Essay

Language and politics in Ireland

By Mike Dwane

My wife has taken our baby son to Japan to see his relatives, so for the next fortnight I am free to live the life of a single man.

Liam is 18 months old now and beginning to speak. And my fear is that by the time he gets back from Tokyo, his Japanese will be far better than mine.

The ambition -- and parents often have loftier ambitions for their children than for themselves -- is that he will be fluent in two languages.

The problem for Liam is that when he gets to primary school, he will be expected to learn a third -- Irish.

That's right. While Ireland is part of the Anglosphere, English is not our official language. We may watch British TV shows and follow British football teams, but maintaining the Irish language is a way of reminding ourselves that we are culturally distinct from our bigger neighbour.

History has a lot to do with it. It was unfortunate for Ireland that we were so close to a country as powerful as Britain. We were invaded in 1169 and couldn't persuade them to leave until 1921. Northern Ireland, of course, is still part of the United Kingdom.

During that long period of colonisation, the Irish language was periodically repressed. So language remains politically sensitive in Ireland. The government has made it compulsory to learn Irish in school. But because we use English in our daily lives, the official language is often soon forgotten.

Forty-one per cent of Irish people claim to speak the language fluently, but, in my opinion, ninety per cent of them are liars.

Irish is part of the Celtic group of languages, which includes Scottish, Welsh, Cornish and Breton. But in most parts of Ireland, unlike in Wales, the language is seldom used in everyday life.

Still, Irish remains the official tongue. This means that every teacher and policeman needs to speak it. And it means that every road sign has the Irish version above the English, and that tourists easily get lost.

Even worse for tourists is when they ask to go to the bathroom at a restaurant or bar. Often they will find signs for "Fir" (Men) and "Mna" (Ladies) on the toilet doors. It is easy to understand why so many men, especially after a pint or two of our famous Guinness beer, confuse "Mna" with "Man" and choose the wrong option.

Staying on the alcohol theme, some Irish words have actually ended up being used in English. Perhaps the most common example is whiskey, which comes from the Irish "uisce beatha" -- or "water of life."

Poteen (or moonshine) and shebeen (an illegal bar) are other words of Irish origin which have made it into the Oxford English Dictionary. It doesn't do a lot for our efforts to cast off the stereotype of the Irish as the drunks of Europe!

Now if you'll excuse me, I must go back to living the life of a single man. Cheers!

アイルランドの言語と政治

息子と妻が日本を訪れているため、２週間の独身生活を送っているという筆者。１歳半の息子リアム君には、日本語と英語の両方を話せるようになってほしいと願っているが、小学生になれば、彼は学校でアイルランド語も習うことになる。

The Japan Times ST: May 31, 2013