Member
Username: Jeannette

Post Number: 12
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - 02:59 pm:

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Bhuel, I just can't help it...I just have to say more about "Speaking Irish" book and CD....I just listened to another "interview" by Helen Ó'Murchú.

I really like her interview because 1) speech pace is a little slower and I can follow each word pronunciation better since she does speak a little slower than some of the others...
2) she speaks, I think, with the Munster dialect which I am particularly interested in and
3) she reminds me, and her voice brings back memories of an Irish/American aunt who had an accent and who I knew when I was a kid!

Even if you don't recognize the meaning of the words...you can get the pronunciation down pretty good by repeated listening. Also, you can definitely hear the difference in word sounds and progression between the Native speakers and the American speakers at the end.
I am a beginner/advanced beginner, I guess one would say, and at my age I may
never learn this language very well, but this book and CD definitely puts one on one's way to at least having a good shot at it.

Jeannette, now don't be too hard on yourself. While it is true that youth has the edge with language learning, adult learners really aren't that far behind them. Where most older language learners fail, is the ability to commit themselves to the level they need to in order to actually learn a language because they are more affected by real life matters.

That's why I say this DVD is excellent for shock value. People who want to learn Irish, and I mean seriously learn it will be like "OH WOW! I really need to get active."

Re: "real life matters" I think you are right about that, if you mean "aching knees, creaking joints" etc, etc, etc... ( %< ))
You are correct , of course , in that it DOES take an honest commitment..something which I haven't truly quite finely developed as yet... Tá súil agam, fós.

LOL

I know how you feel. I love the Irish language. I love to listen to it on the radio and WebTV...but every time I get an ounce of energy to sit down and learn it properly, I find myself easily distracted by the language and it's relation to the Irish culture. My mind doesn't have the discipline to avoid all the little side questions that pop up as I learn the language.

I think this is where children have an advantage. They have an ability of accepting things as they are, where older learners have to accept things from their own filtered learning systems and points of view.

What I wouldn't give to have my own personal Irish tutor with me 24/7 kicking my backside to keep me focused.

I think I need my own personal "Peig Sayers" from PaddyWhackery ;-)