All three native-spoken languages are equally worthy of respect, President Connolly…

This article is also in English

Ba cheart go mbeadh meas comhionann ar na trí theanga dúchasacha, a Uachtaráin Ní Chonghaile.

Dúirt Caitríona Ní Chonghaile – an deichiú Uachtarán na hEireann – é seo, ina hóráid insealbhaithe i gCaisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath De Máirt 11ú Samhain:

Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam, agus is fíor sin, mar nuair atá a teanga múchta, ní féidir leis an tír, nó aon tír, a mianta, a luachanna nó a spioraid a chur in iúl.

The newly-inaugurated tenth President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly, said this (translated) in her inauguration speech in Dublin Castle on Tuesday November 11th:

A country without a language: a country without a soul, and this is true. When its language is extinguished, that country – or any country – cannot express its desires, its values or its spirit.

Guím gach rath ar an Uachtarán Ní Chonghaile agus í ag glacadh oifige. Ach, i mo thuairimse tá ceithre dheacracht ar a laghad leis na focail seo:

1. Ar an gcéad dul síos, tá níos mó ná teanga amháin á labhairt go forleathan i go leor tíortha. Glac oileán na hÉireann mar shampla: tá níos mó cainteoirí dúchasacha Béarla na hÉireann ann ná mar a bhfuil i nGaeilge. Tá go leor acu a bhfuil Ultais mar theanga dhúchais acu.
2. Ar an dara dul síos, tháinig teanga cheannasach go leor tíortha ó áit eile. Mar shampla, an Ostair, an Eilvéis, an Bheilg, na Stáit Aontaithe, Ceanada, an Astráil, Cúba, an Bhrasaíl agus an Nua-Shéalainn. An bhfuil anam ar bith sna tíortha seo?
3. Ar an tríú dul síos, tá go leor daoine ar oileán na hÉireann – de shliocht shean-dhaonra Gaelach an oileáin – tar éis iarracht a dhéanamh Gaeilge a fhoghlaim ar scoil. Tá taithí acu ar shiollabas Gaeilge (siollabas leadránach agus neamhábhartha) a mhúin múinteoirí nach bhfuil nó nach raibh líofa sa teanga. Tá na daoine sin tar éis féiceáil go dlúth freisin ar bhréagriocht na hÉireann Oifigiúla: Naomh Agaistín a lua go mícheart: “déan líofa mé ach ní fós”. Nuair a thugann an tUachtarán Ní Chonghaile le fios go bhfuil tír gan teanga cosúil le tír gan anam, cén teachtaireacht atá sí ag seoladh amach chuig na milliúin saoránach maith (cainteoirí Béarla aonteangacha an triomlach iad) a chuireann an oiread sin le sochaí na hÉireann …. lena n-áirítear cáin a íoc chun a hinsealbhú agus a cumas a dualgais a chomhlíonadh a mhaoiniú? Níor cheart go mbeadh náire ar dhaoine as a gcumas sa Gaeilge.
4. Ar an gceathrú dul síos, níl aon bhrí le “tír gan teanga, tír gan ainm” i ndáiríre: ní labhraíonn, ní éisteann, ní léann ná ní scríobhann tíortha teanga; sin rudaí a dhéanann daoine. An mbeadh aon duine ag rá go bhfuil easpa Éireannachais riachtanach éigin ag Seamus Heaney, James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, WB Yeats, ná Samuel Beckett toisc nach scríobhann nó nár scríobh siad i nGaeilge? Tír gan teanga is tír gan daoine í. Is iad na daoine, ag cur in iúl iad féin go saor agus go cruthaitheach in aon teanga a roghnaíonn siad, a chruthaíonn an saol cultúrtha saibhir agus castacht na bhféiniúlachtaí a chuireann snas ar ár ndaonnacht choiteann agus ar ár bhfréamhaitheacht.

I wish President Connolly well as she assumes office. But there appear to be at least four difficulties with these words:

1. Firstly, many countries have more than one language widely spoken. Take the island of Ireland: there are more native speakers of Hiberno-English than Irish. There are many whose native tongue is Ulster-Scots.
2. Secondly, the predominant language of many countries originated elsewhere. For example Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Are these countries without a soul?
3. Thirdly, many people on the island of Ireland – descended from the old Gaelic population of the island – have tried to learn Irish at school. They have experienced a boring, irrelevant Irish syllabus taught by non-fluent Irish teachers. They have also seen at close quarters the hypocrisy of Official Ireland: to mis-quote Saint Augustine: “make me fluent but not yet”. When President Connolly suggests that a country without a language is like a country without a soul, what message is she sending out to the millions of decent monoglot English-speakers citizens who contribute so much to Irish society …. including paying tax to fund her inauguration and her ability to carry out her duties? People should not be made feel ashamed of their facility with Irish.
4. Fourthly, “tír gan teanga, tír gan anam” is actually meaningless: countries don’t speak, listen to, read or write a language; people do. Would anyone argue that Seamus Heaney, James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, WB Yeats, Samuel Beckett are lacking in some sort of essentialist Irishness because they don’t/didn’t write in Irish? A country without a language is a country without people. It is people, expressing themselves freely and creatively in whatever language they choose, that create the rich cultural life and complexity of identities that humanise and localise us.

