Hello. I'm a student and I was just wondering if anybody could point me in the direction of any books which try to determine what was responsible for the decline of the Irish language as my A-Level History question is:

To what extent is the Irish state responsible for the decline of the Irish language?

So what I need is some books or names of historians which blame the Irish state for the decline of the Irish language, some who blame it on British rule and any other books which blame various factors e.g. famine, influence of media for the state of the Irish language today. Also I need some books to counter argue this i.e. books that state the Irish state is responsible for growth of the Irish language, the effect of Irish Anglicans e.g. Douglas Hyde.

I hope you can help me and thanks in anticipation of your responses.

I tried posting this earleir and I'm not sure if it went through. Apologioes if it's been duplicated.

Donncha Ó hÉallaithe has an excellent critique of Government policy in 'From Language Revival to Survival', available at http://anghaeltacht.net/ctg/altveritas.htm

The article mentions Colmán L. Ó hUallacháin, another vocal critic of revival policy. Some of his essays are collected in The Irish Language in Society, edited by Micheál A. Ó Murchú and published by the University of Ulster 1999. ISBN: 1 871206 77 3

Good luck with the essay.

Well there is a book called ''The Death of the Irish Language'' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Irish-Language-Qualified-Obituary/dp/0415064813

I've written about 6million essays on it - and no you can't copy one! ;)

If you can find any of these titles, you'll be flying...

Author Ó Murchú, Máirtín.

Title Ag dul ó chion? : cás na Gaeilge, 1952-2002.

Author Walsh, John. (He's a Ledgebag, his stuff is always good)

Title An teanga, an cultúr agus an fhorbairt : cás na geilge agus cás na hÉireann.

Author O Suilleabhain, Donncha.

Title Cath na Gaeilge sa choras oideachais, 1893-1911 / Donncha O Suilleabhain.

Author Mac an Iomaire, Peadar.

Title Coimisiun na Gaeltachta 2002 : tuarascail = report / Peadar Mac an Iomaire ...[et al.] / Coimisiun na Gaeltachta.


If you want more (coz there's loads) just ask.. I could probably give you some links for the web if you like too.

As a general background, the government made plenty of policies but failed. An over emphasis on the education of Irish and a bad education system were spectacular failures. Also, external conditions e.g. "Backward IRA language" , depressed economy and bad image lead to a general disinterest in the language. That was my take on it anywho...

quote:

He's a Ledgebag

Cén saghas ainmhí é sin?

Irish people have had an inferiority complex for years. But now with the new found confidence lots more are wanting to know their native tongue. Gaelscoileanna are popping up all around the country.
Maybe all the immigrants who came speaking their own languages to one another sparked the minds of people who were indifferent to Irish previously?

that's precisely the thing that gave us all the hyphen-people in the US.

When the Irish first arrived, most families couldn't wait to shed the "Irish" label and call themselves "Americans." after the large influx from Ireland had ended, and new groups were coming en masse, the old immigrants felt outnumbered. Especially since (largely due to their ancestors), complete assimilation was not being demanded of the new immigrants ("old immigrants" being from the british and Irish Isles, Italy, Poland, Germany, Scandinavia, Greece, Baltic States and select areas in Eastern Europe). In order to maintain a unified culture, even out the fact that their ancestors had been pressured to assimilate, and stand out against the waves of newcomers from Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, Irish-American, Polish-American, Italian-American (7rl) clubs sprung up all over.

People whose families hadn't spoken those languages in two, three, or four generations began trying to learn them as adults.

Ireland's situation is a bit different, in that they (unlike the US) have a (fairly) unified culture. American's cannot define their own culture even a little bit, since we are now a patchwork of scores of unassimilated cultures from around the world. No longer does apple pie, baseball, and rock 'n' roll in a Norman Rockwell world cut it.

Nevertheless, a reawakening of one's ancestor's culture in the face of an influx of immigrants is normal, and probably one of the only things that can start something that fundamental and massive.

Never underestimate human beings' desire to esablish an us/them paradigm...

Ainmhí finscéalaíoch atá ann!

(ledge < legend; -bag ina iarmhír shubstainteach/threisithe.)

Níos measa fós, mura bhfuil dul amú orm: an ghin ghránna de "legend" agus "douchebag".

Fós ní thuigim. An moladh nó cáineadh atá i gceist? An é go bhfuilim ró shean lena thuiscint?

Measaim gur moladh é.

And the 'decline of the Irish language', cad é sin? Rud éigin a tharla san am atá thart? It's the opposite that's happening now!

... cad é sin? ....!

Pointe an-mhaith a Airdí. Ní miste a mheabhrú dúinn féin gur gné é sin de thitim thubaisteach a tharla i líon na gcainteoirí dúchais chomh maith le cainteoirí eile Gaeilge, SULAR tháinig an borradh deiridh seo faoin teanga.

Is mó a deirtear go ciúin i ngan fhios le teideal den chineál sain ná a mbíonn i gcló sa teideal féin. Ní miste aird a tharraingt ar an bhfocal ciúin contiúirteach nach mbíonn feiceáil air ach a théann faoin gcroí san am céanna.

Ledgebag -> Caint Átha Cliath -> Legend

Más mé féin atá ag caint, is moladh nach beag é!

Róshean ab ea!? Dúradh liom inniú gur seandhuine mé.. Tá mé bliain is fiche d'aois!