Dilemma for Irish Language

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 13, 30 January 1937, Page 17

Dilemma for Irish Language

, DUBLrN". — While there is no doubt that- the Irish.. language. is being, used more than in the Free TState, there is at the same time' abundantr evid'ence that the Government policy o£ regulating, ita expansion is eneountering many obstacles in the- forms- of apathy and open hostility. The press' has recently given considerable publicity to eritieisms of the Government 's, policy and has indulged in editorial warfare on : the subjeet. The establishment. of Irish a* the national language was laid down in the Free Stata Gonstitution of 1922 and has been made effective since 1929 by legislative enactments under William T. Corgrave, leader of the United Ireland party, and Eamon de Valera, who succeeded' to power inr 1932. As a result, Irish must now' be taught in all Government-controlled schools, and anyone who wishes to qualify for public offiee or for a post in the anny must have a speaking knowledge of the language. Written and Oral Tests Civil Service examinations contain written and oral tests on ( Irish. In addition to such decrees, every possible encouragement is given toward fostering the language, particnlarly in the schools, by awarding. extra marks for proficiency in the subjeet; and teachers who use Irish as. their medium .for teaching other subjecta receive salary bonuses. Last summer 370 children mad© a prolonged visit to Connemara, a sec* tion of the Gaeltacht, or Irish-speaking : area of .the country, in order to acquire a thorough knowledge of the dialec't and its every day tise, - . Bilingual Street Signs. . Although Irish is rarely heard spoken in the streefs of Dublin, nearly all thd street signs are bilingual; public meetings are frequently introduced by a few Irish phrase, and in the Dail Eireann (legislature) bills are occasxonally announced in Irish. But there are numerous indications that all is not going well. Mr de Yalera recently spoke rather pessimistically about tlxe progress of the language, saying that the Government had done its best and that it was up to the public to shake off its apathy. Conflict of Dialects, A professor at National University publiely proclaimed that the standard of education was being lowered by the attempted enforcement of Irish, and a Dublin headmaster announeed his inability and nnwillingness to use Irish

as a medium for teaching other subjects. Also, a difliculty lies in the fact that there are said to be at least three radically different lialects; in use in Ireland. So in spite of the earnestness of the Government, of the Gaelic League, and of various groups of enthusiasts in the Free State, there is abundant evidence of the trCmendous obstacles that lie ixt the way of their efforts to keep up linguistic and cultural nationalism with grqwing politcal independence and arrive at a state in which a majority of people not oixly have a working knowledge of Irish but think in it and use ii entirely in .eyeiy walk of lifa.