Has anyone used Rosetta Stone to learn Irish? If so how good was it in bringing up your fluency and what dialect or dialects is it in?
GRMA,
niall

It's in Munster and I've been using it (halfway through it now)...I highly recommend it (especially now while they're offering the $100 discount on the three volumes).

The only two cons I can think of are the focus on passive voice in the present (although they also do regular present tense conjugations later on, they spend too much time on this, in my opinion)and the lack of written materials giving a grammatical overview.

It gives you pronunciation training, uses native speakers for the audio, has built in reinforcement, teaches grammar contextually and does test you on writing and spelling as well. There is a demo for Turkish on their website, but that only shows one of the types of exercises...there are (if I recall correctly) seven or eight different angles they take on everything throughout each unit.

If you get it, here's some advice:

1) get all three volumes at once, it's like getting volume 1 free, and the way they combine them, once you buy vol. 1 there is no vol 2&3 combo

2) when you get it, run the update, but also make the following changes to each level in the Preferences menu - check the box for "diacritic sensitive" and uncheck "punctuation sensitive" and "capitalization sensitive."

3) do one core lesson or two mini-lessons every day, no more, no less. That should run you 15-30 minutes a day. That seems to be the perfect pace for supporting what you've learned while not inundating your brain with more than you can remember. All three volumes will take you 10-12 months at that pace.

After playing with it for some time now (about six months), it is my considered opinion that it is a godsend for the Irish language. I've been studying by myself with the occasional class for over ten years and I am still learning new things from it - idiom, vocabulary and grammar.

What is your level and preferred dialect?

Oh yeah, and the license is good for two computers with five users each, so you can learn with a friend and split the cost...you'll want to stick with one computer yourself since it tracks your progress.

thanks for all that info.

well my preferred dialect is unsure at this time lol. I grew up in Ireland and had 'school Irish" which I believe is closer ot the Munster dialect. I tend to favor Connaught and maybe Munster second if I have to make a choice.

I want to use a dialect that has a good many speakers still using it and I was getting the impression that that was Connaught or Ulster? but i could be wrong. I had the idea the Munster Irish had less speakers. DO you know if this is true?

To be honest in heairng all dialects I like them all and I love the Lilt in the Ulster Dialect but its the most foreign to me so I wont even attempt that one yet. But i take it if you become fluent in one then picking up the differences in the other dialects will be pretty easy if a person really wanted to do that.

My proficiency level is pretty basic and I can construck very simple sentences. I'm good with past, present, future verbs, etc. and currently taking a class in the Dallas area and we work thru the Progress in Irish book. In addition recognize the sound of a lot of words from my school days even if I can't remember the meanings etc.

In your six months with Rosetta stone has it helped you become more fluent? i.e. do you feel that if you visited a Gaeltact at this moment you could understand people and conversate with them? Can you carry on everyday conversations with an Irish speaker at this time? Or do you think that you will by the end of the 12 months?

go raibh maith agat Antaine.
niall

I really like Rosetta Stone. They use no English at all, so you have to interact with it entirely in Irish. This works great for me because there are no classes nor Irish speakers at all where I live and Rosetta Stone gives me a chance to think and learn in Irish every day. I can understand why Antaine says they overdid it a bit with the "passive voice" (thanks Antaine, I didn't know what it was called) but I personally, needed the thorough instruction because I never really understood how to use it before learning it with Rosetta Stone.

The price is kinda steep but I think it is worth it if you are serious about learning Irish. For me, Rosetta Stone works well because it is actually FUN to use. The visuals are memorable (and occasionally funny) which will help you to remember what you have been taught. Of course, the fact that it is fun and interesting definitely encourages you to study more often and will help you to learn the material more thoroughly.

I had always felt the same way about the dialects...I found Ulster too foreign, Munster was "easiest" for me as an english speaker, but has the smallest population, while Connacht is closest to the CO. But then I got over it, lol. Everything written is CO, it's just the native speakers who read the stuff were all from Kerry.

My fluency has definitely improved. I was able to understand waaaaay more at the last immersion weekend than I had been previously (I go to one three times a year) and my conversational ability has improved greatly (as has my spelling). The vocabulary that they teach you is very useful.

I paid full price for it and consider it money well spent. In fact, I like the program so well that I intend to do RS French, Italian and Russian when I'm done with Irish. I'd then like to tackle Arabic and Chinese. It's honestly the best thing I've found for language learning. If only they could have rosetta labs in all the schools in Ireland as part of the regular curriculum...

Maith an Fhear A Antaine agus GRMA. sounds good.

