http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?gaedhilg

Miriam O'Sullivan wrote:

> A chairde,
>
> Following the accession in May, the EU shall have 20 official
> languages. Gaeilge (Irish) will not be included. Now whether you like
> the language or not, this is an insult to Ireland and an erosion of
> yet another part of our
> national identity.
>
> Let me put it to you this way, how would the French or Germans react
> if their languages were not included??? How about the Brits??
>
> This is also the FF government, yet again, giving the fingers to
> 380,000 of Irelands citizens (who for the most part are incidentally
> are located in the north and west of Ireland).
>
> Now this might seem like a trivial thing to you, but if they are
> willing to and get away with ignoring a member country's official
> language, what else
> will Ireland be rail-roaded into?
>
> It's up to you. Is it OK for us to be second class citizens in
> Europe???? Will that do us, like it did
> all the generations before us??
>
> I encourage you all to sign and forward this petition. Who know's??
> The longest journey begin with one step......
>
> To: D=E1il =C9ireann - Irish Parliament
>
> Is =E9 =E1r n-=E9ileamh go ngairfear teanga oifigi=FAil oibre de chuid
> =
an
> Aontais
> Eorpaigh den Ghaeilge.
>
> Le meas,
> Muid, a chuir =E1r n-ainm le seo.
>
> We demand that the Irish language be declared an official working
> language of the European Union.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> The Undersigned
> http://www.PetitionOnline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?gaedhilg

_________________
please sign this, if you believe that speakers of Gaelige shouldn't be treated as second class citizens by the EU

it already hyas over 16,000 signatures

Phil, a chara,

Nil mé ach ag tosú ar an teanga a fhoghláim ach tá dúil agam sa Gaeilge. Mo n'admhaigh agat.

Mo graidhin go deo thu!


(for others)

IFF, I am just beginning to learn the language, but I adore Gaeilege. You have my awareness.

Bravo, good for you!

spabbo

Also Spab (and others:

please forward the link to anyone you think may be interested in signing this petition

in the last dsay, about 6,000 people signed it, making a grand total of over 22,000 signatures

You know I already have. :D

http://www.u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=48041&pt=n

WEDNESDAY 14/07/2004

Bid to seek EU recognition for Irish language

The Irish government is to apply to have Irish declared an official language of the EU - six months after Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dáil it would not be possible to gain full recognition, it emerged today.

...

The government moved after receiving severe criticism from other parties and Irish language groups for its failure to seek official recognition earlier.

Luxemburgish and Irish are the only two official national languages in the EU that do not enjoy official status in the European institutions.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dail it was not possible for Irish to become an official EU language in January.

A language "must be in total administrative use within a country", he told Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who had called for Irish to have EU recognition "as a matter of pride for the country and for the next generation".

Mr Ahern added: "We will see if there is a middle road on this. I do not want to give the deputy the impression that we can go the whole way because that is not possible."

The issue was raised a number of times during Ireland`s six-month term as EU president, which ended last month.

The three main opposition parties, Fine Gael, Labour and the Green Party, co-sponsored a private member`s motion in the Dail in February, which government TDs indicated support for.

However, the final decision by the government to seek official EU recognition was only made at today`s cabinet meeting.

Changing the status of the Irish language in the EU would require the unanimous approval of the Council of Ministers, acting on a recommendation from the European Commission.

Fergus O`Dowd TD, Fine Gael Spokesperson on the Irish language and Gaeltacht Affairs, welcomed the government announcement as a "most welcome, if belated, development".

"It is a tremendous credit to the Irish language bodies who have lobbied long and hard for Irish to have official and working language status in the EU," he said.

"This is a cause which has had all party support and I am glad to see that the minister is at last seeking agreement on the practical conditions necessary to grant Irish its rightful status.

"I look forward now to a positive conclusion to these negotiations as soon as possible."

The National Irish Assembly, Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge, also welcomed the government`s decision.

"This is an historic day for the Irish language and will no doubt add to its status at home," it said in a statement.

"Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge wishes to acknowledge the work of Minister Ó Cuív TD and his officials in preparing the memorandum on this subject for the government meeting."

