Irish, and other minority languages

[Populus Romanus]

I wouldn't consider the Irish language to be in danger of linguistic extinction there is easily a million people can speak Irish globally.

I thought that the number of first language speakers and fluent speakers was declining. I wouldn't really consider a language that is only known, not spoken or used by the general population for any purpose other than the arts, to be healthy or safe at all. But I was being a bit sensationalist when I mentioned Irish going extinct.

There are dialects of German that are dying out, Slavic and Finnish tongues that are near-extinct. It's interesting how the American's idea of "dying" languages is largely confined to the subject peoples who were under the English boot.

It says something about P.R. view of history.

I don't cackle with glee at the thought of languages disappearing from common use. Rather it is a sad, inevitable reality. May as well embrace it now and get over with it.

But this isn't just about dying languages, either. Its about minority languages. I just listed off the ones that were the first to come to my mind, which may or may not have been influenced by the fact that I'm American. In fact, I can't believe I forgot Eastern Europe in the OP, because that is where the issue of minority languages is probably most relevant. Need I mention Yugoslavia?

[gaelic cowboy]

I thought that the number of first language speakers and fluent speakers was declining. I wouldn't really consider a language that is only known, not spoken or used by the general population for any purpose other than the arts, to be healthy or safe at all. But I was being a bit sensationalist when I mentioned Irish going extinct.I don't cackle with glee at the thought of languages disappearing from common use. Rather it is a sad, inevitable reality. May as well embrace it now and get over with it.

native speakers means people from the gaeltacht areas which are specific places in ireland but there is way more speak it than that.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I thought that the number of first language speakers and fluent speakers was declining. I wouldn't really consider a language that is only known, not spoken or used by the general population for any purpose other than the arts, to be healthy or safe at all. But I was being a bit sensationalist when I mentioned Irish going extinct.

That's a simplistic view of language - First-language is meaningful if you don't have a second language. As some here know, I lived with a crazy Welsh girl a few years ago... she was completely nuts (but very sweet) and we used to fight a lot. Despite her first language being Welsh and English being her Second she only swore at me in Welsh what she was really angry. I'd regularly find her reading not only English novels, but French and German ones as well.

Granted, this is an extreme example - but the point still stands. The cowboy just wrote you a post in Irish Gaelic and I doubt he need a dictionary to do it. If there are a million native Irish speakers and many more speak the language day-to-day in one capacity or another it's very much alive.

I don't cackle with glee at the thought of languages disappearing from common use. Rather it is a sad, inevitable reality. May as well embrace it now and get over with it.

Well - once upon a time the modern vernaculars were "minority" languages and Latin was the majority language - a state which continued into the early medieval period. There's evidence that the majority of the clergy and many of the aristocracy were bi-lingual, and the bias wasn't always towards the "modern" language.

You also don't understand the crucial point - languages can be saved, with a bit of effort. Even Latin is gradually undergoing something of a revival (contrary to popular belief the language never "died" it has been continuously spoken for the last 1500 years).

But this isn't just about dying languages, either. Its about minority languages. I just listed off the ones that were the first to come to my mind, which may or may not have been influenced by the fact that I'm American. In fact, I can't believe I forgot Eastern Europe in the OP, because that is where the issue of minority languages is probably most relevant. Need I mention Yugoslavia?

Actually - the issue is most acute in places like the Pacific Islands, Central Africa and Australasia.

[Noncommunist]

You also don't understand the crucial point - languages can be saved, with a bit of effort. Even Latin is gradually undergoing something of a revival (contrary to popular belief the language never "died" it has been continuously spoken for the last 1500 years).

While it was spoken continuously, it also was a liturgical language like Hebrew. So while it may have been spoken, it wasn't exactly a normal language for long time.

[Fragony]

Irish ( gaelic I assume) sounds awesome. Heard it's one of the oldest living languages

[Beskar]

I read an article similar to this the otherday on the BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20716344


@gaelic cowboy
I also noticed the weather woman started talking about the "Irish Empire", what is she talking about when she mentions this?
[14-15 seconds within the clip]

[Kralizec]

I do not particulary care either way. I do think that languages of historical, native minorities should be allowed and supported (i.e. bilingual education for the Catalans, Frysians and whatnot). Not doing so would be political persecution.

But if a language goes extinct anyway, meh. As an example, a lot of my family members are Frysian and I can usually understand them quite well, but not speak it myself. In the Frysian province it has complete equality with the Dutch language. As it happens most Frysians can’t write particulary well in “their” language, although they can speak and read it. If Frysian dies out it’s because they themselves can’t be arsed to maintain their language, and I’m not going to feel sad about it on their behalf.

For that matter, I don’t think that the demise of the Dutch language is a really dreadful prospect either unless it’s due to some extinction event, genocide or whatever. Languages have gone extinct and new ones sprung up for the entirety of human history. I don’t see why the future should be different in that respect.

[Beskar]

Personally, I think we should do a new alphabet, perhaps based on the principles of the Shavian alphabet (at least 40 letters; as phonetic as possible with letters having a 1:1 correspondence to sounds). Then create a global language loosely based on English words as that is the current lingua franca. All other languages are secondary and optional but everyone is taught the new primary language and all signs and labels across the world adopt it. That would create a global melting pot where everyone can converse and we can also structure a language for a modern and future world.

[Fragony]

I do not particulary care either way. I do think that languages of historical, native minorities should be allowed and supported (i.e. bilingual education for the Catalans, Frysians and whatnot). Not doing so would be political persecution.

But if a language goes extinct anyway, meh. As an example, a lot of my family members are Frysian and I can usually understand them quite well, but not speak it myself. In the Frysian province it has complete equality with the Dutch language. As it happens most Frysians can’t write particulary well in “their” language, although they can speak and read it. If Frysian dies out it’s because they themselves can’t be arsed to maintain their language, and I’m not going to feel sad about it on their behalf.

For that matter, I don’t think that the demise of the Dutch language is a really dreadful prospect either unless it’s due to some extinction event, genocide or whatever. Languages have gone extinct and new ones sprung up for the entirety of human history. I don’t see why the future should be different in that respect.

My family from my mother's side is Frysian, I don't speak it though. For practical uses I wouldn't mind if we just switched to English, but the loss of the the Dutch language would be a sour one, you will never be able to fully express yourself in a foreign language. We may think we speak english, but we really don't, all we can do is translating it.

[gaelic cowboy]

I read an article similar to this the otherday on the BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20716344


@<a href="https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/member.php?u=275" target="_blank">gaelic cowboy</a>
I also noticed the weather woman started talking about the "Irish Empire", what is she talking about when she mentions this?
[14-15 seconds within the clip]

The Irish Empire was a programme about Irish emigration across the world.



Irish Empire imdb

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

While it was spoken continuously, it also was a liturgical language like Hebrew. So while it may have been spoken, it wasn't exactly a normal language for long time.

That's actually a bit of a misconception - until about 1700 you were expected to speak Latin at dinner in Oxford and as late as the early 1900's members of Parliament in the UK were assumed to understand it, as were lawyers.

[Fragony]

That's actually a bit of a misconception - until about 1700 you were expected to speak Latin at dinner in Oxford

Nah, nobody even knows what latin sounds like.