In looking at the advertisement for RS, it appears they use the Donegal dialect, since it's easiest for English speakers to pronounce. Is this correct?
My interest is in the Connaught dialect- would RS still be a good idea for me?

quote:

Donegal dialect, since it's easiest for English speakers to pronounce. Is this correct?

I doubt there's much truth in that assertion. It won't make much difference either way to an American.

In looking at the advertisement for RS, I thought it said that it teaches using the Donegal dialect, since this is more similar to English in pronunciation. Is this really the case?
I am interested in learning in the Connaught dialect, and I am a bit familiar with some of the differences- would it still be useful for someone like myself to use RS?
I'm in Colorado and have one friend who speaks some, but have no other regular exposure to the language (other than RTE). I would like to become fluent enough to be able to attend an immersion course some day.

I think the logic offered was that you have fewer sounds in Munster dialect that simply don't occur in English.
At any rate I'm just trying to find out if this rather expensive but highly recommended software is worth the money for someone like myself.
My memory has been jogged- it was the Munster dialect. Is this still useful if I really want to learn Connaght Irish?

(Message edited by Murph on December 30, 2008)

Like Antaine said, all of the people on Rosetta Stone are native speakers from Kerry. And by the way, there are lots of immersion courses for beginners (I took one last year in Corca Dhuibhne) so you don't have to worry about being fluent enough for an immersion course.

First of all, sorry for the double post. I don't often post here, and could'nt remember my login PW at first.
Thanks very much for the information.
I won't be able to afford the cash for a trip to Ireland for a couple more years, anyway, so I'd like to make good use of my time 'till then.
The Munster dialect is lovely. My main interest, as with many Americans, is to learn to sing in Irish. I really want to do this right so I'm trying to stick to a single dialect. My Grandmother was from Galway (though not an Irish speaker) and I like the Connemara way with the songs.
Besides that, my first teacher is from East Galway (she moved back there a few years ago), and I don't want to "change horses in mid-stream".

(Message edited by Murph on December 30, 2008)

A Antaine,
You certainly give RS a ringing endorsement. I'm very intrigued.

I've been bouncing around with different Irish programs over the last few years - Learning Irish, Irish On Your Own, etc. I typically devote two months to a new course, but then I either lose interest, or other priorities intercede. I've been able to learn the basics, but that's about it.

I realize you're only halfway through the course, but is the expectation that, after completing RS, the user would be fluent in Irish? Or, would a more advanced course be needed afterward, such as Turas Teanga?

Also, does RS help with reading comprehension? Or, is it more of a conversational aid?

GRMA!
-GA

It is mostly the other way round -Donegal would be more different. Anyway, the important thing is the binary system of sounds, and I'm blue in the face trying to get that across...

"I don't want to "change horses in mid-stream". "

Don't let that hold you back. I did the same for a long time and it stymied my growth as a speaker. Honestly, learning munster stuff after years of cois fharraige opened up a whole new understanding of the langauge.


"is the expectation that, after completing RS, the user would be fluent in Irish? "

it depends on how you mean fluent. I think the expectation is that if one could find a gaeltacht where no english was spoken, you would have the day to day vocabulary to live, work and go to school there. Remember...Irish is in a weird situation...most people learn languages because they will need to communicate in them for work, school, trips of various lengths, etc with people who speak little or none of their own langauge. So it's geared to get you able to do those things. I can get pretty darn complex too as in drawing the distinction between I want and I need, the way things are and they way they used to be, multi-step directions, past and past habitual...in other words, they don't just give you the berlitz shortcuts good for making yourself mostly understood...it's thorough that way...but I'd still do turas teanga and a lot of reading as well.

Bearn wrote: "Anyway, the important thing is the binary system of sounds, and I'm blue in the face trying to get that across"

Ní Thuigim!?!?! Bearn, can you give an explanation of the "binary system of sounds" I haven't heard of that before.

grma,
niall

I agree with you about the Donegal being more different, I had misremembered what I had read about RS.
I have a friend here who also has a bit of Irish, maybe I can convince him to go halveses with me on the cost.

the upside to munster seems to be that their use of words to construct phrases can be simpler and more akin to their english counterparts (e.g. conas atá tú) as well as fewer sounds...the downside is that they do some nonstandard things, but all the spelling is CO so uaidh = "wig" and di = "yih" (even though in the standard it's not written "dhi" &c.

still, no system is perfect, and since there's no equivalent alternative on the market...

"Bearn, can you give an explanation of the "binary system of sounds" I haven't heard of that before. "

Simply broad and slender consonants. All dialects share this feature, and you can have any accent you want, so long as you get the consonants right