You're sitting at a restaurant in Belfast, waiting for a server to take your order and checking out the bar's vast selection of whiskey. It's like nothing you've ever seen back home. But then again, you are in Ireland. When the waiter finally arrives, you point to the bottles of liquor, lined up like toy soldiers, and say, "That is some bad collection."
The waiter looks confused. He smiles nervously, points to the mussels' lunch special on the menu and leaves. Was it something you said? You take out your English to Irish dictionary and learn the English word "bad" means "boat" in Irish Gaelic.
No wonder the waiter gave you a puzzled look.
Fortunately, it was a harmless mistake and you didn't make it while, say, interviewing for a job. But if you want to work with the 3.5 million Irish who live in the United States, or the almost 5 million in Ireland itself-if you want to benefit from the skill of being bilingual-you need to learn the language well.
Edward Trimnell, author of Why You Need a Foreign Language & How to Learn One, once said, "If your work involves the Mexican Market and you don't speak and read Spanish, then you are functionally illiterate [there]."
The same holds true for Irish Gaelic. The fact is, literacy is fundamental to success in any culture and endeavor. But whether you do it for personal reasons (to travel) or professional reasons (to pursue an international career), learning the language of Ireland can be a rewarding experience.
The Renaissance of the Irish Gaelic Language
Part of the Celtic-language family, Irish Gaelic was spoken across all of Ireland up until the 17th century. That's when English started growing in influence-and many people worried it might someday extinguish their traditional Irish.
Those fears weren't quelled until hundreds of years later when Ireland separated from Britain in 1922 to form the Republic of Ireland-and the government decided to implement a standard form of the Irish language in 1945.
Since then, the language has experienced a renaissance. Gaelic is now being taught across all the schools in Ireland. And government and industry alike seem committed to creating a bilingual society-one where people can use the country's official languages of Irish and English with equal facility.
And it's working. Today, there's a deep affection for Irish both inside and outside its native country as people are learning it in record numbers. Consider that:
- Some 1.57 million people in Ireland speak Irish.
- Educators in Australia have established schools around their country to teach Irish and its music.
- Almost 26,000 Americans in the United States and growing numbers of immigrants speak Irish Gaelic at home.
Learning the Language Means Mastering the Alphabet, Dialects and Sounds
Ask anyone who's done it, and they'll tell you that learning the language is simply a matter of:
- Understanding its 18-letter alphabet.
- Mastering its sounds.
- Navigating a series of regional dialects-from Northern Ulster to Dublin, where its youth now speak a Gaelic slang. Even in places as far as Canada's Newfoundland, Irish is being spoken as it was back in the 17th century.
But before you can run with the long vowels, abbreviated list of consonants and "false cognates" (like "bad" and "boat") that are characteristic of Celtic, you have to take a first step. And that's getting a feel for the Irish "uncial" alphabet.
It was developed in medieval times as an offshoot of its Latin counterpart. Debuting in manuscripts from that period, this early version can still be found on road signs and public notices throughout Ireland.
Over the years, however, the Irish continue to adopt a more progressive version of uncial-one that's closer to English but with fewer letters (you won't find j, k, q, v, w, x, y and z on any Gaelic-inspired Scrabble boards).
Also unlike English, the Irish language:
- Assigns a gender to nouns, adjectives, articles and pronouns.
- Doesn't have words pronounced phonetically.
- Arranges verbs, subjects and objects in unusual fashion (i.e., the Irish translation for "I have a book." would read "There is a book at me.").
These challenges aside, linguists agree: with a little practice, a good study program, the right community and a love of all things Irish, learning Gaelic can be a breeze.
Use Your Bilingual Skills to Build a Career
Not only is learning Irish fun, but it can open up a world of opportunities. Use it to travel easily and simply, and find your way off the beaten path to places where the Irish locals honor the traditions of their ancestors.
Beyond recreation, consider that:
- Ireland has the fastest-growing economy in the Western World, affording a variety of business, science and agricultural opportunities, among others, to bi-linguists.
- Exporting is one of Ireland's biggest industries, and the United States (along with England, Belgium, Germany, France and the Netherlands) is one of its greatest trading partners. Job opportunities exist for Irish speakers in any one of these countries.
- The inner city schools of Dublin are always looking for ready and skilled teachers.
- As the number of immigrants in America grows, so do the demands for those who can communicate with them.
- The resurgence of Irish across other continents (like Australia) widens the playing field.
Whether you use the language to get ahead in the international marketplace or chat about the whiskey in Belfast: you can't go wrong by learning it.
