Scaradh na gcompánach
November 27, 2013
In the name of the fada: English giving us a lesson in Irish
November 25, 2013
IT’S lessons in Irish – from England. After centuries in which the occupiers tried to wipe out the Irish language, that bastion of British education and culture, Oxford University, is making amends.
Oxford University Press (OUP) has launched an Irish-English visual dictionary for children from the age of eight. The aim, according to the OUP, is to support the local language revival and to assist parents, schools and children. In their publicity for the colourful dictionary the OUP says: “From the reign of Elizabeth the First through to the ravages of the Famine, Ireland’s language declined and almost disappeared in the 20th Century.
“However, since 2000 there has been a growing resurgence of interest in maintaining and reviving Irish Gaelic with a growing desire to teach the next generation the language of their forebears. This dictionary is a vibrant and fresh way to help children learn Gaeilge.” Each section of the new dictionary features a brief introduction and then numerous illustrations. In total, the book provides 1,500 vocabulary items in Irish and English. Children’s dictionaries publisher at the OUP, Vineeta Gupta, says: “Irish people are quite rightly proud of their heritage and want to keep it alive and pass it on for future generations – and part of our OUP mission is about helping to support language learners wherever they are.”
The language throws up some quirky surprises, the OUP says: “On a chilly day, you might advise your child to wrap up warm with a scairf (scarf) but be mindful you don’t say scairp, because that’s a scorpion.” The publisher says it is interesting that there are many similarities: a cat is a cat in both languages, shoes and belts are often made of leathar, whilst a piotsa (pizza) is popular with children everywhere. “The book is the result of painstaking work with language consultants, teachers, native Irish speakers and children themselves.”
But this is the first time Oxford has produced an Irish-English dictionary for children. The OUP’s enthusiasm for Irish does not mean they have got everything right, however. The illustration showing the different parts of the body gives the word lámh for arm, instead of géag. Lámh is the Irish for hand, géag is the Irish for arm.
Amach ar on líne!
www.irishindependent.ie
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 25 Samhain 2013
Irish Independent – John Spain
Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta
November 21, 2013
School undecided on future intake
November 21, 2013
Deireadh i ndán do 14 eagraíocht
November 20, 2013
Roll the dice for Ireland’s first board game festival
November 19, 2013
Organisers are feverishly planning three days of tournaments, workshops and have-a-go sessions which will feature just about every board game you’ve ever heard of — and then some.
The board game extravaganza will take place in more than 18 venues in the West Cork town of Clonakilty and will feature everything from backgammon, to chess, chess as gaeilge, Monopoly, Scrabble and Where’s Wally.
The organisers, who are this week putting the final touches to a special website on the event, also promise an Inventor’s Corner — Neil Crowley, inventor of Crooks; and Clonakilty resident Murray Heasman, the inventor of the award-winning game Tara will attend the festival which is scheduled to run from February 7 to 9, while Una O’Boyle, the Irish chess champion will be available to meet fans, and is scheduled to give some chess tutorials as gaeilge.
“It’s a nice indoor, family fun event and February is a very quiet time of year, so we thought it would be good to have something cheerful happening around then,” said Miriam Cotton, one of the organisers.
The festival is the brainchild of board game fans and local business people, Phil Newton and Karen Moroney of Clonakilty Business Solutions. Phil recently started the Clonakilty Backgammon Club which, after just four months, is already the biggest in Ireland.
“We want to flag the fact that the festival is happening,” explained Ms Cotton.
“Our intention is to make it an annual event but at this stage, we have no way of knowing how popular it will be, though there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm about it already.”
She said: “Lots of board games will be represented — all the major ones and there will also be a centre with games that would not be as well-known, like Carcassonne.
“Some board-game players, for example in chess, bridge or backgammon, take it very seriously, while others just like playing the games for fun, and although we do our best it’s not about prizes or championships, more about family fun.
“We want to begin generating interest in the festival now in the hope that people will note the event in their diaries and make a commitment either to come along or to get involved. The festival is a free event, organised by volunteers so we need all of the support we can get!”
www.irishexaminer.com
St Ciaran’s College languages department continues to excel
November 18, 2013
Group highlights importance of language learning for jobs
November 15, 2013
A new group to highlight the importance of language learning for employment was launched in Trinity College Dublin yesterday.
Only 40 per cent of Irish people can hold a conversation in any second language, which is the fourth lowest rate in Europe.
One Voice for Languages is a group of more than 200 linguists, academics, teachers, parents, arts representatives and business leaders who have come together to “highlight Ireland’s deficit in 21st-century language skills”.
The group said language learning is important for employment, education and intercultural understanding. It also claimed language learning is the subject of a “diminishing status” in the Irish education system.
The group came together to raise awareness of the issue following “repeated calls” from industry leaders, employment specialists and experienced linguists.
Dr Ann Devitt said the group was seeking to “highlight how important languages are for Ireland, not only in terms of skills for the economy but also in terms of societal and cultural benefits”.
www.irishtimes.com
New campaign aims to boost languages in our education
November 15, 2013
ENGLISH is no longer enough – that is the message of a new campaign to give languages a greater voice in education.
The big focus on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) has prompted concern that languages will get left behind.
While so-called STEM subjects are much in demand from employers, proficiency in foreign languages is also essential for many jobs.
Many businesses and industries operate in a global market, and their staff need to be able to communicate across the world.
Employers in Ireland regularly complain about the lack of home graduates with the necessary language skills.
Now the languages fightback has started, backed by more than 200 linguists, academics, teachers, parents and business leaders. It represents the first coming together of all levels of the education system, as well as business leaders and social entrepreneurs, to support language teaching and learning.
The One Voice for Languages campaign argues that employment is not the only reason for students to develop their linguistic skills.
They point to national and international research, demonstrating the direct benefits of language learning in boosting literacy, at both primary and post-primary level.
Proficiency in foreign languages also brings wider social and cultural benefits, they say.
French is the most popular language in the Leaving Certificate, taken by about 25,000 of over 55,000 candidates this year. A long way behind comes German, at about 6,600 candidates, Spanish with about 5,000, with Italian, Russian and Japanese trailing at around 300.
In the Leaving Certificate, male students are less likely to take languages than females.
Dr Ann Devitt, assistant professor in modern languages in Trinity College, said Ireland, with its own national language and migrant populations had the potential to become a place of rich linguistic diversity.
But this potential wealth was not being developed, with only 40pc of Irish people claiming they could hold a conversation in any second language – the fourth lowest rate in Europe, she said. Ireland is the only country in Europe, other than Scotland, where a non-indigenous language is not compulsory at any stage of the mainstream educational curriculum
www.independent.ie
Seoladh Rith 2014
November 14, 2013