An bhfuil cúiseanna láidre ann seachas ‘tír gan teanga’, mar sin, chun an Gaeilge a labhairt? Tá.

• Cinnte, méadóidh tú do chuid eolais ar chultúr agus ar stair an oileáin seo, ach foghlaimeoidh tú faoin impireacht Ghaelach i dtuaisceart na Breataine Bige, in Oileán Mhanann agus ar fhormhór na hAlban. Is é sin le rá, is gníomh thar a bheith idirnáisiúnta, uile-Bhreatain-Mhórach é an Gaeilge a fhoghlaim ar leibhéal domhain, ná gníomh teoranta atá ceangailte leis an oileán seo. Agus an Gaeilge ar eolas agat, feiceann tú na hathshondais theangeolaíocha – nach bhfuil le feiceáil/hinchloiste tríd an mBéarla – leis an mBreatnais, leis an mBriotáinis, agus le teangacha Rómánsacha na hEorpa a scaip níos déanaí go dtí cuid mhór den domhan mar gheall ar an gcoilíneachas.
• Tagann tú ar an tuiscint cé chomh fite fuaite atá an Gaeilge le labhairt an Bhéarla ar an oileán seo. Tá sé seo fíor ar an dá thaobh den teorainn.
• Ma fhoghlamaíonn tú teanga eile, moillíonn tú an dul-in-aois bhitheolaíoch, de réir taighde leighis le déanaí (alt san Irish Times Dé Luain):
  
• Thar aon rud eile, is spraoi iontach í an teanga a labhairt. Magadh dátheangach, súgradh focal, smaoineamh go cruthaitheach i dteanga eile: cad nach mbeadh le taitneamh a bhaint as? Agus osclaíonn sé an doras chun bualadh le daoine nua ó gach cúlra.

Are there compelling reasons to speak Irish above and beyond President Connolly’s linguistic essentialism? Yes:

• You will increase your knowledge of this island’s culture and history, but you’ll learn of the Gaelic empire in north Wales, Isle of Man and most of Scotland. In other words, learning Irish at a deep level is also a profoundly internationalist, GB-wide act, not just a limiting island-bound act. And knowing Irish, you see the linguistic resonances – not visible/audible via English – with Welsh, Breton, and the Romance languages of Europe that later spread to much of the world due to colonialism.
• You come to appreciate how much the Irish language is interwoven into how we speak English on this island. This is true on both sides of the border.
• If you learn another language, you slow biological ageing, according to recent medical research (article in Monday’s Irish Times).
• But most of all, speaking Irish with other people is great fun. Bilingual joking, word-play, thinking creatively in another language: what’s not to like? And it opens the door to meeting new people from all backgrounds.

Beidh an tUachtarán Ní Chonghaile ag tabhairt cuairte ar go leor tíortha ag déanamh ionadaíochta ar a tír. Tá súil agam go dtabharfaidh sí faoi deara dán Ultais-Albanach “The Irishman”, a scríobh James Orr, atá clóite ina pas:

The hedge-hauntin’ blackbird, on ae fit whyles restin’,
Wad fain heat the tither in storm-rufflet wing

Is le James Orr, cainteoirí Ultaise agus cainteoirí Béarla aonteangacha na hÉireann, an t-oileán chomh mór agus atá sé le cainteoirí Gaeilge. Níor cheart a chuid scríbhinní a “dhíbirt ón domhan”, mar a scríobh John Hewitt.

President Connolly will be visiting many countries representing her country. I hope she takes note of James Orr’s Ulster-Scots poem “The Irishman”, which is printed in her passport:

The hedge-hauntin’ blackbird, on ae fit whyles restin’,
Wad fain heat the tither in storm-rufflet wing

The island belongs to James Orr, Ulster-Scots and monoglot Hiberno-English speakers as much as it does to Irish-speakers. His writings should “not be outcast on the world”, as John Hewitt wrote.

Tá súil agam go n-aontóidh Uachtarán Ní Chonghaile gur oileán gan anam é oileán gan meas ar na trí theanga.

I hope President Connolly agrees that an island without respect for all three languages is an island without soul.

Philip McGuinness

Philip McGuinness taught at Dundalk Institute of Technology, plays mandolin with the Oriel Traditional Orchestra and loves to walk around and over the wee perfect hills of the Ring Of Gullion.