Gaelic

[Aisling]

i can speak it conversationally. probably not very well anymore due to lack of use, but there is a saying. . .is fearr gaeilge briste ná béarla cliste, which means "it's better to speak broken irish than clever english". so i guess whatever bits i can still cobble together are acceptable.

generally, the term "gaelic" is used to described the whole group of celtic languages. what's spoken in ireland is either called irish or gaeilge.

irish is the official language of ireland, and it's a compulsory subject in school. for certain governmental jobs, you are required to pass a proficiency exam. despite all that, not a lot of people are fluent. you'd probably have to go to the gaeltacht to find really fluent speakers.

it's a beautiful language, unlike any other in terms of grammar. unfortunately, that makes it very hard to learn. even still, if anyone has the interest, i would definitely say give it a go! you can get books on tape (cd?) that do a good job of covering the basic oral discourse without having to get into reading or writing.

and i'll stop being a walking advert for irish studies now!