North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?
US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty
Anti-Empire >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Army Sergeant Travis Decker Murdered His Three Children After Being Denied Mental Health Care at JBL... Sat Jun 07, 2025 04:52 | JBLM Whistleblowers
A corrupt military police force and incompetent Commander who denied emergency mental health care and crisis counseling to an American service member resulted in the murder of the sergeant's three young daughters
Gaza doctor grieves her nine children killed in Israeli strike Sun May 25, 2025 20:00 | imc
Israeli regime continues it's slaughter
'The children were completely charred'
Paediatrician Alaa al-Najjar was treating victims of Israeli attacks when her children were killed by an Israeli strike on their home
British doctors working in Gaza describe territory as a ?slaughterhouse? Sat May 24, 2025 00:23 | imc
There?s no food getting in so people are starving,? surgeon Tom Potokar says
British doctors working in Gaza have described the territory as a ?slaughterhouse,? where the patients they are treating are severely malnourished.
Plastic surgeons and orthopedic specialists from the UK are based at the Amal and Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis in the south of the territory.
Dr. Tom Potokar, a plastic surgeon specializing in burn injuries, has worked in Gaza 16 times but said this mission had revealed a level of destruction far greater than his last visit in 2023,
It is time to talk about the Out of Control Immigration. Mon Mar 31, 2025 22:12 | imc
For the last few years since the CV19 scamdemic undocumented immigration into Ireland has surged. No one is allowed discuss it because they do not want any rational debate about it. If you do you are labelled an extremist. However this out of control immigration is fully facilitated by the Irish government and the EU and the shady figure behind the Neo Con movement pushing for endless war, wokeism and globalist agenda.
[Dublin] National Demonstration for Palestine: End Israeli Apartheid & Genocide Thu Mar 06, 2025 22:35 | ipsc
Sat, 22 March 2025, 13:00 Assemble at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin 1
The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, supported by over 150 Irish civil society organisations, has called another National Demonstration for Palestine on Saturday 22nd March.
The march will begin at the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm and finish outside the D?il on Molesworth Street/Kildare Street to bring our demands to the Irish government?s doorstep.
The Saker >>
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony
Public Inquiry >>
Voltaire, international edition
Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en
Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en
The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en
Voltaire Network >>
international |
eu |
other press
Wednesday February 22, 2006 19:16
by Seán
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (7 of 7)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7A shock new EU report has shown that 100% of Irish people can speak a foreign language, English.
The survey, conducted by the European Commission, puts Ireland at the top of the list for foreign language ability, followed closely by Luxembourg (99%), Sweden (97%) and Latvia (95%).
The report shows that the Irish are so good at learning foreign languages that 91% of them no longer speak their own language fluently
The UK is at the bottom of the list with only 38% of people being able to speak a foreign language.
European business leaders have congratulated Ireland's remarkable achievement.
“Hopefully everyone in Europe will follow Ireland's example and not only learn English, but forget how to speak their native peasant languages as well."
“Having just one language in Europe would be of great financial benefit to us all, romantic notions of culture and identity simply won't pay the bills in an increasingly competitive global economy"
”The fact that the language everyone should speak, English, just happens to be my own native language, is a COMPLETE coincidence” said Mr. C. Romwell, CEO of Cultural Imperialism Ltd.
Idh tinc dis ios ónlí seatidhr
thats foreign enough.
The report took the form of a survey and quizzed people on their language capabilities. One question asked in how many languages other than your mother tongue can you hold a conversation. 66% answered NONE. This placed Ireland as the most monolog country in the EU 25. In other words 66% could only speak ONE language.
Irish and English are the languages of Ireland. So 66% of people surveyed therefore only spoke English* The survey did not ask HOW MANY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DO YOU SPEAK! So the situation is actually WORSE than the article makes it out to be.
* As everyone in Ireland of school going age and over can speak English, and Irish speakers in that group are bi-lingual and would be included in 34% who spoke at least two languages well enough to hold a conversation.
proclamation of the gaeltach
Proclamation of the gaeltach
The gaeltacht - if we consider it as a physical location occupied by Irish speakers has all but perished. English now permeates much of its land. For those who care, the failed strategy so far has to been to throw resources (usually intellectual rather than financial) at it. For those who don't care, the strategy has been to goad those who still speak Irish about its death. In a country that speaks mostly English the moral burden imposed on these Irish speakers, in their role as guardians of a language struggling for survival, is thus unacceptable.
It is time we reconceptualised the gaeltacht. Its culture has been transformed. The gaeltacht should no longer be seen as a physical location. With the internet, the gaeltacht is now virtual. It exists where the Irish language and culture exists. In the gaelschools, on you tube, on myspace. Anyone anywhere in the world who participates in this culture, belongs to this gaeltacht. They share the moral responsibility for its survival as much as anyone else. They should share and shoulder its burden.
The gaeltacht is dead, long live the gaeltacht!
and with that the proclaimer set off to learn his native language, muttering something inaudible.
I read somewhere of a journalist who was abducted in an African country, & the abduction was witnessed by an Irish colleague of his. Censorship was in operation, & phone-lines were tapped, but the colleague managed to phone someone in Europe, in Irish, to contact Amnesty International, who were able issue Urgent Actions to get the abducted person released. International Gaeltacht.
Considering that the EU are hoping that Ireland will vote yes to the Lisbon Treaty.
They would do well to engage brain and apply diplomacy, before criticising those for whom they are looking for a favour from!
Because to put forth such a critique at this stage is rather like shooting themselves in the foot.
All things considered then we would do well to avoid strengthening the club of such brainless oafs & vote No