Following the accession in May, the EU shall have 20 official languages. Gaeilge (Irish) will not be included. Now whether you like the language or not, this is an insult to Ireland and an erosion of yet another part of our national identity.
They've surendered their national identity when they joined the EU, and have as much a unique national identity left as does kentucky, for instance.

I thought Irish was just English with a leprechaun accent.

They've surendered their national identity when they joined the EU, and have as much a unique national identity left as does kentucky, for instance.

Disagree. That's like saying a Texan is the same as a New Yorker. :)

I thought Irish was just English with a leprechaun accent.

:slap: :mad: :mad:

This thread is racist.

Gaelic isnt a language, its a series of grunts with vowels.

Don't make me come sort you out :mad:

I thought Irish was just English with a leprechaun accent.

no your confusing Irish English with Irish. though with both when talking to an anglophone, a translator is needed :D.

seriously i was reading mark scanlon's columjn in an irish newspapoer and he was saying how lance armstrong was talking to him and at the end of the conversation, lance says that next time he better bring a translator with him.

Gaelic isnt a language, its a series of grunts with vowels.

only when the speakers is inebriated

anyway good news that the government has decided to do something about it. it's about time

They've surendered their national identity when they joined the EU, and have as much a unique national identity left as does kentucky, for instance.
I am both Irish and European, there need be no conflict between the two.

Gaelic isnt a language, its a series of grunts with vowels.
Anybody who has listened to the beauty of "sean nós" singing would certainly disagree with you.

Gaelic isnt a language, its a series of grunts with vowels.


I was in love (still am) with a Czech girl ...
the only time I found her voice not to be a treat to the ear is when I listened to her having a phoecall home in czech .
Here's one for your "national" pride Johnson :p
(oddly enough I'll side with the other Celts on this one :p)

I was in love (still am) with a Czech girl ...
the only time I found her voice not to be a treat to the ear is when I listened to her having a phoecall home in czech .
Here's one for your "national" pride Johnson :p
(oddly enough I'll side with the other Celts on this one :p)
Is Czech that hard to listen to? All slavic languages sound alike to me but while I may not understand a word of it there isn't anything in it which would make me get an earache.

Is Czech that hard to listen to?

No .
But swapping from French to Czech she somehow gained like 2 octavos and that sounded .. well .. eeeeew . :(

do all irish know Gaelic?
Do they use it as their every day language?
I thought for the most part the Irish spoke english, with few learning gaelic at all anymore.. and then only to keep thier Irish heritage 'alive" so to speak.

do all irish know Gaelic?

we dont all know irish. some know it really well and some don't. and some like me are in between those two groups.

Do they use it as their every day language?

from the irish census 10% use irish as their first launguage. 90% use english as their first launguage and then of course there'd be people in between

I thought for the most part the Irish spoke english, with few learning gaelic at all anymore.. and then only to keep thier Irish heritage 'alive" so to speak.

everyone born in ireland who goes to school in ireland learns irish from when they start school. there's a legal requirement concerning if a child has lived in ireland for so many years on whether they should have to sit irish as a subject but i'm not totally sure about that

Out of all of the languages out there Gaelic is one that I am totally in love with. My mother's side is mostly Irish and some of her relatives still speak it. I have the best time just sitting and listening to them speak.

You have my signature :)




EDIT: The link doesn't work anymore :(

from the irish census 10% use irish as their first launguage. 90% use english as their first launguage and then of course there'd be people in between

Then it does'nt really make sense to include it.
I mean, English has taken over as your national language. Gaelic is cool, but it is going the way of Aramaic and Latin.

Then it does'nt really make sense to include it.

I mean, English has taken over as your national language. Gaelic is cool, but it is going the way of Aramaic and Latin.



We didn't adopt English as our first langauge by choice, it was forced upon us under British rule. After we gained independence, Gaelic usage had declined too much to bring it back as everyones first language. Irish Gaelic maybe slowly dying out, but its part of our heritage and we should do what we can to preserve it. The main difficulty with Irish Gaelic is once you leave school you have very little opportunity to use it in everyday speech, then your fluency slowly dwindles until you are just left with a very basic knowledge of it. Unless a language is used in the home (and outside of it) by a large number of people then it will die out as a living language.

