Blog
Studying Irish
The first question: what to call it?
In recent months, when I have told people I will be studying Irish, I have gotten some confused looks. An Irish Bar in Midtown. I believe the name means ‘Land of Youth.’ “Do you mean Gaelic?” I have been asked.…
A Survey of the Irish Language
A book by Darerca Ní Chartúir introduces me to what's out there.
Yesterday I read a book by Irish teacher Darerca Ní Chartúir, entitled The Irish Language: An Overview and Guide. (Before I even got into the details of the book, I had to spend a little time…
An Initial Look at Irish Grammar
Oh. My. God.
Today I began reading Essential Irish Grammar, by Éamonn Ó Dónaill, and I am in shock. I am seeing things I have never seen before in my entire life. Everything started out promisingly, when…
Language-Learning Books Should Be Proofread!
Mistakes can really screw up teach-yourself language learners.
Yesterday I wrote briefly about lenition, a process through which the beginnings of words in Irish can change depending on the word that precedes them. I found the lenition explanation in Essential Irish Grammar by Éamonn Ó…
Talk Irish!
I am loving the online course I bought on the Talk Irish website. What a deal/steal!
A few days ago, for nine dollars and forty-something cents a month, I purchased access to an online course on the Talk Irish website. It is based on an old TV program, Buntús Cainte, that first ran…
More on Talk Irish and Pimsleur
My study strategies are driven by my pronunciation-assistance needs.
Earlier today a reader asked me why, for Irish, I wasn’t beginning with Pimsleur and whether that had to do with there being only 10 Pimsleur lessons for this language. I admit to a little despondency over the paucity of…
Some Weird Things in Irish
I have just four to discuss today, but I imagine more will pop up.
Here are a few weird things in Irish: Weird Thing #1. On the eve of Mother’s Day, the word madra in Irish keeps throwing me. I keep thinking it is “mother,” but it is “dog.” Oops. Weird…
Irish Verbs and Twitter
Over the weekend I encounter some Irish verbs and some Irish tweets.
I am not super attached to social media, but I try to stay reasonably on top of things. A year or so ago I opened a Twitter account and then, like many people I know, let it languish while I…
Some Irish Words Look Familiar
But most don't!
Studying Irish is nowhere near as easy as studying Spanish or French or Italian. I Have Been Using the Google Translate App on My iPhone, a Lot Besides the very different grammar, there simply aren’t that many words…
Some Questions from a Reader
On multilingual multitasking and other subjects.
One of the things I love about this project is that I hear from people all over the world who love languages, too. Since this website first went up, it has had visitors from 164 countries. A large chunk of Africa…