Comhrá fánach 6

Let me preface this little essay by stating that I am not a linguist, nor have I ever tried to teach a language. What I have tried to do for the last thirty years is to encourage people to use whatever Gaeilge they have, and not be discouraged or self-conscious about it. For me communication comes way before worry about séimhiú, urú or the tuiseal ginideach. Start speaking and bit-by-bit, diaidh ar ndiaidh, work on grammar at your own pace.

I will continue with my 'focail agus abairtíní úsàideacha', and with my help blogs. The fact that there are now upwards of 80 subscribers to my blogs shows that there are potential gaeilgeoirí out there wanting to speak my beloved language without fear or self consciousness. Motivated learners is what every educationist/facilitator desires.

Written and Spoken Language

In every language there is a clear distinction between the written and the spoken. Each rerquires a different skill set. The written word is predicated on sets of rules that are set out in an official prescription. For instance, French has the Acadamie Francaise. English has 'received English', which, like the British Constitution, is not written, but nevertheless is there. Non compliance indicates a lack of education.

We were lucky in Ireland that in the late 1950s and early 1960s Irish became standardised - 'an Caighdeán'. This gave a standard for written Irish. It brought 'an cló Romhánach; a more phonetic based spelling system; and a standardised grammar.

In the meantime the various spoken canúintí remained unaffected. This preserved the rich fountainhead of native Irish speech which we desperately need to keep alive in a world of shrinking Gaeltacha. Many native speakers know little of 'an Caighdeán'. Few of them will ever write at any length in Irish, and rarely for public consumption.

Written language is done by individuals working as individuals. They can spend time checking the details of the grammar and structures of the language, even refer to dictionaries and primers. The 'word on the page' is paramount, and cannot be moderated by external factors.

Spoken language, on the other hand, is a social activity where communication is immediate. There is no time to check. Words are just part of that communication process. Body language, gesture, facial expression, intonation, inflection, hidden and understood words, are all integral to the communication process. These can in fact convey the exact opposite of what the words are saying. This happens all the time, for instance, when sarcasm is used. The words mean one thing but the other factors make them mean something totally different.

I may upset purists here, apologies in advance if I do, BUT I feel that often we are trying to teach spoken Irish in a manner more suited to written Irish. By that I mean we start with 'an Caighdeán'. Written Irish is notoriously difficult because the grammar is very complex. Native speakers of any language will have absorbed the complexities from the cradle. In comhrá for a non-native speaker there isn't time to work out these complexities. By the time he has worked out the gender, the séimhiú and the tuiseal ginideach the comhrá has either stopped dead or moved on without him. This makes for humiliation, and reluctance 'to have a go' when what is sorely needed is encouragement 'to have a go', and have the effort appreciated. Mistakes and 'getting it wrong' are an integral part of the learning process. Help and correction should be asked for and gently given. It is never easy to have our faults pointed out to us. When I started to play golf I found the person who was continually pointing out what I was doing wrong annoying and unhelpful. However, when I hooked the ball into the rough a few times I asked someone I trusted for help. Putting that one thing right improved performance. Everything cannot be done at once. Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say!

The primary purpose of language is to communicate. Spoken Language is a living, organic thing that changes all the time with usage. Few will ever need it as a written medium, but many want it as a spoken medium. If we are ever going to get it back as a common daily language in a bilingual world we must concentrate on that and find means of facilitating it. The Welsh seem have been so much better at it.

I am an old man, born, reared and educated with Gaeilge and through Gaeilge, who has lived in England for 65 years. For 30 of those years I have struggled to promote Gaeilge in 'ciorcal comhráite' in my spare time.

In that time I have encountered every attitude to my native language among Irish people. The attitudes ranged from: 'what's the use of it, nobody speaks it?; I regret the loss of it; I wish I could get it back, but am unwilling to put the effort in;the attitudes ranged all the way to downright loathing because of the harsh destructive way it was taught.

I despaired when a grand niece in Cork told me ten years ago that after 14 years of such teaching the only thing she could do at Leaving Cert was to learn an essay by heart and then regurgitate it in the exam. The oral was formulated to be prepared and delivered in the same way. She assured me that she was not the only one.

Her fond hope was that she would never, ever again have anything to do with Gaeilge.

I am an educationist and I cannot think of a more damning indictment of a system than that. Children had better spoken Irish leaving the National School than they had leaving Secondary school. The only difference, in my mind, was the method in which they were taught. In the former it was more 'look and say' while in the latter it was for an exam.