Irish Gaelic maybe slowly dying out, but its part of our heritage and we should do what we can to preserve it.

well, I think gaeilc is a cool language and it would be great to see it preserved but if you have 90% of Irish NOT speaking it then you have one heck of an uphill battle.
Languages die. English will eventualy. IT might take another thousand years or so but it'll happen.

From Danny Morrison's site:



Re: Everyday Talk

Irish is taught in every school in the 26 counties and it is endangered, and its taught in most Catholic schools in the North. Its all to do with teaching methods I suppose. In the South its forced down their necks, without passion, without instilling a certain sense of pride....and as a result the kids hate it. They associate the methods with the language, and it falls by the wayside....
The Welsh got it right with their language, the introduction of S4C and the sense of pride many Welsh feel in their language. I think we are going the same route with TG4, which doesn't just broadcast twee, sentimental rubbish, but shows great shows, documentaries, music programmes, and kids shows, all in Irish. I think it is through this medium that Irish is having a new dawn and the youth are taking notice. For instance on a Music Chart show called Pop4, the whole show is presented "as Ghaeilge" and teens frequently text in requests, etc....it is great to see that good number of these are all in Irish.


Another post in that thread said 41% of Irish speak Gaeilge. :)

http://www.dannymorrison.com/forum/showthread.php?postid=22067#post22067

I think the poster was correct. If it's something people want to watch or hear on TV or radio that would certainly offer some incentive~

You are right. Irish Gaelic as it is taught in schools does not instill any love of it (or it didnt when I was in school). Gaelic needs to be taken out of the class room and popularised.

Most Irish people have some knowledge of Irish language, its the fluency thats low.

From Danny Morrison's site:


I think we are going the same route with TG4, which doesn't just broadcast twee, sentimental rubbish, but shows great shows, documentaries, music programmes, and kids shows, all in Irish. I think it is through this medium that Irish is having a new dawn and the youth are taking notice. For instance on a Music Chart show called Pop4, the whole show is presented "as Ghaeilge" and teens frequently text in requests, etc....it is great to see that good number of these are all in Irish


TG4 and the radio station RnaG are really excellent stations. while i can't say i watch too much of TG4 (i watch 2 english launguage programmes :D, Oz and Curb your enthusiasm which defeats the point of it) but yes it does show some really good programmes on it. there are some really enjoyable programmes on it and they do show some good documentaries on it. Stair is a wonderful series about History

and i do listen to quite a bit of RnaG, probably as much as any other radio station. An taobh tuathaill is a very good alternative dance programme and i really like it.

Another post in that thread said 41% of Irish speak Gaeilge.

i got my 10% from the census but 41% would be right figure as those that are sufficeint in irish to speak it everyday. my 10% is those who use gaelige as a first launguage.

You are right. Irish Gaelic as it is taught in schools does not instill any love of it (or it didnt when I was in school). Gaelic needs to be taken out of the class room and popularised.

Most Irish people have some knowledge of Irish language, its the fluency thats low.

i remember i had one teacher for 2 years in secondary school and really se did make people hate learning irish more than anything else. though the teacher for the last 2 years of secondary school did do a very good job in trying to rebuild some warmth for the launguage

Everyone (and not just in Ireland) should want to learn Irish just because it rocks. :nice:

It's the wave of the future, friendo. :)

Sigh, found this thread too late to sign up on the petition :(

Have my support though, will have to pay more attention

hugs

lilnymph

Everyone (and not just in Ireland) should want to learn Irish just because it rocks. :nice:

It's the wave of the future, friendo. :)
If you live in Texas, you need to learn to speak Spanglish. That's the way of your future (lest you move).

I already have some Spanish for just that reason. Spanish isn't endangered. It's Irish that needs to be learned. :)

. I have the best time just sitting and listening to them speak.

How do you know they're not saying nasty things about you?

I would sign up for this petition if I could. Conas a ta sibh? Ta me a Iraq.

yeah the tyhread is a few months old and the petition has been handed in or sent to the relevant party (the government) and against their wishes they are taking action to try to get the irish launguage stated as an official working launguage of the EU

thanks anyway :)