State must support Irish language
Márta 19, 2013
B’fhearr liom an litir seo a scríobh i nGaeilge. I would prefer to write this letter in Irish, but I know how important it is to reach out to English speakers to explain why the Irish State cannot be neutral about the Irish language.
Your newspaper’s editorial (Mar 13) regarding the Irish language asked if, in difficult economic times, Ireland could afford to pay for the Irish language. Languages gain strength by being used by a state. If the Irish State does not support and use the Irish language, which state will? Slovenia? Botswana? Argentina?
Irish is unique to Ireland so the Irish State is the only one that can support it. If anyone needed proof of how a state strengthens a language, all that needs to be done is to imagine if English was not an official language in Ireland. Imagine if English was not taught in schools, used in Government departments, broadcast on televisions and radios, used in courts or used for public notices and contracts, etc.
The real questions that should be asked is why the Irish State took so long from 1922 to 2003 to lay down in law the rights Irish speakers have and the requirements for the State to provide services for Irish speakers? In that period the Gaeltachtaí declined considerably.
Why is it acceptable for English speakers to be unable to speak Irish, but it is unacceptable for Irish speakers to be unable to speak English? Monoglot Irish speakers don’t exist anymore, but if a parent insisted to the Department of Education that they did not want their children to learn English, they would not be allowed to do that, but it is acceptable for parents to not want their children to learn Irish.
Another editorial enquiring why the State does not want to make Irish the vernacular language would be most welcome. Táim ag tnúth go mór leis. (I look forward to reading it.)
Seanán Ó Coistín
Bonnevoie
Luxembourg
www.irishexaminer.com
