Is Irish the True Language of Ireland?
Most dying languages belong to stateless nations—groups without the resources or power to save their native language. Perhaps the most notable exception to this rule is the Irish language; despite the Irish government’s policies promoting the study and usage of the language, the number of Irish speakers continues to decline.
The Irish language has been in decline for centuries. During the 1840s, the Irish potato famine diminished the number of native Irish speakers as a result of high death and emigration rates. Later in the 19th century, however, the Irish language became a symbol of the Irish republican movement and of Irish nationalism. With the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the Irish language became a mandatory part of the curriculum in Irish schools, and in 1937, Irish became Ireland’s official first language. Policies promoting the learning and use of Irish, including the teaching of the language to all students, continue to this day.
Despite the government’s investment in the Irish language, the number of Irish speakers continues to decline. According to the 2006 Census of Population, 42 percent of people in Ireland have “a certain ability to speak Irish,” but only 3 percent of people consider Irish their “main community and household language.”
In 2010, the Irish government released a report outlining its strategy for reviving the Irish language by 2030. The plan includes increasing the public’s knowledge of Irish, creating opportunities for the language’s use, and fostering positive attitudes toward its use. The report lays out a plan for making mandatory Irish education more immersive and increasing the frequency of its use in areas outside of education.
While the 20-year strategy lays out an extensive plan, it focuses on expanding programs that already exist. For example, the report discusses a plan for improving summer colleges in Irish-speaking areas. The Irish government intends for these colleges to provide non-native Irish speakers with an immersive Irish experience, but these colleges have historically only caused an influx of English-speaking residents to enter Irish-speaking areas during the summer. This strategy does not effectively combat the problem, as the Irish summer colleges will continue to have little effect on increasing the number of Irish-speaking citizens.
In spite of the Irish government’s long-fought battle to increase the use of the Irish language, it seems unlikely that the language will ever flourish again. Despite the government’s complex policies promoting the language, there may be a simple reason why it’s not used— there are no real incentives for using it. English is the language of business both within Ireland and internationally, so almost every person in Ireland speaks it. Not only do people use solely English in professional settings, but they also speak English during almost any kind of financial transaction, even when making small purchases. Given that Irish people can converse with almost anyone in English, they have no reason other than mandatory education and national pride to speak Irish.
Furthermore, the few predominantly Irishspeaking areas that do exist are there because of historical and cultural factors; they were designated as predominantly Irish-speaking in the 1950s and their status has not been changed despite the continued decline of the language. These areas do not have any other characteristics that make them unique compared to the rest of the country, and they are not geographically contiguous which makes the development of a truly Irish-speaking region even harder. Since it’s entirely possible (and perhaps easier) to be Irish but not speak Irish, the citizens of Ireland have little reason to learn a language that they will rarely need to use.
The Irish people are known for being proud of their heritage; even in the United States, many people are aware of Irish music, Irish dance, Irish food, and Irish history. Irish people—both citizens of Ireland and members of the Irish diaspora—are proud of the freedom that they gained after centuries of British rule. But most of these people don’t speak the Irish language; they are satisfied with knowing other parts of their cultural history. They don’t need to learn a new language to be proud of their traditions.
Reviving the Irish language may still be possible, but it is unlikely that expanding education programs and teaching parents about the benefits of raising their children to be bilingual will bring about that revival. If Irish is ever to be in common use again, it must be viewed as a more essential aspect of Irish identity.