Irish language in Britain
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Irish (Irish: Gaeilge), also known as Irish Gaelic,[1] is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family that has been spoken for at least two thousand years. According to the constitution of the Republic of Ireland, Irish is the “First Official Language” of the Republic. Around 72,000 people over the age of 19 use Irish on a daily basis.[2]
Comparatively little has been written about the Irish language in Britain. With the Gaelic Revival of the 1890s, a branch of the Gaelic League was established in Glasgow in 1895.
Subsequent hostilities between Britain and Ireland, and the Irish Free State’s neutrality during the Second World War, contributed to disinterest in, or ignorance of, the Irish language in Britain. In 2011, a report found that 91% of British teenagers were not even aware that there was an Irish language.[3]
The current estimate of fluent Irish speakers permanently resident in Britain is 9,000, with around 80,000 more with a ‘moderate to high’ knowledge of the language.[4] Organizations such as Coláiste na nGael aim to promote its use.
See also
References
- ↑ Oxford English Dictionary, archived from the original on 2010-10-23, retrieved 2015-03-07,
Gaelic /ˈgeɪlɪk, ˈgalɪk/ ... noun ... (also Irish Gaelic) another term for Irish (the language)
- ↑ "2006 Census of Population - Volume 6 - Irish Language" (PDF). Central Statistics Office.
- ↑ Raising Standards, Offering Choice. p. 3. Search this book on
- ↑ "Cad Chuige An Ghaeilge sa Bhreatain?". 2011: 6.
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