Fighting Irish Say 'No' to English Speakers

Reuters ^ | Thursday, December 19, 2002

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Determined to repel an invasion of the English language, a local authority has proposed a ban on home building by non-Irish speakers in a scenic coastal area of western Ireland.

The council wants the ban to apply to a 60-mile stretch of Connemara coastline from Barna to Carna, near the booming city of Galway.

Subject to public consultation, the ban could become law in April or May and be the first in the republic's history,

Despite concerns about its legality, practicality and whether it might be discriminatory, the ban, or some such measure, has strong support in what is known as the "Gaeltacht," or Irish-speaking area, which is predominantly in the west.

"We have to do all we can to protect the language," Galway County councilor Connie ni Fhtharta told Reuters Wednesday.

The ban stems from age-old efforts by Irish speakers to protect their language, which the English severely discouraged under colonial rule. Strong economic and social pressures keep English the dominant tongue, although Irish is the first official language.

[MissAmericanPie]

If anyone should have learned the lesson of protecting and promoting your own culture it should we Americans. The people that live in that area should have the freedom from association that is also a human right, much neglected, but a human right all the same.

[patton]

How interesting.

Lochiel MacEdward na sliabh dunn na Cloinn MacEdward.

[driftless]

If by that you mean keeping English our main language, I agree. However I'm sure you're aware that half the words in the English language are French thanks to the Normans. And of course there are many other foreign words in our dictionary. Preserving ones language is one thing, trying to exclude all foreign influences is another. Change and adoption of foreign words and phrases keep vibrant languages from growing stale. I have nothing against the Irish trying to foster growth in their old tongue, in fact I commend them for it. But if they attempt to quash English, I believe their efforts will be counterproductive.